Chapter 5: The Emporium
The sun was just beginning to reach the horizon when I woke up. Thalia was shaking my good arm back and forth. I squinted my eyes and did my best to focus on her. It took quite a while and my head hurt as Thalia's multiple blurry faces merged into one. I reasoned that taking a dip in the river Styx did a lot for me but protecting me from blunt force trauma apparently wasn't on the list.
I looked around to see where I was at. I urged myself to remember the events that had just occurred. We were driving to Olympus, and Thalia lost control and we flipped and…. we fought some monsters... and they took Annabeth! My eyes widened as I recalled what had just happened. I sat up and tried to stand but got extremely lightheaded and had to sit back down. Thalia looked at me with a concerned expression. The cut on her head was pretty deep. The side of her face was caked in dry blood. She sat down next to me.
The van had rolled far from the road. It was beat up and bent in every way imaginable. Tall, slender trees surrounded us. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground from the storm a couple days ago. The sharp, angled streams of light from the setting sun pierced the forest, but it only made the setting seem more eerie. Not a sound was to be heard except Thalia and I's shaky breath. Puffs of air escaped our mouths with each shallow exhale. The forest felt empty and dead. Pretty much how I felt.
"Where's Annabeth? Are you okay?"
It took me a moment to respond. I was still wrapping my head around what had just happened. My head filled with pain when I began speaking.
"There were two… gorgons. They approached us and started attacking us. They knew that Annabeth was with us. One of them was able to injure her and… I got distracted. Then they knocked me out and ran away with her."
"Did they say anything about where they were going? Or why they wanted her?"
I tried my best to remember the encounter. "No… they didn't say anything. The only thing I remember them saying was that they were after Annabeth."
Thalia furrowed her eyebrows. She was thinking for a couple moments when she broke the silence. "None of this is adding up. Why would they want Annabeth? How did they know where we were at?"
I shook my head. "I have no idea. All of it happened so fast." We were both looking down on the ground. I could tell neither of us were up for talking much. I wondered if Thalia's head hurt as much as mine did. It felt like it took the two of us forever to respond to one another.
"We have to go after her." Thalia finally said.
"I know."
"I don't think we're in the best shape, but we have to try."
"What are our options? Where do we even start?"
Thalia took a deep breath. As she exhaled she let out a shiver. It was really starting to get dark. The weak winter sun was almost completely behind the distant hills. We would have to act soon or risk freezing. "Okay. One option. We go back to camp. Let Chiron and the others know what happened and get their help." She shifted her gaze from the ground to my eyes. She looked hurt. Exhausted. As if every time I saw her she looked more and more hallow.
"That would take forever to walk back to camp." I reasoned after thinking it through. "We had been driving for a long time. By the time we get there who knows how far they could have gotten with Annabeth. And we took the only van. We would just put ourselves farther behind than we already are."
"Then our only other option would be to start going after her right now."
We nodded in agreement. As our eyes met the same thought must have come up for the both of us. Where do we go?
"What do you know about the gorgons?" I asked.
"There are three of them. I'm assuming the ones you fought weren't Medusa. Fierce monsters. Powerful fighters. They haven't been seen by us… I mean the hunters in decades. The fact that they showed up means things may be pretty bad."
"That doesn't narrow anything down."
"Gee thanks." Thalia responded with just as much apathy as I had responded with.
"Before they got close to us Annabeth yelled and told me not to look at them. But before they attacked us she said it was okay to look at them. Why didn't they turn us to stone?"
"I'm not too familiar with the myth, Percy. From what I know Medusa was the only one cursed. Athena cursed her when she found Medusa in her temple."
I had a flashback when I was 12 years old when Annabeth first told me about the story of Medusa. Back when I still doubted in all this demigod craziness. I remembered us fighting Medusa in her twisted garden emporium shop when we were trying to make our way out of New York. And then…
"I know where they went. Aunty Em's Garden. Or what's left of it anyways."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"That's where Annabeth, Grover, and I fought Medusa on our first quest together. It has to be the place. Where else would they go?"
"Well. It's our best shot. I don't know anywhere else to look. We should get going. Can you walk okay?"
"Yeah I should be fine." Thalia got up first. She stretched forth her hand and helped me up. Even though a small part of me wanted to keep on holding her hand I quickly shot that idea down. We started following the faint tracks the gorgons had left behind until it was dark.
There was just enough sunlight to figure out where we were and where to go. We had been driving for quite some time so I knew we couldn't be ridiculously far away. Perhaps the gorgons came from the garden emporium which would mean it wouldn't be too far away. I was glad I decided to wear my boots for the trip and not my uncomfortable nice shoes.
"So… follow the road until it gets to the intersection and take a left?" Thalia asked after we had trudged on through the dark forest for what seemed like half an hour. Earlier we had decided to stay near the road so we could keep our bearings but stay far enough to not attract any attention.
We were mostly silent on our trek. Partly because we were pretty tired. Partly because I felt a little awkward. Our actions the past few days continued to replay in my mind over and over again. My sudden attraction towards her. My desire to be with her. That stupide kiss. And then I remembered my conversation with the goddess of love. She made it seem like being attracted to Thalia was all me. The more I thought about it, the more I determined that there were other forces in play. Forces that I may not even be aware of yet.
Of course, when I wasn't thinking about Thalia I was worrying Annabeth. And of course, I spent much more time worrying about Annabeth than thinking about Thalia. What scared me was how little we knew about the motives of the gorgons or whoever they were working for. At least the last time we lost Annabeth I knew who had taken her and where she was. Maybe if we didn't find her at Aunty Em's I would have a dream about her. What if she's hurt? What if she's not where we're going? What if we're too late?
I knew I loved Annabeth. I didn't want to lose her. To monsters. Or to Thalia. I had to make sure that wouldn't happen.
"Hey," I started. Thalia was just a couple feet next to me. Her eyes were intensely focused up ahead to help make sure we were going the right way. She looked over at me, apparently startled by my tone of voice.
"I honestly don't know what's been going on between us, Thal. One moment I feel that I know I'm supposed to be with you forever. And then the next I'm questioning if those are even my own thoughts. Maybe I really do feel that way towards you. But I don't know. I don't know what's real. But my worry for Annabeth? I know that is real. And I know I care for her. Even if she hasn't been the best girlfriend to me. But just the thought of losing her tears me apart."
Thalia wasn't too eager to respond. I looked over at her and saw a shadow of frustration on her face in the dim moonlight. I probably hurt her feelings, but at this point I had more important things to focus on.
"I'm worried about her too."
"That's all you're going to say?"
"What more do you want me to say, Percy?!
"I don't know! More than that!" Our voices were gradually getting louder and louder until we were shouting.
"Fine! We'll go to this stupid garden store, fight some stupid monsters, and rescue your little princess so the two of you can live happily ever after. How does that sound?!"
Thalia gave an exasperated grunt and deliberately picked up her pace to distance herself from me. I didn't know how to respond to that, so I was happy she started walking ahead. It seemed like the romantic trance we had been in at camp had ended, at least for now.
It was cold outside. The rest of our walk was silent except for the occasional communication to make sure we were still heading in the right direction. I got used to the sound of my boots crunching against the snow. I kept my eyes in front of me looking at Thalia's feet as we trailblazed through the forest. We were both tired. I'm sure Thalia was exhausted. Our conflicted emotions were running high. I wondered if we were going to be in any shape to fight what was at the garden emporium. If anything would even be there in the first place.
"We're here."
I almost ran into Thalia when she abruptly stopped walking. We were at the clearing of the forest. Aunty Em's Garden Emporium lay ahead of us. All we had to do was cross the empty, poorly lit road in front of us and we were there. None of the lights were on. Windows had been smashed. Graffiti was on the walls and on some of the stone statues. Just like the last time I had seen it in my dream a couple months ago.
To say I was nervous about going in there would have been an understatement. I had almost died there about four years ago. And knowing that Kronos had used this building as a camp for his army made me shudder. I think the only thing that could have gotten me to go back in was if Annabeth was in danger. Looks like luck was on my side. Not really.
"Any ideas?" I asked.
"I don't know. You know this place better than I do. Is there a side or back entrance of some sort? If anyone is there I would assume they would expect us to come through the front."
"I think there's an entrance on the side that connects to the outdoor garden. We can go in through there and lay low and scout the place out. It looks empty but we'll use the darkness as cover. If we see anything that isn't human, well… you know what to do."
Thalia nodded. We broke away from the protection of the forest and quietly ran across the road. My heart was already racing. Ever step I took sounded as loud as an earthquake. With hushed breaths we entered the garden. I motioned to the side door that led into the building. Thalia nodded. We crouched down and made our way to the door.
The inside of the building looked as if it had been abandoned centuries ago. Trash and garbage laid strewn across the floor. The walls were peeling so the framing could be seen. Swords, armor and other ancient war equipment were on tables, propped against walls, or just left on the ground from when Kronos's army was here. The place smelled like the locker room of all the monsters I had ever fought. In other words, I wanted to get in and out of this place as soon as we could.
"I don't see any-"
"Shhhh!" Thalia interrupted me and slugged me on my shoulder.
She must have saw or heard something that I didn't because that shhh was an urgent one. I looked around trying to find any hint of danger. It was quiet. Too quiet. We continued to scan the main room. Out of nowhere the hairs on my back stood up. Thalia and I shot up in unison and spun around. My instinct took over and I took out Riptide right in time to block a huge swing of a sword from one of the gorgons.
It was hard to see. The main source of light was from the faint moon that shown through the windows. But I could definitely see that these two monsters were not happy. Thalia and I jumped away from the advancing gorgons. Thalia readied her spear and activated her shield. The two monsters let out a gruesome snarl. I guess Medusa's face on Thalia's shield only made them angrier rather than more afraid. They looked even more appalling in the dim light. One of them held large daggers in each hand while the other wielded a large sword and shield. Unlike last time, they were dressed in battle armor. I knew this fight would be tough. My buzzing head still remembered what happened the last time I fought them. I was also in a worse condition now than in the forest. And Annabeth was in a more fighting condition than Thalia. I was honestly a bit worried that Thalia would start nodding off to sleep when we started fighting because she looked so tired.
"We could smell the both of you coming from miles away. The two of you together send out such a strong ssscent I'm surprised you haven't been chased by monsters getting here." The one with the sword and shield started.
"We are very aware of what happened here four yearsss ago." The one with the daggers continued. "We were originally sent to just take the girl. But we couldn't pass on this chance to avenge our sissster. How fitting would it be to kill the demigod who slayed our sister in the same place of her death."
Normally I would be pretty scared. But I was too worried about Annabeth to think about that. "I killed Medusa and I'll kill the two of you too! Now where is Annabeth? Who are you and who are you working for?"
"How could you not know who we are?" The dagger gorgon looked angry. "I am Ssstheno. And my sister Euryale. Even if we told you who is conspiring against you, you would not live long enough to act on it." As she was talking they began slowly but methodically walking around us try to surround us. It wouldn't be long before they pounced.
"Does this have anything to do with Athena?" Thalia asked. I could see what Thalia was thinking. If some god cursed my sister to a lifetime of turning people into stone, I would be pretty mad too.
Stheno and Euryale growled upon hearing the goddess of wisdom's name and shouted with indignation. "Do not mention that cursssed god!" The hundreds of snakes on their heads hissed in fury.
"I think we have our answer." Thalia muttered to me.
They snarled again.
With that, the two gorgons rushed at Thalia while she was still looking at me and were able to knock her a couple feet back against one of the walls. The gorgons must have had super strength and I made a quick note to be on my toes. I heard a painful oof from Thalia as she tried to reorient herself from the ground.
The two gorgons turned their attention to me. Euryale started taking stabs at me with her deadly daggers. I was able to avoid the first couple jabs, but I eventually lost my footing as I tripped on a stray sword and had to dive out of the way to avoid getting skinned. As I got up from the ground the Stheno took a powerful swing at me with her sword. I deflected the blow, but the power of her swing made my arms go temporally numb. Even if they didn't look it, these gorgons were incredibly powerful.
I tried to get back on my feet ask quickly as possible. I had a feeling they were just toying with me now. I was feeling weak. And they knew it. I was tired and injured. I was slowly backing up, weakly raising Riptide, as they continued to advance on me.
"How was it that he killed our sissster?" Stheno asked.
"He cut her head off!" The other responded in rage.
"We should let this hero know how it feelssss." They grinned at me maliciously. "It is only jussst."
I did not want to get my head chopped off by a bunch of ladies with snakes on their heads.
I lunged towards Euyale but she easily deflected my stab. While I was focusing on her, Stheno raised her shield and bashed my head causing me to stumble and lose my balance. I dropped my sword and grasped at my head. Pain seared throughout my body. My head already hurt enough as it was from our first fight. Another blunt impact made stars appear in my vision. I could make out the evil grin of Stheno as she towered over me.
"Thisss is the one who saved those pathetic Olympians?" Euyale asked in disgust.
"I told you we should have fought while we had the chance." Stheno bickered.
Euryale hissed. She kicked me with all her might when I tried to get back up. I knew Riptide would appear in my pocket soon, but by then it would be too late. She approached me and lifted me up from my shirt as if I was stuffed animal. I could see into her evil, reptilian green eyes. Her snakes were trying to bite my face off.
"This is where your story endsss"
Euryale moved her dagger to cut my head off. Right when I saw my life flash before my eyes I heard a loud shunk immediately followed by a spear that went through Euryale's chest. The tip of the spear past by my face just a couple inches from me. I fell to the ground as Euryale turned into dust. Her daggers made a hallow clanking sound against the floor.
Thalia stood across the other room. She looked injured but must have seen I was about to get killed and had thrown her spear at the gorgon. I hoped that she was confident in her throwing abilities and didn't just get lucky because her spear was really too close for comfort.
Stheno and her snakes hissed with wrath. The gorgon bashed my leg with the side of her shield. I heard a snap and almost passed out immediately from the pain. Stheno snarled at me before turning to face the daughter of Zeus. Through the stars and blurriness in my vision, I could make out the two of them going at each other, sword versus shield. I didn't think it was possible with how beaten up she was, but Thalia was fighting as graceful as Artemis herself. Dodging swings, parrying attacks, and attacking the gorgon with her shield. She pranced around Stheno like a battle-hardened dancer.
Despite her initial success, Thalia couldn't keep it up forever. Without a weapon it was only a matter of time before she would make a mistake that would end her life. Thalia was making her way to where I was lying on the floor. Stheno's advances were relentless. It must have taken all of Thalia's skill to not get knocked off her feet. I knew I had to do something. And do it quick. I looked around for anything that could help. A weapon, water, literally anything. It was hard to focus. Hard to think.
A sharp cry forced my attention back to Thalia and the monster. Thalia crumpled to the floor about a few feet in front of me. Stheno's sword protruded from her lower chest. In the dim light I could see Thalia begin to turn white. Her breathing became more and more shallow despite her loud cries of pain. Stheno pulled the sword out from Thalia. Every last bit of adrenaline that I hadn't used yet rushed through my system.
I have to save Thalia's life… how she saved mine.
How she saved mine.
I frantically looked around for Euryale's dagger. I desperately moved my hands across the floor as if I were blind. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the moonlight flicker against metal. I grabbed the dagger as quick as I could and tried to focus my attention back on the monster who was looming over Thalia.
Stheno was about ready to finish off Thalia with her sword. Stheno's snakes darted their attention from Thalia towards me when they saw what I was about to do.
I prayed to whoever the god of daggers was before I threw it as hard as I could at the approaching monster and her hundred snakes.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to find this story and read it! I am really happy about where this story is going. If you have any comments or feedback I would love to hear from you!