Chapter 21

"Stupid lock!" Annabeth said through gritted teeth as she jiggled the lock of the storage cart's exit door.

Percy sat next to her, hoping that the officers outside didn't hear her cursing. He was certain if they did hear her, they were probably wondering why she was cursing in both English and ancient Greek.

They had finally arrived in some town in Arizona though Percy wasn't sure which one since his phone had died and there was no way to charge it. If they had remembered to charge their phones back at the hotel they'd gotten in New Orleans, they wouldn't have had this problem but of course, they forgot.

Getting a hotel in Arizona wasn't completely out of the question but with them being so close to California, Percy figured they minus well just try to make the push.

However, another problem had started to rear its ugly head. Percy realized they had to find a different way into California. He heard the officers outside discussing how they were going to search the train, he highly doubted he and Annabeth would be able to hide for long. Their best bet was to keep moving. The officers' voices had faded, giving them their chance to escape.

"Got it!" Annabeth said as she unlocked the door. She turned to him, "I don't hear anyone on the other side but be careful, that doesn't mean there isn't someone there."

"Got it." Percy nodded.

Annabeth sighed before opening the door. Thankfully, the alarm for the train didn't go off, Percy was certain this door was an emergency exit. He crouch-walked with Annabeth until they were able to hop off the train and onto the grounds of the train station.

The early morning temperature wasn't horrible, Percy could handle it. Thankfully, the part of Arizona they were in wasn't humid. The humidity in New Orleans made the heat so much worse, he would've been happy with never going back there in the summer ever again.

Percy heard the sound of boots clunking against the concrete somewhere to his left. He continued following Annabeth, though she had slowed down a little bit as to not make as much noise.

"So, these two we're looking for, you got a description?" A woman's voice asked.

"Yeah, two white young adults. Witnesses describe one as a woman with blonde hair and the other as a man with black hair. Apparently, someone in Chicago said they saw the man shoot a girl in public with a rifle so we're going to have to assume they're armed and dangerous." A man's voice said, "The guy is armed with a AR15, someone said he pulled it out on a train."

Percy really wanted to know why it was when anytime a mortal saw Riptide, they always saw a gun. He remembered during his fight with Ares, the cops thought he was holding a rifle. He would've much rather the mist just showed his sword as a bat or something.

Annabeth whispered to him, "Follow me and stay close."

Percy was so thankful for all the rigorous exercise camp put him through because constantly staying crouched and walking in that position was taxing. It didn't help his heart was pounding against his chest, stealth was not his forte and he knew it, Nico was better suited for this type of thing.

He looked ahead of them, he could see a road up ahead along with a sidewalk, maybe they could pass off as a couple going for a walk but first they needed to get to the road. Meanwhile, he heard the officers still very close by.

Sweat ran down Percy's face as he followed close behind Annabeth, they were so close they were practically touching.

Their luck ran out when Percy heard someone yell, "Hey, there they are!"

Percy turned and saw a police officer with a flashlight staring right at him. Two other officers could be seen running towards him.

"Shit, run!" Percy said, rocketing to his feet and breaking into a full-on sprint. Annabeth ran right next to him.

They ignored the calls from the officers to stop, stopping meant getting arrested and in this case, getting arrested meant the end of the world.

"Go right!" Annabeth panted.

Percy stumbled onto the sidewalk, nearly tripping due to some of the uneven areas in the concrete. Annabeth helped him before running again.

Percy panted as he focused on not slowing down. He ignored the pain in his feet, his shoes were not meant for running at all. Running in blue jeans and converses wasn't exactly the best course of action but to Percy, this was just another day.

Every now and then, he'd look over his shoulder to see if the cops were still on them. Sure enough, a few of them were actually keeping up. Percy wondered how long they'd keep up, they may have been in shape but both him and Annabeth had godly genes.

"We gotta do something, they're still after us!" Percy said next to Annabeth.

"I'm trying to think of something!" She replied. She looked around for anything that could possibly help them.

"You two get back here, now!" An officer's distant voice shouted.

Percy looked back at the officers, they were further back now but he knew if they stopped, they'd be caught almost immediately.

"There!" Annabeth said as she pointed to a junkyard, "We can hide in there!"

"Okay." Percy said.

After running across the street and into the junkyard, Percy followed Annabeth into the maze of broken-down cars, ranging from faded pickup trucks to old vintage cars that no one cared to fix up. He had a feeling Leo would've been bouncing up and down with joy to see all the piles of scrap lying around.

Percy crouched next to Annabeth near a decayed car that looked like it belonged back in the '60's. The metal was all rusted and old

He caught his breath, even Annabeth was panting. They may have had godly genes but even they had limits and pushing their bodies for as long as they did was bound to push them closer to their limits. Percy was certain they could probably continue running but he would rather recover than continue running.

"That sucked." He said, trying to catch his breath.

Annabeth nodded and sat down, her back propped against the car. Her cheeks were pink from exertion, "Yeah."

Percy sat next to her, he focused on not falling asleep. He was running on maybe four hours of sleep, he wasn't at his best. He could definitely push himself further but he knew that lack of sleep was very dangerous, some campers back at camp often passed out during sparring matches due to a bad night's sleep.

Annabeth shifted next to him, "We need a plan. How much money do we have left?"

Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet and checked it, "Not enough."

"We can't walk to California." Annabeth said, "The police will catch us in no time. We need to figure something out soon otherwise we'll have to fight Jason."

Percy sighed, he wasn't looking forward to a fight with Jason.

"I got it!" Annabeth said brightly.

"Huh?" He looked over at her, "What?"

"The Lotus Casino, it's in Vegas, right?" She said.

"Well, yeah." He said, "But how does that help us at all?"

Annabeth grinned at him, "Las Vegas is closer to us than San Francisco, which is where we need to go. Remember last time we went to the casino?"

"Yeah, we almost got trapped." He said, "Now you want us to go there again?"

"We don't have a choice." She said, "Think about it, the casino cards work for the taxis too. If we go to the casino, we can shower and get something to eat. Seriously, Percy, when was the last time we showered?"

Percy thought about it, "Uh, when we were flying to New Orleans."

"Exactly." She said, "As long as we don't get distracted, we can use the casino to our advantage."

Percy wasn't sure about her idea but he figured it was probably their only shot.

"Alright, let's see if we can get a bus out of here."

Ω

Getting a ride out of Arizona was way harder than it should've been. Percy thought they were going to just walk into a bus station, buy their tickets, and get out. No one told him that he'd have to dodge police helicopters and cars just to get to the station.

Eventually, they did manage to get a bus that would take them straight to Vegas. Even better, it wouldn't take them days to get to Las Vegas, the bus ride was only about six hours at most.

That's how Percy ended up slumped in the back of the bus, Annabeth basically laying against him. They were both exhausted, Percy knew the mental stress of trying to escape the police hit Annabeth just as hard as it hit him. If he was alone, he would've just borrowed a cop car or something.

Despite everything that had happened thus far, Percy couldn't help but think he'd been through worse. When Hera had kidnapped him, he woke up alone, tired, and lost. He had no idea who he even was when he woke up, it was like being dunked into ice cold water. Yet he still managed to survive that.

Annabeth's breathing was steady as her back pressed against his chest. He had his arms wrapped around her while she slept, he didn't bother to move her blonde hair even as it tickled his neck.

Percy knew he should've been following her lead but he just couldn't let himself fall asleep. He could've easily fallen asleep if he let himself, the bus ride was in the middle of the night so it wasn't like it was too bright to sleep or anything like that, he just didn't want to risk falling asleep and leaving Annabeth all defenseless. She would've probably smacked him if she knew that's what he was thinking.

Every once in a while, Annabeth would shift in her sleep. Percy couldn't help but look at her and think about how far they had come. He still remembered when they were twelve, he still was a bit shocked to learn she had a crush on him back then, especially with how she acted, it was like she hated his guts. Yet here they were.

The hum of the light strips above him threatened to lull Percy to sleep but he kept himself awake by shaking his head or pinching himself. Five hours, he only needed to stay awake for five hours.

The Lotus Casino sounded amazing to Percy at the moment, he was already dreaming of the nice bed, warm shower, and platters of food awaiting him.

"Mmm, Percy, no." Annabeth moaned in her sleep.

Percy raised an eyebrow, she was dreaming about him?

"No." She said, starting to twist and turn.

He realized exactly what was happening before it even started. His hands grabbed onto her to keep her still as she started to thrash around in a panic. Holding onto Annabeth was way harder than it looked, many would believe holding a girl like her would be easy but Percy knew better. Annabeth may have looked like a typical teenaged girl but she was still really strong, just because she didn't have hulking muscles like Clarisse or abs like himself didn't mean she didn't possess some downright amazing strength.

"No, no." Annabeth said in a panic, "Percy, don't!"

"Annabeth, you need to wake up." He whispered in her ear, "You're just dreaming."

Annabeth thrashed about, kicking her legs as she tried to break free of his grip. The sound of her legs kicking the metal supports of the nearby chairs was loud enough Percy was concerned the bus driver would hear it.

Percy tightened his grip on her so she didn't heave herself out of his arms, he tried his best to not hurt her.

"Annabeth." He whispered a little louder, "Wake up."

Annabeth stilled for a moment before Percy saw her eyes open. Her gray eyes looked around rapidly out of fear before she turned and looked at him.

"Annabeth, you're fine. We're still—" Percy got the breath knocked out of him as Annabeth slammed into him, burying her face into his neck.

"Percy." She said into his neck, "Thank gods."

"What was that all about?" He asked while rubbing her back.

Annabeth shook her head. Her breathing was shaky against his skin. He couldn't help but wonder what happened in her dream.

"Annabeth, it's fine. Just tell me." He said.

Annabeth pulled back, "Percy, I can't tell you, I don't want to think about it. Just…stay here."

Percy didn't bother asking her again, if she didn't want to tell him, she wouldn't tell him. He tried to think of what she could've possibly seen in her dream that shook her up this badly, Annabeth usually didn't scare easily unless spiders were involved.

Annabeth snuggled into him before she moved up a little so she could capture his lips with hers. He knew exactly what this was all about, she was comforting herself by kissing him. What weirded him out was that they hadn't done anything like this in such a long time. The last time they did anything like this was back when they had just escaped Tartarus, Annabeth would calm herself down after a nightmare by either hugging him so tightly that he couldn't leave or by kissing him until he could barely think.

"Annabeth." He said her name through the kisses.

Annabeth pulled back and stared into his eyes, he could see the turmoil behind her eyes. It was like she was arguing with herself.

"What happened?" He asked gently.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Percy sighed, he knew he'd have to do a little more coaxing before she could open up. He ran his finger along her palm, letting her feel his touch. His other hand rested on the small of her back while holding her in the semi-awkward position her thrashing had managed to land them in.

"We-we were fighting together." She said, "We were somewhere close to Camp Jupiter because I could see it. Then I saw you fighting some girl, I don't know who she was, but you were fighting her." She took a deep breath, "I watched her stab you, Percy. You died right in front of me."

Percy watched as her eyes grew darker. Quickly, he sprang into action and held her closer while whispering words of comfort into her ears. A nightmare like that could definitely mess up Annabeth's mental state, it would mess with his head too if the roles were reversed.

"I'm still here." He whispered, "I'm fine. It was just a bad dream, that's all."

"It's going to happen, isn't it?" She asked into his shoulder.

"No, it won't." He promised, "We'll never be separated again, remember?"

"But—"

"No buts." He said, "I'm not dying and neither are you. Just relax and go back to sleep, I'll wake you when we get to Vegas."

Annabeth gave him a dirty look for suggesting for her to go back to sleep but she did turn around and lay back against him. He grabbed her hips and moved back onto the seat before setting her back down on top of him. They sat like that until Percy finally watched Annabeth as her eyes drifted closed and she faded off to sleep.

Now it was back to him trying his hardest not to fall asleep with her.

Ω

Percy was exhausted when they stumbled off the bus in Las Angeles. Annabeth had woken up somewhat refreshed just as he was on the verge of passing out. His head hurt, his eyes felt heavy, and he was jittery. He needed some sleep and if he didn't get some quick, he was going to pass out.

Even worse for him was the fact that his stomach wouldn't stop rumbling. By now, the meal from the Hunters seemed like a distant dream. His mind dreamed of tacos, steak, extra-large pizzas, and—

Shut up! Percy screamed in his mind.

Food. His stomach replied.

We'll get food, just shut up!

Not fast enough, food, now!

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked as she held his arm to prevent him from tiredly stumbling into the street.

Any other time, the sound of car engines rumbling past and people's footsteps clacking against the concrete would've kept him awake but right now, it sounded more like a nighttime lullaby.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Are you okay?" She asked him again, her gray eyes filled with concern.

For some idiotic reason, Percy interpreted her question as: Are you hungry?

"Yeah, I'm starving." He said.

"That's not what I—"

"I could go for a cheeseburger right now, maybe some extra fries."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and started dragging him along, "Yep, you need help."

Percy stumbled along, the bright lights of Vegas making his headache even worse. He wanted to crawl into a dark alleyway and go to sleep, though he didn't fancy getting robbed so he decided against it. Instead, he clung to Annabeth like a life preserver.

"I knew it you should've slept on the bus." She said, "Didn't I tell you that?"

"The bus…" He said, not understanding her for a moment. His eyes lit up, "Oh, the bus! Right, we need to go to Vegas, right?"

"We are in Vegas, Percy!"

Percy looked around, "Oh."

Percy was way too tired to function, if anyone attacked him, Annabeth would probably have to dump some water on him otherwise he probably would miss every time.

He watched as an open top white Cadillac drove past, blasting something that sounded oddly like Bruno Mars. Now that he thought about it, those seats in that car looked pretty comfortable, he wondered if the driver would let him borrow them for the night. He could keep the car, he just wanted the seats.

Eventually after a few twists and turns, Percy managed to look up at the pink lights of the Lotus Casino, but that was only after stumbling and falling on the sidewalk. A few passersby thought he was drunk but luckily none of them tried to rob him, though he doubted they would try since Annabeth was right next to him.

Percy stared at the greeter in front of him, he wore a hot pink suit jacket with matching formal pants. His sleeve was decorated with golden fleur-de-lis symbols that shined in the light of the casino signs. He wore a friendly smile, his eyes showing no signs of hostility.

"You two look tired," He said, "Would you two like to come in?"

Percy looked behind him and saw the inside of the casino. It looked similar to how it did when he had first been there but he could've sworn there were a few new things, like the wrestling ring in the far back or the mini racetrack that went underground. His eyes lingered on the snack bar, watching as the guy behind the counter handed off a platter of fresh steaming meat-filled tacos to someone. He licked his lips, those tacos looked amazing. He could smell the amazing food waiting for him, the smell of a pizza out of the oven or the smell of a fresh carton of fries.

"Yes, we'd love to." Annabeth said, "Can we?"

"Of course!" The greeter said brightly, reaching into his pocket and drawing two platinum-colored cards, "Do enjoy your stay."

Annabeth took the cards, tucking one of the cards in Percy's pocket. She smiled at the greeter before leading Percy into the casino.

"Can we eat first?" He asked as he stared longingly at the snack bar.

"Percy, you're exhausted. I'm sure you'll find something in our suite." Annabeth said before bringing him to the elevator. She pressed the button for their floor and sighed, "We should be careful, we don't want to get trapped here."

"Right." He said, leaning against the wall of the elevator.

The elevator dinged before the doors slowly slid open. The hallway was dimly lit with yellow lights, illuminating the cherry-red color of the carpet. He stumbled out, nearly crashing into a door. He could smell a faint smell of perfume in the air.

Annabeth helped him down the hall, past closed doors that Percy heard television and screaming come from. He guessed that some people were probably tired of the games downstairs and had retired to their rooms.

Eventually, they reached their door. Annabeth pulled out her card and slid it into the card reader. It chirped as the locks unlocked.

"Let's go, Percy." She said, nudging the door open with her foot, "You should get some rest."

Percy walked into the room, passing the lavish living room complete with a 4K TV and leather couch and the kitchen which looked stocked with food. As soon as Annabeth mentioned sleep, his brain switched priority.

He found the door to the bedroom and walked in, finding the huge waterbed in front of him. The curtains of the room were already closed, meaning the city lights of Las Vegas couldn't interrupt his sleep.

"Go on." Annabeth said with a smile, placing her hand on his back.

Percy walked to the bed and climbed on. The water in the bed sloshed around thanks to his weight. He climbed in under the covers and pressed his head against the pillow, passing out immediately.

Ω

Percy's dream took him back to camp but instead of watching the two campers talking about their evil plan, he was watching the entire camp tear itself apart.

The afternoon sun shined on the campgrounds, dousing everything in bright light. The sunlight bounced off the tips of spears and swords. The sound of shields and armor clanking together filled the air, punctuated by angry shouts and yelling. Even the air felt heavy, despite the fact Percy wasn't even there in person.

Percy was in front of cabin five, watching as two groups of campers shouted insults at one another. Judging from the campers, he guessed they were a mix of Ares and Athena campers.

Seeing them fight wasn't anything new, Percy knew that from years of being at camp. The Ares cabin rarely got along with anyone, they were too combative. They especially didn't like the Athena cabin. They got along with the Aphrodite cabin and they barely tolerated Hephaestus's kids since those campers fixed a lot of their weapons when they broke. The rivalry between the Ares and Athena cabin was a bitter one, it was rare to ever see them on the same team in capture the flag. There was a reason that it was basically unheard of for an Athena camper and Ares camper to date, they just didn't like each other.

Sherman Yang was front and center, shouting at Malcolm who was a little bit shorter than him. Percy thought back to when Clarisse was yelling at Michael Yew, it sort of looked like that but this situation had the potential to turn deadly real quick.

"You can't just steal our battle plan like that!" Malcolm yelled, his face red and eyes blazing with fury, "Just because Chiron isn't here doesn't mean you can just start doing shit!"

"For the last fucking time, none of my cabin mates stole your dumbass plan!" Sherman yelled.

"Of course, you'd say that." Malcolm exclaimed, "Because the second it gets out that you and your cabin did some shady shit like that, you'd lose half of your alliances and let's be real, you already don't have that many."

"The fuck did you just say?" Sherman asked with an offended look.

"You don't have friends!" Malcolm yelled, "Just admit you stole our plan and we'll let the whole thing go!"

"We didn't steal it!"

Malcolm stomped his foot, "Then explain how the hell the thing ended up in your cabin?"

"I don't know!" Sherman yelled, "That's what I'm trying to tell you, I don't know how it ended up in our cabin, we didn't steal the damn thing."

Percy was able to put the pieces together rather quickly. What he imagined had happened was that there was a capture the flag game coming up and the Ares campers had somehow ended up in possession of the Athena cabin's plan for the game.

Percy wasn't sure if there was a rule for something like that, he knew sabotaging weapons in the armory was a big no-no but stealing battle plans was more of a gray area. It was underhanded, sure, but technically it wasn't against the rules as far as he knew. Not many cabins had actual written battle plans, some cabins' battle plans consisted of just telling each other the plan.

He could understand why Sherman was mad though, something like that showed unsportsmanlike behavior to some cabins. He personally didn't see the big deal about it but some campers were really strict about winning the honorable way. Cabin five could lose alliances if their allies saw them use shady methods.

"You know what, keep the thing." Malcolm said, "We'll just make a new one, but let me tell you this, we won't go easy on you now."

"You won't do shit!" Sherman shouted at his retreating figure, "You're just a nerd!"

Malcolm flicked him off as he stomped off to cabin six. Sherman huffed as he stared at the retreating son of Athena. He turned and walked back to his cabin, a dangerous look in his eyes.

Percy had a feeling if he and Annabeth didn't get back to camp soon, there wouldn't be a camp to return to.