Chapter Nineteen - Lost and Found

We continued running for about fifteen minutes before finally stopping in a small clearing. Thankfully, the canopy overhead extended enough that I could stay mostly out of the rain.

"We just escaped from a burning bus," Grover panted.

"After being attacked by a trio of Granny Bikers from Hell," I added. "Is the whole quest going to be like this?"

"I hope so!" Annabeth beamed.

"You're crazier than Zeus," I grumbled as lightning split the sky above the trees.

"M-maybe don't use the 'C' word when talking about the Lord of the Skies," Grover bleated.

"Especially when you're already on his bad side," Andromeda added, ducking and glancing warily at the sky. "I still can't believe you guys left your bags behind."

She had apparently kept her bag on her lap and had slung it on when she, Annabeth and Grover had stood to face off against Mrs. Dodds and her friends.

"I didn't have time to grab my bag from under the seat while sneaking past the Granny Biker gang," I said.

"Our bags were in the overhead," Annabeth said.

"Why would you put them there?" Andromeda asked.

"A well meaning mortal decided to help out the crippled kid," Grover said, gesturing to the crutches he used while passing as human in the mortal world. "It happens more often than you'd think."

"Either way, we probably shouldn't be standing around," Annabeth said. "We should keep moving."

"Outside of a couple of specific instances, I've never actually been out of the city," I said. "Do any of you even know where we are right now?"

"Lost in the woods somewhere in New Jersey?" Grover said, uncertainly. "I'm sure we'll figure it out."

"Why don't you use some of your nature magic to help us find a way forward?" I asked, ignoring Andromeda and Annabeth shaking their heads warningly. "That's something you can do, right?"

"Yeah," Grover nodded as he pulled his reed pipes out of his pocket. He quickly dusted them off before putting them up to his lips and blew. The sound that came out was...

"What the heck was that?" Andromeda asked, when Grover finished.

"Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani," Grover said. "Was it no good?"

"It was..." I trailed off.

"Unique," Annabeth said.

"Raaadiiiish!"

"Squeak!"

"Chirp!"

We looked around in time to see a giant peach with arms, legs and a face come running passed us through our clearing being chased by what looked like a small white hamster with robot parts and a blue lovebird with red feathers on its head. None of them broke stride as before vanishing just as quickly into the undergrowth.

"That was freaky," Andromeda said after a moment.

"Yeah," Grover said, and Annabeth and I nodded in agreement. "A-anyway, we should go this way."

He pointed deeper into the woods, thankfully in a different direction than the Peach and Hamster had gone. More trees meant more cover from the rain, so I wasn't about to argue. Following Grover's Find the Path spell, we stumbled through the woods for another couple of miles or so before I started to smell food. Fried, greasy food. It wasn't only my own stomach that growled. Stumbling and tripping over the undergrowth, we walked faster in an attempt to locate the captivating scent until finally we could see the glow of a neon sign through the trees.

We stepped out of the woods onto a deserted two-lane road. Thankfully, the rain had let up - through there were still puddles in the deep potholes that I would be sure to avoid. Across the road was a tattered billboard featuring a dark-haired woman in heels lying on a bed, smoking a cigarette overlooking a closed-down gas station, and one open business which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.

It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was almost impossible for me to read.

"What the heck does that say?" I asked.

"I don't know," Annabeth said.

Andromeda attempted to read the sign; "At-nyu me's... Jidarren..."

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," Grover translated.

Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken. I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.

"Hey ..." Grover warned.

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Andromeda said wistfully.

"Snack bar," I agreed.

"Are you three crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

We ignored him. The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated."Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand! We really shouldn't be here."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I'd wanted a satyr along specifically because they were good at detecting threats.

"It's fine," Annabeth said. "You're probably still jumpy because of the furies. Besides, aren't you hungry?"

"I know I could go for a burger," Andromeda said.

"Meat," Grover grumbled. "I'm a vegetarian."

"I'm sure you can order a salad," I said. "If nothing else, just get all the toppings and have them leave off the patty."

Just as I'd reached out for the door, it suddenly creaked open and standing in front of us was a tall woman wearing a long black gown that covered everything but her hands - even her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her terracotta brown hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she must have been very beautiful in her prime.

"Children, it is too late to be out all alone," She said, her accent was strangely melodic. "Where are your parents?"

"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.

"We don't know," I said. "We... There was an accident coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel and we were thrown from the vehicle."

"Oh, my dears!" She gasped. "Surely not!"

"We wandered lost for hours until we stumbled across your business," Andromeda said, sniffling slightly. "We smelled food."

"Oh, you poor dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."

We thanked her and went inside.

Annabeth muttered to me, "Seriously?"

"The best lies always have a grain of truth, right?"

"You're brain must be hard boiled."

The warehouse was filled with more statues - people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. But mostly, I was thinking about food.

Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange shop just because I was hungry, but in my defense I was really hungry. Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like ambrosia- it made everything else go away. I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way Andromeda seemed to shrink away from the the statues' gazes, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.

All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the

warehouse. A fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.

"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said moving behind the counter to work the grill.

"Awesome," I said.

"Do you hear hissing?" Grover asked, looking around nervously.

I frowned, straining my ears. "Gas leak maybe?"

"No, no," Aunty Em said. "It's probably just the fry oil you hear."

"Oh," I said. "Yeah, that makes sense."

I might have worked in a restaurant kitchen but we didn't deep fry our food, so I never really had much experience around commercial fryers. Now that she mentioned it, I didn't smell gas - which given my primary powers set, was only a good thing.

Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries. I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe. Annabeth slurped her shake. Andromeda picked at the fries, while Grover eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.

Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her head-dress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers as she watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the delicious meal, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.

"So, do you make all these statues yourself?" Andromeda spoke up before I could, still glancing around warily.

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and now I am all alone with only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company."

"Two sisters?" Annabeth asked.

"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said, her voice tense as she spoke. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, the story begins long ago, when I was young. I was once the most beautiful girl in my village, and naturally I caught the eye of many men. It was... A different time and a world away. As the youngest, my two sisters indulged me in many ways. One day, while tending to my duties, a wealthy traveler came to call. His wine dark eyes captivated me as no other did, and I fell in love.

"For a time, all was well. He traveled often, but always returned - bringing with him treasures and tales of the world beyond my small village. Over time we fell in love and made love. I shall spare your young ears the sordid details. In any case, our love was not meant to last. Not long after we were together, a horrible woman appeared in the village. In a jealous rage, she fell upon me like a mad beast, cursing my name and scarring my face so that none could look upon me without fear or revulsion."

She paused, and nobody moved. We were all captivated by her tale.

"My admirers, once plentiful, now turned away in disgust at mere mention of my name. Cursed and scarred, I was driven from my home. My sisters - my lovely, wonderful sisters - shared in my exile. They stayed by my side and helped me to carry the burden that weighed so heavily in my heart. But time has a habit of taking it's toll, and eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

"I never told you my name," Annabeth said, slowly.

"One of your friends must have said it," Aunty Em said.

"No," Annabeth shook her head, standing up.

"We should really get going," Andromeda said, rising as well. "It... It's late."

"Y-yeah," Grover quickly agreed. The sound of hissing seemed to grow louder. It no longer sounded like fry oil sizzling. It sound like...

"Snakes," I said.

"Oh, dear. And I was enjoying our little conversation so very much," Aunty Em said, reaching up to remove her veil.

"Look away!" Andromeda warned.

"It's Medusa!" Grover shouted.

I know, it was a dumb idea but curiosity overcame my common sense and my body moved before my brain could engage. I looked up, directly meeting Medusa's gaze.