Chapter 1: Run-in
"South! Go!"
The train car shook as it began its screeching halt, adding another instrument to the storm in Percy's mind. He shoved his head into his trembling hands, the young boy doubling over in his seat. His throat scratched with every breath, aching for water. His whole body shivered, shoved far past the physical limit of a boy his age. Still, that pain was nothing compared to the constant throb in his skull, an unavoidable effect of what he was running from and the fact that he hadn't slept in days.
Both his mind and his body were begging him to rest. But each time Percy almost gave in, a piece of the memory that he wished was a nightmare ripped to the front of his thoughts. It would happen again as the train completed its stop.
Pulling into a dark station, the passenger car lurched softly and nudged Percy from his seat. For a moment, the boy let himself fall forward as consciousness inched its way out from beneath his numbed legs.
"I love you, Perc—"
His mother's weak voice had been muted by the sharp hiss of something slicing through air.
Percy groaned as he caught himself with a shaky step, his arms outstretched if he needed them to break his fall. But he stumbled upright without them, swallowing a dry sob and clutching his temples to dull the memory. An automated voice drowned it out more quickly.
"Midnight riders, welcome to Fairfax, Virginia," the train's speakers intoned, "Expect a delay of 15 minutes before we depart, as there seems to be an unexpected roadblock. We apologize for the inconvenience."
A pleasant ding sounded, and the double doors in front of Percy slid open. At the same time, the boy's heart sputtered in his chest at the mention of an 'unexpected roadblock.' That was the same thing the Jersey bus driver had said before–
Percy dove through the open train doors, his thoughts silenced by the internal alarm that he'd learned to trust like scripture. And it served him right again. As the boy landed on the boarding platform, he was forced to cover his ears against the piercing shriek of shearing metal; the far side of his passenger car had caved in. Percy backpedaled on his hands and feet as the battered carriage hoisted off of its tracks and onto the edge of the station platform.
The concrete gave way, spilling onto the railroad while the train car crumpled further. Through the cloud of dust kicked up by pulverized concrete, Percy made out a pair of glowing red eyes. A shot of adrenaline poured through his body, granting him the strength to shove to his feet and angle towards the escalator behind him. But just before he could take off running, an eerie cackle echoed through the station's dim concourse.
"He's mine, hellhound!"
Percy's head snapped towards the sickly rasp. He'd expected an old lady, and he'd been right in the worst way imaginable. A mixture of horror and disgust painted the boy's face when he met the yellowed eyes of something. It had the face of an old woman, but just about everything else on its shape belonged to a juiced-up bird. Its, her, arms were wide wings with the plumes of a brown chicken. Her legs were a massive eagle's, thick talons where her feet should have been. And her plump hen torso warned that she was no stranger to catching prey.
If Percy's blood wasn't frozen, he might've laughed when she cocked her head like the almost-pheasant she was. But that thought swallowed itself when his original assailant growled, its hot breath dispersing the thinning cloud of dust. Only then did Percy understand how his train car had received the damage it had. The hellhound, as the bird-lady had called it, was terrifying.
It wasn't the first he'd seen, that'd been briefly in New Jersey, but this one made Percy's skin crawl. The creature was a rottweiler the size of a Hummer, and its leathery skin seemed to expand and contract with every groaning breath. Percy could see the muscles in its legs tensing, delivering power to the claws that dug into the flattened metal beneath them. The glowing red eyes of the hellish beast repeatedly flicked between Percy and the bird woman, who gnashed her pointed teeth at it.
The boy realized that they were wordlessly negotiating who got to kill him. He watched the pair through his pulsating vision, his legs screaming for him to run now. But that would be suicide; the hellhound's paralyzing gaze had suddenly zeroed in on Percy. He needed to create some kind of opportunity.
It happened by accident. Percy's exhaustion started to creep through his jolt of adrenaline, and his numbing leg slipped forward. On queue, the hellhound's paw lurched onto the platform. And the moment the hulking dog moved, the bird-woman reprimanded the entire train station with a piercing screech.
Percy winced against the sound while the hellhound shuddered violently, seemingly sensitive to the burning frequency. And in that second of distraction, Percy's legs unleashed their terror and rocketed him towards the exit escalator. His headstart only lasted a few moments, just enough time to reach the slow-moving stairs before both monsters ripped into pursuit.
Clawing his way up the escalator four steps at a time, Percy could barely hear the heaving pants of the hellhound or the crush of its thousand-pound legs against the stairs; the boy's heart was drumming too loudly in his skull. He tore off of the stairwell, sprinting down a short, dark hallway that opened to the front lobby of the station ahead. The marble walls around Percy shook as the hellhound barked from behind him. Its body obliterated a nearby barricade as it wrenched itself past the crippled escalator and into the cramped corridor.
Percy cleared the hallway with a solid lead over his too-large canine hunter. He palmed two short entry gates and kicked his legs over the row of payment turnstiles. It was then, while he was still in midair, that the silently pursuing bird-woman made herself known. She dove as the pair pushed into the small lobby, her razor claws slashing down towards the falling boy. Percy hunched his form on instinct, pulling his arms in as he landed. A nail ripped open a gash in his shoulder, and his vision danced with black spots. But that injury was welcome; he just knew if he hadn't shrunk himself, the talons would have torn a chunk of his arm clean off.
He exploded forward again, a new injection of adrenaline dulling the pain from his gushing wound. The bird-woman screeched, her haggard eyes fixated on Percy as she flapped into the air. And through sheer luck alone, she launched straight into a metal sign jutting from the lobby's central column. The impact wrenched the panel from its fixture, sending it crashing to the floor alongside the shrieking avian. Percy didn't even take a moment to glance back. His eyes were set on the station's exit just feet ahead, the glass double doors built into a wall of only windows. He shoved through them with his good shoulder, running straight into pouring rain.
And, almost immediately, he froze. He'd only just stumbled out of the station, but his legs had delivered him a dozen feet from the door. He was not that fast. Beyond that, his eyes seemed to sharpen significantly, his vision cleared of the throbbing spots threatening to nudge him into blackness. Even his bloodied arm didn't hurt so badly anymore. For a transient breath, the sound of water striking the earth swallowed Percy, its familiar thrash granting him solace after his days of trials.
Rain had been a refreshing element for all the boy's life, even the coldest downpour never bothering him. It'd always been a comforting presence, one he'd ruined a dozen sets of clothes playing in. But he'd never experienced anything like this before. Maybe he was crazy, but he felt almost connected to the rain, a part of it. Whatever it was, he welcomed the feeling.
Thunder roared across the clouds and Percy tilted his head skyward, closing his eyes as he gulped down as much water as his body would allow. He felt himself being cleansed from the inside out, and a rush of relief let him forget his world for a moment.
Then the windowed wall of the station ruptured. Percy's eyes snapped open, jerking him back to reality as a black blur shattered hundreds of square feet of glass simultaneously. The entire entrance wall came crashing down, the windows in fragments and the metal reinforcement sheared. But Percy could see only the gaping maw of the hellhound in midair.
Somehow quick enough, the boy dove to the side before teeth the length of his hand could sink into all of him at once. But he was still too slow to evade the truck-sized monster in its entirety. The hellhound's head flayed towards the boy, and one of its hulking shoulders collided with his chest. While the monster landed roughly, pounding its paws into the wet grass, Percy's return to the earth took a moment longer.
The impact had launched him back nearly a dozen yards. When he struck the ground, he didn't stop. He rolled violently through grass and mud, his world spinning again and again as he choked on his own bile. A thick row of bushes eventually caught Percy on his back, leaving him staring straight into the sky as he fought back tears. His left arm wouldn't move. His unnaturally bent shoulder pulsed with his heartbeat, each echoing thump threatening to force his vision dark. The boy could barely see, and standing back up wasn't even a question.
Still, rain lashed down with the hurtling storm, and it seemed to give him the strength to stay awake. But was there even a point? Percy's body had reached its true limit. Three days of running and hiding and hopping from truck to bus to train, all to lie broken and motionless in some underbrush. The boy's escaping tears were indistinguishable from the downpour.
While Percy's canine executioner lumbered towards him, and the returned bird-woman sulked closely behind, the boy's fuzzied thoughts drifted to his mother.
He couldn't save her. And he couldn't avenge her. Then, he couldn't even listen to her right. Go south? He went south, and what did he find? Freakish monsters that seemed to trail him like he was a beacon. It only took a couple of days before they finally got him. What are they? What is he? Why are they all chasing him? He had a thousand more questions that needed answers, and he knew he wouldn't live long enough to hear a single one.
Percy's indignance manifested in the form of gritted teeth as the hellhound leered down at him. Its hot, curdling breath made the boy feel like he was beneath the undercarriage of a truck. A musty, panting, drooling truck. Through nearly unbearable pain, Percy forced himself onto his good elbow as he glared up at the hellish beast. Tears trailed down his cheeks, his entire body shaking from pain and fear, but he was too angry to back down as the hellhound reared back with open jaws.
A thunderous shout ripped through the rain. No. Deafening thunder had accompanied a shout, and it stunned both Percy and the monsters before him. It was a girl's voice, and, holding her howl, she vaulted into the air from behind the line of thick bushes. As she came into view, everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Piercing blue eyes that he could see even through the rain. Short black hair sticking to her face in the storm. Only a can of mace in her hand. A can of mace? Terror gripped Percy for a moment, but he blinked and realized he was delirious. The girl suddenly held a huge silver spear in one hand, and her other arm had been completely enveloped by a circular shield. On it was the most terrifying image Percy had ever seen. He couldn't fully process the snake-haired woman with her unhinged maw before the girl wielding it landed in a forward roll.
As if that shock wasn't enough, she then raised her spear with another shout, and a tendril of lightning lashed from the sky. As it struck the tip of her weapon, she thrust the spear forward, and the beam of pure white obeyed. The channel of lightning ripped straight into the hellhound's skull, and with a whimper drowned out by thunder, the monster exploded into golden dust.
Percy's elbow had given out during the blinding eruption, leaving him with his head flat against wet earth. Out of the corners of his eyes, he just barely registered a boy with a sword and another girl with a knife making quick work of the stunned bird woman. Caught between both blades, she puddled into gold flakes. Percy's dimming eyes found the dark grey sky, and he whispered almost inaudibly.
"Did– did she just bring down lightning?"
Without waiting for an answer, he passed out.
(Line Break)
Percy's eyes opened to a ceiling of foliage just a few feet above him. Branches still carrying their leaves were tightly woven together, lining the flat roof of the camouflaged shelter. Lifting his head from what he realized was a heavy rice bag, Percy found a girl sitting across from him.
That girl. The one who'd seemingly pulled lightning from the sky and killed the hellhound. A wet cloth covered her face, but Percy was sure it was her from her clothes: black jacket, black pants, grey shirt. Exactly what the girl with that horrible shield had been wearing.
She was sitting with her back against the thick trunk of a tree that made up a wall of the hut. She had one knee up with an arm resting on it while her other hand lay on her outstretched leg. Her stillness aside from the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest told Percy that she was asleep. That was good news because it gave him time to figure out where he was.
Percy thoughtlessly pushed onto his elbows before recalling how horribly his shoulder had been injured. He immediately shut his eyes tight, bracing, but his preemptive wince had no painful follow-through. Slowly opening his eyes again, Percy tentatively pulled up the left sleeve of his dirty t-shirt to find nothing.
Or, it wasn't nothing. His shoulder was a discolored canvas of purple, blue, and a shade of green belonging to the Crayon that no one ever used. But it felt fully intact and no more sore than the rest of his body, which shouldn't have been possible given the circumstances. Percy didn't dwell on the bewildering blessing, instead pulling his sleeve back down and quietly wiping mud from his cargos as he surveyed his surroundings.
Most of the little shelter was lined with closed crates and boxes. A few sleeping bags lay jammed into the corner to the left of the girl, none of them occupied. In the center of the area, a little fire pit had been dug into the ground, and it crackled with thin embers. The flame's warmth soothed Percy, inviting him back to sleep, but the boy pinched himself alert; he was alone in a strange den with a girl that may or may not control lightning.
Sobered by the thought, Percy's eyes trailed his immediate vicinity in search of some kind of weapon to protect himself with. He found nothing out in the open and settled on quietly cracking open the nearest box, which still had its Costco price tag attached. The lid gave way with a quiet click and, in the dim light of the fire, revealed a large coil of rope. Percy internally groaned, shifting the box away from him before he heard a muffled thud from inside.
Reaching into the rope coil, Percy's fingers wrapped around a handle that definitely belonged to a hammer. While unveiling the silver tool from the container, his whole body suddenly chilled; the tip of a bronze sword had appeared an inch from his throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
His heart racing in his chest, Percy slowly shifted his eyes and then his head towards the voice. The blade moved with him, more than two feet of bronze metal with an older boy hunched on the opposite end. He'd silently slipped into the den through tent flaps that Percy hadn't even realized he'd been sleeping so close to.
The boy with the sword had sandy hair and teasing eyes, seemingly amused at even holding a blade to someone. Behind him, another girl ducked into the shelter and froze at the scene. She had blonder hair than the boy, but Percy couldn't make out her face because his eyes hadn't left the swordsman. Still only half-sitting, Percy slowly set the hammer on the lid of the box, but he didn't let go. He wasn't sure how yet, but he had to use it to swat the blade away.
The other boy's eyes darted to the tool, and he smirked. Without shifting his attention from Percy, he gestured for the girl behind him.
"Hey, Annabeth," he chuckled, pointing with his sword, "Remember that hammer?"
The girl, Annabeth, unfroze. She stepped forward, giggling as she nodded.
"I forgot that was in there," she said and smiled up at the older boy.
The sword suddenly withdrew from Percy's neck and returned to its owner's waist. Shifting upright, Percy didn't even have time to be confused before the older boy groaned and lowered himself beside him. Annabeth followed suit, positioning herself evenly between the strange casual boy and the girl leaned against the tree.
Now that a blade wasn't in his face, Percy loosened his grip on the hammer, and his eyes drifted to Annabeth, who was already staring at him.
She was probably right around his age – ten – but her eyes made her look older. They were a stormy grey, and they scrutinized Percy as if analyzing how to most efficiently take him down. But when they accomplished their objective, her glare fell and gave away her exhaustion. The young girl's straight back and squared shoulders couldn't hide the fatigue she carried in her heavy eyes. Without a word exchanged yet, Percy felt a sense of familiarity there, a welcome warmth after the days he'd had. His hand slowly moved from the hammer to his lap.
"Sorry about that," the older boy said, grinning, and his carefree voice pulled Percy from his thoughts.
"Uh–what?"
"The sword thing. Saw it in a movie, and I thought it would be a dope entrance."
"Oh," Percy answered, thoroughly bewildered by the boy next to him, "It was pretty cool."
"Thanks. Anyways, what's your name?"
The older boy cracked open a metallic lunchbox and fished out half of a Graham Cracker. He broke it in half again and handed a piece to Annabeth.
"Percy Jackson. You?"
"Luke Castellan," he replied as he handed Percy the other half of the cracker.
Percy thanked him and inspected the bite-sized snack between his fingers. He was extremely hungry, but something felt off about the otherwise innocent-looking cracker.
"It's called ambrosia," Annabeth said, gesturing with her own piece, "Also, I'm Annabeth Chase."
"What's ambrosia?"
"God food."
Percy waited for a laugh or snicker that never came. Annabeth stared at him straight-faced before nibbling on her cracker. She closed her eyes, and her mouth shifted to a satisfied smile. Luke was fidgeting with a pair of bolt-cutters when he noticed Percy's confusion. His mirthful eyes flicked between Percy's face and his piece of the alleged 'god food.'
"Try it," he prodded, not hiding the excitement in his voice, "She's not joking."
Percy's curiosity was about to win out when a new voice groaned.
"Everyone stop talking so loud!"
The girl against the tree peeled the cloth from her face, and Percy's ambrosia nearly slipped between his fingers. The same startling blue eyes that he'd seen in the storm were honed onto him. They narrowed in irritation, drawing his attention to the spray of freckles across the girl's nose and cheeks that lined between her black stud earrings.
"What are you looking at?" she drawled before suddenly wincing, her fingers moving to her temples.
Percy's face was frozen with his mouth held just slightly open. It was only when Luke snickered that Percy realized he was staring, and he flushed red as he looked away.
"N-nothing," he answered, visibly flustered.
Luke sighed contentedly, laughing with his eyes as he stood up hunched in the low hideout.
"Rise and shine," he teased, shaking the girl's leg while lumbering past her towards some backpacks, "we've got to head out soon."
Percy raised an eyebrow at Luke's choice of words, considering the moonlit night visible through the gaps in the leafy ceiling. Shrugging it off, his eyes returned to the girl. Her brows were furrowed as she massaged the side of her head. After a moment, Percy found his voice.
"Are you okay?" He paused. "And what's your name?"
"I'm good," she answered, not looking up at him, "and it's Thalia."
"Thalia what?"
Both Luke and Annabeth eyed Percy forebodingly, the older boy shaking his head once.
"Just Thalia," she answered, a hardness in her voice that Percy wisely chose not to pry at.
Luke shouldered a backpack and tossed Annabeth a satchel before returning to his seat.
"Anyways," Luke began, "what's your story, Percy?"
Percy swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. His fingers twitched – they always did when he got nervous – and began fidgeting with his cracker. He eyed the trio around him, apprehensive about revealing anything to the kids that were complete strangers at best and, at worst, disguised monsters like him. Percy tensed, feeling his heartbeat getting faster, before a firm hand found his good shoulder.
"It's alright, Percy."
Luke was looking at him somberly. The mischievous glint was absent from his eyes.
"We've all got one. Some kind of tragedy that drove us away from home. I was eleven when I left–"
"Eleven?" Percy interrupted, his eyes wide as he considered the present age gap between them.
Luke's grimace shifted to a small smile.
"Eleven. I'm fourteen now. Thalia and Annabeth– or actually, they'll tell you whenever they decide to. Anyway, you're not alone in having one if that's something you're worried about. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but you can."
Percy sat quietly for a moment. His unease faded as Luke lightly squeezed his shoulder and Annabeth smiled at him. Thalia still had a hand rubbing the side of her head. She regarded Percy curiously and nodded once in agreement. Sighing, Percy mustered up the will to tell them.
"I don't really get it," he began, his voice already shaking, "but some kind of monster killed my mom."
The immediate shock silently being shared between the trio made Percy realize that he definitely had the "worst" story. But his mother was dead, so that shouldn't have been much of a surprise. More than anything else, their reactions felt strangely comforting; disguised monsters like the one he'd been living with wouldn't have responded that way. He told them about that, too.
"My step-dad, Gabe, did it. He was a gross, smelly guy that my mom married after my dad left. Before I was born." Percy sniffed sharply. "He was always weird and bad to both of us, but it got worse a week ago. My mom had started acting weird a little before that, too. A few days ago, she made me pack a bag of stuff like food and blankets like we were going on a trip. When Gabe got home that day–"
Percy wiped his eyes, trying to clear his blurring vision. Luke rubbed his back and passed on a tissue that Annabeth had pulled from somewhere. Thalia was sitting against the tree, her hands in her lap as she waited quietly for Percy to continue.
"Thanks," Percy said after blowing his nose.
He took a deep breath.
"Gabe started shouting about how my mom knows. How she was doing it. I don't know what he was talking about. But then, he– he changed. His belly became kind of like a lion's. And–and he had scales and big claws. And I think a tail. I didn't see anything else because my mom pushed me into my room and locked the door behind me.
Gabe roared after that, and one of his claws ripped through the door. My mom threw a vase from behind him and broke the window next to the fire escape."
Percy couldn't stop the tears welling in his eyes. His voice continually hitched.
"That's when Gabe grabbed her and sh–shoved her into the wall. She–she shouted for me to go south a–and that she–" Percy paused, biting his lip and drawing blood, "He killed her and I ran. Other monsters started chasing me. I lost the backpack a day later to a hellhound. But I kept running until you guys saved me."
Percy had sped through the end of his story. He'd wanted to get it over with as quickly as he could, but it didn't make the ache of remembering it any better. Beside him, Luke was scratching the corner of his eye.
"I'm sorry, Percy," Annabeth said quietly.
He nodded without a word, noticing the thin line of tears down her cheeks. It was unnerving that they'd questioned nothing about the story. Not even the transforming monster. Percy wondered about their own experiences, about the kinds of things they'd seen that let them know he was telling the truth.
Luke answered the silent thought that must have been written across his face.
"What do you know about Greek Mythology?"
Percy's heart sunk in his chest; that was the last thing he wanted to hear. It invited the silent, impossible idea that'd been gnawing at him for days.
"I know a lot of the stories. My mom used to tell me them all the time," he paused, swallowing, "She even named me after one of the characters. Perseus."
Luke cleared his throat, and he was about to say something when Annabeth spoke first.
"Eat the ambrosia, Percy."
On queue, his stomach growled. Percy shared a wry smile with Annabeth before he bit into the cracker. His eyes shot wide as a cascade of warmth swallowed him like a riptide. A tingling sensation spidered across his bruised shoulder and down his arm. But what gripped Percy was the taste in his mouth. The "god food" was flavored exactly like the blue chocolate chip cookies that his mom would make for him. Or, a comparison wasn't even enough; it was her cookies.
"What does it taste like?" Thalia asked, leaning forward.
Percy cocked his head.
"You've never tried it?" he asked, reaching to hand her the small piece he had left.
A small smile played at Thalia's lips as she shook her head.
"Sorry, I meant 'what does it taste like to you?'"
That question made no sense to Percy, and he looked to Luke for an explanation. The older boy smirked.
"Like I said earlier, Annabeth wasn't lying about ambrosia being god food. She told you to eat it because it's a healing source that always tastes like what you want to eat most. It can fix physical injuries and clear your head after emotionally difficult moments, like you telling us what happened to you."
Percy waited for him to continue.
"She wanted you to feel a little better before I said what I'm about to say." Luke's eyes hardened slightly. "All of the 'myths' are real. The heroes, the monsters, the gods. And one of them is your dad– one of the gods, I mean–"
Percy felt a quiet ringing in his ears. Luke said something else, too, but the words found no audience with Percy. He stood abruptly, wincing when his head struck the twig ceiling, Slightly hunching down, Percy gingerly stepped over Luke and past Annabeth.
"You alright?" Luke asked, waving off Thalia, who was glaring at him.
"I'm gonna take a walk, I think," Percy said quietly, pushing through the tent flaps.
"That was so blunt, Luke," he heard Thalia say from behind him, "Should've went a little slower."
The conversation faded as Percy stepped into the thin woodland that their hidden shelter was tucked away in. He listened to the rhythmic chirping of crickets that came from all directions, a backdrop chorus to the discomfort gripping him.
The Greek Myths were real. Percy should scoff and chalk that idea up to Luke being crazy, because the idea was crazy. But how could he? What he'd seen in the past week alone was enough evidence to not dismiss the idea entirely. And now, Percy was remembering all the odd incidents where his mother had rushed him along after he'd asked why a man on the street had one middle eye or if she also saw the black horse with wings. He must not have dreamt any of it.
A quiet crunch wrenched Percy from his thoughts. He spun towards the sound to find Thalia a few yards away carrying a string bag. She was taller than he'd expected. Probably an inch or two taller than him. Percy waited until she'd caught up before he resumed his walk.
"Why'd you follow me?"
Thalia kicked a pinecone.
"Walking alone in the daytime is dangerous enough for us. Night's way worse because of monsters and stuff," she said casually, side-eyeing Percy for a moment, "and I'm bored of doing it anyways. So from now on, you go, I go."
Percy felt a tinge creeping up his neck.
You go, I go.
"Sure," he answered, unaware that he'd smiled.
The duo walked a while further before doubling back through the treeline. Percy jumped and swiped his hand through some low-hanging branches, yelping as they snapped back into place and spilled their bounty onto the pair.
Thalia snorted as she plucked out the few leaves and seeds that'd found themselves caught in her short hair.
"Good," she snickered.
"What's good?" Percy asked, shaking off the many more tree parts that'd latched onto him.
"You're feeling a little better. You were really sad in our camp, of course, and kinda motionless, but I can just tell you're usually more uh… boisterous."
Thalia snapped her fingers with the last word like it was her first time using it. That was one more time than Percy had ever said or heard it.
"What's 'boisterous' mean?"
"It's like energetic and maybe kind of rowdy? Annabeth told me the word a couple days ago. She loves to read, but I have no idea how she puts up with the words and letters flipping all over the page."
Percy's ears perked up; that was something he could seriously relate to.
"Oh, I'm dyslexic, too! And ADHD. Or ADD or whatever."
Thalia grinned at him.
"We all are. Having both of those is basically a requirement of being a demigod."
Demigod. That was supposed to be the classification for all of those famous heroes Percy had heard about from his mother. It was bizarre to think that it also applied to four runaway kids camped out in a little forest. But then Percy remembered what he'd supposedly seen Thalia do. He stopped in his tracks, and she did the same.
"What?" Thalia asked.
"I never said thanks for saving me from the hellhound."
"Oh yeah, no problem. Was that it?"
"No. I was really hurt and really, really tired, and I saw you do something impossible," Percy paused. "But I don't know what's actually impossible anymore. Can you call down lightning?"
Thalia laughed before she slipped her string bag off of one shoulder and began shuffling through it. Percy sighed in relief, figuring she was searching for whatever would make the insanity he'd seen make sense. To his shock, Thalia's only excavation was a square of ambrosia.
"I can," she said, handing half of it to a dumbfounded Percy, "but it's super draining. It gives me a killer headache for at least a day, and ambrosia is the only thing that helps besides a wet cloth while I'm sleeping. Depending on who your dad is, you might have some kind of cool thing like that, too."
It took Percy a few moments to raise his jaw again, and he could all but see the amusement dancing in Thalia's piercing blue eyes. He shook his head quickly, and the pair continued on the short walk left back to camp. Percy waited until she'd finished her piece of the god food before he asked his next question.
"So your dad is Zeus? The King of Olympus?"
Thalia shrugged.
"Guess so."
"Does that mean you're a princess?"
Percy couldn't see her cheeks turning pink as she raised her chin and dramatically looked down her nose at him.
"Yes, it does," she answered, "Also, eat the ambrosia. That one half-square from earlier isn't enough to fix how badly your arm got messed up."
Percy realized he hadn't thought of his injury for the entire walk. He pulled back his sleeve, intending to survey the remaining bruising only to find his shoulder good as new. Wide-eyed, he showed Thalia, whose brows furrowed.
"Weird," she said, "Guess you heal fast."
The duo reached the hideout and ducked through the tent flaps together. They found Luke burrowing through a cardboard box and Annabeth sharpening her bronze knife on a stone, the latter a scene scarier than Percy would like to admit. As Annabeth smiled and greeted them both, Luke exclaimed. He tugged at something inside the box, shaking the rest of the contents, and pulled free a crumpled tote bag.
"Perfect timing," Luke said as he stood, "Take this, Perce."
Percy straightened out the bag while Thalia hid her snicker behind a cough. The tote was beige with the words "Live, Laugh, Love" written across it in bold, colorful letters.
"Why?" was all Percy could ask, and Annabeth laughed out loud.
"Cus we're about to go shopping," Luke answered, grinning, "We don't have any other bags, but you can replace that when we're there."
Thalia took the tote from Percy's hand and quickly slipped it up onto his shoulder.
"Cute," she mocked, "We're ready."
Percy rolled his eyes and straightened the straps on his shoulder.
"Fine," he groaned, "Where are we going?"
Luke twirled a few metal rods between his fingers, the mischievous glee returned to his eyes.
"Anywhere that's closed."
(Line Break)
It didn't take long to find a Wal-Mart with no cars in the parking lot. The front doors were bolted and padded, but Luke and his picks flew through them in a matter of seconds. He was like a human skeleton key.
On the short run to the store, Percy had learned that "shopping" was routine for the trio. Their only real rules were to never steal from small, local stores and to never go to the same place more than twice. This was their second visit to this particular Wal-Mart.
The four of them were just past the front lobby of the store when Percy heard Luke jog away. Thalia and Annabeth didn't move, and Percy squinted as he tried and failed to trace the older boy's shape in the dark. Suddenly, the lights shot on and Percy was forced to throw an arm over his face.
Luke emerged from the little front office of the building while aisle after aisle grew bright until the entire empty warehouse was lit. Lowering his hand, Percy looked out at the towers of chips and sweet snacks and rows of basketballs and footballs with no employees guarding them. He looked at Luke.
"Now what?"
The older boy smirked.
"Get what you need. Maybe also something that you want."
He and Annabeth made their way to the frozen food aisle. Percy and Thalia went the opposite direction to the seemingly endless clothes displays. While Percy browsed backpacks and rucksacks at the edge of the section, Thalia rummaged through the carousels of shirts, immediately disregarding anything that wasn't black or dark grey.
"Percy," she called, pulling a t-shirt from the rack, "how's this?"
Holding a blue rucksack, Percy looked back at her. She was holding a black graphic tee with a band on it that he'd never heard of before. Still, it looked pretty cool.
"That's nice," he said, "but that's a boy's shirt."
Thalia rolled her eyes.
"So what? And anyways, I meant for you."
"Oh. Thanks."
She pulled it off the hanger and threw it to him.
"Put it in the bag with the other stuff."
A few minutes later, Percy shouldered his new blue bag that was filled with all of the clothes Thalia had found. The duo made their way towards the back of the store, perusing everything from board games to home furniture to yard work equipment just because they could. Percy looked over at Thalia as they entered the electronics section.
"You wanna take a TV?"
"And do what with it?" Thalia scoffed.
"No idea. We could figure that out later."
She laughed, shaking her head.
"Nah. Grover would get so nervous when he found out."
Percy paused.
"Who's Grover?"
"He's the guy we're waiting for," Thalia explained as she flicked a locked glass display, "He's the one who can take us to a safe place for kids like us."
"Why hasn't he yet?"
"We were sort of on the way, but some kind of emergency made him leave us here a few weeks ago. He'll be back soon enough."
Percy returned to looking through the few cheap headphones that weren't held behind the glass. He wondered about Grover and all of the other kids like him. How many more were there? More like ten or more like an army? And this Grover guy, was he an adult or at the very least some older teenager?
Luke called for the pair as he appeared at the front end of the aisle. They jogged over to him while he was stuffing tools and a football into his army bag.
"Where's Annabeth?" Thalia asked, looking behind him.
"Getting a couple books," Luke answered, but he sounded a bit disgruntled.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he groaned, "It's just… I thought there'd at least be a couple monsters here."
Thalia didn't answer, instead stiffly walking past him. Before Percy could ask why, a high shout ripped from the book aisle. All three demigods tore into full sprints towards the nearby section, Luke's sword drawn and Thalia's spear in hand. They wheeled the corner, not slowing down when they found Annabeth on the ground between two skinny bird women.
"Goddamn harpies," Luke growled.
Annabeth was clutching her gushing forearm while the two monsters leered down at her. Her knife had been knocked several feet away. The girl's eyes were narrowed harshly, but they brightened when she looked past the harpies and saw the charging trio. Both birds spun around wielding their piercing screeches, and the three demigods stumbled.
Percy seemed affected the least, and he kept running. The gaunt harpies glanced at each other before gnashing their yellowed teeth and swiping their claws as Percy reached them. The demigod hit the deck, sliding past them on newly polished floors and dragging Annabeth away with him.
The birds whirled around, already stepping, but Percy smiled and pointed.
"Behind you."
He didn't watch Luke and Thalia skewer the harpies on their weapons. His attention was on Annabeth as she hissed through her teeth and blinked back tears. The gash on her arm was more than six inches long, and Percy couldn't tell just how deep because it was all red. His heart was beating in his ears. From behind him, he heard someone get shoved.
"You idiot!" Thalia snapped at Luke, "Ever since we saw him at your mom's house, you've gotten so reckless. This is what happens when we go looking for fights."
Luke tightened his jaw. He was about to say something, but Percy didn't care to let them have whatever argument they were having.
"GUYS!" He interrupted, "What do I do?"
Both demigods snapped out of their issues and slid over to him.
"Clean the wound," Luke said, throwing off his backpack, "Use this while Thalia and I get out the supplies."
He handed Percy a metal bottle filled with water. Percy popped the cap off and held the bottle over Annabeth's arm.
"Try to distribute it evenly," Annabeth breathed, tightly grabbing Percy's shoulder with one hand and sitting herself upright.
Kneeling, Percy watched in awe as she held a brave face, nodding for him to pour. He did, apologizing when she immediately winced. But he kept pouring, washing the blood from the wound as he quietly wished for it to stop bleeding. Behind him, the panicked rummaging slowed and then silenced. Annabeth's hand on his shoulder began to relax.
Meanwhile, Percy kept steadily pouring. His hands began to shake, his heart still pounding while his forehead broke out in a bad sweat. It got in his eyes, and he could just barely see the blood finally clearing from Annabeth's arm. Her other hand had already left his shoulder by then, moving to cover her mouth.
When the water ran out, Percy suddenly felt lightheaded and nearly keeled over. Luke and Thalia steadied him from behind while he looked up to find Annabeth wide-eyed, staring at something above his head.
"Percy," she whispered, looking back to him and then down at her completely unscathed arm.
"Holy shit," Thalia added.
With a finger, Luke tipped Percy's chin upwards toward the green, holographic trident floating a few inches above him.
"Your dad's Poseidon."
A/N: Well, that's the start and a much longer chapter than intended haha. I originally planned to post this early 2024, but with the start of the PJO show and Christmas right here, I couldn't resist. I wish I could promise a schedule already, but I have no idea how this coming year is gonna be between college and my jobs. Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed, and please review :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to Percy Jackson stuff.