Known Fugitive
Lykos had never plummeted from a high place before in his life and as he experienced it for the first time, he didn't enjoy it.
The ground raced towards him and Percy at the speed of a truck accelerating at top speed, the wind ripping the breath from their lungs. Steeples, skyscrapers and bridges tumbled in and out of their visions.
Lykos turned his head and saw something incredible: two incredibly large tendrils of water from the river rose and grabbed him and Percy, pulling them right into the river itself.
Lykos was separated from Percy as he strained his eyes through the muck of the river, trying to find him.
Deciding that Percy would be safe, since he's in water, Lykos swam up to the surface as he recapped Sting and let out a huge gasp as he broke the surface of the water. He looked and saw that he was next to a floating McDonald's and he swam ashore quickly.
Upon reaching the shore, he stored the snake tail into his backpack, prayed his thanks to Poseidon and stayed there, waiting for Percy, shivering as he was completely drenched, though his clothes and hair were slowly drying in the heat the sun emitted.
As he waited, he saw that a block away, every emergency vehicle in St. Louis surrounded the Arch. There were police helicopters circling overhead for example. And there was a crowd of onlookers that reminded Lykos of Times Square on New Year's Eve.
After several minutes of waiting, worried a police officer would show up, Lykos saw Percy coming ashore, yet he looked completely dry, like he never made contact with water whatsoever.
"What took you so long?" He asked the son of Poseidon, also realising that he seemed perfectly fine, like he was indeed healed from the poison.
"I'll tell you later, let's go find Annabeth and Grover." Percy replied.
The two then left as a little girl said "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."
"That's nice, dear." Her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances.
"But he's dry!"
"That's nice, dear."
A news lady talked for the camera. "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of a couple of people falling from the Arch yet suddenly disappearing."
The two demigods looked at each other, glad to hear that there were survivors, meaning the park ranger and the family were okay. They just need to find Annabeth and Grover.
They tried pushing through the crowd and see what was going on inside the police line.
"...an adolescent boy." Another reporter said. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy and his teenage accomplice going wild on the observation deck. Somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities…."
With that, the two backed away and kept their heads down so that no one could see their faces.
They had to go the long way around the police perimeter, yet officers and news reporters were everywhere, no matter where they went.
They were losing hope of finding Annabeth and Grover when they heard a familiar voice bleat "Perrr-cy! Lykos!"
They turned and Percy was tackled by Grover's bear hug, with Lykos going through the same with Annabeth. "We thought you two were going to Hades the hard way!"
Annabeth looked like she was angry yet relieved at the same time. "Lykos, what happened?"
"That woman and her Chihuahua were Echidna and a Chimera. They attacked us and made that hole in the Arch." He replied, making Annabeth and Grover go wide eyed.
Lykos would've continued explaining, but behind them, a cop shouted "Gangway!". The crowd parted and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. It was the mother of the little boy that had been in the observation deck.
She was saying "And then this huge dog, this huge fire breathing Chihuahua -"
"Okay, ma'am." The paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."
"I'm not crazy! These two boys jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." She then spotted Percy and Lykos. "There they are! That's them!"
The two turned quickly and pulled Annabeth and Grover after them, disappearing in the crowd.
Percy took over in explaining what happened, from him being poisoned, to jumping out and Poseidon grabbing them and how some underwater lady told Percy to go to Santa Monica and to not trust the gifts, whatever that meant.
"Whoa." Grover said. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."
Before Annabeth could say something, the four of them passed another reporter doing a news break and he said "Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan/ Channel Twelve has learned that the young boy who may have caused this explosion with his teenage companion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be travelling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."
They ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley.
"Let's first focus on getting out of St. Louis and get to Denver." Lykos said.
They were able to make it back to the Amtrak station without being spotted and got onboard the train right before it pulled out for Denver.
The train made its way westward as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind them.
Short chapter, I know, but it happens to be this short in the book.
And Percy and Lykos being grabbed by water is out of the Disney+ show, considering that the Arch isn't really directly over the river, like what the book suggests.