The journey, not the arrival matters.
Vivienne had so many questions swirling in her mind at that moment, but the biggest one was how the cyclops had even managed to get on the train? Did they pay for a fare like everyone else? She couldn't quite imagine them standing behind a ticket barrier, patiently waiting for their turn. Perhaps it had walked through the barriers, but even then the security would have dealt with it.
Her second question was what was actually going to happen? Were they really gonna have a 1v1 in the middle of a moving train? As she observed the other passengers in the train, her anxiety began to recede. Nobody else seemed to be reacting, and they were going about their business as if nothing was amiss. That thought comforted her somewhat, but she remembered someone mentioning the mist obscuring things. The fact that the mist might be hiding the true nature of the cyclops filled her with a renewed sense of unease.
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Vivienne slowly began turning around to get a look at the monster.
"Don't," Phoebe warned. "You'll only agitate it more." Vivienne quickly averted her gaze, not wanting to make the situation any worse than it already was.
"Well then what do we do?" she asked, struggling to hide the tremor in her voice. These hunters may fight monsters for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but she most certainly didn't. Already the run in at the gas station had her shook. Now she was stuck with a cyclops in a tunnel one hundred feet below the ground.
"Okay, Vivienne, take a deep breath and calm down," Atalanta said slowly. "You might not be used to it, but monsters surprise attack demigods in the train all the time. It's nothing."
"Has it ever happened to you before?"
"Well, uh, not exactly," Atalanta mumbled, "but Thalia had a run in with a few telkhines in the NYC subway, though that was a few hundred years back when America's population was much smaller than it is right now."
"Not helping," Phoebe glared, to which Atalanta nodded.
"You're right. We need to move away from it," she said slowly, emphasising each word. "I'll go first, then Phoebe, and you, Vivienne, can follow."
"Why am I last?" Vivienne asked, her anxiety evident.
"Because you're the closest to the monster," Phoebe replied firmly. "If we all move at once, it might react quickly, and it's best for me and Atalanta to already be up and ready in case the cyclops attacks. We need to be cautious."
Vivienne couldn't argue with that logic, but it didn't make her feel any better about the situation. The thought of being so close to a monster sent shivers down her spine.
"What if it suddenly attacks me?" she asked nervously. Atalanta subtly shook her head.
"Vivienne, the underground has a very strong smell of monsters, and this cyclops definitely doesn't look like it has a PhD in smells. Just be careful, move away, and hopefully it won't realise you're a demigod. Sounds good?"
"Why don't we just take it down?" Vivienne whispered. "I'm sure Phoebe's killed way more monsters at once than this one. We can kill it, and then jump out of the next station." Slowly, Phoebe shook her head.
"I don't think you understand, but it's not the monster I'm worried about; it's the people. Battle has its consequences, and sometimes those consequences can affect mortals. Imagine the side effects of trying to beat up a cyclops in a metal cylinder underground."
"And I'm in no mood to get back on the front page of the newspaper," Atlanta muttered. Vivienne still wasn't too sure about this.
"Are you sure there's no other-"
"Vivienne, we've wasted enough time," Atlanta hissed, her voice determined. "I'll go first. Keep your movements slow and steady, and just don't make any sudden sounds or gestures. Hopefully this cyclops isn't after us and just… went on a side quest into the subway. Either way, I'm sure there is a plausible explanation for this."
With that, Atalanta began to inch her way along the crowded subway car. She was as discreet as possible, her movement slow and measured. Vivienne and Phoebe watched her carefully, but this definitely wasn't her first rodeo.
After a few tense moments, Atalanta had made her way to a safer distance near the end of the carriage. She signalled for Phoebe to follow, and Phoebe mimicked Atalanta's slow, cautious movements. Vivienne watched, her breath held, as Phoebe made her way towards safety.
Finally, it was Vivienne's turn. Her heart raced as she remembered Phoebe's warning about being careful and discrete. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves, and began to move slowly and deliberately, keeping her gaze averted from the creature. The minutes stretched into what felt like hours as Vivienne cautiously began moving away from the cyclops. The cyclops remained fixated on the other side of the subway car, seemingly oblivious to their presence, but the sense of danger still loomed.
As she took slow, deliberate steps, each one echoing in her ears like a drumbeat, she thought for a moment that she was doing well. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, she stumbled over her own feet in a moment of panic. In an instant, her slow and cautious movements turned into an unintentional dash
"Vivienne!" Phoebe whispered urgently. "Slow down, what are you doing!?" Atalanta gasped, and Vivienne could feel her heart racing, her breath quickening, and the weight of her mistake pressing down on her.
Miraculously, the cyclops didn't react. It continued to stand at the other end of the car, its gaze unfocused, as if it was lost in its own solitude. A wave of relief washed over Vivienne as she reached Atalanta and Phoebe, her heart still pounding from her close call.
"Next time, try not running like that," Phoebe muttered, but that didn't stop her from hiding her grin.
"Agreed," Atalanta added, her tone reassuring yet stern. "Alright, now who wants to switch carriages first?" Vivienne gasped in response, her fear resurfacing.
"Wait-Switching carriages now? Isn't that dangerous?" The huntress shrugged.
"It's more dangerous staying here with that creature. We'll be more concealed in another carriage, and much further away."
"Maybe, but why can't we just wait for the next station and switch there?" Vivienne pleaded. "Or even better, change trains? The station can't be more than a few minutes out." Phoebe contemplated the question, her brow furrowing.
"That's actually pretty smart," she admitted. "Why didn't we think of that?"
"Agreed," Atalanta nodded. "I don't know why I was being so extra. I guess hunting makes you think a bit too far out the box."
Vivienne was right. Less than a minute later, the train began to slow, the sound of the brakes screeching and echoing through the tunnel, creating an eerie ambiance that sent shivers down Vivienne's spine. Even the usual rumble of conversation hushed lightly, and the silence only made things more unsettling. However, the strangest thing was that as the train decelerated, Vivienne couldn't see the station from the window. All she saw was the consuming darkness of the tunnel.
"Good afternoon, this is your captain speaking," an automated voice announced over the speakers as soon as the train stopped.
"I still don't know how the government approved the use of AI drivers," Atalanta muttered to Vivienne. "They weren't reliable back in the 22nd century, and they definitely haven't become much more reliable in the 27th."
"There are delays at the next station due to a train incident and we are being told to stay put," the AI continued. "I apologise for any inconvenience this causes and hope-" Before the announcement could continue, the speaker abruptly cut off with a sharp beep. At the same time, the train's lights flickered before plunging them into darkness. Gasps and whispers spread through the carriage as everyone exchanged uncertain glances. Vivienne's heart raced as she turned to Atalanta's barely visible face.
"Is this normal?" she asked nervously. Atalanta waved it off nonchalantly.
"Relax, Vivienne," she sighed. "The AI probably accidentally turned off the electricity while waiting for the station to open up or something. It's fine." Despite the assurance, in the inky blackness of the subway tunnel, the sense of danger and the unknown grew. Vivienne couldn't shake the feeling of unease knowing that in this darkness, anything could happen.
Some of the mortals were now using their phone torches, casting a feeble beam of light into the murky train carriage. As the light spread, Vivienne noticed something strange. She poked Atalanta urgently in the shoulder, her voice low but filled with concern.
"Hey Atalanta. You have to see this." The hunter, however, seemed preoccupied with Phoebe.
"Yeah, and when I told her my name, she was like, 'but no, that's the city!?'" Phoebe chuckled lightly at whatever inside joke they were sharing. However, Vivienne's anxiety mounted, and she prodded Atalanta harder.
"Atalanta, you really need to see this," she whispered. "This is like a ten out of ten on the seriousness scale." Finally giving in, Atalanta turned her attention to Vivienne, a look of annoyance on her face.
"Vivienne, what is it," she sighed." She didn't need to say anything. Instead, Vivienne pointed toward the spot where the cyclops had been sitting just moments before, only the space was now eerily empty. Instead, it was wandering around the train, walking scaringly close to them. Atalanta's expression immediately shifted from annoyance to confusion to shock, her face turning as pale as the misty darkness around them.
"Uh oh?" Vivienne asked quietly.
"Uh oh," Atalanta agreed. She quickly turned to Phoebe, her voice firm.
"Go to the next carriage now. Forget about waiting for the next station." Phoebe wasted no time; she slammed the door open between the carriages and leaped to the next one like a natural.
"Alright, Viv, your turn," Phoebe said, turning to face her. "Just jump; I'm here to catch you." Vivienne took a deep breath, but as she looked at the yawning darkness between the two carriages and the gap underneath, her eyes glimmered with a hint of fear.
"Why can't we just kill the cyclops?" she asked, her voice quivering. Atalanta clenched her teeth and spoke in a hushed but resolute tone.
"Killing a monster might be fine, but remember, to mortals, it's no small deal," she explained. "The Mist changes what they see. To them, it'll look like three kids hurting a harmless civilian. We have to avoid that situation, or else be prepared to become the latest news headline, and that isn't a good thing. Jumping carriages is our best option. Don't worry; it's going to be fine." Vivienne stared nervously at the gap, her anxiety growing by the second. Despite the reassurance, she couldn't help but feel dread building up inside her.
All of a sudden, the AI driver's voice echoed through the intercom, briefly startling her.
"Apologies for the power outage. We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties which we hope to resolve as soon as possible. Until then, the order has been given to continue on. We will be skipping this station for now, and our next station is Brookhaven. Estimated time of arrival is one minute and seven seconds." The passengers cheered, clapping their hands together, but the lights remained off. As the train began to move, Vivienne's fear intensified.
"Just jump! I'm right here!" Phoebe reassured her. "I promise I'll catch you." Realising she had no other choice, Vivienne braced herself for the jump, her heart pounding in her chest. But just as she prepared to make her move, Atalanta's voice halted her.
"Wait, where's the cyclops?" the huntress frowned. "I could've sworn it was just here ten seconds ago." Vivienne spun around, her eyes squinting in the hazy darkness. Despite her efforts, she couldn't figure out where the monster was, and that was definitely concerning. Next to her, Atalanta's hand found its way to her knife.
"Power is back on," the AI voice announced, and she could see the lights flickering on, starting from the front of the train and making its way towards her. Then, as the lights switched on above her, the cyclops materialised right in front of her, its grotesque face twisted into a hideous snarl, and it let out a deafening roar.
Vivienne stumbled backward, teetering on the edge of the gap between the carriages. The cyclops swung its big hand at her, and she ducked, but due to the momentum the cyclops ended up smashing into the lights. To add to that, in a heart-pounding moment, Vivienne lost her balance and plummeted into the darkness between the moving subway cars.
Vivienne's vision was hazy, and she didn't remember much for the next ten seconds. All she registered was a rough bang to the side of her head, followed by fierce winds. Above her, she could hear the chaos and shouting from both carriages. Her heart raced as she opened her eyes to see herself suspended mere inches above the tracks, the train speeding at over ninety miles per hour. Panic surged through her, and she did the only rational thing; she screamed loudly.
"Finish it off!" Phoebe yelled at Atalanta. It was only then Vivienne realised she was still alive because somehow, amidst her stumble, Phoebe had caught her by the hand and was refusing to let go.
"I've got you, Vivienne!" she shouted above the commotion. "Just hang in there!" Vivienne would've loved to say she found calmness in Phoebe's words, but truth be told, she couldn't find much comfort in anything as she swayed dangerously over the tracks.
The moments that followed were a blur of tension, chaos, and dread. She couldn't see anything, only heard Phoebe's commentary such as 'good hit!' or 'ah, watch the knife.' Atalanta acted swiftly and she quickly diminished the cyclops to dust. No doubt she was a good hunter, but Vivienne's question was why couldn't they have done this earlier? It would've saved them a bunch of trouble and a bang on the head.
"This is Brookhaven," the AI said. "The train is now stopping." Vivienne barely had time to react as once again, the train began to slow down. The change in speed caused Vivienne's head to strike against the opposite coupling, earning another groan from her.
With the wind whipping her face, Phoebe's voice was almost lost. The train came to a sudden stop, and Phoebe wasted no time in pulling Vivienne up into the carriage. As the train started moving again, Vivienne stumbled backward and bumped into Phoebe. Her dazed mind tried to process what had just occurred, and she sat in a stunned silence.
"What was that?" she muttered breathlessly. In a matter of a few minutes, she'd been attacked by a cyclops, banged her head twice, and dangled above a train track. All in all, she'd call it a bad first experience.
"Vivienne, your head," Phoebe mumbled, her face etched with concern. Vivienne's hand lightly touched the side of her temple and came away bloody. Again, she was left in shock, muttering something about silly couplings.
"Excuse me, are you alright?" a voice asked. Vivienne looked up to see a concerned mortal, frowning upon her. Reaching into her handbag, the mortal gave her a packet of tissues, a plaster and a bottle of what looked like lemonade. At that point, several other passengers in the carriages asked if she was okay. One bold individual even asked for her phone number, though Phoebe took care of that. Vivienne's head throbbed, and she felt disoriented as she tried responding.
Shortly after, Atalanta hopped into their carriage, brushing the remnants of the cyclops off her clothes with a grin.
"That was fun," she declared, seemingly unfazed by the chaos. "We should do that again!" Her eyes landed on Vivienne's forehead, and she winced.
"Ouch, you have a cut on your head," Atalanta pointed out.
"Yeah, and the sky is blue, anything else you wanna tell me that I already know?" she muttered, not in the mood for this.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next station is New Chamblee. The train is now stopping."
"Come on, this is us," Atalanta said, helping Vivienne up to her feet. Unfortunately, the hunter's enthusiasm dampened when she saw people in the previous carriage recording the aftermath, mainly Vivienne and Atalanta.
"Flip," Atalanta muttered. "See, this is why I didn't want to fight it. We'll be in the papers by tomorrow morning. We need to leave Atlanta right now."
The train came to a stop, and the three of them hurriedly exited, with Vivienne rubbing the cut on her head, the taste of fear and panic still fresh in her mouth.
They quickly exited the subway station, and the bright daylight greeted them. She wasn't about to admit it, but Vivienne had never been happier to see the light of day, relieved to be out of the dim and terrifying subway.
"I never want to go on the subway again," she muttered, her head still hurting from those couplings. Phoebe couldn't help but grin at Vivienne's reaction.
"Just wait a few months," she remarked. "You'll reconsider, especially in this world. The subway is like a necessity for basically every trip in Camp Half-Blood."
"Phoebe, focus," Atalanta snapped. "We need to leave as soon as possible, preferably before the video of me and Vivienne becomes trending on whatever the latest social media app is these days."
"I think it's SocioLink, right?" Phoebe asked. "PicoPost went out of fashion a decade or so ago-"
"Focus!" Atalanta reminded her. "Now, where are Thalia and Reyna again?" Phoebe mouthed 'party pooper' to Vivienne before pointing to a large, brightly lit restaurant with neon lights.
"In there," she said. "Thalia loved their chips, and there's no way she'd come to Atlanta without getting them."
Without wasting any time, Atalanta jogged towards the restaurant, with Phoebe and Vivienne following closely behind. As they entered, they scanned the crowded place, searching for the duo. It didn't take long to spot Thalia and Reyna a few rows ahead, laughing with each other and as suspected, eating these chips. Atalanta quickly made her way to them, ignoring the word looks people were already giving her.
"Thalia, Phoebe, we need to leave now," she said breathlessly.
"Oh hello," Thalia greeted, ignoring her previous statement. "Wow, you were fast." Reyna also looked up from her conversation and smiled at Vivienne who returned it. However, when Thalia looked at Vivienne, she raised an eyebrow.
"Jeez, Viv, what happened to you?" Thalia asked, a playful smirk on her face. "Don't tell me Atalanta challenged you to a duel, and you accepted."
"Nah," Phoebe replied nonchalantly. "We all got attacked by a cyclops in the subway. Vivienne fell between the carriages and the couplings did not like her." Reyna furrowed her brow.
"Uhh, in the subway?" she asked, to which they nodded.
"Yeah, the cyclops came and sat down next to us just as the train doors started to close."
"How did a cyclops even get in there?" Reyna asked, and Vivienne couldn't help but agree.
"That's what I said!" she exclaimed. "Did it really queue for the machine and buy its own ticket? And how did it even know how to buy a ticket? Are all monsters this smart?"
"Only a few, Thalia replied, slipping her jacket on and picking up the box of chips, offering a few to Vivienne. Reyna glanced around the restaurant, considering their situation.
"Do we really have to leave?" she asked, a hint of reluctance in her voice. She was probably thinking about the delicious meal she was in the middle of. Phoebe chimed in, her stomach seemingly on her mind.
"Yeah, I want to get something to eat."
Atalanta began to open her mouth to say something about their need to leave quickly, but she was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. An unfamiliar man stood there, his clothes a dark trench coat and blue denim jeans.
"Can I help you?" Atalanta asked warily. The man seemed to hesitate for a moment.
"I'm sorry, but were you the woman on the train?" he asked. Immediately, Atalanta looked notice, flashing Thalia a look of 'what did I tell you.'
"Who's asking?" she asked.
"I am," the man replied. "You looked like the person who hurt the man on the train."
"Oh, Atalanta, those are the old days of Artemis," Reyna chuckled. "You've changed. Why are you still doing that?" she teased.
Atalanta sighed, her irritation clear, and Thalia couldn't help but smirk at her friend's annoyance. The man turned around to go back to his seat, but Thalia stood up.
"Wait," she called out, and the man froze in his steps. Walking towards him, she snapped her fingers, the sound loud and sharp. Maybe it was just Vivienne's imagination, but she could've sworn she felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the restaurant.
"You did not see any fighting in the subway," she said commandingly. At first, Vivienne thought she was crazy trying to play mastermind, but the man seemed to hesitate, before dreamily repeating Thalia's words and returning to his seat in a trance.
"What was that?" Vivienne asked curiously. Thalia just grinned mysteriously.
"I'll tell you later. Right now, as much as I'm loving these fries, Atalanta is right; we have to move." Reyna and Thalia rose from their seats, and Phoebe interjected, "You guys go on ahead; I'll meet you at the car." The group of four nodded in agreement, quickly making their way out of the restaurant.
Once outside, they turned into a dimly lit side road.
"Wait, where's the car?" Vivienne frowned, unable to spot it. Reyna happily pointed to a dark corner where sure enough, a car was blocking the gate to a building. As they approached, Vivienne noticed a yellow ticket on the car's window.
"Reyna, you got a parking ticket," she said, showing it to her friend. Reyna nonchalantly crumpled the ticket and stuffed it into her pocket.
"No one saw a thing," she grinned. Thalia just chuckled.
"Well I'm not paying for that."
"Neither!" Reyna snorted. "Vivienne?"
"Are you kidding?" The daughter of Hephaestus laughed. "I've paid for enough of your stuff as it is. From now on, the bill's on you all." Shaking her head, Vivienne quickly took the passenger seat, while everyone else settled into the back of the car. Reyna reversed out, and they began driving away, the car sputtering like crazy. As they passed the restaurant, Vivienne still couldn't see Phoebe.
"Hey, where's Phoebe?" she asked. Remembering they were one person less, Reyna quickly pulled over, parking the car in the middle of the road, causing a chorus of honks and impatient drivers
"Good question," Reyna said. "We'll just wait here and hope she comes fast." Luckily for them, Thalia pointed and exclaimed, "No way, is that her?" Vivienne stifled a laugh as she saw Phoebe sprinting out of the restaurant with a staggering ten boxes of burgers. She dashed toward the car and jumped in, the boxes coming with her. Reyna accelerated as Phoebe slammed the door behind her, and they continued down the road, heading out of Atlanta once and for all. Vivienne had to admit she wasn't sad to leave, especially after all that subway drama.
"Next stop, Percy Jackson!" Reyna exclaimed, earning a chorus of cheers throughout the car.
"Ah, speaking of which, how's the prophecy going?" Atalanta asked Vivienne.
"It's not going," she mumbled in reply. "I promise, I'm trying, but I don't know how I'm the key. I've never met the guy in my life!" Thalia shrugged.
"Just think about it," she replied. "Apollo is rarely, if ever, wrong about his prophecies. You just need to think outside the box.
Not too long after, Phoebe began distributing the burger boxes between them all. Vivienne, her appetite piqued by the delicious aroma, eagerly accepted a burger and took a bite. As she savoured the flavour, she couldn't help but ask, "How did you manage to pay for all of this? I mean, surely this isn't cheap." Phoebe flashed a mischievous grin.
"Well, that depends. Do you want the cool answer or the truth?" Vivienne thought for a moment.
"What's the cool answer?" she asked.
"I paid in drachmas," she said nonchalantly. "The cashier was a demigod, so they accepted it happily."
"Okay," Vivienne frowned, "and what's the truth?" Phoebe flashed her a mischievous grin.
"I used your spare cash that I nicked in the subway," she admitted, taking another bite of her burger and leaning back in her car seat.
A slightly more light-hearted chapter, but yeah. I've never been Atalanta so the research on Atalanta's trains was crazy XD. Also, I did drop a few small Easter eggs, thought they're difficult to find unless you're good with the MARTA. Anyway, let me know how it was! Gonna probably do a nice flashback next chap, and some Percy POV, so yeah. Maybe I'll even leak his domains...