Wisdom of the Waters

Chapter 13

-Lou-

Jolting up with a gasp, Lou looked around, eyes wide and panicked as she looked around. She could still remember the blood pounding in her ears as she fought Medusa, the panic she felt at trying to fight blind to save her life and those of those with her.

"Easy there Lou." Clarisse's voice came from her right as Lou flinched, looking to the side to see the daughter of War sitting nearby, looking exhausted, "You're safe."

"Where…where's Percy?" Lou grimaced as she sat up, back protesting from the awkward sleeping accommodations. A quick glance around showed they were still in Medusa's lair, but not only were the statues gone, but Percy was nowhere to be seen either.

"He's out back." Clarisse gave a somber glance to where the statues had been in the room before, "We didn't want to move on while you were passed out, and we didn't trust the food without you around to check for more curses. So, we've been taking turns with one of us staying by you and the other outside digging graves for Medusa's victims.

As if called in by her words, Lou heard the front door open, the sound of Percy's footsteps and a dropped shovel filling the room "That's the last of them." Her boyfriend's exhausted voice carried to her as she heard the sink tap turn on, Percy probably using his powers to clean off any dirt or mud "I also took photos of all the faces to send to Chiron, help get any missing person investigations handled."

"Percy, Lou's up!" Clarisse shouted before he could continue "Get your ass in here!" she heard water splash down on the floor of whatever room Percy had been in as he rushed over to her.

"Lou!" Percy slid over, relief clear in his eyes as he saw her sitting up, "Thank the gods."

"What?" Lou gave a tired chuckle as she straightened "Think something as weak as a gorgon can take me out? Oh, ye of little faith."

"Hah!" Percy barked out a laugh "Serves me right I suppose. Sunrise is a couple hours away so once we grab anything that's not potioned we can go to the train station and get tickets."

"Train tickets?" Lou blinked in surprise "I didn't think the camp sent us with enough cash for that."

"Medusa's cashbox." Clarisse wiggled a stack of bills "Monster or not, she still did run a business and had shit delivered here. We found some Hermes Delivery service envelopes, drachma, and a nice bit of cash. I doubt it'll get us all the way to LA, but it'll get us a chunk of the way at least."

"Was there some sort of advertisement for trains in 'Aunty Em's office?" Lou wondered at that part as she walked over to the kitchen, focusing on her natural attunement to magic to sort out what was safe to eat and what wasn't. Glancing over her shoulder at Clarisse, Lou noted the war goddess grimacing, looking beyond exasperated.

"Do…do I want to know?" Lou was starting to get worried.

"Percy…got directions from a Pink Poodle." Clarisse's expression of utter bafflement at what their lives were made it clear that it wasn't some weird joke.

"You…speak dog?" Lou turned to look at Percy who was washing himself and his clothes off again.

"No." Percy shook his head, "The dog spoke fish."

"…You know what, I've heard weirder." Lou sighed as she finished sorting out the food that was safe to eat, packing up the preserved bags of it for them to take while plates of fresh burgers were laid out for them to gorge on. Better to get the calories while they could in case anything else went wrong.

-Percy-

Eyes flitting around, Percy settled into the train seat, sandwiched between Lou and Clarisse. They'd found enough cash in Medusa's place to avoid tickets to Denver but unfortunately no further, and with a single stop in St. Louis where they'd have to wander for a few hours to avoid their scent building up in the train station and attracting monsters.

"I didn't think to ask before, but what happened to the head?" Lou's voice shook him from his wandering thoughts as he turned toward the daughter of Hecate, "And my hand?" she showed the arm that still showed the faint scars from Medusa's snake hair having bit her.

"It took half of our ambrosia to stop the poison in the bites." Percy stroked Lou's hand, feeling the bumps of the bite scars under his thumb while Clarisse gave Lou's shoulder a squeeze.

"Half?" Lou's eyes were wide as the train started moving, rapidly building up speed, "It took half of the Ambrosia? That was supposed to last all three of us the whole quest."

"That poison from those snakes was no joke." Clarisse shook her head, "I didn't even recognize any of the damn things in her hair either so who knows what Athena made when she cursed Medusa. We sent the head itself back to camp, double boxed with plenty of warning labels and a note so that way Chiron would know what it was."

"Figured it was better kept secure in the camp Armory or something." Percy shrugged, "I tested on a rabid dog that tried sniffing around while I dug the graves and confirmed the head still worked. I'd rather we not accidentally turn ourselves or someone else to stone if we slip up with that thing on the quest. Besides, with it on hand to study maybe Chiron and the others will be able to find a way to shield from the petrification ability those eyes have. Or at the very least make better antidotes to Medusa's venom."

"I'm all for that plan." Lou glanced down at her scars, "That shit burned."

"For now, let's just try to rest up." Percy yawned, having not slept since he came out of Medusa's trance, Clarisse just as exhausted as he was.

"I'll wake you guys up if anything happens." Lou promises as Percy smiles gratefully, leaning back in the seat as he let his eyes drift closed, sleep swiftly taking him.

It felt like the moment he closed his eyes they were snapping open, darkness surrounding him alongside a fog that felt like it was seeping into his bones. The fog occasionally seemed to almost form a shape, and he somehow knew they were the spirits of the dead. They tried to grab at him, to pull him back, but something else kept pulling him forward.

Ahead, he could see the gravel and slate path dipped downward, plunging into a dark cavernous abyss that chilled his blood more than the Great Prophecy had. Even if it was a dream, Percy held his breath, trying to be as still and silent as he could. He wasn't entirely sure what he was hiding from, he just knew that he didn't want to risk it finding him.

"Oh, you will have to do much better than that little one." A rumbling voice laughed, the sound shaking the ground as Percy gasped, hands darting to weapons that weren't there, "Oh, poor little hero." The voice mocked him, "So eager to jump into the fray, to serve gods who have never been there for you. I suppose I should be surprised a child would be so naïve."

Wind, or perhaps the foul breath of whatever lay down in that pit, began to start trying to suck him forward even as the fog like shades of the dead grabbed at him to pull him back. They were growing clearer now, their determination becoming visible as he saw faces that he knew from old photos his mother had shared with him and from the mirror. He saw his grandparents, he saw his mother's grandparents, he saw men and women who shared his eyes, his hair, or his nose. His family, all those in the underworld, were trying to save him.

It was that realization that helped him snap out of his shock as he kicked out at the closest rock, sending it into the canyon with a loud crack, the sound sharp enough to startle whatever had spoken to him as the sucking air stopped.

He fell back at that, the spirits pulling him away rapidly even as the world around him grew darker.

"You will be back little one! And I will be waiting!" the voice laughed, more amused than angry at Percy's escape, "You will deal with me to get what you want because it is the only way you will live! The gods will just let you die to save their 'precious' Olympus! They do not care, nor will they ever care! You shall see the truth in time! You shall see!" the evil laughter still filled his ears as he jolted up with a gasp, eyes darting around as he saw the train was starting to slow down and Lou was waking up Clarisse. Outside the train window, he could see the massive St. Louis arch standing tall.

-Clarisse-

Cracking her knuckles, Clarisse continued to let her eyes flit around the underground museum they were killing time in. They'd been wandering the underground ever since their train stopped, her Satyr protector having once mentioned that underground always smelled like monsters, meaning it was impossible to smell said monsters coming. They were banking on that also meaning the Monsters would have a harder time smelling them too.

The plan made sense, in theory, but she had a feeling in her gut that kept her on edge. Lou was having fun nerding out over everything in the museum while Percy seemed lost in thought about something else that he hadn't shared yet, simply letting Lou tug him along as they kept moving, trying to burn as much time as they could before the train was ready to go again.

She wasn't a child of Apollo, but she'd always had a sixth sense for combat. Whenever she trained at Camp, she could always tell before even picking up a weapon if it would be right for her, or for anyone else. She could often look at someone and just from a glance know how good of a fight they would be. And sometimes, not terribly often, she'd get the feeling that a fight was coming. And right now, her every instinct was screaming that something was stalking them, waiting for them to be alone.

It's possible she was just being paranoid, nervous about the underground and still jittery from the all-nighter and the run in with Medusa.

But if she was right? If there was a monster skilled enough to track them through the underground scent, strong enough to set off her senses like this, and smart enough to hold off on attacking until witnesses were gone? Then whatever it was would be much worse than anything she'd ever fought before.