Chapter 9

The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon when I woke up. Thalia was shaking my arm back and forth. I squinted my eyes and did my best to focus on her. My head hurt as Thalia's multiple blurry faces merged into one.

I looked around to see where I was at. I urged myself to remember the events that had just occurred. We were driving to Olympus, and Thalia lost control and we flipped and…. we fought some monsters... and they took Annabeth! My eyes widened as I recalled what had just happened. I sat up and tried to stand but got extremely lightheaded and had to sit back down. Thalia looked at me with a concerned expression. The cut on her head was pretty deep. The side of her face was caked in dry blood. She sat down next to me.

The van had rolled far from the road. It was beat up and bent in every way imaginable. Tall, slender trees surrounded us. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground. The sharp, angled streams of light from the setting sun pierced the forest, making the setting seem more eerie. Not a sound was to be heard except Thalia and I's shaky breath. Puffs of air escaped our mouths with each shallow exhale. The forest felt empty and dead. Pretty much how I felt.

"Where's Annabeth? Are you okay?" Thalia's voice cut through the haze in my head, her eyes scanning me for injuries.

It took me a moment to respond. I was still wrapping my head around what had just happened. My head filled with pain when I began speaking.

It took me a moment to gather my thoughts. My skull throbbed with every word I tried to form. "There were two… gorgons. They approached us and started attacking us. They knew that Annabeth was with us. One of them was able to injure her and… I got distracted. Then they knocked me out and ran away with her."

Thalia's expression darkened as she knelt beside me. "Did they say anything about where they were going? Or why they wanted her?"

I tried my best to remember the encounter. "No… they didn't say anything. The only thing I remember them saying was that they were after Annabeth."

Thalia furrowed her eyebrows. She was thinking for a couple moments when she broke the silence. "None of this is adding up. Why would they want her? How did they know where we were at?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea. All of it happened so fast." We were both looking down on the ground. I could tell neither of us were up for talking much. I wondered if Thalia's head hurt as much as mine did. It felt like it took the two of us forever to respond to one another.

"We have to go after her." Thalia finally broke the silence.

"I know."

"I don't think we're in the best shape, but we have to try." She said.

"What are our options? Where do we even start?" I asked.

Thalia took a deep breath, her exhale shaky as she shivered in the cold. The weak winter sun was nearly gone, its last rays casting long shadows over the forest. We didn't have much time before it got too dark—and too cold. "Okay," she said, her voice tight. "One option... we go back to camp, tell Chiron and the others what happened, and get their help."

"That'll take too long," I reasoned, shaking my head. "We were driving for a while. By the time we make it back to camp, who knows where they'll be with Annabeth. And the van's totaled. Walking back would just slow us down even more."

Thalia bit her lip, thinking it over. "Then our only choice is to go after them. Right now."

I nodded, though the same thought crossed both of our minds—where? We were standing in the middle of nowhere.

"What do you know about gorgons?" I asked, hoping for a lead.

"There are three of them. I'm assuming the ones you fought weren't Medusa. Fierce monsters. Powerful fighters. They haven't been seen by the hunters in decades. Them showing up now… it's bad."

"That doesn't narrow anything down."

Thalia shot me a glare. "Gee, you're welcome, Percy."

"Before they got close to us Annabeth yelled and told me not to look at them. But before they attacked us she said it was okay to look at them. Why didn't they turn us to stone?"

"I'm not too familiar with the myth. From what I know Medusa was the only one cursed. Athena cursed her when she found Medusa in her temple."

I had a flashback when I was twelve years old when Annabeth first told me about the story of Medusa. Back when I still doubted in all this demigod craziness. I remembered us fighting Medusa in her twisted garden emporium shop when we were trying to make our way out of New York.

"I know where they went. Aunty Em's Garden. Or what's left of it anyways."

Thalia blinked, confusion crossing her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That's where Annabeth, Grover, and I fought Medusa on our first quest together," I explained, meeting her eyes. "It has to be the place. Where else would they go?"

Thalia sighed, nodding slightly. "Well. It's our best shot. I don't know anywhere else to look. Can you walk okay?"

"Yeah I should be fine." Thalia got up first and extended her hand. I hesitated for just a moment before gripping it. The warmth felt strange in the cold, but we quickly pulled apart, the unspoken tension between us hanging in the air.

We pulled our backpacks free from the wreckage, both of us silent, but the quiet felt heavier than before. I glanced at Thalia, but she kept her gaze forward, focused on the faint tracks in the snow. The sun had all but disappeared, leaving just enough light to make out the path ahead. The gorgons had to be heading toward the garden emporium—it made sense, but everything else felt wrong.

My mind kept jumping back to Annabeth. They had her. How could I have let that happen? I should've done more, been quicker, smarter. The thought of her being out there, alone, in danger, made me feel sick. What if we didn't find her in time? I tried to push the worst thoughts away, but they kept creeping back in.

We'd been walking for a while now, and Thalia hadn't said a word. Her pace was steady, but she was moving faster than usual, and it wasn't just because we were in a hurry. There was something else. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. She seemed angry, or maybe just tired. I wanted to ask, but I didn't know where to start.

"Thalia," I called, trying to break the silence.

She didn't stop but slowed just enough for me to catch up. "What?" Her voice was flat, like she was holding something back.

I hesitated, unsure if I should press. "Is everything okay? You've been quiet."

She stopped, turning to face me. "I just realized something. Did you tell Annabeth?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "What? Tell her what?"

"About me wanting to leave the Hunt. She knew, Percy. You're the only one I told."

Guilt washed over me as I realized what I did. "Thalia, I... yeah, I told her. I wasn't even thinking, I'm sorry."

Thalia's expression tightened. "Weren't thinking?" She rubbed her temples, clearly trying to keep calm. "You don't realize what that meant to me, do you?"

I swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You never do," she said quietly, her voice tight with restrained emotion. "But you always manage to. It's not just about telling Annabeth. It's about you not even considering what me opening up to you might mean for me. You kissed me, Percy. I thought maybe things were changing, but then you went straight back to her."

"I didn't go straight back to her!" I started to protest, but the look on Thalia's face made the words stick in my throat. Her eyes flashed with anger, but I pressed on. "Look, Annabeth, I didn't mean to... I just—"

"Did you just call me Annabeth?" she interrupted, her voice sharp as lightning.

My heart stopped. I felt the blood drain from my face as the realization hit me. Oh gods, I had. "No— I didn't mean to, Thalia, I—"

But the damage was done. Her eyes narrowed, the hurt clear beneath the anger. "Wow," she muttered, letting out a bitter, humorless laugh. "Just... wow. I'm right here, Percy, and you can't even keep my name straight?"

"Thalia, I'm sorry, that was a mistake," I stammered, stepping closer, desperate to fix it. "I wasn't thinking, I—"

"No, you obviously weren't." She crossed her arms, her voice quieter now, but no less angry. "I thought maybe… that what happened between us mattered. But apparently, I'm just a stand-in for Annabeth in your head."

"That's not true, Thalia." I took a step forward, desperation creeping into my voice. "You're not just some replacement for Annabeth. I messed up telling Annabeth, I know I did, but what happened between us does matter to me. It's just... it's hard to sort out everything when Annabeth is still—"

She cut me off, shaking her head "I know. I get it. You and Annabeth are going through some stuff. And we have to get her back right now. But that doesn't mean you should just go about your life and act like last night didn't happen."

"I'm not pretending it didn't happen," I said, my voice low. "I just... I don't know what to do. I care about you, Thalia, but I've been with Annabeth for so long... everything's so confusing."

She looked away for a moment before meeting my eyes again, underneath her anger I could tell she was really hurting. "I'm not asking you to choose right now. I'm just asking you to stop pretending that what happened between us doesn't matter."

"You're right," I said, trying to own up to my actions. "We'll figure this out. But right now, Annabeth is missing. We have to find her first."

Thalia's expression hardened, and her voice turned sharp. "Of course. We'll go to this garden store, fight some stupid monsters, and rescue your princess. Then the two of you can go back to how things were, and I'll just be another what-if in the back of your head."

She stormed off ahead of me, her steps quick and heavy in the snow. I stood there for a moment, guilt twisting inside me, before I followed her, the air between us colder than before.

I stood there for a moment, my mind racing, unsure of what to say or do. The part of me that wanted to call her back was drowned out by the urgency of what lay ahead. With a deep breath, I urged my feet to follow after her, the silence between us growing colder with every step.

The cold air bit at my skin as we walked in silence, the tension between us thicker than the snow crunching under our boots. Every so often, we'd mumble a quick word to make sure we were still on the right path, but that was it. Thalia stayed a few steps ahead, her pace steady, but I could tell she was as exhausted as I was. I kept my eyes on the ground, watching her feet as we trudged through the forest.

Our emotions were all over the place, the argument from earlier still hanging between us like a weight we couldn't shake. I kept wondering if we'd be able to fight once we reached the garden emporium—if we'd even make it there before something else went wrong.

The trees eventually thinned out, and soon enough, we reached the edge of the forest.

"This must be it." Thalia said

I almost ran into Thalia when she abruptly stopped walking. Aunty Em's Garden Emporium lay ahead of us. All we had to do was cross the empty, poorly lit road in front of us and we were there. None of the lights were on. Windows had been smashed. Graffiti was on the walls and on some of the stone statues, just like the last time I had seen it in my dream a couple months ago.

To say I was nervous about going in there would have been an understatement. I had almost died there about four years ago. And knowing that Kronos had used this building as a camp for his army made me shudder. If Annabeth wasn't in danger, there was no way I'd even consider stepping foot inside again.

"Any ideas?" I asked, my voice quieter than usual.

Thalia didn't look at me. "You've been here before," she said, her tone clipped. "You tell me."

I swallowed the frustration building inside me. "There's a side entrance that leads to the garden," I remembered, trying to stay focused. "We can go in through there, lay low, and scout the place out. It looks empty, but we'll use the darkness to our advantage. If we see anything that isn't human..."

"I know what to do," she interrupted.

I bit back a reply, nodding instead. We broke from the cover of the trees, moving quickly and quietly across the road. My heart was pounding, each step echoing in my head. I couldn't shake the tension, not just from the danger we were walking into, but from her.

We broke away from the protection of the forest and quietly ran across the road. My heart was already racing. Ever step I took sounded as loud as an earthquake. With hushed breaths we entered the garden. I motioned to the side door that led into the building. Thalia nodded. We crouched down and made our way to the door.

The inside of the building looked as if it had been abandoned centuries ago. Trash and garbage laid strewn across the floor. The walls were peeling so the framing could be seen. Swords, armor and other ancient war equipment were on tables, propped against walls, or just left on the ground from when Kronos's army was here. The place smelled like the locker room of all the monsters I had ever fought. I wanted to get in and out of this place as soon as we could.

"I don't see any-"

"Shhh!" Thalia interrupted me.

I shot her a look but kept my mouth shut. She was on edge, and honestly, so was I. I looked around trying to find any hint of danger. It was quiet. Too quiet. We continued to scan the main room. Out of nowhere the hairs on my back stood up. Thalia and I shot up in unison and spun around. My instinct took over and I took out Riptide right in time to block a huge swing of a sword from one of the gorgons.

It was hard to see. The main source of light was from the faint moon that shone through the windows. But I could definitely see that these two monsters were not happy. Thalia and I jumped away from the advancing gorgons. Thalia readied her spear and activated her shield. The two monsters let out a gruesome snarl. I guess Medusa's face on Thalia's shield only made them angrier rather than more afraid.

They looked even more appalling in the dim light. One of them held large daggers in each hand while the other wielded a large sword and shield. Unlike last time, they were dressed in battle armor. I knew this fight would be tough. My buzzing head still remembered what happened the last time I fought them.

"We could smell the both of you coming from miles away. The two of you together send out such a strong ssscent." The one with the sword and shield started.

"We are very aware of what happened here four yearsss ago." The one with the daggers continued. "We were sent to just take the girl. But we couldn't pass on this chance to avenge our sissster. How fitting would it be to kill the demigod who ssslayed our sister in the very place of her death."

Normally I would have been pretty scared. But I was too worried about Annabeth to think about that. "I killed Medusa and I'll kill the two of you too! Now where is Annabeth? Who are you and who are you working for?"

"How could you not know who we are?" The dagger gorgon looked furious. "I am Ssstheno. And my sister Euryale. Even if we told you who is conspiring against you, you would not live long enough to act on it." As she was talking they had been slowly but methodically walking around us try to surround us. It wouldn't be long before they pounced.

"Thalia," I muttered under my breath, eyes darting between the two gorgons, "you take the one on the right—Stheno, or whatever. I'll handle the other one. Just don't let them pin us in." I could see her look at me and nod out of the corner of my eye.

The two gorgons saw the opportunity and rushed at Thalia while she was still looking at me and were able to knock her a couple feet back against one of the walls. I heard a painful oof from Thalia as she tried to reorient herself from the ground.

The two gorgons turned their attention to me. Euryale started taking stabs at me with her deadly daggers. I was able to avoid the first couple jabs, but I eventually lost my footing as I tripped on a stray sword and had to dive out of the way to avoid getting skinned. As I got up from the ground the Stheno took a powerful swing at me with her sword. I deflected the blow, but the power of her swing made my arms go temporally numb.

I tried to get back on my feet ask quickly as possible. I had a feeling they were just toying with me now. I was feeling weak. And they knew it. I was tired and injured. I was slowly backing up, weakly raising Riptide, as they continued to advance on me.

"How was it that he killed our sissster?" Stheno asked.

"He cut her head off!" The other responded in rage.

"We should let this hero know how it feelssss." They grinned at me maliciously. "It is only jussst."

I did not want to get my head chopped off by a bunch of ladies with snakes on their heads.

I lunged towards Euyale but she easily deflected my stab. While I was focusing on her, Stheno raised her shield and bashed my head causing me to stumble and lose my balance. I dropped my sword and grasped at my head. Pain seared throughout my body. My head already hurt enough as it was from our first fight. Another blunt impact made stars appear in my vision. I could barely make out the evil grin of Stheno as she towered over me.

"Thisss is the one who saved those pathetic Olympians?" Euyale asked in disgust.

"I told you we should have fought with Kronosss while we had the chance." Stheno bickered.

Euryale hissed. She kicked me with all her might when I tried to get back up. I knew Riptide would appear in my pocket soon, but by then it would be too late. She approached me and lifted me up from my shirt as if I was a paperweight. I could see into her evil, reptilian green eyes. Her snakes were trying to bite my face off.

"This is where your story endsss"

Euryale moved her dagger to cut my head off. Right when I saw my life flash before my eyes, I heard a loud shunk immediately followed by a spear that went through Euryale's chest. The tip of the spear passed by my face just a couple inches from me. I fell to the ground as Euryale turned into dust. Her daggers made a hallow clanking sound against the floor.

Thalia stood across the room, breathing heavily, her posture tense. She looked battered, clearly injured, but her eyes were sharp, and she must've noticed I was seconds from getting killed. Without hesitation, she had thrown her spear at the gorgon, saving my life. I could only hope she had been confident in her aim because the spear had landed way too close for comfort. Still, there was no denying it—she'd acted in the nick of time, and I wasn't sure if I should feel relieved or a little terrified of just how good she was.

Stheno and her snakes hissed with wrath. The gorgon bashed my leg with the side of her shield. Stheno snarled at me before turning to face the daughter of Zeus. Through the stars and blurriness in my vision, I could make out the two of them going at each other, sword versus shield. I didn't think it was possible with how beaten up she was, but Thalia was fighting as gracefully as Artemis herself. Dodging swings, parrying attacks, and attacking the gorgon with her shield. She pranced around Stheno like a battle-hardened dancer.

Despite her initial success, Thalia couldn't keep it up forever. Without a weapon it was only a matter of time before she would make a mistake. Thalia was making her way to where I was lying on the floor. Stheno's advances were relentless. It must have taken all of Thalia's skill to not get knocked off her feet. I knew I had to do something. And do it quick. I looked around for anything that could help. A weapon, water, literally anything. It was hard to focus. Hard to think.

A sharp cry forced my attention back to Thalia and the monster. Thalia crumpled to the floor about a few feet in front of me. Stheno's sword had cut into Thalia's thigh. In the dim light I could see her begin to turn white. Her breathing became more and more shallow despite her loud cries of pain. Every last bit of adrenaline that I hadn't used yet rushed through my system.

I have to save Thalia's life… how she saved mine.

How she saved mine.

I frantically searched for Euryale's dagger, my hands fumbling across the cold floor like I was blind. Panic surged through me as I scraped around in the darkness. Then, the moonlight seemed to sharpen, casting just enough light for me to catch the glint of metal. I grabbed the dagger as quickly as I could and refocused on the monster looming over Thalia.

Stheno was about ready to finish off Thalia with her sword. Stheno's snakes darted their attention from Thalia towards me when they saw what I was about to do.

I prayed to whoever the god of daggers was before I threw it as hard as I could at the approaching monster and her hundred snakes.

Hi all! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but hey, that's half the fun, right? A lot of has happened so far and it's only going to get more intense from here. I'm excited to have you along for the ride as Percy and Thalia navigate these dangers and their emotions for each other. I'll be updating pretty regularly, about every 10 days or so, so you won't have to wait too long to see what happens.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Whenever I update my fics I make sure to respond to all of the reviews, that way we can have a two-way conversation about the story as it continues to develop. I've found it a lot of fun to engage with you guys and makes it seem like I'm actually telling a story to a group of friends!

-pjowriter27