I get the lamest undercover name ever

Now, normally, people don't come to the rescue to save me. But when they do, it's because they don't know me or they don't realize I'm me. Once they realize, they usually stop trying to help me. Given this person was yelling that I wasn't Percy Jackson, and I was, I began looking for a way out for when he revoked his help.

The satyr who had charged through the group of people looked deadly similar to my best friend, Grover Underwood, who supposedly had been being interrogated by Chiron for bringing me spiked candy only seconds ago. His horns had grown up over his hair, and said hair was more similar to an afro. He reminded me of woodlands Bob Ross. He wore a shirt that said, "Nacho Average Environment Supporter" and stood about two feet taller than Grover.

But when he turned and looked at me, it was the eyes that did it. Something about those eyes was familiar. He looked like Grover.

But the satyr shook his head. "They look unfortunately similar to Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, but they're much too young! And they don't have all their features! No grey hairs. Watch. Campers, what are your names?"

I spotted a gap in the campers to my right and wondered if I could make a run for it. Mr. D's grapevines were still sliding towards me, like they wanted to squeeze me into grapejuice for a change. Annabeth was shaking, but she apparently had some presence of mind. "Leah!" she said, voice an octave higher after the spider yell and everything subsequent. "And this is…"

I sputtered. All I could think of was trying to walk away… walking… walk… "Walker!" I blurted out, then facepalmed mentally. Could I have been more basic? Annabeth sighed beside me.

Grover's look-alike turned to Chiron. "See? They're not Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. Percy and Annabeth haven't come back. They wouldn't come back! They won't come back. So… we can call off the… everything."

Chiron lowered his spear. "Are you sure, Grover?" he asked.

I didn't dare trust myself to speak again because my adam's apple was nearly swallowed in my shock. But the satyr – Grover – nodded on our behalf. "I know my best friend's faces," he said. "I saw them last week. Besides, Percy and Annabeth aren't idiots. They wouldn't come back."

Now, as for whether or not I'm an idiot… that's up for debate. Don't ask anyone at Yancy Academy. But Annabeth for sure is not an idiot and so I nodded along confidently to what Old Grover was saying.

"Where did you come from?" Chiron asked us, squinting as if he had Xray vision that wasn't turning on as expected.

My mind was completely blank, but Annabeth still stepped on my shoe to keep me shut up. I narrowly avoided flinching and exposing us as liars. "Our mom brought us here," she said. "She dropped us off at the base of the hill."

"What were you doing in the house?" Mr. D asked, still looking like he was picturing some fine aged Percy-wine.

"Looking for you," Annabeth replied. "Or someone… anyone! Mom said to find the camp director."

"How do you have your camp shirts?" Chiron asked.

This momentarily stumped Annabeth before she said, "we saw everyone else wearing them so we grabbed some inside."

I had to hand it to Annabeth. She came up with some great stories under pressure. I just tried to look as assured of our story as a kid surrounded by older teenagers holding weapons could be. I wondered why they were all so on board with the idea of sticking it to Percy and Annabeth.

"Who's your godly parent?" Mr. D was still not convinced of our authenticity. And his vines continued to creep forward.

Now, at this point, something occurred to me. I had been in the Hermes cabin for almost a week now… rounding up, a week. And there was no privacy. It'd take forever to catch Annabeth alone to discuss a plan if we were put into Hermes. And if we said we didn't know, then we'd be put into Hermes. I guess Annabeth could go into Athena… but if she did, then she'd run the risk of being discovered. So, I quickly spoke up for both of us. Trouble was, I didn't know many Gods. I couldn't say Dionysus. I couldn't say Hermes.

"Artemis!" I blurted out, and Annabeth squeaked behind me. Everyone recoiled, gasping and shrieking. Mr. D's vines dropped limp on the ground and he abruptly took a seat on the porch.

"No!" Annabeth yelped, stomping on my foot even harder. "No, no, not Artemis! She's a maiden goddess, duh, and we certainly wouldn't want to be struck by lightning, Drool-boy! What he meant was her brother! Apollo!" She tried to awkwardly laugh it off. "I mean… having all these swords nearby is rather nerve-wracking… but my brother meant to say that our father is Apollo. God of Archery, poetry, and prophecy… yeah."

I could tell by her tone that she was frustrated with me. But hey, at least we hadn't been zapped for heresy.

I nodded along and Mr. D and Chiron finally seemed appeased. With a nod from Chiron, the crowd began to disperse. Grover trotted closer, frowning at us.

As the crowd dispersed, I got a glimpse of the cabins. I craned my neck and stared. There were… a lot more than twelve. Thirty, easy. Different roofs and railings. "There sure are a lot of cabins here," I said.

"One for each of the Gods," Mr. D said. He was still frowning, but I guess what I said soothed him a bit. "Do you know any of the Gods, Walter?"

"Um… Zeus, the King of the Gods…" I began, still processing the cabin change.

"Previous King of the Gods," Chiron corrected me.

"Erm, I'm pretty sure… really?"

Chiron squinted. "A recent change."

Annabeth's foot was still squashing mine and I was tempted to shove her. "And, erm, Hermes. And Athena…" I glanced to Annabeth. She shook her head as if she didn't know any more, though I knew she could probably name all twelve and fifty others before I remembered five more. "And Artemis and Apollo."

Mr. D got way in my personal space. He leaned in so close I could smell his godly musk – it reminded me of the perfume section of Nordstrom or Macy's – and sniffed me. His nostrils flared as he did. Gross. I leaned away and knocked Annabeth off balance. "Tell me, Walter," he scowled, "Who's the God of the Sea?"

"Er, Triton," I guessed, remembering seeing him in The Little Mermaid. "Right?" Annabeth squashed my foot. I almost kicked her. Mr. D squinted more, then stepped back. His grapevines withdrew. A diet coke appeared in his hand. He cracked it open and took a long sip, glowering at me.

Annabeth finally got off my foot. She patted her sides and then looked up at me, surprised. "I think I left my bag inside," she said.

I frowned. "You didn't have a bag."

"My travel bag, Walker! From mom?" She gave me a look and took two steps back towards the house.

I went to follow her, but Grover took the straps of the bag around my shoulder of candy he had just barely brought me before all… this. He glanced inside, then shut the bag.

Annabeth had gone out of sight. I heard her yelling for someone inside. "Walker!" A pause. "Walker, are you paying attention to me?"

I looked around for who Walker was. Then I remembered I needed to be walking because I was Walker. "Coming!" I jumped to life.

Grover followed me up the steps. For better or worse, I wasn't sure. He had just saved our lives out there. But he was also old…er. And I don't normally like having adults around.

Annabeth was in the doorway of the room we'd come out of. "It's gone!" she said.

"The spider?" I asked.

"No, the yarn and the statue-" She saw Grover behind me, shutting the door to the hallway. "And the travel bag. That mom gave us. Me."

"What yarn?" Grover asked.

"Some blue yarn that was in this room that we knocked over," I said, figuring there wouldn't be anything suspicious about it. Then I looked at Grover. "Per chance, have you ever seen three old ladies knitting the world's biggest sock?"

"The Fate's yarn from the trip back from Yancy Academy," Grover said, softly. He didn't seem happy. He was stiff and seemed kinda moody. I'd heard age was supposed to do that to a person, but Grover only looked… twenty-eight. Maybe thirty. "That's how you're here?"

Annabeth finally seemed to relax. "So, you… do know who we are?"

Grover nodded. "Of course. I saw your faces last week." But he studied us with a frown. "But you look… young."

"You look old," I offered. "If that helps."

"The Big House was cleaned out by Rachel Elizabeth Dare years ago," Grover said, ignoring me. "I believe the Fate's Yarn is in the Smithsonian now. Special section… only Demigods can get to it. If you're here…" he sighed. "Look, you're not supposed to be here. If you couldn't tell from the reception outside."

Annabeth hesitated. "Did we… this is a future, right?"

"Yes," Grover agreed. "A future."

"When are we?"

"It's September 9th, 2025."

"Where are we?"

"Camp Half-Blood."

"I meant… where are… us?"

Grover licked his lips while he thought. "Well, banished," he said, shortly. "Long story short. I'll fill you in on the way. But don't admit who you are until we have passes. While we're out there, you don't know me. I don't know you. And don't you dare mention your names. Percy, don't blow anything up."

"Hey," I said, frowning. "Just because I'm known to blow stuff up-"

The door opened again and this middle-aged lady with red hair entered the hallway. She wore a painted jean jacket and white coveralls with bits of puff paint here and there. Grover slumped when he saw her. "Please don't be here to give us a quest," he said. "Please, please don't be here to give us a quest."

The redhead cracked a smile and held up her fingers. "I am not here for a quest, you may have a rest." She counted the rhyme on her fingers to make sure it worked. She put her hands into her pockets. "No, I heard someone yelling that Percy and Annabeth were back."

Grover extended a hand to her, looking at us. "Walker, Leah, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She's the new oracle. Rachel, Walker and Leah got tangled in the fate's yarn before we packed it away. Where is it?"

"A new oracle?" Annabeth gaped. "Really?"

"The yarn? I don't remember. I think it's in the Smithsonian." Rachel thought hard. "We couldn't just leave it lying out for anyone to get into."

It was too bad, I thought, that this had been thought of after Annabeth and I had smacked into it.

"It might have been put up on Olympus… no, I'm sure it's in the Smithsonian, actually. Free entry to the Museum of Natural History. Near the Hope Diamond." Rachel was thinking very hard about this. I hoped she was remembering right. It would stink to get there and be in the wrong place.

"Is there anything else that could fix this?" I asked. It seemed like a good question, but no one answered me.

"We need to get to the Smithsonian," Annabeth said, face white. "And we're in New York! What can we-"

"You're not going to the Smithsonian yet," Grover said, face going darker. "You'll be blasted to pieces the moment the Gods realise you're… you. We need hall passes first. Give me some time to get a vehicle. I'll take you to Manhattan."

"Manhattan?" I asked. "What's in Manhattan?"

Annabeth's hands came up to cover her face. "You don't mean…"

"I'm taking you to Olympus," Grover replied. "All the way up."

Saturday 12/14's chapter will be called: I am not mentioned