It's a bit of a slow start! It took me a bit to get back into the groove, but I promise I do eventually.
Say hello to Tyson! Enjoy!
The night before the last day of school, Percy went to sleep and found himself in a new nightmare.
He was standing on a deserted street in some little beach town. It was the middle of the night. A storm was blowing, like the beginnings of a hurricane. Wind and rain ripped at the palm trees along the sidewalk. Pink and yellow stucco buildings lined the street, their windows boarded up. A block away, past a line of hibiscus bushes, the ocean churned.
Florida, he knew, though he wasn't sure how.
Hooves clattered against the pavement. He turned and saw Grover running for his life. He was hauling goat tail, holding his human shoes in his hands the way he does when he needs to move fast. He clopped past the little tourist shops and surfboard rental places. The wind bent the palm trees almost to the ground.
Grover was terrified of something behind him. He must've just come from the beach. Wet sand was caked in his fur. He'd escaped from somewhere. He was trying to get away from…something. No matter how Percy called, he couldn't hear him.
A shadow figure loomed at one end of the block from the direction Grover had come from, growling.
Grover whimpered in fear. Have to get away, he muttered, have to warn them!
He continued running, the figure continued chasing, and he turned right into a dead-end courtyard full of shops.
The air was filled with fear and the smell of that thing—a sickening combination of wet sheep wool and rotten meat and the weird sour odor of monster.
His friend chose the wedding boutique to hide in. He dove behind a rack of wedding dresses. Percy ducked with him, unable to see what he was hiding from. It was like his vision was obscured, even the shops were muted in colour and physicality.
The only one he could see clearly was Grover.
The shadow of a monster passed by the window.
Then lightning flashed. The entire front of the store exploded, and a monstrous voice bellowed: "MIIINE!"
Percy bolted upright, a shiver crawling up his spine.
No storm, no monster.
Just morning sunlight and owl—
Oh.
He looked, unimpressed, at the window, where a shadow flickered across the glass. "Adding stalking to your list of activities now, Wise Girl?" He asked. "Quite the resume building there."
The shadow at the window disappeared.
"Percy," His mom called. "Time to get up."
She peaked her head in, smiling at his rumpled state. "Last day of school! You should be excited!"
"Coming," he smiled back. He got up to get dressed.
Have to get away. Have to warn them!
From what? Warn who?
He made the ancient gesture Grover had once taught him for warding off evil. It probably wouldn't help much, but he needed everything he could get; this felt like the start of something.
Sally had made blue waffles and blue eggs for breakfast, a celebration for his continued stay at one school for the whole year. Despite this, there was a tense line in her shoulders. Something had happened, and she seemed to be debating telling him.
He ate while she washed the dishes, watching her from behind.
Finally, she sighed, and placed down the dish rag.
Her eyes were set in the same determined way he knew his own eyes did.
"Something happened at camp," she said. "Chiron didn't want me to tell you, but you would have figured it out eventually. You always do."
He placed his fork aside and she joined him at the table, explaining what Chiron had said.
Someone poisoned Thalia's tree. The border protecting camp is failing, Percy will not be safe here.
He pursed his lips, goosebumps crawling up his arm. An image of a girl on her knees, asking for his help flashed into sight. It disappeared just as quickly, leaving him empty and lost.
"I'm not safe anywhere," he pointed out. "And…I have to go. I think Grover's in trouble."
She was in trouble.
They were quiet. His mom's eyes watered, but she blinked her tears away.
"I'll pack my bag early," he said. "And bring it with me…I think…something's going to happen at school today."
"Okay," she said simply.
He got up and rounded the table to hug her tightly, and she hugged him in return.
"Go on, then," she urged, bumping him in the direction of the hall. "You don't want to keep Tyson waiting. Make sure to let me know you're safe."
He collected his things, they hugged again, and then he was off to catch the Number Two train.
Meriweather College Prep was a "progressive" school in downtown Manhattan. Percy didn't mind it, but he didn't care for it either.
The students left him and Tyson, his friend, alone. They had quickly figured out what would happen if they didn't.
Percy had met Tyson a few months earlier. He'd stumbled upon him in an alleyway, having followed the smell of big mean cat, and saved him from an old, mean sphinx.
He smelled like a forge and the sea, and he ran warm.
They'd been friends ever since.
Tyson was a big kid, easily six-foot-three and built like the Abominable Snowman. His face was kind of misshapen and brutal-looking.
Percy had to fist-fight with the Mist to look at his one eye without a headache, but he was slowly getting used to it.
His voice was deep, but he talked like a much younger kid. Though a softie, his penchant for looming behind Percy when Percy gently scolded his peers made it so no one tried anything.
Percy adored him.
The smell of owl followed him through his classes, almost always perching to his right like a guard.
Another smell joined the mix, the sour smell of monsters and flesh. Percy watched, eyes half-lidded, as Matt Sloan, the resident bully, introduced his new friends.
"Monsters," he murmured to his shadow. "Get ready."
A rustle was his only response.
"Don't bother changing, big guy," he told Tyson in the locker room. "We'll be leaving soon."
What followed was a dodgeball game straight from the pit.
It was a free-for-all dodgeball day, Sloan volunteered to be team-captain and immediately split the groups into who ran in his circle and who didn't.
Percy kept his eyes on the visiting group, six in total.
"Scared," Tyson mumbled. "Smells funny."
"I know," he assured. "I smell them too."
Tyson smiled in relief.
"I know you don't like violence, but I'd really appreciate it if you could watch my back."
His eye flashed, determined. "You can rely on me," the Cyclops said.
The visitors were cracking their knuckles, eyeing them like it was slaughter time. Percy smiled back, all teeth.
The whistle was blown and the game began.
Percy's team scattered. He simply dodged the balls whistling past him at speeds they shouldn't reach.
The visitors grinned evilly. They grew bigger, taller than Tyson, eight-feet-tall giants with wild eyes, pointy teeth, and hairy arms tattooed with snakes and hula women and Valentine hearts. Biceps bulged beneath their shirts, like they were on steroids. "Hello," the one named Joe Bob said, "Perseus Jackson."
The other students were screaming.
"I prefer Percy," he replied evenly. He uncapped his sword. "Feel free to introduce yourselves; you monsters are always so chatty."
One of them snarled and launched a ball at the door. It would have slammed it closed, had something not jammed it.
Thank you, Wise Girl.
The students escaped, leaving Percy, Tyson, and the hidden Annabeth to deal with the monsters.
"Son of the Sea God," the one called Joe Bob growled. "Do you think it's that easy? We Laistrygonians aren't just playing for your death. We want lunch!"
Percy didn't wait for him to do anything. He lunged, swiping his sword at an arc.
It sliced through Joe Bob like butter, and he crumbled to dust just as the giant named Marrow Sucker did on the other end of the gym.
"No!" Another one wailed.
They threw the smoking metal balls in their hands. Percy dropped down to cover his head, only—
"Percy needs help!" Tyson yelled, and he jumped right in front of him.
Both balls slammed into him, but he caught them. He sent them hurtling back towards their surprised owners, who screamed as the bronze spheres exploded against their chests.
They disintegrated. Only two monsters remained.
Tyson rushed one, Skull Eater, and Percy sprinted for the other.
He jumped, going high, and a breeze let him know his back was covered.
The last of the Laistrygonians fell to dust and fire.
Annabeth pulled off her cap. Her face was grimy and scratched. She had a ragged backpack slung over her shoulder, a bronze knife in her hand, and a wild look in her storm-grey eyes, like she'd just been chased a thousand miles by ghosts.
Any excitement Percy had gained from the fight immediately died.
"Annie," he searched her face. "What happened?"
There were sirens wailing in the distance and a garbled voice over the intercom.
"Tyson!" Percy called, taking Annabeth's hand. "Let's get out of here before they think we caused this mess."
They slipped through the gym doors, stopping for Percy's bag, and took off through Manhattan.
Percy pulled them down an alley on Church Street, just as police cars went streaking past. He wondered how the situation would go down—whether the Mist would find a way to pin this on him or not.
Who was he kidding, it absolutely would.
"What happened?" He asked Annabeth again. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, her shoulders slightly relaxing. She nodded towards Tyson. "Where'd you find him?" She asked, pointing.
"He's my friend," Percy said. "A…we're close."
Annabeth eyed him. "Is he homeless?"
He blinked. "What does that have to do with anything? He can hear you, you know. Why don't you ask him?"
She looked surprised. "He can talk?"
"I talk," Tyson admitted. "You smell like owl."
For a moment, Annabeth stood stock still, like a million jumbling thoughts were going through her head. He wasn't sure how, but he got the feeling her world had just been slightly tilted.
He gave her space, and examined Tyson's hands in the meantime to make sure they weren't burnt to a crisp.
Grimy and scarred, but good.
He finished just as Annabeth came back to life. She didn't share what was on her mind.
"I'm surprised the Laistrygonians had the guts to attack you with him around."
"I am too, to be honest," he said. "You good?"
"Have you been having the dreams?" She asked instead, rolling her shoulders.
"The dreams…about Grover?"
Her face turned pale. "Grover? No, what about Grover?"
He told her about the dream, then: "I'm guessing this is something about camp. I had a dream about Thalia's tree a few weeks ago, but I don't really remember anything concrete."
Her eyes turned stormy. "Camp," she confirmed. "There's big trouble at camp."
"My mom said so too," he said. "Chiron told her that the border had been attacked and was failing, that it would be safer for me to stay here."
"That's more than what I've gotten. We have to get there right away. Monsters have been chasing me all the way from Virginia, trying to stop me."
"Something's stirring them." He nodded in agreement to her plan. "Let's go then. Do you know a fast way there? I can always get us a taxi."
Her eyes gleamed. "Do you have any drachma?" She asked. "I have a specific taxi in mind…"