Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends, welcome to the next chapter of The God Hunter.
Hope you enjoy and now story time.
An hour later they spotted land, a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed them starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look.
"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as they approached the shoreline.
"Oh really?" Matt said, "Then Percy should feel right at home!"
"Virginia! Not... whatever you meant!" Percy said, "How did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like five hundred and thirty nautical miles."
"How do you know that?" Annabeth said as she stared at him.
"Good question." Percy said.
Annabeth thought for a moment before saying, "Percy, what's our position?"
"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west." Percy said immediately, then he shook his head, "Okay, how did I know that?"
"If I had to make a wild guess, I would say it's because of your dad." Matt said, "Being the son of the Sea God, it would make sense to have perfect bearing while at sea."
"Really?" Percy said, "...Not sure how I feel about being a human GPS unit."
"Other boat is coming." Tyson said suddenly.
The coast guard vessel was definitely on their tail now, its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.
"We can't let them catch us." Percy said.
"You don't say!" Matt said.
"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay!" Annabeth said, "I know a place we can hide."
Percy risked loosening the thermos cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent them rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. They didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side.
"There." she said, "Past that sandbar."
They veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. Percy beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress. Vine-covered trees loomed above, insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river.
"Come on." Annabeth said, "It's just down the bank."
"What is?" Percy said.
"Just follow." she said as she grabbed a duffel bag, "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."
After burying the lifeboat with branches, Percy, Matt and Tyson followed Annabeth along the shore, their feet sinking in red mud. A snake slithered past and disappeared into the grass.
"Not a good place." Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm.
"Biting flies! mosquitoes!" Matt said annoyed, "Shouldn't nature be serene? Central Park looks so nice."
"Central Park? You know what is strange?" Percy said, "I have lived my entire live in New York but I have never been there before."
"Really? I'll happily take you..." Matt said, "If we survive this bug banquet."
"Sounds good." Percy said with a laugh.
After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."
All one could see was a patch of brambles. Then Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, revealing it was a camouflaged shelter.
The inside was big enough for four, even with Tyson being the fourth. The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty waterproof. Stacked in the corner was everything one could want for a campout, sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp.
There were demigod provisions, too. Bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty, like it had been vacant for a long time.
Matt let out a low whistle was he looked around, "This is a pretty cool place." he said, "How did you find it?"
"I made it with Thalia." she said quietly, "And Luke."
"Really?" Matt said, "So we can expect the jackass to burst in with an army of monsters any moment now."
But she shook her head, "We made a dozen safe houses like this." Annabeth said, "I doubt Luke even remembers where they are... Or cares."
She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.
"Hey, Matt." Percy said getting his attention, "Me and Tyson are going to do some scouting. You know, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"
"What?" Matt said, "A convenience store?"
"Yeah, for snacks." Percy said, "Powdered donuts or something... Maybe a pizza."
"...Make sure they hold the olives." Matt said, "But what am I suppose to do?"
But once he realized what Percy wanted him to do, the son of Poseidon had already dragged Tyson with him out of the hideout, leaving Matt and Annabeth alone. Before the door closed he could hear Tyson starting to shout, "Here, pizza!"
"That boy is too good for this earth..." Matt said with a sigh before he sat down next to Annabeth, "So... Luke..."
She unsheathed her knife and started cleaning the blade with a rag.
"Yeah... So, I think we escaped a bit too easy." Matt said, "I mean, we are awesome, but come on. At least make it challenging."
Annabeth nodded, "I was thinking the same thing. What we overheard him say about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait'." she said, "I think he was talking about us."
"But what is the bait." Matt said, "The Fleece or Grover?"
She studied the edge of her knife, "I don't know, Matt. Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself." Annabeth said, "Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just can't believe he would poison the tree."
"I can." Matt said honestly, "So... Thalia would have been on his side?"
Annabeth glared at him, "Matt, you know who you remind me of?" she said, but she didn't wait for a response, "Thalia. You guys are so much alike it's scary."
Matt looked down to his chest, his expression showing he was almost expecting to see a set of breast on him.
"No, not like that!" Annabeth said quickly when he reached down to his pants, "I mean in personality. Either you would've been best friends or you would've strangled each other."
"Guess I would have to go with the second option. There is room for another Clarisse in my life. Because there is only one Annabeth in my life." Matt said with a smile, "And that's enough for me."
Annabeth got a small smile on her face from hearing him say that, "Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes." she said, "Just as you with Hera."
"I don't get mad with Hera." Matt corrected her, "I don't just give a damn."
"Right." she said, "But would you turn against Olympus because of your dislike of your mother?"
"I guess not." Matt said, "I'm not about to doom the whole world for a grudge against my mom. Even I'm not that petty."
"Good, neither would she." Annabeth said, "Luke's wrong." and she stuck her knife blade into the dirt.
"While we're here, I need to pick your brain about something." Matt said, "Or rather someone... I think. Not really sure."
"Oh? This should be good." Annabeth said, "What's it about?"
"What do you know about a being called Lucifer?" Matt said.
Annabeth took a look at him, her eyes widening and she drew a shaky breath, but before she could speak, she was interrupted when the door of the hut creaked open and Percy and Tyson crawled in.
"Powdered donuts!" Tyson said proudly, holding up a pastry box.
Matt and Annabeth exchanged a glance before looking at the other two.
"Where did you get that?" Annabeth said.
"Donut shop." Percy said.
"But we're in the middle of nowhere." Matt said confused, "There is nothing out there..."
"Fifty feet." Tyson said, "Monster Donut shop, just over the hill!"
"This is bad." Annabeth muttered.
"Hold on." Matt said, holding up a hand, "What about the pizza?"
"Sorry, Matt." Percy said, "No pizza."
"Well..." Matt said with a deep sigh, "Shit."
They were crouching behind a tree, staring at the donut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked brand new, with brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot. One employee was reading a magazine behind the cash register.
On the store's marquis, in huge black letters that even one with dyslexia could read:
Monster Donut
A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in Monster.
"This shouldn't be here." Annabeth whispered, "It's wrong."
"Explain that one to me." Matt whispered, "Their mascot is Shrek! And why are we whispering?"
"Tyson went in and bought a dozen." Percy said, "Nothing happened to him."
"He's a monster." Annabeth said.
"Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters!" Percy said, "It's a chain. We've got them in New York."
"They do?" Matt said.
"And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you and Tyson went to go get donuts?" Annabeth said, "Right here in the middle of the woods?"
"...Okay that seems a bit out there to me." Matt said, "I have to give you that."
"It could be a nest." Annabeth explained, "Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast? One day there's nothing and then the next day, boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four, exact replicas spreading across the country?"
"No." Percy said, "Never thought about it."
"Me neither." Matt said.
"Some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed..." Annabeth said before she suddenly froze, "No. Sudden. Moves. Very slowly, turn around." she added like her life depended on it.
A scraping noise, like something large dragging its belly through the leaves as heard nearby.
Behind them a rhino-size thing was moving through the shadows of the trees. It was hissing, its front half writhing in all different directions. The thing had multiple necks, at least seven, each topped with a hissing reptilian head. Its skin was leathery, and under each neck it wore a plastic bib that read: I'm a Monster Donut Kid!
Matt reached out his hand to call his sword to his hand as Percy took out his ballpoint pen, but Annabeth locked eyes gave them a silent warning: Not yet.
A lot of monsters have terrible eyesight. It was possible the Hydra might pass them by, but the sudden glow from their weapons would get its attention.
So they waited.
The Hydra was only a few feet away, it seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas, one of their duffel bags. The thing had already been to their campsite. It was following their scent.
Each head of the Hydra was diamond-shaped, like a rattlesnake's, but the mouths were lined with jagged rows of shark-like teeth.
Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward them and hissed.
"Scatter!" Annabeth yelled and she dove to the right.
Percy dove to the left as Matt dove right under an arc of green liquid spat from one of the Hydra's heads and instead it splashed against an elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight toward Tyson, who still hadn't moved, petrified by the monster that was now right in front of him.
"Tyson!" Percy yelled tackled him with all his might, knocking him aside just as the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads. The Hydra stumbled backward, yanking its heads free then wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid, and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.
Matt called his sword to his hand, "Hey ugly." he yelled, drawing the attention of the monster.
The Hydra whipped toward it with all its heads, hissing and baring its teeth. One of the heads snapped at Matt experimentally. Acting upon a reflex, he swung his sword.
"No!" Annabeth yelled.
The blade sliced the Hydra's head clean off. It rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon. In a matter of seconds the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head. Now they were facing down an eight-headed Hydra.
"Oh yeah, regenerating heads..." Matt said before he dodged a spray of acid, "Forgot about that."
"Fire!" Annabeth said, "We have to use fire!"
The blonde one's got a point, try that flame trick we have been working on.
"Good idea." Matt thought as his usual white flames erupted around the blade of his sword.
Matt charged forward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads with his flaming sword, cutting off their head and the sheer heat of his flaming sword cauterizing the wounds, negating the Hydra's ability to grown back it's heads.
Percy backed up toward river as the Hydra followed. Annabeth moved in and tried to distract one of the heads, parrying its teeth with her knife, but another head swung sideways like a club and knocked her into the muck.
"No hitting my friends!" Tyson shouted as charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Annabeth.
As Annabeth got to her feet, Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists. But even Tyson couldn't fend off the Hydra forever. Then Matt heard a strange sound, a chug-chug-chug sound. It was so powerful it made the riverbank shake.
"What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the remaining heads of the Hydra.
"Steam engine." Tyson said.
"What?" Percy said as he ducked as the Hydra spat acid before he followed up with Matt to slice another head off.
Then from the river behind, a familiar female voice shouted, "There! Prepare the thirty-two-pounder!"
"Great... Clarisse." Matt muttered, "Now we're waring on two fronts."
A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, milady!"
"Damn the heroes!" the girl said, "Full steam ahead and fire at will, Captain!"
Annabeth understood what was happening a split second faster than them, "Hit the dirt!" and they dove for the ground as an earth-shattering boom echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of them, showering them with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.
"Gross!" Annabeth screamed.
"It got in my mouth!" Matt shouted, "You got any more fluids you want to spray on me, you stupid cunt!?"
"Steamship!" Tyson yelled.
He stood, coughing from the cloud of gunpowder smoke that was rolling across the banks.
Chugging toward them down the river was a ship, it rode low in the water like a submarine, its deck plated with iron. In the middle was a trapezoid-shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top, a wild boar and spear on a blood red field. Lining the deck were zombies in gray uniforms.
The ship was an ironclad, a Civil War battle cruiser. The name along the prow in moss-covered letters: CSS Birmingham.
And standing next to the smoking cannon that had almost killed them, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.
"Losers." she sneered, "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."
There you go, another chapter, hope you enjoyed. Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.
Another idea I had for this chapter was for Matt to introduce Asherah to Annabeth instead of asking about Lucifer, but I decides to save that for Book 4. Why? No reason.
Anyways take care of yourself, get some rest, drink plenty of water and I will see you people next time.