Nina's Destiny

Alcyoneus' Lair

I yawned when I woke up from my much needed rest at Frank's grandmother's house. I pulled on the pair of clothes Frank had given me. They belonged to his mom too. It was a gray sweater, a pair of ripped skinny jeans, and matching scarf and hat. It was cold in Northern Canada, even in the middle of summer. I had just slipped on my combat boots when I heard an explosion outside.

Quickly, I ran to the window. Smoke was rising from a place in the ground. Great, the laestrygonians found us. Somebody knocked on my door. "Are you decent?" Percy called out.

"You can come in," I called back. The door swung open. Percy was dressed in large, baggy jeans and a t-shirt a few sizes too big for him. They were obviously Frank's. It seemed that for the moment Percy had forgotten he was mad at me.

"C'mon, Nina. We need to get up to the roof. Frank and Hazel are already there. There's a water pipe up there we can use to attack the monsters. Do you have all your things?" I nodded and ran after Percy as he raced down the hall. Percy lead me up the stairs to where Frank and Hazel were standing on top of the roof. Next to them was a water spicket. Percy and I smirked at each other.

I looked over at Frank and Hazel. Frank was shooting random arrows that did different things at the giants while Hazel was yelling insults down at them. I held my hand out and closed my eyes. Concentrating really hard, I clenched my fist. Had my eyes been opened, I would have seen Percy doing the same. Water spurted out of the spicket. A colossal wave ran over the edge of the roof and knocked down the laestrygonians.

"C'mon!" Frank shouted. "There's an airport near by. A plane is waiting there. The pilots a former legionnaire. He's going to take us to Alaska."

"I'll drive!" Percy shouted as we all ran towards Franks garage. I climbed into the passenger seat while Frank, Hazel, and Ella climbed into the back. Percy slammed the gas pedal and we shot out of the garage before the door had fully opened. The car ran over several giants before they had a chance to move. Unfortunately, there were many others.

I looked back to see Frank's house on fire. "Your grandmother's still in their," I gasped.

Frank looked back at his home sadly. He seemed to be staring the roof. "She made it out," he murmured. He looked back to the road. "This left," he said calmly to Percy. I had no idea how he was so calm with his house on fire. Percy made a left and we pulled into the small airport. The giants were right behind us. We opened our doors and started running. We ran to the plane. Frank shoved something into the hands of the man standing outside the plane's door. The man ushered us on as the laestrygonians entered the plane yard.

Percy was nervous about being in the air. I didn't mind it too much, but I was still a little nervous. This wasn't my territory. I didn't belong here. I tried to think back to another time I had been in the air. It must have been a few years ago. I was much younger than I am now. I was in the arms of a blond man. I think it was Apollo. I was falling asleep in his arms. I shook my head. My mind snapped back into the present.

I rubbed the charm bracelet on my wrist. One of the charms caught my eye. It was a two silver sixteenth notes joined together. Tiny clear diamonds were inlaid in the bars that held them together. I thought back to the first instrument I had ever played. It was a rusty flute Percy gave me. I blinked as it appeared in my hands. I brought it up to my lips. A melody ran through my mind. My fingers and lips moved of their own accord as I began to play.

"Stairway to Heaven?" Percy asked. slightly amused. I blushed and laid the flute down in my lap.

"Shut up," I muttered. I jerked as the plane set down.

"I can't go farther than this," the pilot informed us. We all thanked him as we stepped off.

"Um..." Frank groaned. "We have enough for four plane tickets." I looked at Ella. We couldn't bring her along.