Alstroemerias {Percy Jackson}

24

Before they could think any further about what they needed to do, they hit the Lincoln Tunnel. The bus went dark, save for the running lights down the aisle, and the atmosphere turned eerily quiet, without the pitter-patter of rain.

Mrs. Dodds got up, and in a flat voice announced that she needed to use the restroom the whole bus. Her two sisters followed suit.

"I've got it," Annabeth announced as they began to make their way down the aisle. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. So, turn invisible and go up the aisle and let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys-"

"There's a chance that they might nor notice us. You're a son of the big three, your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you!"

"Don't worry about us," Grover said.

Maggie took a slightly less soft approach, instead opting to shove the stupid hat on the kid's head with a, "Yes, you can." She then proceeded to shove him forward.

Percy managed to catch himself before he rushed to the ground. He looked down, just to make sure that the hat didn't favor Annabeth before creeping his way up the aisle, careful to avoid stepping on people's feet. He got up ten rows before he had to dive into an empty seat as the furies walked past him.

Mrs. Dodds stopped and sniffled, looking straight into Percy's invisible eyes.

She kept going.

Percy quickly made his way to the front of the bus. They were almost out of the Lincoln Tunnel meaning it wouldn't be long before he could press the emergency stop button. However, a hideous wailing stopped him from doing so.

Percy his head to the back row. The old, "elderly," ladies weren't old any more, their faces were, somehow, still the same, but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat wings and hands and feet that reminded him of gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The Furies surrounded the three in the back, lashing their whips and hissing, "Where is it? Where?"

"He's not here!" Annabeth tried. "He's gone!"

The furies raised their whips.

Annabeth drew her bronze knife while Grover grabbed a tin can out of Maggie's backpack, prepared to throw it. The green haired girl pulled her ring half way off, prepared to take out her sword if things got any worse.

What Percy did next was impulsive and dangerous. It should have made him an automatic candidate for ADHD poster child of the year.

While the driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror, Percy grabbed the wheel and jerked it to the left.

"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey... woah!"

The driver wrestled Percy for the wheel. In their struggle they managed to slam the bus against the side of the tunnel, send it careening out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, causing people, monsters, and cars to be knocked aside like bowling pins.

Somehow, the driver managed to pry the steering wheel out of Percy's hands and find an exit. They shot straight off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down some rural New Jersey roads.

Then, Percy hit the emergency brake.

The bus wailed and spun in a full circle on the wet asphalt before it crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on, and the door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, closely followed by the angry mob of passengers.