annais min had everything to prove and no time to do it. as one of the five children of the underworld destined to lead the seven on their journey of death and destruction, annais had the fate of the universe resting on her shoulders, holding her do...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: OUT OF BODY
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ANNAIS, JASON, PIPER AND Percy trekked for what seemed like hours beneath the hot sun. Surrounded by sunflowers, their budding yellow petals reaching for the sky on winding stalks, Annais felt almost suffocated by the endless field. The road waiting on the other side didn't seem worth it, nor did the God who would inevitably let them down in one way or another. Part of her wanted to turn back, but with Percy and Jason fighting to lead the charge, she knew she had no choice but to keep going.
The second she spied the highway was like taking a breath of fresh air. Momentarily, hope swelled in her chest, and she surged forward ahead of the boys to smack the sunflower stalks out of her way.
Just a few more metres, Annais reminded herself with Jason and Percy grumbling at each other in the background. Not long now, Annais.
Perhaps she jinxed them. Or maybe it was just Leo's shitty concept of geography.
"Correct my maths," Percy murmured as the four of them stared up at the sign in sheer disbelief. Bubba's Gas 'n' Grub. Then, beneath that, Topeka Exit: 40 miles. "But doesn't that mean we have eight miles to walk?"
"Yup..." Piper sighed.
Annais cursed under her breath, jaw clenching, "Oh, Leo's so dead when we get back."
"Agreed," the other girl muttered, then turned to stare down the highway in obvious dismay. "What do we wanna do?"
"Well," Jason took a moment to survey their surroundings. No one else was around. There wasn't even a bus stop as far as they were able to see. Their best bet would've been to turn back and get Leo to drop them off further down the highway, though none of them were particularly thrilled at the idea of trekking through that torturous sunflower field again. "There's no cars, but I guess we wouldn't want to hitch-hike."
Annais scoffed at that. "No shit. Knowing our luck, the first car we'd come across would have a monster in it."
For a moment, Jason's eyes darted up to meet hers, blue clashing against brown. Normally, he would've smirked at her comment, but his face remained carefully calculated, coolly indifferent beneath the weight of her stare. Annais let out a sigh of disappointment, chest tightening, and forced herself to turn away.
"We've already spent too much time going overland," Piper argued. Unlike Percy, she saw the tension between her friends as clear as day. She didn't look happy about it either, lips pursed and brows furrowed. Annais half-expected her to call them out, to see what had suddenly changed in the space of a day. But she didn't. Instead, she forcefully cleared her throat, shot Annais a we'll be speaking about this later look, then continued, "The earth is Gaea's territory..."
Jason made an uncertain sound, like an idea had come to him but he wasn't quite sure whether or not to follow through. At last, he let out a breath, declaring into the silence, "I can call a friend for a ride."
