★ 𝟐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 ★ p. jackson

021

"The flask!" Percy shouted.

"The what?" Esmeralda looked at him confused. See when you're free falling towards the ocean at the speed gravity has chosen, a flask isn't really the first thing that would come to mind.

Or at least not for Esmeralda or Annabeth, Tyson however seemed to understand and began rummaging through the duffle bags. He pulled out the flask Hermes had gifted them, the one engraved with different monsters and scenes from Greek history. Tyson tossed it to Percy who caught it with ease, the boy directed in behind them and slightly unscrewed the lid. A burst of air came rushing out, pushing them across the sea with a jolt. The winds seemed to laugh as they escaped the thermos, spraying a mist of salt water in their faces. They zipped away from the Princess Andromeda like a speed boat, the three demigods clung to the inflatable lifeboat while the young cyclops held onto them.

Once the cruise ship was out of sight, Percy and Annabeth tried to Iris message Chiron. They didn't seem to be getting any response from the old activities director given that the mist kept breaking up. Annabeth hastily tried to explain everything to him, but whenever Chiron tried to respond his voice would break up and dissolve behind the sound of music. "Ugh, blasted relatives." He muttered. He managed to get a few words out: "fleece... Percy... careful... Miami." Before the misty screen was smashed by a flying bottle on Chiron's end.

"Great," Annabeth mumbled. "Just great."

Esmeralda sat towards the front of the raft, her back towards her friends. The wind blew in her face, blowing her hair all around her, she didn't care for it though. The brunette girl hadn't said a word since they hit the water and no one had spoken to her either. She found some gauze in one of the first aid kits and began to wipe the blood off her face, using her sword to check her reflection. A bruise had formed on her jaw, and two more were starting to form around her eye and nose.

Somewhere during cleaning the process, droplets of water began to trickle and splat onto the blade. Esmeralda stared down at her reflection as she watched the tears roll down her cheeks. She tore her gaze away from the blade as squeezed her eyes shut to stop herself from crying. However the darkness only created a blank canvas for the fresh memories to paint themselves onto. She quietly choked back as sob and opened her eyes, she wiped the tears away and took a uneven breath.

Behind her, Annabeth spared a look at Percy and the son of Poseidon glanced back at her. They both wanted nothing more than to comfort their friend, however neither knew how. They didn't understand the situation and with the way she'd distanced herself it was clear she didn't want to talk about it. Esme was strong, she'd talk when she was ready to share.

"Land," Annabeth said from. Em looked up too see an island coming up ahead. Percy changed their direction, sending them towards the shore line. The shore was cluttered with boats and tanks and the beach littered with hotels and high rises. The beach looked familiar to Em but her brain was to fogged up to connect the dots.

"That's Virginia Beach, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far in only one night?" Annabeth said. "That's-"

"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles." Percy blurred out.

Annabeth stopped and stared at him. "How did you-?"

"I-I don't know?"

Esmeralda turned around to look at her friends, she met Percy's gaze and held it for a short moment before Annabeth spoke up again. "Percy, what's our position?"

"Thirty-six degrees, forty-four minutes north, uh seventy-six degrees, two minutes west." Percy paused for a second to take in what had just happened. "Woah," he looked over at Em to find the faintest whisper of a smile upon her face. It wasn't the same smile that made her eyes sparkle and it only lasted for a millisecond. But that small smile was all Percy needed to make his insides go fuzzy.