plague bringer - a heroes of olympus insert

𝗑𝗂𝗏. 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖺 𝗇𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗅 𝖻𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗄𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇

Frank shot down the stairs to get the rest of the crew as Aria felt herself flop down on the deck in exhaustion. This day had been completely mentally and physically draining. She was breathing heavily after booking it the whole way from the museum to the ship and knew she had to look like she had been hit by a truck.

She knew that guess had to be right as she saw Annabeth and Hazel looking at them with concern as Frank was trailing, still gasping for air. She, Percy, and the Coach had to be a sight laying there on the deck. Hedge was missing his shoes. He grinned at the sky, muttering, "Awesome. Awesome." Percy, Frank, and her were covered with nicks and scratches and looked like drowned rats. It was like they'd jumped through a window, which wasn't completely incorrect.

Leo, Piper, and Jason, who'd been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs.

"What? What?" Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. "Can't a guy even take a lunch break? What's wrong?"

"Followed!" Frank yelled.

"Followed by what?" Jason asked.

"I don't know!" Frank panted. "Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!"

Annabeth looked like she wanted to strangle the guy. "That makes absolutely no sense. Leo, you'd better get us out of here."

Leo put his sandwich between his teeth, pirate style, and ran for the helm.

Soon the Argo II was rising into the sky. Aria, Percy, Frank, and Hedge didn't start to recover until the Atlanta skyline was a hazy smudge in the distance.

"Charleston," Percy said, hobbling around the deck like an old man. He still sounded pretty shaken up. "Set course for Charleston."

"Charleston?" Jason said the name as if it brought back bad memories. "What exactly did you find in Atlanta?"

Aria uncomfortably laughed as Piper moved next to her, studying her to see if she was alright. Leo was glancing at her as if he was worried she might snap and lose it. That was probably fair though. She found out Gaea was wanting to use her like a death ray, thought her friends got kidnapped, and then got kidnapped herself to be handed to Gaea on a silver platter. She simultaneously wanted to laugh, scream, and cry, but sent Piper a reassuring smile. If she could convince Piper that she was alright, maybe she could manage to convince herself.

Frank unzipped his backpack and started bringing out souvenirs. "Some peach preserves. A couple of T-shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "How about you start from the top—of the story, not the backpack."

They gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear the conversation as he navigated. Percy and Frank took turns relating what had happened at the Georgia Aquarium, with Coach Hedge interjecting from time to time: "That was awesome!" or "Then I kicked her in the head!" Aria nodded in agreement with what they were saying, but stayed silent.

Once they finished talking about the intense action that occurred, Coach Hedge had lost interest in the conversation—probably because it was no longer about him—and wandered toward the bow of the ship, practicing his roundhouse kicks and complimenting himself on his technique.

Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. "A bounty on our heads...as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"Do we get WANTED posters?" Leo asked. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

Hazel wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about?"

"Just curious how much I'm going for these days," Leo said. "I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe...but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?"