I Plunge To My Death.
We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.
We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. I felt that we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that someting was waiting for the right opportunity.
"I hate this feeling," Thalia says tensely.
"Me too. We can't go anywhere without being watched," Ariel says with a sigh.
Apollo looks at his soulmate with concern, wishing she didn't have to fear anything and could feel safe with him.
I tired to keep a low profile because my name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. The Trenton Register-News showed a photo taken by a tourist as I got off the Greyhound bus. I had a wild look in my eyes. My sword was a metallic blur in my hands. It might've been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick.
"Hah, you look like a crazed serial killer in this picture," Nico says, laughing.
"You're not funny," Ariel says, rolling her eyes and throwing a pillow at Nico.
"I think she would make a sexy serial killer," Ares says, licking his lips.
Hermes, who heard, nods in agreement. Meanwhile, Clarisse looks at her father in disgust; this is not what she wanted to hear. Aphrodite, on the other hand, lets out a quiet squeal when she notices Hermes and Ares's attraction to Ariel.
The picture's caption read:
Sixteen-year-old Ariel Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where she accosted several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the girl may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to her capture.
"What a disgusting mortal... doesn't even care about them, but pretends to," Poseidon says mockingly.
"Perhaps we should visit that disgusting person after we finish the movies, don't you think, husband?" Amphitrite asks with a mischievous smile.
"That sounds like a good idea, my love," Poseidon replies with a smile on his face.
The gods recognize Poseidon's sadistic smile and look at him with a hint of fear.
- Don't worry, - Annabeth told me. - Mortal police could never find us. - But she didn't sound so sure.
The rest of the day after a couple of games if cards with the others, I spent alternately pacing the lenght of the train ( because I had a really hard time sitting still) or looking out the windows.
Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grander on a pony, caught my eyes and wawed. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their face buried in laptop computers or magazines.
"You saw an entire centaur family?" Chiron asks, his eyes wide.
"Yes, I didn't know how rare it was to see something like that at the time, but I'm glad I got to see it," Ariel says with a gentle smile on her face.
Apollo looks at Ariel with love in his eyes.
Another time, toward evening, I save something huge moving through the woods. I could've sworn it was a lion, expect that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone.
