Percy Jackson and the Olympians belong to Rick Riordan. All credit to him.
That night was not the best. We camped in the woods almost a hundred yards off the main road where Percy thought local teenagers used the land for parties.
I made a small shelter of low hanging tree branches for the five of us to try and keep us warm with the blankets we found in Auntie M's but we didn't dare start a fire and risk attracting anything else.
The ground was littered with flattened hissing cans and fast food rappers. We were planning to sleep in shifts but I stopped Percy from walking patrol so we could all talk.
"I'd like to talk about the night before if that is okay." Everyone was silent but no one objected so I proceeded. "I never intended on growing into what I was that night, I had never done anything like that before so I can't explain that but I can explain what I said that night."
Annabeth cleared her throat and looked me in the eyes for the first time since. "Can we ask questions throughout so we can get everything answered?" Annabeth asked. I nodded yes to her and the boys. It seemed to make it less tense in the shelter after. "Well what happened in your time since you seem to know about some myths but not others?"
"I was a part of one of the first established cities, soon before Athens, Thebes, Argos, and Corinth. The city was meek and humble, nothing special, our patron goddess was Hera which was only one of the few gods alive then. Titans, Giants, Hundred-Handed ones, Cyclopes, the twelve titans, the six children of Cronos, Aphrodite,and even Gaea and Uranus were not myths to us but only distant memories from some of our elders. The gods had freshly beaten the titans and things were nice for them, but us humans had it rough. Eventually the argument that led to Prometheus getting repeatedly attacked by that bird transpired and soon cities began to spring and with his streak of giving us mortals special treatment didn't help. Two generations before me was were the humans who lived in caves without fire. That generation and their children received fire from Prometheus and when they all grew up cities were around. Some may say otherwise but it took Zeus a while to get his head out of the clouds and notice human settlements. The blind eyes of the gods to us meant there was no divine intervention when monsters attacked."
"You said your city was destroyed," Percy said, sinking deeper into his blanket. "Why and by who?"
"Well, my city was not the only one to spring up before major cities in your history, others did too and my time was not peaceful. Monsters and people were not so different and all walked the earth together anyway. Humans took from humans for their gain and prosperity of their people. My city had never grown to power but held on instead of getting torn down for only a little more than a dozen years, then something came along. A single little tree sprouting on the outskirts of the city, housing a little boy that was neither nymph nor human."
Grover had big eyes and gasped like the child that we all were. "You," Grover connected. "But I thought nature spirits came from Pan."
"That is the case, but I am rather different. Satyr's and nymphs grew up with Zeus on Mount Ida so Pan was around for a while to make them. My father was some sort of powerful force of nature that Demeter met. They created me in some way we all don't want to know probably." Percy gagged, Grover shivered, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. "My heart tree was there on the edge of the city where monsters often came from. The citizens of my city thought that I was a nymph or whatever but I was brushed off many of their shoulders because I was so unlikely to survive by that end of the city. I just lived most of my life as a self sustained farmer. Some of the nicer people traded me for whatever I grew. I hid in my tree whenever the city guards fought monsters near me. During a pretty battle where I couldn't get to my tree and monsters were starting to break into the city, I killed my first hellhound straight out of the Fields of Punishment with only my hands when I was thirteen years old. I was strong for some reason and healed really well and fast like a plant and this caught my city's eye. I'm sure they thought they could fight monsters with a monster of their own but I didn't pay attention to that, I just didn't want to be alone anymore, and I still don't like being alone. The night I left you all, I cried for the first time in thousands of years because I do care for you all and the camp as a new family I needed and wanted."
"We understand and forgive you." Percy looked at me then to the others. Grover nodded but Annabeth was just staring with an expression I couldn't describe at me. "Right Annabeth?"
"Why yell at me?" Annabeth asked, stone faced.
"Other than the fact that I thought my first and best friend was sent to Tartarus and I couldn't get off my shoes, I didn't trust you or like you. I am not a people reading person per say but men are easy to figure out, especially on the battlefield. I had never had a girl, a woman," I corrected, "puzzle me in such a way that it made me feel more ignorant of this world, and to be honest I never met a woman with such a tongue that could bite back like you do. It intimidated me. Women nowadays seem equal to men and seem to have the same opportunity as they do which does please me since they had no respectable option in my day other than to be a wife."
"So you aren't a sexist, bitter old man from centuries ago?" Annabeth asked as a joke, with a pretty grin across her face.
"Thankfully yes," I said, grinning back. "Back to my city and how they saw opportunity with me. I was approached by the self appointed King of the city and was offered teaching, training, food I didn't have to grow by hand, praise from the city, and part of the riches he planned to collect if I agreed. I agreed like a sensible person would do and became the city's greatest asset. I could defend that whole border of the city from monsters by the end of my training with the troops, and I did. No monster would ever make it past me and other monsters and cities of men knew this after weeks of me on the field. Monsters attacked less and less frequently and it seemed like men never attacked anymore meaning less repairs were needed, less lives were lost, and less supplies needed to be rationed. Since I could hold that post by myself that left nearly the whole force of the city's troops could go out and pillage and collect, which soon made us the strongest army/militia of that time. Our city prospered massively. The poor were now clothed and fed and had homes, the working class had proper tools and materials and now made the best products they would ever make, and the rich had pockets stuffed with all their desires and drachma. We made ships for trade of all types of goods and all other cities we attacked we took pity on and gave them the scraps of our now blossoming lifestyle."
"They didn't want your pity," Percy said gloomily, hearing how my tone dropped as I spoke of the other cities.
"You're right," I sighed. "They didn't. They took offense to our charity and banded together with not only themselves but with the monsters who wanted our women and children's flesh and just to see chaos and failure of the city they could not keep bullying."
"Well, someone must have organized them. Maybe one of the kings of other cities or an intelligent monster," Annabeth offered, leaning forward with Grover and Percy.
"Maybe. But I might never find out and that is fine with me," I said, leaning back to pet Fidi as a breather from the story that was about to get infinitely more sad.
"Well, you can't just say whatever!" Percy said, almost offended at my words on the matter.
"I say again, maybe. But it's not the end of the story," I said, leaning back forward in the dark shelter. "The men and monsters knew they couldn't attack my side of the city. There must have been distrust among them because no human trusted a monster then, and monsters then were the most ravenous they ever were so they couldn't keep a clear head to fight sensible with the humans so they needed an overwhelming weapon and as simple a plan as they could manage to topple my city."
"What were they?" Grover asked, chewing on his blanket.
"The plan was to attack from the west where the city was lightly defended because we were already the most westward city and rarely did anything attack from there. My tree was in the northeast border of the city and I could only go so far from it and they knew that I had that range and I was the city's key to battle. In the earliest hours of morning that could be mistaken for the dead of night they attacked. They had the drop on my city and we had no warning system except the calling of who was on guard. I saw fire and smoke rising as I woke up to begin my farm work. I armed myself as fast as I could to investigate. I ran through the city ordering everyone who I passed to flee to my tree when I saw fighting, rather than just an accidental fire. At the maximum range of my tree I protected people fleeing from the enemies and held the line with soldiers that I had found. I watched as people only a few feet away from me got killed in so many unspeakable ways by approaching monsters and troops. I felt something odd at play that night when human invaders took up a defensive formation in the street where I was battling when they had the numbers to advance and wipe us out. They just let the monsters advance wildly which let us cut them down. Half the city was on fire, part of the city was dead, part of the city had fled behind us for protection, and we only had so many troops that weren't trained in defending the city, but in raiding instead. I wished my brothers in arms blessings and asked them to hold the line while I circled around the city for survivors and any enemies who were flanking or made it by. I did just that and saved a few citizens and maybe cut down some Laistrygonian giants that came from up north or Dracaena soldiers, offended hellhound packs from the first one I killed, all different types of giant animals, and some harpies even. I began to think even if this was a planned attack that these monsters were no different from the others I fought and we may be able to make a comeback, until I visited my tree."
"The overwhelming weapon?" Grover asked, still munching on his blanket in anticipation.
"The one that was going to beat you," Annabeth said, connecting the dots.
"The one that put you in your petrification," Percy said, looking back where we came from the statue emporium. "Medusa?" I shook my head no.
"Medusa was after his time. Athena couldn't have been around yet. Ares is younger than Athena and this type of battling sounds like something that he'd just love. A lot of gods were after his time," Annabeth said, not with a 'I know more than you' voice but a somber one that I appreciated.
"You're right, Annabeth," I said, nodding, thankful that the girl was growing on me. "It was worse. Some act of greater evil than I think any sane god would make. Before I even came back into the clearing my tree was in I felt like it was too silent and didn't hear the chatter of worried citizens, the shuffling of injured, or even bird call. I moved out from the cover of the last building of the city and saw a field of my people, all still and unmoving, and silent and cold feeling as the stone statues they all were. All of their faces were so scared and I was too. I didn't hear any monster calls or footsteps, but I smelled the most paralyzing stink of evil I ever had right as I got bashed right in the back with a club as big as a pillar. The enemies had had all of their forces attack directly the west and drive all of my people out with fire into this thing's clutches. It was at least thirty feet tall, it's feet like cars but more warty and more hangnails. It's arms were like columns on our Hera monument and it's wooden club hit like a ramming ship, but something told me to not look at it's face so I didn't look past its fat chest and gut. It was muttering in so many different voices about using my tree for it's crafting and I picked out the voices of all the citizens that it just turned to stone, I was furious. I charged it and was planning to slash at the back of it's heel so it couldn't stand anymore but it just kept taking massive long and quick strides, stepping and crushing all the statues to keep away from me. Eventually it wound up facing my tree and instead of sidestepping me it sprinted dead at the tree and tried to uproot it. I felt my heart getting pulled out of my chest as the tree bigger than the giant started to leave the soil but since it was facing away from me I threw my shield so hard at it's head that it embedded itself into it and was sticking out of the side. The giant screamed so loud my ears began to bleed and dropped it's club to clutch it's head but I still had to kill it. I jumped into the air to try and come stabbing down onto it while it was on the ground but it threw itself around faster than anything as big as it was should move and backhanded me through more citizens. It picked up it's club and just started sweeping through statues and uprooting more and more dirt. I couldn't get away and I was only getting more and more tired and had no plan on how to beat it, but it finally hit me. I was sent flying into my tree bloody, bruised, sweaty, and anything else bad you could describe someone with, but I didn't fall. I was on my feet with my sword still in hand but my arms were so tired I felt like I couldn't lift it. The club slowly came in front of me and lifted my chin up, right into its eyesight. One massive spotlight of an eye with no soul behind it, only bone chilling and ungodly blankness watching me turn to stone with no expression. I threw up my hands realising what it's look was doing to me, but it was too late."
The three just sat there in silence, in the dark. Fidi laid his head on my lap and I just petted him waiting for their response. None of them moved or even shifted their blankets and I was afraid that they fell asleep in the cozy dark.
"I'm sorry," Annabeth spoke up in the dark with a quavering voice. "That that happened to you, I mean. Cyclopes and I don't mix to well either."
"Me too," Grover bleated out so fast that I almost didn't hear him, but I did hear a sniffle of a nose after.
"We all are," Percy said, making it unanimous that I had a tragic past.
"Who was taking the first shift again?" Annabeth asked, making a movement in the dark to wipe something off her face.
"I was," Percy said, standing up and walking out of the shelter.
"I still have questions for you. They can wait until the morning though," Annabeth said. She and Grover shared the ground where Percy was sitting and fell asleep. I followed their lead and fell asleep on the ground and had a dreamless rest.
I stirred when I heard the sound of Grover trot walking but went back to sleep when it didn't sound urgent like someone attacking. I heard Percy and Grover talking and yelling a bit outside but then Grover's reed pipes sounded and set me back to sleep.
"Well, the zombie lives?" Annabeth said, kicking at the freshly woken Percy's feet.
"How long was I out?" Percy asked, running his hands through his tangled hair.
"Long enough for Annabeth to ask me every question about myself and long enough for me to know what a girlfriend is now." I said, passing a bag of fake cheesy corn chips to Percy.
"Did you know that he actually knows more Greek than most of the camp, just from some elderly man who didn't even wanna teach him?" Annabeth said, slicing open a bag of chips with her dagger, almost offended but impressed at my knowledge.
"Hey," I took a bag of small muffins from the food bag. "I learned that there are businesses that sell pastries and donuts all over America for dirt cheap."
"He also got his spear skills from the actual god of war," Annabeth said, looking at my tree that I stuck in the ground and sprouted some roots and leaves for it to have breakfast with us.
"Where is Grover?" Percy asked, trying to ignore all we just said. "But also how did you get your skills from Athena?"
Annabeth smiled and scoffed, "Athena wouldn't do something so reckless. It was Ares, Clasrisse's dad, that gave him them. He probably wants Dan to use them so Ares could see some crazy fight like Dan had since he wasn't around when Dan was." Percy looked a little more apprehensive at the news that I got something from one of his least favorite people's dad.
"Grover and Fidi went exploring earlier," I said, trying to change the subject from my relation to Percy's ex-bully.
"They even found a friend." Annabeth pointed to a pink poodle dog that Grover was trying to keep separate from the barking Fidi. The poodle turned its attention to Percy and barked something quietly to Grover.
"No, he isn't," Grover said back to the dog.
"Are you talking to that thing?" Percy asked, squinting at the poodle like it crazy.
"Is it so crazy for a nature spirit to talk to an animal?" I asked, calling Fidi to my side to stop him from chewing out the visibly inferior animal. "I talk with Fidi all the time and he's a giant snake." The poodle growled first at Fidi and me, then to Percy.
"This 'thing'," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."
"Surprised you can call that a him," I whispered to Fidi who almost grinned a canine grin but only showed sharp back teeth. The poodle heard us and growled more. I had to hold Fidi's collar to keep him by me and not tearing out the dog's ugly hair.
"You both can talk to animals then?" Percy asked. I nodded but Grover ignored the question.
"Gang, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, meet Percy, Annabeth, Dan, and Fidi." I waved my fingers at the dog while Percy looked at Annabeth for confirmation.
"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle." Percy waved his hands. "Forget it."
"Percy, just wave since you won't say hi," I offered.
"Percy," Annabeth said, "I said hello to the Poodle, so you say hello to the poodle."
The poodle growled again but Percy finally said hello to it.
Grover explained that he and Fidi came across Gladiola in the woods and struck up a conversation. Gladiola had belonged to a rich family but had gotten lost. The family posted a two hundred dollar reward for anyone who returned him. At some point he and Fidi got into an argument and now had a massive issue with each other but Gladiola didn't want to go back to his family. He would however if it meant helping Grover and getting away from Fidi.
"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" Percy asked.
"He reads the signs," Grover said. "Duh."
"Of course," Percy said. "Silly me."
"So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her strategy forming voice. "We get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple enough."
"Bus tickets of course," I joked with Percy who was looking uncertain.
"No more buses," Percy said firmly.
"Well." Annabeth nodded her head downhill toward train tracks that she now pointed out earlier in the light of morning rather than black of night. It was a nice history of trains she told me too.
"There is a station half a mile that way." I pointed in one direction the tracks followed. Annabeth nodded and looked to the sun in the sky.
"According to Gladiola the westward train leaves at noon."