𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕: 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐖𝐈𝐒?
"Am I invisible or something?"
SIX MONTHS AGO
JANUARY 10th, 2007
ERIS' BODY FROZE AS SHE HEARD FOOTSTEPS APPROACH.
"Do ya' smell that Craig?" A dark scratchy voice rumbled from afar.
She could hear someone sniffing the air, "Huh? Now that you say that it does smell...," she could hear the other monster lick it's lips, "yummy..."
Her grip on the spear tightened.
Monsters.
They didn't sound too far away and if they were already picking up on her scent—
They were gonna find her and kill her soon.
A part of her contemplated just staying there on the ground and letting them find her. Hopefully they'd make her death quick and fast. Nothing too brutal or painful. She especially hoped that they'd kill her before eating her.
Her leg was bleeding a lot and fast. She'd probably die of blood lost soon.
She grit her teeth as silent tears rolled down her fast. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking and her breath quickened.
But...Eris wanted to live. She wanted to see her friends again she had only been able to spend one week with them. She had never had friends before and now that she finally had them—
Percy
Annabeth
Grover
Willow
Cerberus
Charon
Even though she wanted so desperately to give up she knew that they would want her to at least try.
There really was no hope in Tartarus. No food, no water that she could see but...
She could at least try.
Maybe it had something with her spear being named Courage or maybe she was just feeling desperate but Eris stabbed her spear into the dirty and mustered all the strength she could to stand. She quietly sniffed as she wiped her tears.
If she wanted to see her friends again she'd have to at least try to survive.
EVER SINCE LAST SUMMER WHEN ERIS FELL 200 METERS INTO THE OCEAN ERIS HATED WATER.
It didn't help that she didn't know how to swim either.
"Thermos!" Percy screamed as they hurtled toward the water.
"What?" Annabeth yelled, confused as she was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, her hair flying straight up like a torch.
Next to her Eris had a death grip on the boat straps suddenly very vividly remembering how she almost drowned last summer. Her dagger was being held in her month with her biting down on the handle to prevent from losing it.
Tyson seemed to understand what Percy meant and he opened Percy's duffel bag and took out Hermes's magical thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat.
Arrows and javelins whistled past them making Eris duck her head. With shaky hands she took her dagger out of her mouth and carefully started to put it back in her boot.
Percy grabbed the thermos. "Hang on!"
"I am hanging on!" Annabeth yelled.
"Tighter!"
"We're gonna die!" Eris yelped as Tyson grabbed the back of their shirts.
"We're not gonna die!" Percy yelled back, "I think!"
"You think?!"
Percy opened the thermos cap, "Oh, shi—"
Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled them sideways, turning their downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing.
Eris couldn't help her screams as she held on to Tyson for dear life as they hit the ocean and bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then they were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in their faces and nothing but sea ahead.
The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.
Once the boat steadied Tyson let them go but Eris didn't stop clenching his arm as she looked around at the sea. Tyson didn't seem to mind and tried to pat her on the head as a way to comfort her.
Why the fuck did she think going on a quest that was related to the sea was a good idea when she couldn't even swim?
As they raced over the sea, they tried to I-Message Chiron. Percy thought it was important to tell Chiron Luke's plans and that they didn't know who else to trust.
The wind from the thermos made a sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight that was great for an Iris-Message but have them shitty connections. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show them Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was a weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.
Percy took over and told him about sneaking away from camp, and Luke and the Princess Andromeda and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on their end Eris doubt he actually understood a word Percy was saying.
"Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—"
His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.
"What?" Percy yelled.
"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Percy or Essence leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece —"
"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Turn that shit up!"
The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made their boat vibrate which only made Eris clutch Tyson's arm tighter.
"—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—"
The misty screen came apart like glass as if someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.
"There, there," Tyson said sweetly, patting Eris' head when they hit a bump in the sea and Eris clutched his arm tighter, "It is okay, Eris."
Percy pointedly avoided looking at him, a sick feeling filling his stomach.
One hour later they spotted a land. It was a Long Beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water was crowded with boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on their starboard ride then turned like it wanted another look.
Just looking at the land made Eris feel sick.
"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as they approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like—"
"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," Percy said quickly.
Eris blinked. "Huh?"
Annabeth stared at him. "How did you know that?"
"I—I'm not sure."
Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"
"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," Percy said immediately before shaking his head. "Whoa. How did I know that?"
"Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings."
Eris nodded, "Thats...that's so cool," she muttered.
Tyson tapped Percy's shoulder. "Other boat is coming."
Eris looked behind her only to find the coast guard vessel following them closely.
She swallowed. They were so screwed.
"We can't let them catch us," Percy said, glancing at Eris, "They'll ask too many questions."
"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide."
Eris didn't know what she was talking about but didn't have much time to think about it. Percy loosened the thermos cap a bit more and more wind came out sending them around the northern tip of Virginia Beach to Chesapeake Bay. The coast hard boat fell behind them but Percy didn't slow down until they entered the month of a River.
"There," Annabeth said. "Past that sandbar."
They veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. Vine-covered trees hung above them. Insects chirred in the woods making Eris shiver. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river.
"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."
"What is?" Percy asked, standing up and holding his hand out to Eris. Eris took his hand and wobbly came out of the boat with her bag against her chest.
"Just follow." Annabeth grabbed a duffel bag. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention." Annabeth grabbed Eris' hand and led her along.
They followed Annabeth along the shore and Eris crinkled her nose as her boats kept seeping into the mud.
"Not a good place," Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm.
After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."
Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, and revealed a hidden shelter.
The inside was big enough for four, even with Tyson being the fourth. The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty waterproof. Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout—sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too—bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. But it smelled terrible like someone who forgot to use deodorant.
"Woah.." Eris whispered.
"A half-blood hideout." Percy looked at Annabeth in awe. "You made this place?"
"Thalia and I," she said quietly. "And Luke."
"But," Eris said hesitantly, "w-wouldn't Luke try to find us here?"
Annabeth shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."
She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.
"Um, Tyson?" Percy said. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"
Eris frowned as she glanced at Tyson. It didn't sound like the best idea to have them separate especially since they were in an unfamiliar area.
"Convenience store?"
"Yeah, for snacks. Powdered donuts or something. Just don't go too far and uh," Percy glanced at Eris, "Look for some candy for Eris. She likes chocolate."
Her eyebrows raised. He noticed?
"Powdered donuts and candy for Eris," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered donuts and candy in the wilderness." He headed outside and started calling, "Here, donuts! Here, candy!"
"B-Be careful," Eris called after him.
Once Tyson was gone Eris tucked herself into the floor next to Annabeth and took out her sketchbook. Percy sat across from them.
"Hey, I'm sorry about, you know, seeing Luke," Percy said a bit awkwardly.
"It's not your fault." Annabeth replied, leaning her head against Eris' shoulder.
Eris bit her lip, "S-Something isn't right," she said quietly, sketching, "Luke...h-he's smart and a good fighter....he let us go."
Eris knew that if Luke really wanted too he could have captured them or even killed them easily. He was the best swordsman at camp. But for some reason he let them go.
Annabeth nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. What we overheard him say about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait'...I think he was talking about us."
"The Fleece is the bait? Or Grover?" Percy asked, leaning over Eris' shoulder sneakily to glance at her art.
His eyes widened at what he saw because it was certainly not what he was expecting. He didn't know what he was expecting Eris to be drawing exactly but he was surprised to see her sketching a very detailed drawing of a ship. The ship was a bit odd looking and well detailed but that wasn't what caught his attention. What made him raise his eyebrows was seeing a explosion drawn at the edge of the ship, tearing it apart.
He didn't know why Eris was so hard on herself about her art, she was a great artist. Even if she drew weird stuff sometimes.
Annabeth sighed, "I don't know. Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself. Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just can't believe he would poison the tree."
"What did he mean," Percy asked, "that Thalia would've been on his side?"
"He's wrong," Annabeth said shortly.
"You don't sound sure," Percy replied.
"P-Percy," Eris hissed quietly, glancing at Annabeth who was staring at Percy like she wanted to stab him.
Annabeth glared at him, "Percy, you know who you remind me of most? Thalia. You guys are so much alike it's scary. I mean, either you would've been best friends or you would've strangled each other."
"Let's go with 'best friends.'"
"Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. Even Eris, she hates Hades. You get mad at your dad too. Would you turn against Olympus because of that? Do you think Eris would turn against Olympus because of that?"
Eris glanced at Percy wearily hoping he would say no. Though Eris hated Hades she wasn't going to hurt innocent lives or betray people because of something he did. Why punish a bunch of people for something one person did?
Percy stared at Eris for a while before looking away, "No."
"Okay, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth replied.
"Uh..." Eris started to say hesitantly, looking up from her sketchbook, "it's just...w-when Luke was um, mentioning Tyson being a cyclops...w-what did he mean? I mean—never mind if I'm overstepping I'm just—"
"He...he was talking about the real reason Thalia died," Annabeth said. Annabeth drew a shaky breath. "You can never trust a Cyclops, Percy, Eris. Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill—"
She was interrupted when the door of the hut creaked open. Tyson crawled in.
"Powdered donuts!" he said proudly, holding up a pastry box. He took his arm from behind his back and Eris' eyes widened when she saw a pack of Snickers Bars in his hands, "And Candy for Eris!"
Eris blinked and blushed adorned her cheeks as she took the pack of candy, "Oh...thank you, Tyson," she said softly and Tyson smiled. She opened a snickers bar cautiously, and sniffed it to make sure it didn't smell funny when—
Annabeth stared at him. "Where did you get that? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around for—"
"Fifty feet," Tyson said. "Monster Donut shop—just over the hill!"
Yeah, no. Eris yanked the candy bar away from her mouth and put it away. She didn't want to throw it away in front of Tyson it seemed rude. She should've known he couldn't have found it at an average connivence store.
"This is bad," Annabeth muttered.
MUCH TO ERIS' DISMAY THEY WERE CROUCHING BEHIND A TREE AS THEY STARED AT THE DONUT SHOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS.
Eris thought they should've just left. There was no reason for them to be stalking a donut shop when they could just leave and mind their own business. It was just causing unnecessary problems but Percy and Annabeth had insisted they should go investigate.
The donut shop looked brand new which already set off alarm bells in Eris' head. It had brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot.On the store's marquis, in huge black letters that even Eris could read, it said:
MONSTER DONUT
A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in MONSTER. The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate donuts.
But the longer they stood there the more Eris felt sick to her stomach.
Just the fact that it was called 'Monster Donut' made her feel queasy. They were demigods who were constantly hunted by Monsters and there just so happened to be a donut place named after Monsters? Something had to be off.
"W-We should leave," Eris said quietly, her hand clutching her necklace, "This...something doesn't feel right."
"What?" Percy asked. "It's a donut shop."
"Shhh!" Annabeth quickly shushed him.
"Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."
"He's a monster," Annabeth replied.
"Aw, c'mon, guys. Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."
Eris stared at him like he was crazy.
"A chain," Annabeth agreed. "And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you told Tyson to get donuts? Right here in the middle of the woods?"
Percy frowned as he thought over her words.
Eris hands shook, "A trap," she muttered.
"It could be a nest," Annabeth added.
Tyson whimpered and Eris squeezed his shoulder in comfort. Annabeth's tone had made him nervous a using him to plow through half a dozen donuts from his box and was getting powdered sugar all over his face.
"A nest for what?" Percy asked.
"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?" Annabeth asked. "One day there's nothing and then the next day—boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four—exact replicas spreading across the country?"
"Um, no. Never thought about it."
"Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed—"
And that was when Eris heard it. Quiet hissing like a snake it could just be a real snake nearby but she wasn't taking any chances. She froze as her blood ran cold, "W-Wait," she hissed quietly, "I...I hear something."
Annabeth seemed to hear what Eris heard because she froze. "No—sudden—moves," Annabeth said, like her life depended on it. "Very slowly, turn around."
Eris' hands trembled as she slowly turned around. It was huge and scaly lizard-like monster with nine heads with each head one sharp diamond shaped head with sharp teeth.Its skin was leathery, and under each neck it wore a plastic bib that read: I'M A MONSTER DONUT KID!
Eris' hands closed around her skull necklace on relax as her body shook.
Hydra.
Percy reached in his pocket and took out his pen but Eris quickly grabbed his wrist and shook her head with wide eyes. If Percy uncapped his sword now it'd only get the Hydra's attention meaning a.k.a. they'd all be Hydra lunch.
Eris tried to force her body to relax as she felt a couple rocks nearby her start to lightly float in the air. If she didn't relax and an earthquake happened it'd probably piss the Hydra off more.
The Hydra was only a few feet away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Eris' eyes followed as two of its heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas—one of their duffel bags. The thing had already been to their campsite. It was following their scent.
She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as her eyes felt watery. They were screwed.
Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward them and hissed.
Shit.
"Scatter!" Annabeth yelled. She dove to the right. Percy rolled to the left.
Quickly, Eris grabbed a frozen Tyson and yanked him into a backwards roll. Her nerves were felt haywire and it felt like she had just drank 10 RedBulls.
Relax
It's okay, you're okay
This is not Tar-
One of the Hydra heads spat an arc of green liquid that splashed against an elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight toward Eris and Tyson who still wasn't moving.
And though Eris was still trembling in fear there was no way she was going to allow Tyson to die because she wasn't fast enough or brave enough.
She grunted as she tackled Tyson to the side with all her strength right before the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads. She hissed as she crashed their landing with her back.
Eris shook his shoulders, "A-Are you okay?" She asked shakily, Tyson numbly nodded. "T-Tyson, we need to move! Now!"
Tyson didn't reply.
The Hydra stumbled backward, yanking its heads free then wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid, and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.
"Move!" Percy told them. He ran to one side and uncapped Riptide, hoping to draw the monster's attention.
It worked.
The sight of celestial bronze is hateful to most monsters. As soon as his glowing blade appeared, the Hydra whipped toward it with all its heads, hissing and baring its teeth.
As Eris tried to snap Tyson out of his fear coma she could hope that Percy would be smart enough to know not to—
Percy swung his sword.
"No!" Annabeth yelled.
Too late. Percy sliced the Hydra's head clean off. It rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon.
In a matter of seconds the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head. Now there was a 10-headed Hydra.
"Tyson," Eris shook him desperately, "P-Please! Snap out of it!"
Tyson blinked hard, "H-Huh?"
Eris sighed in relief as she let him go. She sniffed and brought up her wrist to wipe a tear off her face.
"Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Donut shop somewhere!"
Percy dodged a spray of acid. "I'm about to die and you're worried about that? How do we kill it?"
"Fire!" Annabeth said. "We have to have fire!"
Eris gritted her teeth as she turned to Tyson, "If...If you're too scared just s-stay here," she said shakily as she stood up. Her palms were covered in sweat as her legs shook. Every part of her screamed at her to runway but—
What kind of friend would I be if I sat here and did nothing?
She drew a shakily breath. She quickly thought about trying to summon a spirit but she knew she didn't have enough energy to maintain its form or enough time, it took her a while to summon a spirit. And even then there wasn't a guarantee she could make it appear. There wouldn't be enough time.
But...
Eris yanked off her necklace. In her hands formed her double-edged spear. She carefully spun it in her hands before stopping. She wasn't as good at using it as Hades wanted her to be, she still needed a lot of practice but some experience was better than no experience.
Percy backed up toward river. The Hydra followed. Eris sprinted to move next to him and tried to distance on of its heads by attempting to stab her spear in it's eye. Annabeth moved in on next to her and tried to distract one of the heads, parrying its teeth with her knife, but another head swung sideways like a club and knocked her into the muck.
"No hitting my friends!" Tyson charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Annabeth.
Eris grabbed Annabeth by her underarms and yanked her to her feet quickly. "A-Are you okay?"
Annabeth quickly nodded.
As Annabeth got to her feet, Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists so fast it looked like a game of wack-o-mole.
Eris swallowed as they kept inching backward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads without cutting them off, but she knew this wasn't going to hold up long enough. Eventually they'd die.
I'm gonna die
Suddenly a sound that sounded like a train arrived that was so powerful it made a mini-earthquake.
"What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra.
"Steam engine," Tyson said.
"What?" Percy ducked as the Hydra spat acid over his head. Eris shrieked as she tried to shove the blade of her spear in the mouth of Hydra head that snapped its teeth at her.
Then from the river behind them, a familiar female voice shouted: "There! Prepare the thirty- two-pounder!"
Eris' teary eyes widened. She could sense something, there was something dead nearby.
It couldn't be...
A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, m'lady!"
"Fuck the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"
"Aye, m'lady."
"Fire at will, Captain!"
Annabeth yelled, "Hit the dirt!"
Percy grabbed a frozen Eris, yanked her to his chest and tackled her to the ground just as
an earth-shattering BOOM echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of them, showering them with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.
Eris gaged at the smell as she pushed Percy off of her. She rushed to wipe the slime off her face. She had ran out of tears and now her eyes just felt dry.
"Gross!" screamed Annabeth.
"Steamship!" yelled Tyson.
Percy held out his hand to Eris and coughed as he helped her to her feet.
Chugging toward them down the river was a ship. It rode low in the water like a submarine, its deck plated with iron. In the middle was a trapezoid-shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top—a wild boar and spear on a bloodred field. Lining the deck were zombies in gray uniforms—dead soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls, like the ghouls Eris had seen all the time in front of Hades's palace.
Eris automatically took a step behind Percy when she noticed the uniforms they were wearing were the uniforms of the soldiers who fought for the confederate side of the civil war. A.k.a. The people who didn't want slavery abolished. She immediately felt uneasy even though she knew they wouldn't harm her.
The ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser. The name along the prow in moss-covered letters: CSS Birmingham.
And standing next to the smoking cannon that had almost killed them, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.
"Losers," she sneered. "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."
She locked eyes with Eris and Eris swallowed.
Thank you so much for reading! Please comment it helps me update more often.
Do you have any feedback? Is there something I can improve on?
I felt like my writing for this story has been getting worst so please let me know if you have noticed that.
Are there any scenes you want to suggest for Eris and Percy?
Also...6k reads! Thank you all!
I love you and wish you all well!
Coming up: Chapter 8: Eris Lewis vs. The Racist Confederate Soldiers