Maggie sucked at Hacky Sack.
The group had gotten restless while waiting for the bus, and decided to play a game with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce it off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, wherever it landed. Percy wasn't awful either. Maggie was grateful she could stop embarrassing herself when Grover ate the apple, core and stem, abruptly ending the game.
Finally, the bus came. As they stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air,
"What's wrong?" Percy asked.
"I don't know," he answered tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."
Percy and Maggie couldn't help but start looking over their shoulders, too.
The four got on board, and found four seats together at the back of the bus. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover stowed their backpacks away. Magnolia held onto hers, wanting to have easy access to the ambrosia in case anything happened to them.
The green eyed girl fiddled with the straps and keychains as she waited for the bus to start. Just as the last passengers had made their way in, Percy jumped. Magnolia turned to look at the boy, questioning why he had been startled, only to see that Annabeth had placed her hand on his knee.
"Percy..." she whispered, eyes looking forward.
An old lady had boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a large bag. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered.
"Sh-" Grover glared at her
"-oot"
Behind her came two more older ladies, one in a green hat and the other in purple. Save for the different colored hats, hey looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds. They had the same gnarled hands, the same bags, and the same wrinkled velvet dresses. They were triplet demon grandmothers.
They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two nearest the aisle crossed their legs, making an X over the walkway. To the normal, innocent human bean it was casual, but the kids knew what it really meant. Ot sent a clear message, nobody leaves.
"She didn't stay long," Percy commented, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime?" he said, looking at the only blond in the group.
"I said if you're lucky. You obviously are not."
"All three of them, Grover whispered. "Di immortales!"
Maggie was trying not to worry. They were just ministers. She'd killed plenty before. So why does it feel different?
"It's okay," Annabeth said, thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the underworld. No problem. No pr-"
"You're not helping!" Magnolia hissed.
"We'll just slip out the windows."
"They don't open," Grover moaned.
"A back exit?"
There wasn't one.
"They won't attack us with witnesses around. Will they?" Percy asked.
"Mortals have sucky vision." Magnolia reminded him. "They only see what they want to see, or at least what their brains can process through the mist."
"But they'll see three old ladies killing four kids, won't they?"
"It's rude to say old, Percy." Maggie mumbled. "It elderly, or at the very least, older." The others ignored her.
"Hard to say," Annabeth answered. "But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit on the roof?"
Before they could think any further about what they needed to do, they hit the Lincoln Tunnel. The bus went dark, save for the running lights down the aisle, and the atmosphere turned eerily quiet, without the pitter-patter of rain.
Mrs. Dodds got up, and in a flat voice announced that she needed to use the restroom the whole bus. Her two sisters followed suit.
"I've got it," Annabeth announced as they began to make their way down the aisle. "Percy, take my hat."
"What?"
"You're the one they want. So, turn invisible and go up the aisle and let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."
"But you guys-"
"There's a chance that they might nor notice us. You're a son of the big three, your smell might be overpowering."
"I can't just leave you!"
"Don't worry about us," Grover said.
Maggie took a slightly less soft approach, instead opting to shove the stupid hat on the kid's head with a, "Yes, you can." She then proceeded to shove him forward.
Percy managed to catch himself before he rushed to the ground. He looked down, just to make sure that the hat didn't favor Annabeth before creeping his way up the aisle, careful to avoid stepping on people's feet. He got up ten rows before he had to dive into an empty seat as the furies walked past him.
Mrs. Dodds stopped and sniffled, looking straight into Percy's invisible eyes.
She kept going.
Percy quickly made his way to the front of the bus. They were almost out of the Lincoln Tunnel meaning it wouldn't be long before he could press the emergency stop button. However, a hideous wailing stopped him from doing so.
Percy his head to the back row. The old, "elderly," ladies weren't old any more, their faces were, somehow, still the same, but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat wings and hands and feet that reminded him of gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.
The Furies surrounded the three in the back, lashing their whips and hissing, "Where is it? Where?"
"He's not here!" Annabeth tried. "He's gone!"
The furies raised their whips.
Annabeth drew her bronze knife while Grover grabbed a tin can out of Maggie's backpack, prepared to throw it. The green haired girl pulled her ring half way off, prepared to take out her sword if things got any worse.
What Percy did next was impulsive and dangerous. It should have made him an automatic candidate for ADHD poster child of the year.
While the driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror, Percy grabbed the wheel and jerked it to the left.
"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey... woah!"
The driver wrestled Percy for the wheel. In their struggle they managed to slam the bus against the side of the tunnel, send it careening out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, causing people, monsters, and cars to be knocked aside like bowling pins.
Somehow, the driver managed to pry the steering wheel out of Percy's hands and find an exit. They shot straight off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down some rural New Jersey roads.
Then, Percy hit the emergency brake.
The bus wailed and spun in a full circle on the wet asphalt before it crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on, and the door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, closely followed by the angry mob of passengers.
The demigods, furies, and satyr took the moment of chaos to regain their balance. The demon grandmothers lashed their whips at Maggie while she held out her sword, swearing in a jumble of Ancient Greek, Latin, and Italian. Behind her, Annabeth held her knife in a defensive position and Grover thew tin cans.
Percy took a glance at the open doorway. He was free to go, to escape the monsters and leave without injury. But what type of friend would that make him? He couldn't just leave the other behind.
He yanked Annabeth Yankees cap off his head with a, "Hey!"
The Furies turned, barring their yellow fangs. Suddenly, leaving didn't seem like such a bad idea to Percy.
Mrs. Dodds's two sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and began to crawl toward Percy.
"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was clearly different than what the boy had heard back at Yancy. "You have offended the gods. You shall die,"
"I like you better as a math teacher." Percy commented.
The monster growled.
The other three carefully moved up behind the furies, weapons ready, looking for an opening.
Percy took the pen out of his pocket and uncapped it. A shimmering double-edged sword took the place of the pen, Riptide.
The Furies hesitated.
"Submit now," mrs. Dodds hissed. "And you will not face eternal torment."
"As if," Magnolia said, as she swung her sword down.
Mrs. Dodds blocked the attack, sending the girls sword skittering across the bus floor. She then lashed her whip, hitting Maggie's stomach, and let it wrap around Percy's sword hand. The other two Furies lunged at Percy
Percy's hand felt like it had been warped by molten lead. However, he managed to hold onto his sword. Percy struck the Fury's on his left side with the hilt of his sword, sending her backward and into a seat. He then turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade made contact with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. The fury that he had sent toppling followed suit. Percy knew Maggie had been the one to deliver the final blow when he saw the small throwing star embed itself into the seat.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed, and bit, but nothing she did seemed to loosen the hold the blond had on her. Grover managed to get Mrs. legs tied up with her own whip after successfully burning himself with it. Finally, they were able to shove her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she had no room to have her bat wings, so she continuously fell down.
"Zeus will destroy you!" she tried. "Hades will have your soul!"
"Braccas meas vescimini!" he spat back in Latin. He was vaguely sure that it translated to "Eat my pants!" It wasn't the first thing he would have said if he had actually been thinking, but it was too late to take it back now. He could only hope that Maggie would let him live down the awful insult.
Thunder shook the bus, and everyone's hair seemed to stand on edge.
"Get out!" Annabeth yelled. "Now!" No one needed any more encouragement.
They rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!"
"No, you won't," Maggie muttered under her breath as she slipped her bracelet back on. "Me might though."
"Not helpful," Grover muttered back.
One of the tourists, who was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, manage to take a picture of Maggie and Percy before the latter could recap his sword.
"Our bags!" Grover realized. "Guys we-"
Before he could say anything else, a loud boom echoed. The windows of the bus exploded as passengers ran for cover. Lightning had made a huge crater in the roof, but somehow, Mrs. Dodds had yet to die.
"Run." Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements. We have to get out of here."
Together, the four plunged into the woods, rain still pouring. The bus burst into flames behind them, lighting up the sky. However, there was nothing but darkness ahead.
You guys have no idea how many times I spelled Mrs. Dodds wrong... I think I've had to change every single spelling of her name from 'Mrs. Doods' to 'Mrs. Dodds.' :(
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the latest crappy chapter!
- Ellie