CHAPTER SIX
( FAREWELLS & AN EXPLODING BUS )
PACKING WENT QUICKLY. A backpack filled with everything she needed – an extra change of clothes, nectar and ambrosia, mortal money and drachmas, tooth brush and toothpaste, and even a few snacks she had stashed in her suitcase from the apartment – rested on her shoulders. One of the smaller swords from the armory was nestled between her bag and her back. She had her dagger, of course, strapped to her ankle, the sheathed blade somewhat hidden by the upper part of her high top converse, but this was a quest they were going on. Kali didn't want to be unprepared – hence the sword she could barely use.
Physically, she was ready. Mentally and emotionally were other whole entire things.
Kali was hardly ready to leave camp and, more specifically, her friends. So when Grant and Arianna tackled her the moment she got off of the cabin's porch, she latched onto them both the best she could. A forth and fifth person joined in, and she didn't need to look to know they were Oliver and Adelaide respectively.
They detangled from their group hug a few seconds later when Oliver said, "Alright, alright, let's let her get a chance to actually breathe." After they parted, he looked at her and said, "Be safe, okay? Well. As safe as you can be."
"You come back," Arianna ordered, brown eyes hard with emotion and mouth set in such a firm line it was clear it was an attempt to not frown. "Addie will kill you if you don't."
"I will," Kali promised them both.
Arianna nodded. "Good."
"Good," echoed Adelaide. Her arms were crossed; she tried to seem less bothered about the fact that Kali was going on a quest than everyone else, but it hardly worked. "I don't want to kill one of my best friends."
Kali smiled and chuckled quietly. Her eyes then shifted to Grant, who had yet to say anything. It was uncharacteristic of him, to say the least, and it worried her a bit. "Grant," she started, but he interrupted her.
"Look if– if the quest goes wrong, and you make it out alive...don't end up like Luke."
She eyed him, confused. "Luke?" she asked. "What do you mean?" Last she knew, Luke was fine. His usual 'camp big brother' self who was teaching Percy sword lessons and spent time with Annabeth when able. Of course, sometimes, she got the sense he felt hostile (if that's even the right word for it) towards her, but Kali didn't know how much of that was real or actually just her imagination because of how Ralph treated her.
Grant awkwardly shrugged. "I dunno, he's just more bitter than he used to be ever since his last quest where he got that scar," he explained. "...According to Conner and Travis, anyway."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "You know your brothers' stories can't be trusted completely, Grant."
"Take what they say with a grain of salt," Arianna said with a nod of agreement. "That's what Katie says."
Grant held up his hands somewhat defensively. "I'm just sayin'. If you don't succeed, it'll be fine."
A war between the gods, she thought, but fine. Sure.
Kali gripped the straps of her backpack. She lifted her chin and stood a bit straighter. "It doesn't matter if the Stolls are telling the truth about Luke, because this quest won't end up that way."
"Kali–."
"It won't," she stressed. "I can handle myself, and it's not like I'm going alone. Besides, I already got a scar on my face."
Oliver frowned. "That isn't as reassuring as you think it is. We don't even know what this quest is for."
"So? Don't worry too much, seriously. Annabeth, Percy, Grover and I got this." She grinned, and hoped it didn't look as forced as it felt so her friends' worries would go away.
Before any of them could speak any further, someone shouted her name. She turned to find Percy down by the path to the Big House with Annabeth and Grover at his sides, each of them ready to head to Half-Blood Hill where they were meant to meet up with Argus and Chiron.
Percy had been the one to yell her name, but Annabeth cupped her hands around her mouth and impatiently shouted, "Hurry up!"
"Coming!" Kali turned back to her friends. She hesitated for a second, but then smiled again, this one more real than latter. "See you guys when I get back."
Their chorus of 'good luck's and 'goodbye's followed her as she left.
+++
Just like her, the others were ready for the quest with backpacks on their shoulders.
Annabeth had her Yankees cap, and had a book about classical architecture written in Ancient Greek. She wore a long sleeved shirt that hid a long bronze knife on her forearm, and Kali wondered how Annabeth was going to survive the summer heat wearing it. Then there was Grover: to pass as a human, he wore pants and his fake feet, and he had on a green beanie to hide the small horns on his head better. The contents of his backpack clanged together, snacks of scrap metal and apples all for himself. A set of reed pipes poked out from his pants pocket. Percy, unlike everyone else, didn't have anything special to take along with him other than a backpack and a few other things loaned from the camp's store. He didn't even have something to defend himself with. Kali felt bad and began to think about giving him the sword or her dagger, but they got to the large pine tree that was Zeus' daughter, Thalia, before she could act on it.
Chiron was there, waiting in his wheelchair, with the camp's head of security next to him. Kali sent Argus, who was dressed in a chauffeur's uniform, a small wave. He tilted his head in acknowledgment, mouth twisting into a tiny smile.
"This is Argus," Chiron said to Percy. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."
They heard footsteps behind them.
It was Luke, running up the hill, with a pair of basketball shoes in his hands. He was panting by the time he got them. "Hey! Glad I caught you. Just wanted to say good luck," he said, mostly to Percy than anyone else. "And I thought...um, maybe you could use these."
He handed Percy the shoes, which he took. They looked normal; nothing out of the ordinary, really.
Then Luke said, "Maia!"
White bird's wings sprouted from the heels. It startled Percy so badly that he dropped them, leaving the shoes to just flap around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared. Kali bent down to pick them up, a bit in awe of them. She's heard Grant talk about shoes like these before once or twice, but had yet to actually see them.
"Awesome!" Grover exclaimed.
"Those served me well when I was on my quest." Those words had Kali looking back up at him, instantly thinking back on what Grant had said earlier. "Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." The smile Luke wore disappeared and instead his expression turned sad.
Kali looked away, intent on handing the shoes back to her half-brother, only to find that both Percy and Annabeth were blushing; the latter more so than the former, but both still noticeable. And at Luke. She bit her tongue and decided to just hold the shoes until further notice, even if they did stink.
"Hey, man. Thanks," said Percy.
"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just...kill some monsters for me, okay? And look out for your little sister. She's gonna need some help."
Kali tried not to frown too much. "I can take care of myself."
Luke smiled, like he found something secretly amusing. "Sure, but Percy's the better fighter."
She had the sudden urge to hit him in the head with one his flying shoes. The encouraging words he told her apparently didn't exist outside of training, and had her face heating up a little from embarrassment. Instead of acting on impulse though, she took a calm breath in and gave a tiny, quick nod of agreement.
Maybe he didn't mean in a malicious way, she thought. Ralph always said she could be too sensitive about things, so maybe she was being just that. Maybe Grant's words were affecting her in some weird way.
Luke smiled at her, and gave her a fist bump. He then shook hands with Percy, patted Grover's head between his horns, and gave Annabeth a hug. Kali amusedly watched the last interaction. Annabeth looked as if she might pass out.
Once Luke was gone, Percy said to Annabeth, "You're hyperventilating."
"Am not," she argued.
"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"
Annabeth scowled. "Oh... Why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?" She stomped down the opposite side of the hill and to the shoulder of the road where a white SUV sat. Argus followed her, jingling his car keys.
Kali decided to follow them as well. She handed Percy the flying shoes and hurried down the hill before anyone else could say anything. Maybe, if her mood was better, she would have pointed out that Annabeth hadn't been the only one to be blushy around Luke, but between the anxious anticipation for the quest growing gradually with each second and embarrassment at the insinuation that she couldn't defend herself, she decided not to. Add in the fact that she and Percy weren't exactly close, and she guessed that saying anything about it would have been a bad idea.
She got to the van in no time, hoping that her down trodden mood wasn't too noticeable to Annabeth and Argus.
"What's it like?" Annabeth blurted, just a few seconds later.
Kali looked at her, somewhat surprised but also a little bit confused. "What's what like?"
"The mortal world," Annabeth explained as if it should have been obvious. "Has anything changed in the past few years?"
"Uh..." Kali shrugged. "I guess? New York is loud, and there's almost always people around. I think it's always been that way, though. Hawaii's completely different. And so much prettier."
"Is that where you ended up? Y'know, after the whole kidnapping thing."
Kali nodded and was about to explain that she didn't really remember how she got there, not really, when Grover's screams sidetracked them both. The girls looked up the hill just in time to witness Grover sliding – no, flying down the hill's slope in the shoes Luke had given Percy. The only problem was that he was sideways, his backpack was begging dragged across the ground, and the shoes bucked up and down continuously.
"Practice!" came Chiron's distant shout, "You just need practice!"
Kali and Annabeth made sure Grover didn't crash into the van when he got to them. They tumbled into a pile of scrawny pre-tween limbs because of it, and it was only somewhat painful, but it was better than allowing Grover to dent the van. Thankfully the shoes began to cooperate and Grover stood, albeit a bit cautiously. The wings, for a second time, folded together and disappeared. Just to play it safe though, he sat back down on the ground across from Annabeth and Kali who had both yet to stand.
The three made idle small talk as they waited, none of them actually getting into the van just yet. By the time Percy finally got away from Chiron, Kali had beaten both Grover and Annabeth in Rock, Paper, Scissors a couple times each. When Percy finally made it to the van, Kali shot up to her feet and shouted, "Shotgun!" and climbed into the passenger's seat.
While Grover laughed as he climbed into one of the back rows with Annabeth, Percy yelled indignantly and Argus busied himself with loading their bags for them. "Hey, that's not fair! Why can't I sit in the front?" Percy asked.
"'Cause them's the rules," Kali replied with a Cheshire cat-like grin. The annoyed expression that crossed his features had her holding back a laugh.
"Don't you know what shouting 'shotgun' means, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked.
"What? Of course I do! But– but she's the youngest here!"
Kali couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Oh wow. You're definitely an only child," she said. Naia and Makoa may be a bit too young to sit in the passenger's seat of cars just yet, and they didn't use the family car that often since moving to New York anyway, but yelling 'shotgun' to get in the front seat had always been a thing. Mostly it was just a game they played to see who could get to the front seat faster, whether or not any of them actually got to ride up front. Sometimes the game included Lana when they hung out, back when she was alive.
Percy made a face. "Why does that feel like an insult?"
Kali shrugged innocently.
"Just get in, Perce," Grover said.
"But–."
"C'mon," Annabeth groaned, "you guys can have your sibling fights later. We have a quest to start!"
+++
Argus drove them into western Long Island and out of the countryside. It was a bit weird, to be honest. It was only her second summer at Camp Half-Blood, yet it still felt odd to be away from camp during this time of year. Kali, with her seatbelt buckled and sword resting against her knee between her legs, just sat and stared out the window. Because, other than it being weird, it was also fun to be in the front seat. She watched the trees dwindle in number, more and more buildings taking their place. More cars taking up space on the road. Skyscrapers becoming close with each passing second.
"So far so good," she heard Percy say from behind her. "Ten miles and not a single monster."
"It's bad luck to talk that way, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. It sounded irritated, something that didn't surprise Kali but still had her brows raising at the tone.
"Remind me again – why do you hate me so much?"
"I don't hate you."
"Could've fooled me."
A short pause and then, "Look... We're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."
"Wait." That made Kali abruptly twist around to look at the other girl. A few black curls fell in her face and she brushed them away quickly. "Is that why you get so annoyed with me so quickly sometimes?" she asked.
Annabeth crossed her arms. "Maybe," she relented.
Kali didn't know whether or not she should be offended or annoyed or what, so she just let out a small, "huh," and turned back around.
"Why?" she heard Percy ask.
Annabeth sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athena. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."
"They must really like olives."
"Oh, forget it."
"Now, if she'd invented pizza – that I could understand."
"I said, forget it!"
"Olives aren't even that good," said Kali, and laughed when Annabeth groaned in frustration.
"You two are so annoying."
In the driver's seat, Argus smiled.
Traffic slowed down by the time they got to Queens. Out of boredom Kali resorted to counting the numbers of the different colored vehicles along the way. By the time they got to Manhattan, she had seen seven reds, ten silvers, fifteen whites, five blues, and one very, very bright neon green convertible with too big wheels. When they got to the Upper East Side, the sun had already begun to set and it had started to rain not too long ago, and Argus finally arrived at the Greyhound Station.
They all piled out of the van, and Kali took the chance to look around. It wasn't a part of New York she was intimately familiar with, which Kali was a bit glad for; Hunts Point was in the Bronx. She didn't know what she would do if she was anywhere close to Ralph. She wondered if she would ditch Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to say another goodbye to Naia and Makoa. After all, quests were dangerous – this particular one most of all, it was practically a death sentence. But she refused to think negatively right now. They would finish the quest, spend the rest of the summer at camp, and then she was going to go back to her younger siblings just like she promised.
She moved to stand beside Percy, both subconsciously because of her thoughts on her siblings and also as a way to get away from the ever growing crowd. As she did so, she caught sight of a soggy flyer on a mailbox that Percy stared at intently. She only saw a glimpse of it before he tore it down.
'HAVE YOU SEEN–' followed by a picture of his face.
When Percy glanced at her, she mimed zipping her lips. If he didn't want to talk about the missing person's poster for himself, then so be it. Though, Kali had to admit, she was confused on why there was one for him.
Neither of them spoke about it.
Argus unloaded all of their bags for them, made sure they got the tickets for their bus, and then drove away with the eye on the back of his hand watching them while he left the parking lot. Percy stared down a street. Kali wanted to ask why but didn't know if she should. Luckily, Grover spoke up.
"You want to know why she married him, Percy?" he asked after he shouldered his backpack.
Percy stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"
"Just your emotions." Grover shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"
Percy just nodded, expression still a bit confused.
"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told him. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."
"Thanks. Where's the nearest shower?"
"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy – if that makes you feel any better."
Kali quickly noticed the use of past tense for Percy's mom. Just like with the flyer, she didn't comment on that either. She did speak up though, if only to pull Grover's attention away from Percy, who began to look a bit upset and angry again. "That's why monsters don't find me easy at my place too, right?"
"Yeah." Grover's expression turned into one of disgust. "Gods, so many people in that building smell like Gabe. How do you handle living there?"
Kali casually shrugged. "I don't have a satyr's nose."
"Must be nice," he grumbled.
"Where do you live?" asked Percy.
"The Bronx. Hunts Point, actually."
He frowned a little. Kali thought he almost looked worried. "Isn't... Doesn't a lot of crime happen over there?"
Kali shrugged again, more tense than before. "I guess." Meanwhile, Grover nodded, because he no doubt picked up on that during the times she visited her, and Annabeth stayed quiet beside them, probably because she knew nothing of New York and had nothing to add to the conversation. "It's fine, though. We live in a pretty safe apartment." It wasn't a lie, but she still smiled her best reassuring grin.
Much to her relief Percy's visible worry began to go away. "Oh, that's good."
+++
The rain continued to come down. It didn't stop once.
As time went on, the four of them got more and more restless. They quickly decided to play Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Kali, Percy, and Grover each were good at the game in varying degrees, but Annabeth was truly unbelievable with it. She bounced it off of her shoulder, elbow, knee – anywhere. Soon enough, the game ended, but only because Percy tossed the apple too close to Grover's mouth. The entire apple, stem and all, disappeared with one giant bite.
Grover blushed. Kali thought he tried to apologize, but she was too busy cracking up with Annabeth and Percy to really pay attention.
When the bus finally came, they got in line. She and Annabeth played another short game of Rock, Paper, Scissors as the line shuffled forward. Kali threw her hands in the air and laughed victoriously when she won yet another round.
"This is so unfair, how do you win every single time?" Annabeth complained, baffled.
"I'm just that lucky."
Before Annabeth got the chance to dispute that in some way, they all noticed Grover's sudden change in behavior. He looked around them, sniffing the air. A sense of anxiety began to creep up on Kali.
"What is it?" Percy asked.
"I don't know," Grover said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."
Or maybe it's monsters, Kali almost said, but didn't want to be right so she kept her mouth shut.
Finally, they made it onto the bus. There were four free seats in the back, so they took those rather than splitting up. They stowed their backpacks, and Kali kept the sword strapped on her back. It was a bit uncomfortable to sit with but she didn't want to somehow lose it.
"Guys," Annabeth said just as the last passenger got on.
It was an old lady. Normally Kali wouldn't mind that – a lot of them were sweet and kind – but considering who the last old lady she spent time with ended up being, she tended up immediately. The old lady had on a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face. In her hands she carried a big paisley bag. Then, she lifted her head, revealing an all too familiar weathered and wrinkly face.
Another Kindly One.
Kali's breath hitched, though she still had some hope of the situation ending semi-okay. After all, it was just one – Percy had killed one, and so had Kali. The latter two should still be reforming in Tartarus.
Her hope crashed and burned when two more Kindly Ones stepped aboard the bus. One in a green hat, one in a purple hat, all three with the same face, each moving to sit in the row behind the driver's seat. Two of them crossed their legs casually over the walkway, making an X. It was a silent sign: nobody was leaving.
The bus pulled out of the station, and began the drive through the rainy streets of Manhattan.
"She didn't stay dead long," Percy said. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime?"
"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth reminded him. "Both of you obviously aren't."
"All three of them," whimpered Grover, which didn't help Kali's nerves in the slightest. "Di inmortales!"
"At least we out number them," Kali tried to sound optimistic, but even to herself it sounded weak.
Percy scoffed. "Yeah, by one."
"It's okay," Annabeth said, thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."
"They don't open," Grover moaned.
"A back exist?" she suggested.
"There isn't one," Kali told her.
"They won't attack us with witnesses around," Percy said. "Will they?"
"Mortals don't have good eyes. Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist," reminded Annabeth.
"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"
Annabeth paused as she thought. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"
The bus entered the Lincoln Tunnel. Everything went dark, save for the lights running down the aisle, and silence filled the air. It felt nearly deafening, in a way, without the rain – eerie, too.
The Kindly One in the orange hat stood and announced to the entire bus, "I need to use the restroom." It was flat, like she had rehearsed it, and devoid of any emotion. The two others followed suite, each with an echoed, "So do I," in the same flat tone. All three began to walk down the aisle.
"I've got it," Annabeth said suddenly, "One of you, take my hat."
"Percy will," Kali blurted.
"What?" he asked, looking at them both as if they were crazy.
"You're the ones they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away," Annabeth explained.
"But you guys– Kali, I can't, you're my sister," he argued.
"You're closer to the aisle, it's easier for you to take Annabeth's hat and go," Kali tried to reason with him. "I can handle myself, I promise. We'll improvise when they get to us."
"I can't just leave you guys."
"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"
For a second, Kali thought she was going to have to wrangle the hat onto Percy's head herself, but then he took it from Annabeth and put it on. He vanished just like that.
The Kindly Ones continued their slow trek up the aisle. At one point, about ten rows down, the one in the orange hat stopped. She sniffed, looked in the empty row, and then continued walking.
"So. Game plan?" Kali asked. Her voice shook. She cleared her throat and hoped it wasn't too noticeable to the others.
Annabeth looked up, and squinted to see through the dark. "There is an emergency exit on the roof. If you can, you should probably try to get to it."
Kali nodded. But how? How would she get there? Her eyes landed on the space underneath the seats. Without thinking, she dropped to the ground and began to crawl. It was a snug fit, but nothing too tight. Kali was just small enough to fit and, not caring if she startled any of the other passengers, continued to crawl under the seats. She half heartedly apologized, ignored scandalized shouts, and hoped Percy made it to the front.
(She also tried to ignore the memories that surfaced. Times of hiding under her bed with a locked bedroom door the only thing between herself and an angry drunk man. Squeezing into a ball to tuck herself in the cabinet under her bathroom sink, because her bedroom door's lock broke but her bathroom's still worked, and Naia and Makoa were asleep and he never put his anger out on them during that time so she didn't have to put herself between them right then, and had a chance to just hide for once before things got too out of hand–)
Wailing came from the back. It jarred her out of the memories so much so that she knocked her head against the seat she was currently under. The sound of whips lashing met her ears, followed by the Kindly Ones hissing, "Where is it? Where?"
People began screaming, this time because of whatever they were seeing and not because an eleven year old girl was underneath their seats.
"They're not here!" she heard Annabeth yell. "They're gone!"
Kali made it to a completely empty row. Just as she moved into a sitting position, still on the ground, the bus abruptly jerked to the right and she fell back on the floor with a small yelp, the unforgiving sound of metal scratching along cement making her wince as the bus hit the side of the tunnel. Sparks lit up more of the darkness in the bus.
She scrambled to get in the empty seat, and looked around just as they exited the tunnel. At one end of the bus, the driver shouted as he struggled against an invisible force with the wheel. At the other end, Annabeth and Grover were starting to stand back up and get their bearings. Unfortunately, so were the Kindly Ones. Fortunately, the bus was moving too much for anyone to truly stand up right and steady, monsters included.
Somehow with all of the chaos, the driver managed to find an exit, taking them off of the highway. They sped through six traffic lights at least, and ended up in an area with a shockingly amount of nothing despite them still being near the city. Just the woods and a river – the Hudson River, if Kali remembered correctly. Which was getting suspiciously closer and closer.
Suddenly, the bus yanked to a stop, making it spin wildly in a complete circle before it finally, actually stopped by crashing into some nearby trees. The emergency lights illuminated the inside of the bus. The bus driver dashed out, and he was followed by a stampede of frightened passengers. Hopefully Percy left too.
In the back, the Kindly Ones had regained their balance, along with Annabeth and Grover. Annabeth shouted at the monsters in Ancient Greek for them to back off while she waved her knife at them, and Grover simply threw tin cans. Kali unsheathed her sword, held it just like Luke and Beckendorf taught her, and stepped into the aisle. Screw getting off, she wasn't about to let them get attacked by Kindly Ones. She was ready to attack from behind, hoping that it would work no matter how impulsive it was, only for it to shatter as quickly as she came up with the plan.
"Hey!" Percy shouted from the front of the bus.
The Kindly Ones turned. They were ugly things. No longer were they in the forms of old ladies, but rather their more monstrous forms of bat wings, hag bodies, and hands and feet with gargoyle claws. By the way they snarled, Kali didn't need to turn to know that Percy took off the cap. They stalked forward, and she stepped back. She didn't come to a stop until she got to Percy, who carefully grabbed her elbow and moved her to stand beside him.
The one in the orange hat was the closest, and used the aisle. The other two flanked her by hopping onto the backs of the seats, and crawled toward Kali and Percy.
"Perseus Jackson and Kalliroi Beaumont," the Kindly One said. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."
"I liked you better as a math teacher," Percy told her.
She growled.
Kali raised her sword higher, and glared. "Watch it," she warned, which just earned her a louder growl.
Behind the Kindly Ones, Annabeth and Grover moved closer with cautious steps, looking for an opening of some sort. Percy took out a pen. Said pen then turned into a sword when he removed the cap, and if there weren't all three Kindly Ones in front of them Kali might've openly wondered where he got it from.
At the sight of the sword, the Kindly Ones all hesitated.
"Submit now," the one in the aisle hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."
"Nice try," he said.
"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.
The Kindly One lashed her whip. It wrapped around Percy's sword hand just as the other two Furies lunged at them both. Percy was able to slice the one on the right, not dropping his sword once, and the Kindly One screamed and exploded. Kali took care of the left one before it could get too close to either of them. She slashed upwards, and the monster, just like the other one and the one she killed at her apartment building, exploded into golden monster dust. Annabeth jumped on the final one, getting the Kindly One into a wrestler's hold and yanking her backwards while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.
"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"
The Kindly One tried to get Annabeth off of her back. She kicked and clawed, hissed and bit, but none of that worked. Annabeth held on tight and Grover wrapped the Kindly One's legs in her own whip. Finally they shoved her backward in the aisle. She tried to get up, but there wasn't enough room to flap her wings properly, so she continued to fall down time and time again.
"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have you souls!"
"Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy shouted the same time Kali snapped, "Exòloio."
'Eat my pants' and 'drop dead' – one Latin, one Ancient Greek, two dead languages, and though she had only studied the latter Kali understood them both perfectly.
Thunder shook the bus. The hair on the back of Kali's neck rose.
"Get out!" Annabeth yelled. "Now!"
No one needed to be told twice. The four of them hurried out of the bus. Outside, some of the passengers wondered around in a daze, other argued with the bus driver, and a few even ran around as they shouted something about how they were all going to die. Kali sheathed the sword, hoping that she wouldn't need it any time soon.
"Our bags!" Grover yelled in realization. "We left our–."
He didn't get a chance to continue. Lightning struck the bus, an earthshaking boom sounding as it did so. The windows exploded, and people ran for cover. The lightning had made a huge crater in the roof. Kali thought the Kindly One was dead until an angry wail from inside told her otherwise.
"How is she not dead?" Kali asked, bewildered and a bit annoyed. She didn't receive an answer.
"Run!" Annabeth urged. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"
To say the booked it would be an understatement.