CHAPTER SEVEN
( OLD LADIES NO LONGER
HAVE KALI'S TRUST )
THEY SLOWED TO A hurried, brisk walk when they thought the bus and the screeching Kindly One was far enough behind them. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle during that time. The night sky was dark above them, covered with clouds and tinted yellow behind them because of the lights of New York City. It was hard to see as they walked along the bank of the Hudson River – it smelled atrocious, by the way – and they all stumbled a few times through mud, over tree roots and around tree trunks.
Kali kept her arms crossed tightly over her chest, occasionally having to take a few quick steps, a half attempted jog, to keep up with the others. Annabeth refused to slow down completely, which Kali didn't blame her for, but still – it wasn't nice having to practically scurry after the others. Percy had no trouble keeping up with Annabeth; he seemed to naturally walk fast. Kali thought it had something to do with him being a native New Yorker; ever since she moved there, everyone else just seemed to walk like that. Then Grover, despite shivering because of the rain and terror of the Kindly Ones, trotted easily alongside them.
She kept her head down, squinting through the dark to see vague shapes and outlines of tree roots and twigs. Unfortunately she couldn't see puddles or muddy patches of grass, so every once in a while a step she took would make water and/or mud splash on her shoes and lower calves. All the while, her mind was unable to completely stop thinking about the Kindly Ones.
Kali wondered how long it would take for them to reform this time; if they were going to run into them again. She's not that stupid, she knew that during the quest they were going to fight monsters, and those weren't going to be the only ones, but did it have to be those three right off the bat? It certainly had to be some type of miracle that they survived the encounter with the Kindly Ones twice now, especially since two of the Big Three seemed to want her and Percy gone.
And wasn't that fun to think about.
Grover shivered and brayed. His goat eyes had turned into slits, full of terror from the fight back on the bus. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."
Kali didn't feel much better. But she truly didn't know how much of that was terror and how much of it was exhaustion.
They hadn't stopped to rest ever since running from the exploded bus, and her energy was waning. The rain water gave her some strength to keep going, but between the adrenaline from the fight slowly disappearing and her lack of sleep from the night before catching up and how she hadn't eaten since lunch, Kali wanted to just rest and eat. Neither of those options were available.
"Come on! The farther away we get, the better," Annabeth said.
Kali trudged on, and bit back an annoyed groan.
"All our money was back there," Percy reminded Annabeth. "Our food and clothes. Everything."
"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight–."
"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"
"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."
"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."
"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.
Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans...a perfectly good bag of tin cans."
Kali sympathetically patted Grover's shoulder. "I had some pretty good snacks, too," she said. "We can mope about it together." She didn't mention anything about jumping into the fight instead of leaving through the bus's roof exit like Annabeth had told her to. She didn't feel like getting fussed at for wanting to protect them like Percy, so she decided to not butt into their argument. As they walked through the mushy ground, their shoes sloshing and getting even more soaked and muddy with each step, she just listened to them.
Annabeth fell into line next to Percy. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave. Both of you had the chance to leave and you didn't."
"We're a team, right?" said Percy.
Annabeth stayed silent for the next few steps. "It's just that if you died...aside from the fact that it would really suck for both of you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."
Finally the thunderstorm came to a stop. Kali pushed wet strands of hair off her face the same moment she nearly tripped over a root. Grover grabbed her elbow to help steady her, and she mumbled a thanks. A couple paces ahead, Percy and Annabeth kept up their conversation.
"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?"
"No...only short field trips. My dad–."
"The history professor."
"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." Annabeth began to rush her words, as if someone might interrupt or stop her from continuing. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether or not you're any good or not."
"You're pretty good with that knife," Percy told her.
"You think so?"
"Anybody who came piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."
A short beat of silence, and then, "You know," Annabeth began, "maybe I should tell you... Something funny happened back on the bus..."
A shrill toot-toot-toot interrupted her. Kali flinched at the suddenness of it, and at the proximity. She nearly instinctively smacked Grover's reed pipes out of his hand from the surprise.
"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" he happily cried out. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"
He puffed out a few notes. It sounded wrong, somehow. Like a pop song of some sort, though Kali couldn't be too sure. She didn't spend enough time with satyrs to really know. Instead of finding a path of any sort, Percy ran face first into a tree.
After they made sure Percy didn't need any sort of medical attention – as if they had anything to use, something which he quickly pointed out – and trying not to laugh too much at how he ran into a tree, the four of them trekked on. Grover apologized even though there was just a 50/50 shot of whether or not he made the tree appear, and Percy kindly brushed the apologies off.
"You did good back on the bus too, by the way," Percy said after a minute or two, now walking beside Kali instead of Annabeth.
Kali looked at him as well as she could in the dark. Surprised, she blurted out, "What?"
"You did good," he repeated. "In my opinion, anyway. I know Luke said I might have to watch out for you, but you seem to be able to handle yourself fine."
"Oh." She tried not to grin too big. Part of her wanted to argue that it was just luck and that she hardly did anything, despite the happiness the compliment gave her. She decided to accept it anyway, and kept the negative thoughts to herself. "Thank you. So did you. How's your hand?"
"Oh, uh, thanks." It was only because of the faint moonlight that Kali was able to see Percy lift his hand and flex it; just the vague and dark outline of it, nothing else. "It's fine, I think the rain water healed whatever injury I had."
She nodded. "That's good."
The conversation ended at that. Kali didn't want it to, but she also had no idea what to say. The quest didn't make the awkward air between them suddenly go away, even though she kind of wished that it did.
How did someone talk to a half-sibling they just met? How did the other campers even do it? Finding out you have another brother or sister was life changing, yet so many of them seemed to adapt so quickly. Grant and the other Hermes kids, and even most of the unclaimed ones, got along like a house on fire within moments. Arianna and the other Demeter kids clicked instantly. It seemed as though Ares' sons and daughter did the same with Adelaide, though with more of a touch of violence. Her and Percy, however, were awkward and somewhat tense and neither really knew how to act with one another, apparently.
Percy had an excuse for it. As far as she knew, he was an only child. Kali, though, was the oldest of three. And even though Naia and Makoa weren't demigods, shouldn't she know how to not be awkward around her own brothers and sisters?
The four of them walked on, tripping and cursing, and Kali pursed her lips. The entire situation was beginning to make her feel miserable.
+++
Eventually, maybe about a mile or so, they started to see light ahead of them. A neon sign. The smell of food gradually permeated the air – greasy food. It alone made Kali's stomach growl loud enough for the others to hear. Their surprised yet amused stares had her wincing with embarrassment.
"Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly.
Annabeth let out a small laugh. "Don't be, I agree with your stomach."
Percy groaned, a bit dramatically if Kali was being honest. "Me too. I'd kill for a Big Mac right now."
"Yeah, a good tin can or a pan of enchiladas sounds amazing right now," Grover said.
They made it to a deserted two-lane road. There wasn't a McDonald's, but on the other side of the road there was one singular opened business that was the source of the neon light and the smell of food. A tattered billboard for a 90s movie and a closed-down gas station were the only other two things on that stretch of the road.
It was a bit disappointing to see that there wasn't a McDonald's but rather a roadside curio shop, but hey. Food was food. The main building a long, low warehouse. Statuary surrounded it, and the red neon sign above the gate was impossible to read, all because of the sign itself, Kali's exhaustion, and reading regular English in general sucked on a normal day.
ANVTY SME CAPBNE CNQWE MEPQURIM
None of the words she saw on the sign looked even remotely English. She scowled a little.
"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked.
"I don't know," Annabeth and Kali replied in unison.
Grover translated for them: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."
Kali squinted. "...Huh."
At the entrance two garden gnomes stood on either side. Both were forever frozen as if they were waving and smiling, like someone was taking a picture of them. A bit creepy, but otherwise Kali didn't give it a second thought as she began to follow Percy across the road.
"Hey..." Grover warned.
"The lights are on inside," said Annebeth. "Maybe it's open."
"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.
"Snack bar," Annabeth agreed.
"Are you two crazy?" asked Grover. "This place is weird. Kali, you gotta agree with me."
"Sorry, Grover. I'm starving and this place has some seriously good smelling food," Kali said, bypassing multiple statues and only sparing a few them a parting glance. Animals, children, a satyr playing the pipes – all life-like, but the last one gave Grover the creeps the most.
"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!" Just as they stopped at the warehouse door, he pleaded, "Don't knock. I smell monsters."
"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"
"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."
"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy reminded him.
"Those are vegetables."
"Since when was cheese a vegetable?" Kali asked.
He didn't give her an answer. "Come on. Let's leave. These statues are...looking at me."
Just then, the door creaked open to reveal a woman. She wore a long black gown that covered her completely except for her hands that were old and wrinkly yet well-manicured. Her head was completely veiled and behind a curtain of black gauze, her eyes glinted at them.
"Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?" she asked. Her accent sounded Middle Eastern, but Kali couldn't be too sure.
"They're...um..." Annabeth started to say.
"We're orphans," Percy lied.
"Orphans?" the woman asked. It sounded...weird when she said it. "But, my dears! Surely not!"
"We got separated from our caravan," Percy continued to lie. "Our circus caravan."
"It's called Haly's Circus," Kali butted in, anything to hopefully make the lie more believable, even if she was using her limited knowledge of Dick Grayson/Robin's origin from DC comics. Surely an old lady wouldn't know about stuff like that.
Percy nodded. "The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station."
"Communication among everyone has been crappy the past few weeks. A couple of our performers died, and it's hit everyone hard," Kali added.
"Yeah, it's been terrible. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"
"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."
They all thanked her and went inside.
Annabeth muttered, "Circus caravan?"
"Always have a strategy, right?" replied Percy.
"Your head is full of kelp."
"I'm not the one who decided to use a fictional tragedy from a comic book." At that, they all looked at Kali.
"Hey, it worked didn't it? Old ladies always melt at hearing sob stories from children, anyway," she defended herself.
Inside the warehouse stood more stone statues. They were all so life-like and life-size, even though each one was a different person, satyr, or gnome with numerous different expressions, outfits, and poses. Just like with the first two garden gnomes at the entrance, Kali felt a bit creeped out by them. But the feeling was muted by how hungry she was, the strong smell of food not helping at all.
It probably wasn't the best idea to carelessly go into a stranger's place, but surely this old woman could be trusted unlike the former ones.
(Kali, along with Percy and Annabeth, hardly noticed Grover's nervous whimpers. They barely even noticed when Aunty Em locked the door behind them, Grover included, the satyr too caught up in the feeling being watched by multiple pairs of eyes and the gruesome smell of monster.)
The dining area was at the back of the warehouse just like Aunty Em said. There was a fast food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. There were also a few picnic tables made of steel.
"Please, sit down," said Aunty Em.
"Awesome," Percy said.
"Um," Grover reluctantly began to speak, "we don't have any money, ma'am."
"No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans," Aunty Em said.
That made Kali look dubiously up at the woman. Even when Mr. Borhorquez and Mr. Alba said they didn't have to pay for stuff at the bodega, she still did it anyway. "Are you sure?"
Aunty Em's head-dress shifted and her eyes squinted. Kali guessed she might be smiling. "Of course, I am, child. You have no need to worry about payment. Please sit, Kalliroi, and enjoy the time with your friends."
Despite not liking the fact that they weren't paying, Kali just nodded, and moved to sit beside Percy, Annabeth and Grover across from them.
"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.
Aunty Em stiffened like Annabeth had somehow done something wrong, but the woman relaxed just as fast. That sent alarm bells off underneath her haze of hunger. Adults tensing was never a good sign; almost always something bad came out of it.
"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."
Aunty Em then disappeared behind the snack counter. Kali kept an eye on her as long as she could, the alarm bells in her mind, albeit muffled, not going away for some reason. Before she could really think about it though, their hostess came back with plastic trays covered in double cheese burgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of french fries.
Kali only hesitated for half a second before she dug in. She practically inhaled more than half the the burger she grabbed as her own in less than a minute, before pausing to get a serving of fries and a milkshake. She dunked a few fries in the shake, and happily ate them. Beside her, Percy devoured his own burger. On the other side of the picnic table, Annabeth slurped down her milkshake while Grover, still nervous, picked at his fries and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner.
"What's that hissing noise?" Grover asked.
They paused to listen. They didn't hear anything. When Percy glanced at the girls questionably, Kali shrugged and Annabeth shook her head.
"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."
"I take vitamins. For my ears."
"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."
Kali's brows furrowed together as her intake of food slowed down. Not because she was full, no, but because guilt swirled in her gut. She felt bad about not paying even though Aunty Em said not to worry–
Her train of thought screeched to a halt as she remembered Aunty Em had used her name minutes earlier. And not her nickname she always introduced herself as, but her full first name. She thought back, trying to remember if she had said it somehow accidentally but her brain seemed to be working slow, and she only remembered the old woman introducing herself. Yet, she used their names – she knew their names. How? She had no memory of the past half hour where anyone gave the old lady their names.
A scary thought entered her mind, then. What if the food was drugged? Kali, though she didn't completely understand why people did it, had overheard the older women in her apartment building once angrily rant at one another about how men sometimes drugged drinks belonging to other girls.
Kali blinked, stared at the fry she had dipped into the milkshake and now held in front of her, frozen, and frowned.
People wouldn't do that to kids, would they? ...Did they?
A quick glance at Aunty Em revealed the old woman wasn't eating.
Kali set down the fry on the waxes paper on the tray closest to her. Better safe than sorry, she decided.
Percy nudged her elbow with his own. When she looked at him, his face showed poorly hidden worry. "You okay?" he asked through a mouthful of burger. He swallowed before he said anything else. "You look kinda pale."
She managed a nod. "Uh, yeah. I think I ate too much too fast."
He frowned a little but nodded, accepting her answer. He immediately went back to eating.
Aunty Em continued to just sit there. She ate nothing, and merely watched them eat, fingers interlaced together atop the table. It was unsettling, and Kali took a bite of one fry when Aunty Em stared at her a second too long for comfort.
Something wasn't right. Kali couldn't figure it out. It was beginning to frustrate her a little, and Grover's panicked and pointed stares didn't help anything.
Kali looked at the statues again. There were seriously a lot of them. Too many to count, both inside and outside.
"So, you sell gnomes," Percy spoke up, trying to sound interested. Kali looked at him again and noticed he seemed tired, suddenly. She frowned, tried to convince herself that that was normal, people got sleepy all the time after eating a lot, but it didn't stop her earlier thoughts from returning.
"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."
"A lot of business on this road?"
"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built...most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."
Percy suddenly turned around in his seat. Curious, Kali did the same and immediately noticed a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. Incredible detail overall, and once again so life-like, though her face...she looked scared. It added an unsettling creepiness to the statue that, for the first time since Kali entered the warehouse, couldn't dismiss. For a moment, it felt like the little girl stared right back at her. The alarm bells in her head grew, having never gone completely away in the first place.
Something was wrong here, and Kali felt immensely stupid for not being able to figure it out, or noticing, sooner.
"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."
"You make these statues yourself?" Percy asked.
Think, think, think... Kali turned back around and kept her gaze on the table's surface and her half eaten food. The food couldn't be drugged, she decided, because everyone else seemed fine. Maybe this old woman was connected to their quest somehow, to the gods, or something. That would make the most sense.
"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." Aunty Em sounded so genuinely, deeply sad and lonely. Kali might have felt sorry if her brain hadn't finally connected the pieces together.
She glanced at the statues again. Then at Aunty Em.
Oh.
Oh crap.
In front of her, Annabeth stopped eating. She sat forward and asked, "Two sisters?"
"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em– no, Medusa, Kali was sure of it – began to explain. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a...a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."
"Percy?" Annabeth reached over and shook his wrist to get his attention, voice tense. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."
Kali automatically nodded when they caught eye contact. She seemed to have figured it out, too. "Yeah, she's right, Percy. We can't worry the ringmaster." She tugged at his shirt sleeve, but Percy just seemed confused by them both.
"Such beautiful gray eyes," Medusa told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those." When she reached out to stroke her cheek, Annabeth abruptly stood.
"We really should go."
"Yes!" Grover swallowed the waxed paper he had been eating and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"
Kali slid out of her seat and stood. She grabbed Percy's elbow to make him move, but he resisted, trying to get out of her grip. "C'mon, Percy, we seriously gotta go."
"Please, dears," Medusa pleaded, keeping up the lonely old woman ruse despite three out of four having caught on that something wasn't right. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"
"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.
"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."
Annabeth shifted from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy–."
"Sure we can," Percy interrupted, and finally got his elbow free of Kali's grasp. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"
"Yes, Annabeth," came the purred reply, as if Medusa was trying to be soothing. "No harm."
It was clear to Kali that Annabeth didn't want to, but she allowed Medusa to lead them back out the front door, into the garden of statues.
Medusa directed them next to the stone satyr where a park bench sat. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. "Boy, girl, boy, girl should work, I think. You can never go wrong with a simple pattern."
Kali had half a mind to unsheathe her sword – she might have forgotten about it for a little while, there – but didn't want to somehow accidentally end up as a stone statue before she was able to attack. So, she stayed put on the bench, and hoped Annabeth had some sort of plan.
"Not much light for a photo," Percy remarked.
"Oh, enough. Enough for us to see each other, yes?"
"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.
Medusa didn't answer him. She stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"
On the other side of Percy and Annabeth, Grover looked at the stone satyr. "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."
"Grover," Medusa chastised. "Look this way, dear."
"Percy–," Annabeth said.
"I'll just be a moment. You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."
"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.
"Wrong?" Medusa reached up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"
Kali tensed. "Guys–."
"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.
"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted, and she put on her Yankees cap, disappearing. Invisible hands pushed the boys off of the bench, and half a second later did the same to Kali.
The gravel harshly scraped her knees and the palms of her hands when she hit the ground, but Kali ignored the stinging and scrambled off to the left with her eyes squeezed shut. She didn't stop until she got behind a rather large statue with her back to the general direction of Medusa, if the sudden clear sounds of snakes hissing was anything to go by. Once there, she carefully peeled her eyes open, saw nothing except for statues and the dark of the night and a metal hub cap thingy for tires. Kali grabbed it and used the metal's reflection to see behind her. By something invisible pressing against her shoulder, she knew Annabeth was there as well, both staring at the distorted reflection of Medusa and Percy, who had practically fallen at her feet.
As Percy began to lift his head up, the girls shout in protest. He froze.
"Run!" Grover bleated at him. Kali could see a faint, blurry image of him running across the gravel. "Maia!"
"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," Medusa said faux soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up. The Grey-Eyed one did this to me, Percy. Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."
"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth shouted. "Run, Percy!"
"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Her voice shifted back into that falsely comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."
Percy said something, too quiet for Kali to hear because of the distance, and he struggled to move.
"Leave him alone!" Kali yelled, but went ignored.
"Do you really want to help the gods?" asked Medusa. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."
Movement in the reflection of the hub cap caught her attention. Kali shifted it to get a better look. Grover flew over to Medusa and Percy in the shoes Luke gave them, eyes shut and a reasonably sized branch in hand. "Percy! Duck!" Grover shouted. "Duck! I'll get her!" His head swiveled from side to side as he navigated by just his ears and nose.
Kali watched as Grover landed a hit on Medusa right as Percy dove to one side. Medusa roared, raging. "You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"
"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" he yelled back.
Impulsively, Kali jumped up and turned around. With one hand she covered her eyes and the other she lifted the hub cap. She threw it as hard as she could in what she knew was the general direction of Medusa, and hoped that it wouldn't hit Grover or Percy. A thump was heard, then the sound of metal hitting concrete, followed by Grover giving another hit with the tree branch. Medusa roared, her snake-hair spitting and hissing. Within that split second of chaos, right after she threw the hubcap, Annabeth grabbed her arm and dragged her threw the statues. Kali ran into a couple of them and almost tripped a few times, and was about to ask what they were doing when Annabeth brought them to a stop.
"Percy!"
"Jeez!" Percy exclaimed, startled. "Don't do that!"
Kali cautiously peered through her fingers. When she noticed Medusa wasn't anywhere near her line of sight, she dropped her hand and stayed beside Annabeth, who took off her cap and told Percy, "You have to cut her head off."
"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."
"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." She paused and swallowed, like what she was about to say was difficult for her to. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You– You've got a chance."
"What about Kali? I can't–," he started, but Kali butted in.
"With my luck, I'd end up just stabbing her in the gut," she said.
"Look," Annabeth said, "do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?" She then pointed to a pair of statues nearby – a couple, a man and woman with their arms around each other. As Percy looked at them, she grabbed a green gazing hall from a pedestal close to them. "A polished shield would be better – or the hub cap Kali threw at her–," at the other's pointed look, Kali smiled innocently, "–but this should still work fine. The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of–."
"Would you speak English?"
"I am!" She tossed him the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly."
"Hey, guys!" Grover shouted, his voice coming from somewhere above them. "I think she's unconscious!"
Immediately, Medusa roared.
"Maybe not," he corrected, then went to attack again with his tree branch.
"Hurry," Annabeth told Percy. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."
The girls stayed where they were while Percy uncapped the pen he had that then grew into a sword. He used the gazing ball to keep a look out for Medusa as he walked backwards. Kali wanted to turn around and look, but stayed still. Her eyes were glued to the ground as she listened to was happening with Annabeth beside her.
There was the sound of a body painfully crashing into stone. Grover let out a hurt moan.
Then, Percy shouted, "Hey!"
A short few seconds passed by before Medusa said anything. "You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."
When he didn't immediately respond, Kali straightened to instinctively look but held back only because of Annabeth's hand now gripping her shoulder.
"Percy, don't listen to her!" Grover yelled through a groan of pain.
Medusa cackled. "Too late."
Annabeth's hand tightened when Kali jerked to move again. Then, there was the sickening sound of a sword slicing through skin, and finally the familiar sound of a monster disintegrating. Something hit the ground with a dull thump. Kali automatically grimaced.
"Oh, yuck," said Grover. "Mega-yuck."
+++
Minutes later, the four of them were back inside the warehouse with various bumps, bruises, cuts, and the spoil of war that was Medusa's head. It was wrapped in her own veil, and then again by a couple of plastic grocery bags they had found once they got inside. Now it sat on the table they had eaten at. They all sat down, too exhausted to talk.
Kali sat with her feet on the seat. She had a damp napkin in her hand, and used the condensation from the cups the milkshakes were in to clean off the blood on her legs from her scraped knees, and to get the dirt out of the wounds. It wasn't enough water to heal them, but she didn't mind. There were other smaller scrapes from when Annabeth had dragged her through the statuary, but not many at all and not bad enough to bleed too much.
All the while, Kali thought to herself that she no longer had any trust in old ladies. She's been attacked by them far too often this summer.
Finally, Percy said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"
Annabeth sent him an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."
Percy's face turned a faint shade of red. "Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa."
She straightened. Then, in a bad imitation of his voice, she said, "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"
"Forget it. You're impossible."
"You're insufferable."
"You're–."
"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"
Kali tossed the dirtied napkin onto one of the trays. "I'm with Grover. I don't want to be carrying a head around during the rest of the quest."
No one said anything for a few moments until Percy suddenly got up and said, "I'll be back."
"Percy. What are you–?" Annabeth cut herself off as he left to the back of the warehouse.
Percy soon came back with a box, a delivery slip with a leather bag attached, some drachmas, and a pen. They watched as he packed up Medusa's head, and then filled out the slip. Kali sat up to read it.
The Gods
Mount Olympus
600th Floor,
Empire State Building
New York, NY
with best wishes,
PERCY JACKSON
"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."
He poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as he closed it, there was a sound similar to a cash register. Then the package floated off of the table, and disappeared with a pop!
"I am impertinent," he said.
Annabeth didn't judge or criticize him when he looked at her, but she did look resigned. "Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."
————
A/N— this was supposed to be finished & updated a month or so ago, but i got distracted by life and then got dragged into the batfam fandom on tumblr kicking & screaming and THEN i forgot i never actually finished this chapter, so! the ending may be a bit rushed bc i wanted to finish it lmao
hope you enjoyed it anyway, and thanks for reading! don't forget to vote & comment xx :)