They'd barely escaped as Tyson held onto the three of them and Percy partially opened the flask Hermes had given him, releasing the winds trapped inside as they blasted away from the Princess Andromeda, which became nothing more than a smudge in the distance before it was gone.
They'd then used the sea spray created by the winds to send Chiron an Iris message, and then it was Cressida's turn.
"Where the hell are you?!" Pollux raged making Cressida cringe. "We get to camp, expecting a nice welcome from our sister and not only are you not here..."
"But that Tantalus guy saying you're expelled forever?!" Castor finished.
"What did that Jackson punk drag you into this time and when are you getting back so I can flatten him?" Pollux continued, Percy appearing slightly scared from where he sat.
"Ok, so technically it wasn't Percy's fault. It was Luke's for poisoning Thalia's tree and Grover's for finding the fleece instead of Pan and then it was Hermes for asking me personally to go on this quest. And as for the expulsion thing - please, you think Papa will let that stand?"
"Gods, stop pushing!" Castor said as Pollux was trying to knock him out of the way to see his sister.
"You're in my way," he returned.
"And you're annoying."
"Oh, for Papa's sake!" she scolded as they stopped. "Listen, we're heading to the Sea of Monsters to try and find the Fleece and save Thalia's tree. I'll check in when I can, just try not to die on border patrol and I swear to Papa if you touch my cheesy Doritos, you'll be the ones being kicked out of camp."
The twins only looked at each other before yelling, "Dibs!"
They went running towards their cabin, pushing and pulling each other out of the way as the Iris message followed them.
"Love you, Cress," Castor said.
"Come back alive," Pollux said.
"And if you don't..."
"Make sure Jackson lives so we can kill him."
"Bye!" they sang together
"Bye," she farewelled with a smile as she shook her head and waved her hand through the message.
"So, your brothers -"
"Don't like you?" she finished for Percy. "Yeah, this is the second time I'm being dragged on a deadly quest with you. It's easier to blame you than Luke. You're within killing distance."
"They're not actually going to kill me though, right?" he asked nervously.
"Only if I ask them not to," she answered, twisting the locket on her charm bracelet, but she didn't say that she would. "But I still wouldn't spar with them anytime soon."
"Noted."
"Your brothers sound nice," Tyson said, surprising Percy who didn't realise he meant that he liked how protective they were of one another.
"They are," she replied. "I think they'd like you. They gave me this before my first quest," she explained as she showed him the heart-shaped locket that he carefully opened to see the happy photos of her and her brothers inside.
"It's pretty. What about this one?" he asked as he pointed to the pinecone after closing the locket.
"My father, Mr D, gave me that one for my ninth birthday. It turns into my spear."
Tyson seemed intrigued by the idea that the charm could turn into her weapon before he pointed to the last charm.
"And this one?"
Cressida hesitated a little bit before she met Percy's eyes. "That one...That one was given to me on my first quest by...by a friend."
Percy grew hopeful at that.
"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth exclaimed as they neared the shoreline, Cressida's hand still in Tyson's as he stared at her bracelet. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like -"
"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," Percy answered and they all looked at him strangely.
"How did you know that?" Annabeth asked.
"I-I'm not sure."
Annabeth thought for a moment before asking, "Percy, what's our position?"
"Thirty-six degrees, forty-four minutes north, seventy-six degrees, two minutes west," he said immediately before shaking his head. "Whoa. How did I know that?"
"Son of Poseidon, Fish Face," Cressida said as if it was obvious, which it was.
"When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is so cool," Annabeth exclaimed.
Percy looked unsure of that before he saw the glimmer in Cressida's eyes, exactly the same as the one she had at the end of last summer and he knew exactly what that meant.
"Don't,-"
"Captain Nemo," she proclaimed, and he just gave him a dead look.
"Really?"
"What? It's like Treasure Island. And like Nemo the fish," she explained before Tyson tapped Percy on the shoulder.
"Other boat is coming," he said, and they turned to see a coastguard vessel on their tail, its lights flashing as it gained speed.
"We can't let them catch us. They'll ask too many questions," Percy said.
"No kidding, Barnacle Brain," Cressida snapped.
"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide."
No one questioned her as Percy loosened the flask cap a little more and a fresh burst of wind sent them rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coastguard boat fell further and further behind as they entered the mouth of a river.
"There," Annabeth said. "Past that sandbar."
They veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass and Percy beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress.
"Come on," Annabeth urged as she jumped out of the boat. "It's just down the bank.
"What is?" Percy questioned.
"Just follow," she ordered as she grabbed a duffel bag and swung it onto her shoulder. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."
"I got it," Cressida said as she raised her hands and grapevines rose from the ground as they wrapped around the boat, covering the yellow vessel but not crushing it.
"Yummy!" Tyson said as he broke off some of the grapes and instantly began eating.
"Hey, how come you didn't get so tired like you normally do after you made that bear guy freeze?" Percy wondered as Cressida pulled out her switchblade and cut some for herself.
"It's called practice," she replied. "And who said I wasn't tired?"
She walked off after Annabeth, their shoes sinking in red mud as they trudged through the swamp.
"Not a good place," Tyson said as he swatted away some mosquitoes.
After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."
All they saw were brambles before Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches like a door and disappeared inside.
The inside was barely big enough for the four of them, the walls woven from planet material and appearing rather waterproof. Stacked in a 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. The place smelled musty, like it had been vacant for a long time.
"A half-blood hideout," Percy gaped. "You made this place?"
"Thalia and I," she answered quietly. "And Luke."
While Percy contemplated the meaning of that, Cressida was more worried about something else.
"Uh, Luke's not going to find us here, is he?" she asked, and Annabeth shook her head.
"We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares," she replied, and Cressida squeezed her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Books," she said before heading to the corner, throwing down the blankets that Annabeth collapsed on and she began pillaging the ambrosia supply, sneaking a few bites.
"Um, Tyson?" Percy said. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"
"Convenience store?"
"Yeah, for snacks. Powdered doughnuts or something. Just don't go too far."
"Powdered doughnuts," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered doughnuts in the wilderness." He headed outside and started calling, "Here, doughnuts!"
Once he was gone, Percy sat next to Annabeth as Cressida was still stuffing things into her duffle bag, softly humming to herself seeing as she was without her iPod.
"Hey, I'm sorry about, you know, seeing Luke," he said.
"It's not your fault." She unsheathed her knife and started cleaning the blade with a rag.
"He let us go too easily," Percy said and 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," she guessed.
"The Fleece is the bait? Or Grover?" Percy asked.
"The Fleece," Cressida answered as she looked through the weapons. "Odds are, Luke needs that as opposed to Grover," she said, tossing grapes into her mouth as she went.
"I just can't believe he would poison the tree," Annabeth gaped.
"What did he mean that Thalia would've been on his side?" Percy wondered.
"He's wrong," she said but her voice was shaky.
"You don't sound sure," Percy said and Annabeth glared at him, looking rather scary as she held a knife.
"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."
Percy had to laugh. "So like me and Cressida, basically," he said and the girl in question chuckled from where she was eating her grapes.
"You flatter yourself," she said.
"Can I get some of those?" he asked and she rolled her eyes before tossing him a bunch. "I think we'll go with best friends," he said as he dropped a couple in his mouth and Cressida stuck her tongue out at him, a gesture he returned as he realised that she didn't disagree with him.
"Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. So do you. Would you turn against Olympus because of that?" Annabeth asked.
"No," Percy answered and Annabeth seemed to feel a little bit better.
"Ok, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong."
Cressida blocked out the rest of the conversation as Annabeth began explaining pieces of what happened to Thalia. She only started listening to them again when Annabeth said, "'You can never trust a Cyclops, Percy. Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill –"
"If I thought that way about every demigod after they all treated me badly," Cressida interrupted as she inspected the flawless surface of a grape as she held it up. "I would've let you go on that quest alone and I would've let you die." She plopped the grape into her mouth before turning her indigo eyes on them. "There are exceptions to everything."
And she flicked another grape into the air, catching it in her mouth as her words sank in before the door of the hut creaked open and Tyson crawled in.
"Powdered doughnuts!" he said proudly, holding up a pastry box.
Annabeth stared at him in confusion. "Where did you get that? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around for –"
"Fifteen metres," Tyson said. "Monster Doughnut shop – just over the hill!"
"This can't be good," Cressida said as they got up and followed Tyson to Monster Donut.