“I’m going to die.”
“You’re not.”
“I’m going to die!”
“You’re not.”
Thalia and I had been going back and forth like this for the entire car ride. With the way Zoë was driving, I was positive I was going to die. I really tried not to be negative, but with her driving? I’d be lucky if I ever got in a car again…y’know…if I didn’t die.
“Zoë!” I groaned loudly. “Pull over please! I don’t wanna die today!”
“Not yet.”
“Zoë, c’mon, I’m hungry.” Thalia grumbled, grouchily.
“Fine! There is a rest stop up ahead so thou can stop thy whining.”
Thalia and I secretly high-fived in victory. Whining does pay off occasionally. Zoë finally pulled over, and I practically fell out of the van in anticipation.
“Freedom!” I declared, walking out of the house.
“Funny, you’re a Brit in America…technically, you took our freedom so…” Thalia said, and I scoffed.
“Never you mind what my ancestors did.” I said, folding my arms. “Now, I don’t want to talk about wars. I wanna talk about getting me some food.” I mumbled grouchily. Am I on my period or something? I don’t recall ever really feeling this grouchy. Maybe aside from those bullies, but upon my free will? I would never want to feel bad. Then again…nobody wants to feel bad so…
I guess life just sucks sometimes and even an optimist can’t really look past that.
“Hey,” Thalia said, grabbing my shoulders. “We get it. You’re grouchy because you can’t talk to your pretty boy.” She was talking about Percy. Just the thought of him made me feel sick in the stomach in the way everybody describes in those movies. I didn’t like it and it frankly gave me anxiety. “But Grover needs to do his tracking spell, then we’ll have a feast on convenience store snacks.”
I thought Thalia was my ally…
Oh well.
Grover finished his tracking spell and yada yada…I don’t know why my attention span has reached being able to last only a second. Maybe I’m hangry. I don’t know, my emotions are hardly ever out of whack like this, it’s awful.
As soon as possible, I got food at the store. Sour Airheads and green tea. Surprisingly, it was an amazing combination. The sourness took away from the bitterness of the tea, and the tea washed away that twitchy feeling of the sourness.
While I was getting my food, apparently there was an argument between Thalia and Zoë about the tracking spell and driving, so…I don’t know. I just shared my Airheads with Thalia. Supporting. Yay…
Sugar highs can be nasty sometimes. I laughed so hard at absolutely nothing that I choked on my tea. Luckily, Thalia made sure I didn’t die. Never ever leave me unattending with sweets. I will die. Whether it be because I choked to death or caught the laughing plague…I don’t know.
ততততত
After following Artemis’s scent, it led us to the Smithsonian. We were at this space place, when something- or someone- slammed into my back, knocking me to the ground.
I let out a small yelp, and looked up to see Percy. “H’lo, Butterfly.” He said, out of breath, and I snapped out of whatever weird funk I’ve been in.
“I- um- Percy, you’re not supposed to be here!” I exclaimed, shimmying out from underneath him.
Zoë and Bianca had their bows raised, prepared to shoot. “You! How dare you show thy face here?” Zoë yelled at him, not lowering her bow.
“Percy! Thank goodness.” Grover said, and Zoë glared at him. “I mean, um, gosh. You're not supposed to be here!”
“Luke,” Percy said, panting. “He’s here.”
“Where?” Thalia asked, her hand rested on her silver bracelet.
He told us about the Natural History Museum where had run into Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.
“The General is here? That is impossible! You lie.” Zoë said, stunned.
“Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors-” Percy tried to say, but I cut him off.
“There are skeleton warriors and you didn’t bother to mention that?! How many?” I demanded, frustratedly.
“Twelve,” He said, finally getting a hold of his breath. “And that’s not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a ‘playmate,’ to distract you over here. A monster.”
“We were following Artemis’s trail," Grover said, sharing a look with Thalia. “I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent…She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet.”
“Zoë, if it is the General-” Bianca said, nervously.
“It cannot be!” Zoë snapped. “Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion.”
“Illusions don’t crack marble floors,” Percy said, and Zoë took a deep breath.
“If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors,” She said, “We have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible… We must leave now.”
“Good idea.” Percy said as if no one would care if he just tagged along with the mission.
“I was not including thee, boy,” Zoë said. “You are not part of this quest.”
“Hey, I was trying to save your lives!”
“You shouldn’t have come, Percy,” Thalia said, grimly. “But you’re here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van.”
“That is not thy decision!”
“You’re not the boss here, Zoë. I don’t care how old you are! You’re still a conceited little brat!”
You never had any wisdom when it came to boys, you never could leave them behind!”
Darn it, they were arguing. I hated when they argued.
Then…there was a growl. A growl that was slightly similar to one Moony would make when he was in wolf form.
Some adults screamed while a little kid yelled, “Kitty!”
A large lion with golden, glistening fur and silver claws bounded up the ramp, and I gasped as I recognized it as the Nemean Lion.
“The Nemean Lion,” Thalia said as she recognized it as well. “Don’t move.”
The lion roared and Zoë said, “Separate on my mark. Try to keep it distracted.”
“Until when?” Grover asked, somewhat nervously.
“Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!”
They fought while I tried to think of a way to kill it while they were distracted. I wasn’t all that when it came to fighting, but coming up with a way to kill a monster? You bet I’m there. It was similar to how my fathers could come up with a prank.
Then it came to me as their weapons made no effect on its impenetrable fur. It’s mouth! That had to be a weak point.
“Target it’s mouth!” I yelled, using my telekinesis to try and force the lion’s mouth open. Being a child of Psyche, I could control things with my mind. I had a lot of power, come to think of it.
Even still, they had trouble shooting at it.
The lion leaped onto a spacecraft, only its weight was too much and the cord snapped, causing it to start to fall. Quickly, I used my power to prevent the display from falling on top of a little kid.
“Grover! Clear the area!” I yelled, trying to avoid getting drained of my energy as I gently set down the spacecraft.
Grover started to usher the other kids away, and then I turned my attention back to the lion, trying to force its mouth open.
“No clear shot!” Zoë yelled. “Get it to open its mouth more!”
“Thalia,” Percy said. “Keep it occupied.”
I continued to force the lion to keep its mouth open to keep trying to get it damaged, at least long enough for Percy’s plan to work. Hopefully, it did because my energy was draining quickly.
Keep going, I urged myself as Thalia attacked the beast. Keep going. Just until it’s dead.
“Percy,” Thalia called out. “Whatever you’re going to do-”
The lion batted her back before she could finish what she was saying, her head hitting the metal and she slid to the floor.
“Hey!” Percy yelled, hurling Riptide at it and it bounced off its side.
I just forced its mouth wide open as Percy charged, throwing a packet of some sort of food into its mouth. It gagged on it like a hairball.
“Zoë, get ready!” He yelled.
The lion choked down the food and I managed to force the mouth open once again.
“Snack time!” Percy yelled, and he chucked another packet of food into its mouth.
He tossed more before it could finish gagging on the first. Its mouth was wide open, perfect for Zoë and Bianca to fire their arrows.
“Now!” Percy yelled, and a volley of arrows landed in its mouth. It thrashed then fell back, lying still.
People were still leaving and security guards had no idea what was going on. Grover went to help Thalia, who seemed okay, a little dazed though. Zoë and Bianca got down from the balcony.
“That was…an interesting strategy.” Zoë said, eyeing him cautiously.
“Hey, it worked.” He reasoned.
Zoë had no remark. The lion seemed to be melting until there was nothing but a fur coat.
“Take it,” Zoë said to Percy.
“What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?” Percy said, staring at her like she was a madwoman.
“It is a spoil of war.” Zoë said. “It is rightly thine.”
“You killed it.”
She shook her head, “I think thy ice-cream sandwich did that. Fair is fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur.” She said, slightly smiling.
He picked it up, and it shifted into a full-length golden-brown duster. “Not exactly my style.” Percy said.
“We have to get out of here,” Grover said. “The security guards won't stay confused for long.”
“You did that?” Percy asked him, watching the security guards act oddly like they were looking for something, some walking into walls.
“A minor confusion song. I played some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds.” Grover said, a little embarrassed.
“The security guards aren’t our biggest worry,” Zoë said. “Look.”
Outside of the glass walls of the museum, there were a group of men in gray camouflage outfits, going what felt like straight to Percy.
“Go,” Percy said, bravely. “They’ll be hunting me. I’ll distract them.”
“No,” Zoë declared. “We go together.”
“But you said-”
“You are part of this quest now. I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind.”
Oh great. The person I wanted to avoid was now part of our quest.
That was my final thought before I blacked out.
~~~A/N~~~
Where my fellow insomniacs at?
Yeah...I got bored so I thought, why don't I actually make use of the time I should be sleeping?
So here's your chapter, I'm not gonna bother in saying I'm trying to update more often when I know I'm probably going to update in about another month, but I really am trying and I have new inspiration so I might just think it a little more out, so hopefully, I can pull myself back on track.
Eat some cheerios,
Hush