"maia"
ANDROMEDA DIDN'T ASK ANY OF HER SIBLINGS TO HELP HER PACK. She didn't pack a lot of stuff, so it wasn't like she actually needed much help. The things inside her backpack consisted of a hairbrush, two changes of clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and some gum. She knew they wouldn't have lots of stop and brush their teeth, so in case she didn't get to use her toothbrush and toothpaste, at least her breathe would smell decent.
The excitement Andromeda had felt earlier was still there, but it had been overtaken by fear. She wasn't as confident as she was in the Big House. As she packed a few hair ties in the front pocket of her back pack, a knock sounded at the door.
She made her way out of the bathroom and into the main room. She ripped her bag and walked over to the door. She cracked it open and peaked out to see Katie outside. She opened it up all the way to let her in.
"Heard you got a quest," she said.
Andromeda nodded, searching around her room for something else to pack. Maybe a book.
"I can help you pack a bag," she said, "I snagged these from the gift shop."
Andromeda turned around to face Katie. She held up three Camp Half-Blood protein bars. She thanked her and took the bars, stuffing them in her bag.
"No problem," Katie answered as Andromeda walked around the cabin again, "I made you a sandwich, too, and I've got golden drachmas to give you. And those protein bars don't have any nuts in them."
Andromeda smiled at the fact that Katie remembered her nut allergy. She was a good big sister.
"And I got you the extra thick hair ties," she said, handing them to her.
Andromeda's hair was the thickest hair ever. She loved it, but it was a bother to keep breaking her hair ties because of it. She took the hair ties and put them in her bag. She walked over to her nightstand and grabbed The Lord of the Rings. She put it in her backpack and walked back to Katie.
"Thank you," Andromeda said again, "I should get going."
"Yeah, of course."
Andromeda stood there for a second before giving Katie a hug. The two stood there for a second, hugging. They let go, and made their way out of the cabin, Katie going first to hold the door open.
Andromeda waved to Katie before she ran up to the three kids, who were waiting for her at the base of Half-Blood Hill.
Annabeth had, of course, packed her Yankees cap and her dagger. She had also packed her favorite book on famous architecture, which was written in Ancient Greek. Percy complained that Annabeth's knife was gonna get them caught, but the girls ignored it.
Grover had his fake feet on, along with his jeans, and his Rasta cap was securely placed on his head. He wanted to pass for human, but eating the empty Coca-Cola cans was a dead giveaway. He carried a bright orange backpack, which would make it hard to hide places, but nobody said anything about it. He told them that he had packed apples and scraps of metal, and that he could share. Nobody was eager to ask for metal as a snack. In his pocket were his reed pipes, which had been carved by his dad. However, he only knew two songs on it, which were Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff 's "So Yesterday,". Let's just say that neither of them were meant to be played on reed pipes.
Campers waved to the quartet, and they waved back before they began the trek up the hill. Andromeda gazed at the strawberry fields and the canoe lake for the last time in who knew how long. She was gonna miss camp tremendously. And when they made it to the top of the hill, Andromeda saw Annabeth look at the tall pine tree sadly, and she patted her best friend's shoulder.
Chiron was waiting for them in wheelchair form to say goodbye. Beside him, stood Argus, the camp's head of security. Normally he had only a t-shirt and baggy shorts on, so people could see more of his eyes. But then, he had on a chauffeur's uniform, so Andromeda could only see the eyes on his face, neck, and hands.
"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."
Footsteps were heard behind the six people. Panting sounded from someone who was running up the hill. Luke appeared at the top, gasping for air.
"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."
Annabeth blushed and swooned. Andromeda rolled her eyes at the blond.
"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought . . . um, maybe you could use these."
Luke handed Percy a pair of sneakers, which looked normal enough. At least, Andromeda couldn't tell anything weird about them.
"Maia," Luke said firmly.
Feathery wings sprouted from the heels of the shoes. Percy jumped and dropped the shoes. Andromeda snorted. The shoes flapped their wings a little before they seemingly gave up, and the wings tucked backl into themselves.
"Awesome!" Grover yelled.
Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days. . . ." Then he looked sad.
Percy blushed so much that you'd think Annabeth wasn't the only one with a crush on Luke. Percy looked speechless.
"Hey, man," Percy said, "Thanks."
"Listen, Percy . . ." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just . . . kill some monsters for me, okay?"
Luke and Percy shook hands. Luke gave Grover a pat on the head. He gave Annabeth a tight hug, and she looked about ready to pass out. Lastly, he lifted Andromeda off the ground with a hug so tight that Andromeda was sure her ribs would be broken.
"Stay safe," he said, "Okay?"
"Okay."
And he was off.
Andromeda walked over to Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth galred at her best friend. Andromeda's eyebrows furrowed. Annabeth only stomped away towards the SUV. Andromeda rolled her eyes and laughed with Percy.
Andromeda's last goodbye was to Chiron. She leaned down a bit, to reach him in his wheelchair, and gave him a tight hug around the neck.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too, my dear."
And then Andromeda was racing down to the SUV to try and talk things out with Annabeth.
She opened the door and sat in her seat next to Annabeth, but Annabeth switched from the middle seat to the side seat. She was really upset. Andromeda looked outside the back windshield only to see Grover being dragged sideways by Luke's flying shoes. Percy watched, wincing everytime Grover hit the ground.
Andromeda got out of the car to help Grover get back on his feet. She made sure he made it into the front seat safely before getting back in her seat, realizing that she had entirely missed Percy and Chiron's conversation. She wasn't one to get excited when she heard of some sort of scandalous act, she wasn't a child of Aphrodite, but she was curious.
When Percy got in the car, Andromeda looked back again to see Chiron saluting them with his bow. He was in full centaur form. It was radiation that the kids going on a quest got a last goodbye and good luck from the camp director. Andromeda waved at Chiron, and he smiled back, walking away and back down Half-Blood Hill.
***
ARGUS DROVE THE SUV FULL OF KIDS THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE, AND BEFORE ANY OF THEM KNEW IT, THEY WERE IN THE CITY. Andromeda's eyes widened at the sight of the tall skyscrapers outside. A small smile graced her face as she stares out the window in awe.
"You act like you never seen the outside world," Percy said.
"Not in seven years I haven't," Andromeda said.
Percy's smile dropped, and he started to apologize profusely.
"It's alright, Aquaface," Andromeda said.
Percy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and decided to change the subject.
"So far, so good," he said, "Ten miles and not a single monster."
Annabeth turned to glare at Percy. She was not happy at all. Andromeda knew she didn't love the thought of working with Percy, but she could at least cut him some slack.
"It's bad luck to talk that way," she said.
"Remind me again," Percy said, "Why do you hate me?"
"I don't hate you," Annabeth said.
"Could've fooled me."
Annabeth messed around with her Yankees cap. "Look. . .we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."
"Why?'
"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 Athens. 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!"
Andromeda snickered from the other side of Percy, and Annabeth glared at her. Andromeda stopped laughing for the blond's sake. She turned back to the window to look at the large structures and the buildings that hadn't been there when she was little.
Percy gazed at the girl, once again admiring her beauty. He smiled when she smiled at the things she had never seen before. She laughed at all the cute babies that were being wheeled around in strollers on the street. She hadn't seen a baby in forever. Percy's expressions were caught by an eye on the back of Argus's neck. It winked at Percy before it gazed somewhere else.
By the time they got to Queens, Andromeda wasn't enjoying being in the car as much. Percy picked up on it, and he attempted to distract her with some old stories he had. He told the story of how he got expelled from Yancy Academy. He told about how he had accidentally gotten Nancy Bobofit soaked in the fountain outside the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
By the time Percy's story was over, they had reached the bus stop. Argus stopped the car and let the kids get out.
Andromeda was too busy making sure that Annabeth wasn't mad at her to see Percy rip a soggy missing boy flyer with his face on it off of a mailbox. Once Annabeth promised the girl three times that she wasn't mad at her, Andromeda turned to accept her bag and bus ticket from Argus. She handed Annabeth's stuff to her and then walked over to Percy and Grover to make sure they had all their stuff.
"The guy has this aura...." Grover was saying, "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," Percy said. "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."
Andromeda knew that Percy really didn't feel any better, but he smiled at the satyr for his sake. Andromeda patted him on the shoulder and went on the ask if they had all their stuff. They nodded and held up their bags and tickets. Andromeda nodded at Argus and waved to him, letting him know that he could go. He turned around and made his way back to Camp Half-Blood in the black SUV.
Eventually, the Annabeth, Percy, and Andromeda got very restless waiting for the bus. Annabeth came up with the idea to play hacky sack. She only suggested it because she was good at it. But luckily for Andromeda, she was good at it too.
Annabeth bounced Grover's apple of her elbow, passing it to Andromeda, who bounced it off her foot to Percy. Percy used his wrist to hit it to Grover, and Grover couldn't help but eat it. Andromeda looked at Percy and Annabeth before bursting into laughter. She fell down from laughing so much, and Grover tried to apologize, but no one could hear him over the sounds of the three demigods laughter. Eventually Grover joined in, no longer embarrassed.
Finally the bus arrived, relieving the four teens of their boredom. The moment of ease was short-lived because soon, Grover started sniffing the air around them. He looked around and sniffed some more.
"What it is?" Percy asked.
"I don't know," Grover said, "Maybe its nothing."
It was certainly not nothing. Andromeda, even though she couldn't smell monsters, she could sense when powerful ones were around. She looked over at Percy and Annabeth to see that they were looking around nervously, too. Obviously, something was there.
Relief flooded through Amdromeda when she and all her friends were finally on the bus. They stowed their backpacks before sitting down. Grover and Annabeth sat down in on row, and Percy and Andromeda sat in the seats just in front of them. Andromeda kept bouncing her knee up and down in a nervous manner.
All of the sudden, Andromeda's hand clamped down on Percy's knee. Percy's heart rate sped up. He told himself it was just because she had scared him.
"Percy," Andromeda hissed.
He followed Andromeda's line of sight, seeing an old lady board the bus. Recognition flashed in his eyes as he realized she was his old substitute math teacher.
"That's Mrs. Dodds," he whispered to Andromeda.
Two old ladies came through the door of the bus, and suddenly all three of Hades' Kindly Ones were on the bus with three demigods and a satyr. Andromeda's breath quickened.
"She didn't stay dead long," Percy turned back to Annabeth, "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."
"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said, "You're obviously not."
"All three of them," Grover said, lip quivering, "Di immortales!"
"This is not good at all," Andromeda said.
"It's okay," Annabeth said, "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 said.
"The back exit?"
Andromeda looked back. No exit. And even if there had been one, they wouldn't have been able to use it woithout getting seriously injured, the bus was going too fast. Just their luck.
"Annabeth, it seems, that right when we need it, your wisdom doesn't work!" Andromeda exclaimed, annoyed.
Annabeth glared at her.
"They won't attack us with witnesses around," Percy said, "Will they?"
"Mortals have horrible eyes, Kelp Face," Andromeda said, "They'll see whatever the Mist wants them to see."
"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"
"Hard to say," Annabeth said, looking around for an escape plan, "But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof . . . ?"
The bus went under Lincoln Tunnel. Andromeda's stomach churned. She couldn't see, and they were on a bus with three of the Underworld's most dangerous monsters.
Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the rest-room."
"So do I," said the second sister.
"So do I," said the third sister.
They all started to make their way to the back of the bus, where Percy, Andromeda, Annabeth, and Grover sat.
"Andromeda and I have got it," Annabeth said, "Percy, take my hat."
"What?" Percy asked.
"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."
"But you guys—"
"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."
"I can't just leave you."
"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"
Andromeda looked at Percy with pleading eyes. "Please, just go."
Percy gave in and took Annabeth's cap. He put it on his head, and then he was gone.
The three Furies stopped where Percy was. Andromeda was sure he would get found. She took the extra time to take her bracelet off her wrist. The old ladies had continued walking toward the back of the bus. Andromeda got ready to fight. The old ladies grew their wings and fiery whips were made out of their handbags.
"Where is it?" they hissed, "Where?"
"He's not here!" Annabeth shouted, "He's gone!"
But the Furies continued to hiss. They raised their whips.
Then the bus jerked to the left, and the Furies were thrown to the right and smashed into the windows. There was yelling from the front of the bus. The bus swerved and hit the side of the tunnel, creating a grinding noise. Sparks flew.
The bus shot out of the tunnel, running into cars and trucks. Everyone was tossed from side to side as the bus crossed between lanes over and over. Andromeda was almost thrown into the Furies, but Annabeth grabbed her wrist.
Then the bus suddenly stopped, and everyone was thrown forward. When the Furies regained their balance, they came towards Annabeth, Andromeda, and Grover. Andromeda made a slash at one of them, but she missed and had to duck out of the way of her fiery whip. But before the ladies could get another whip in, Percy removed his cap and shouted at them. Andromeda mentally hit him, and started trying to come up with a plan.
The Furies whipped around to Percy, baring their horribly yellow fangs at him. He glanced towards the exit nervously. All three of them started to make their way up the aisle and towards Percy.
"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in the thickest Georgia accent Andromeda had ever heard, "You have offended the gods. You shall die."
"I liked you better as a math teacher," Percy told her.
He drew his pen from his pocket and took the lid off. It grew into a sword, and the Furies hesitated. Percy had told Andromeda how Riptide, his sword, had destroyed Mrs. Dodds at Yancy. She must have been hesitant to face it again.
Grover, Andromeda, and Annabeth snuck up behind the three Furies, searching for a way out of the situation.
"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."
"Nice try," Percy told her.
"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.
"Percy!" Andromeda yelled.
Mrs. Dodds's whip wrapped around Percy's sword, but he didn't drop it. He hit one of the Furies with the hilt of his sword, and she fell into the seat behind her. He sliced another one, and as soon as Riptide connected with her, she turned to sparkling gold dust. Only Mrs. Dodds was left. Annabeth jumped on her back, putting her in a wrestlers hold. Grover yanked Mrs. Dodds's whip out of her hand, and yelled out in pain when he realized how hot it was.
Andromeda pulled Mrs. Dodds's feet out from under her, making her fall flat on her face. Her ankles were tied up with her very own whip, and she yelled out in anger.
"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"
"Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy yelled, which translated to "Eat my pants!"
Thunder boomed across the sky, and the hairs on Andromeda's arms stod up.
"Run!" Annabeth yelled, "Now!"
Andromeda started to run out, but she stopped herself. They left their bags.
She turned to run back into the bus, but a hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the bus. Smoke made its way into Andromeda's eyes and lungs, and she coughed. The person pulled Andromeda out of the smoke and away from the burning bus.
The bumper flew off in some direction, and Andromeda heard a hubcap clang against the street. Her bag was in there. Her clothes, her protein bars, her book, her money. All gone. Burnt up.
"What were you thinking?!" Annabeth yelled, "You could have been killed!"
"I just wanted my stuff!" Andromeda shouted back.
"I wanted my stuff, too! You're lucky I caught your wrist or you would be dead."
Andromeda huffed and turned away from Annabeth, crossing her arms. Annabeth scoffed at the girl.
"That's all I get?! No 'thank you?!"
Andromeda didn't do anything but sit there, stubborn as ever. But their fight was interrupted by A wretched scream from inside the bus. Mrs. Dodds wasn't dead.
"Run!" Annabeth yelled, "She's calling in reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"
The quartet plunged into the dark forest, rain pouring down from overhead. The bus was in flames, and the raindrops were doing nothing to put it out. Andromeda didn't know what the plan was, but she did know that wherever Percy went, she would go too.