'You should pray to Mnemosyne, can't have you forgetting about Elise now can we?'
Emily had found enough money for train tickets for all four of them. "We can take the Amtrak, it shouldn't be far from here" Annabeth suggested as her stomach growled. Corey turned to Emily, "Those burgers are still edible right?" She asked her. Emily nodded, "Yes, mother doesn't poison half-bloods...she's complicated" Emily answered, leading them back into the room with treats. "You lot need to eat, I'll see if there's any supplies we need '' Corey told them, ruffling Percy and Grover's hair.
"What about you? You haven't eaten at all" Grover pointed out, Corey was touched. "I'm okay Grover, you three eat up I'll only be a few moments" Corey promised them as Emily bought out the hamburgers and fries.
Emily showed Corey to her mother's room. It wasn't much of a room, more of a giant closet for when she left to deal with mortals outside their home. "Sorry it's not tidy, Mother spent most of her time shipping statues and arguing with monsters" Emily walked in after Corey, holding up a piece of jewelry belonging to her. Corey grabbed whatever she could, blankets, jackets, shirts.
"Why does Medusa have clothes for children?" Corey asked, grabbing a duffle bag and folding everything in it. "When Athena's children wound her pride, she finds ways to punish them. I'm not the first person she cursed who was a sibling to one of her kids. There's been many. Killed by demigods who have never seen Medusa, assuming that we are her" Emily explained to her, handing her some boys clothes.
Corey sighed as she sat down on the bed, "The gods can't handle their own embarrassment. I offended Aphrodite once, and boy did she make me pay" Corey mused, taking out the pearl Medusa handed her. "Elise?" Emily asked, though she already knew the answer. Corey nodded, trying to stop the tears that were falling. "It's hard in this world, one day you're alive, the next you're either dead or mourning them" Corey closed her eyes, titling back her head.
Emily sat next to her, "My mother died in childbirth. My sister was barely home due to monsters. My Dad spent his whole life in his work. I never had any friends, someone who cared enough to see how I was doing. Medusa found me after my Dad died, she took me in, cared for me like I was her own" Emily took down her scarf, allowing her snakes to roam freely.
"All my friends die, the cautionary tale of half-bloods" Corey smacked her lips. She looked at Emily. Making sure she didn't make direct eye contact, "You think we could be friends?" She asked her. Emily scoffed, "We can't be friends, trust me" She told her bluntly.
~Ψ~
"Alright kids, this is your stop. Thank you for choosing Stoner's Taxi Service, we bring you on time or freeze you in time" Emily smiled as she barked outside the train station. Annabeth was the first to get out, still uncomfortable with Emily. "Thank you!" Grover smiled, following Annabeth out of the car. Percy looked at Emily from the rearview, "Sorry about your mom" He told her, feeling a little guilty he decapitated her mother.
"You're the first to apologise kid" Emily smiled at him before he left the car. Corey handed Emily a piece of paper as she left the car. "Hey, what's this?" Emily called out from the car as Corey walked towards the kids. Corey smiled at her, "People still write letters!" Corey smiled walking inside with the trio in front of her. Emily drove away with a silly smile.
By the time they got on the Amtrak the sun was setting, Corey brought them to their small cabin. "Remember 17B, keep it clean, treat it like you would your prized possession" Corey told them, rounding them up in the small cabin. "My broom closet is bigger than this" Percy commented. Corey smacked his head lightly, "Don't comment on the standards of a living space when talking to someone who was raised in the Great Depression '' She scolded him before her stomach growled.
"You should have eaten at Medusa's" Grover told her, a bit worried. Corey smiled at him, "I appreciate it kid" Corey smiled at him. Annabeth claimed the bottom bunk, sitting down. "You boys change in one of the bathrooms, I'll stay with Annabeth" Corey told them, handing a set of clothes for the night to each of them. They nodded and set off.
Corey pulled the blind of the cabin and locked the door. She opened the bag, handing Annabeth some clothes. "Thank you" She spoke, taking off her jacket. "Wait..." Corey put the bag down and took something out of her pocket. "...come here" Corey held a light green silk scarf. Annabeth walked up to her, turning around, "You know how to protect braids?" She questioned, with a softer voice than Corey had heard her use.
"Well, when I was your age camp was just as divided as the world. One of my closest friends had braids. We all learned how to manage textured curls, braids and how to take care of their hair in case they ended up in the infirmary" Corey explained as she placed the scarf on Annabeth's head. She then tied it underneath, using the rest to wrap as much as her braids she could.
"There, not my best but it should last the night. Knock once you're done getting changed" Corey smiled, ready to leave the room to allow her privacy. "Uh Corey" Annabeth turned to her before she left the cabin. She turned her head, "Yeah?" She smiled at her. Annabeth smiled too, a genuine one. "Thank you...it means a lot" Annabeth told her. "Sweetie, you never need to thank me" Corey told her before leaving the cabin.
As she heard Annabeth lock the door, Corey turned to see Percy waiting for her. "Thought I told you to get dressed?" Corey crossed her arms at him. "Thought you said you'd be fine without food?" Percy sassed back at her. Corey opened her mouth to talk only to be interrupted by her growling stomach. Percy looked smug, "You should listen to your stomach" He pointed at her stomach.
"Show the way to the food Mr Smartass" Corey deflated.
~Ψ~
Percy watched as Corey ate her fries slowly, she looked at him with her eyebrow raised. "Are you gonna watch me in silence?" Corey asked him, sitting back against the booth they were sitting in. "If you eat? Yeah, you've been looking after all of us but no one's looking after you" Percy stated, crossing his arms. Corey huffed, sliding the plate between them "Then help me, I don't have much of an appetite" She told him. Percy gave in, taking some fries.
"So" Corey clicked her tongue, "You gonna tell me about the secret you three are sharing or am I going to make you squeal" She smirked at him softly. Percy glared at her, he knew what she was doing. "I...I never told Chiron the full prophecy the oracle gave me" Percy told her, fiddling with his hands. "What did you leave out?" Corey asked, biting into a chicken nugget before looking at it in shock, Why was it so good?
"You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend" Percy spoke, feeling the chills up his spine from when he first heard the line. "And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end" The both spoke at the same time. Percy looked at Corey with a bit of anger, "You knew!" He exclaimed at her. "Keep your voice down" Corey told him gently, seeing some staff look at them weirdly.
Corey made sure he was calm before talking, "I heard the prophecy while I was waiting for you" She told him softly. Percy nodded, "But you didn't say anything? Not to Annabeth or Grover. To me?" Percy asked, trying to understand why Corey didn't say anything to him. "This is your quest Sea Pup, I'm hitchhiking because I want to keep you safe. All three of you. I didn't say anything because it's your quest, you are the one who Zeus believes took the bolt and it's not my place to go telling people what you keep to yourself" She explained to him, her eyes filled with a familiar sadness.
Percy had only seen one person almost cry the way Corey did. His mom. Corey reminded him of Sally Jackson. The way she made sure they ate, had clothes for the night and she didn't even think about herself.
"Can I ask you a question?" Percy sat up, looking at Corey seriously. "Of course" She answered with a mouth full of chicken nuggets. "Who's Elise? You snapped at Medusa when she mentioned her" He recalled the first time he had seen Corey angry, but it wasn't real anger. Corey choked down her food before taking a gulp of water. "Are you sure kid? 'Cause if I tell you, it's not gonna be pretty" Corey warned him.
Percy thought for a moment before nodding at her. Corey took a deep breath, "When I was your age, I pissed off Aphrodite so she cursed me. A mortal man took a liking to me. I hated it, my aunt not so much" Corey began to explain, watching as Percy soaked up whatever she said. "Elise was my daughter Percy. That's how it was like for me when I was your age" Corey knew the world had changed, she might not know how much but she knew.
Percy looked at her, unable to voice his thoughts. "What...What happened to her?" Percy managed to say, trying not to cause Corey to cry. "She died at five" Corey sniffled, crossing her arms. "Hera was angry that I, a child of a god, had a child out of wedlock and cursed my motherhood. Elise couldn't leave my side without having a tantrum, so I had to bring her on quests. She was killed by a monster" Corey elaborated, keeping details away from Percy the best she could without lying to his face.
She waited for his reaction, scared about his opinions about the worst and best things the fates had thrown her way. Percy stood up and left the booth. Corey was waiting for him to turn his nose like everyone else. What she didn't expect was Percy wrapping his arms around her as if she was gonna disappear at any second. She felt her heart climb to her throat as she let out a broken sob. Percy held onto her tighter, his head hidden in her shoulder.
In that moment Corey knew two things. One Percy Jackson was one of a kind in this world. Two, she will never let him go.
~Ψ~
"Hey, you asleep?" Percy whispered from his mattress on the floor. Grover took the top bunk, Annabeth on the bottom with Corey and Percy on the floor. Corey had gotten two mattresses from staff and placed them under the bottom bunk.. Corey had curled into a ball, sleeping soundly as she drooled a bit onto the pillow.
"Yes" Annabeth seemed annoyed but answered him nonetheless. "You and Thalia were really close, right?" Percy asked her, trying to collect his thoughts. "Yeah" Annabeth seemed more comfortable, knowing she could trust Percy. "What was she like?" Percy asked. "Why?" Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "She was the last forbidden kid before me, right? She must've dealt with the same kind of stuff" Percy explained his intentions, looking over at Corey for a moment. He thought about how the Gods seemed to hate her, what did she do to deserve all that.
"She was tough. I mean, she knew she was a forbidden kid, she just didn't care" Annabeth told him, looking up as she remembered her fallen friend, her sister. "When Luke and Thalia found me, Luke cared for me right away. But Thalia...she made me earn it" She told Percy. "Is that why you give me a hard time? I gotta earn it with you too?" Percy asked her, seeing how Annabeth treated him from the start. Annabeth sighed, "Yeah. Maybe" She admitted softly with a smile.
Percy thought back to what Medusa said about their parents, her words ran through his head "I gotta say, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me" Percy admitted out loud. "What doesn't make sense to you?" Annabeth asked him, curious to what he was referring to. "The way you guys all talk" Percy spoke out, not thinking before he spoke.
"The way the gods want us to think. Gotta burn an offering to get a parent's attention. Gotta beat up on Clarisse just to get my father to admit he's my father. It isn't supposed to work that way" He told Annabeth. "People who are close to you aren't supposed to treat you that way" Percy thought of his mother, who loved him no matter what he did.
But Annabeth disagreed.
"You wanna know how I ended up alone on the road in the first place? I started out as a gift to my father. That's how it works with Athena. We're born from a thought in her mind, and then given to a partner she feels connected to. And for a while, I was treated like a gift. My father cared for me. He loved me. I knew it." Annabeth recounted her early memories, her voice filled with nostalgia mixed with hurt.
"Then he met a woman. They had their own kids. And to her, I-- I wasn't a gift. I was a problem. So I left. I was seven" Annabeth's voice sounded heavy, something no twelve year old should have. Something was stirring inside Percy as Annabeth basically told him her life story. "It isn't the gods who think that way. It's everybody, But at least with the gods You know the rules. Show them respect and they'll be in your corner, no matter what" Annabeth explained to him, how she believed that the only love that was permanent was conditional love.
Grover groaned, halting the early morning discussion between them. "You awake?" Percy asked, unsure if it was just a sleepy groan or a waking groan. Grover shifted in her bunk, turning to face the ceiling. "Well, I am now. Thanks" Grover grumbled shortly, acting like he was a toddler and someone had made him mad.
"Are you okay?" Percy asked him, only to be met with the satyr's hostility. Annabeth rolled her eyes as Percy made an offended 'oof', "He's super grouchy when he doesn't get enough sleep" She snickered at Grover's sleepy antics. "He's super grouchy when he doesn't get enough... Nah!" Grover mimicked Annabeth's comment with a high pitched voice.
"Wow" Percy snickered at him, shocked by Grover's antics. "
You've never been on the road with him before. A little different than a froofy boarding school" Annabeth smiled at Grover huffed and puffed above her. "Who's froofy? You're froofy. What's froofy?" Grover had seemed to give up on getting anymore sleep, accepting his defeat. "I think I need to eat" Grover exasperated as Annabeth and Percy laughed at him.
"Ok, who's gonna wake Corey?" Annabeth settled down. Without missing a beat, both Grover and Annabeth looked at Percy. Percy rolled his eyes at them as he turned to wake Corey. As he reached out his hand to nudge her, Corey's hand shot up and caught his swiftly. "I'm awake...light sleeper" Corey mumbled sitting up.
She was met with snickers as the kids. "What?" She asked them, still half-asleep. Annabeth attempted to speak but her snickers turned into laughs. "It's...It's your hair" Percy managed to say, still laughing his ass off at Corey. Corey raked her fingers through her hair before tying them off with a hair bobble, "Evil little shits" She glared at them as she stood up.
"Didn't you grab clothes for yourself?" Grover asked her, jumping off the bunk. Corey shrugged, "I was a little wrapped up, besides I had to spend months in the same clothes when I was your age". They all looked at her, not caring about whatever reasoning she said. "No, we even pass a tourist store. You are getting fresh clothes" Percy stated, getting up and walking out of the cabin.
~Ψ~
Corey sat next to Percy in a booth, Grover and Annabeth sitting across from them as they talked about their quest. "Two days until we reach Los Angeles. Plenty of time before our deadline to reach the Underworld" Grover seemed content with the progress they were making. Corey had a look of bewilderment. Two days until they reached Los Angeles, she had nerve travelled so far in so little time. It had taken Amalia a day to drive her to the borders of Camp when she was five. This was amazing.
Percy was also in his thoughts, "Can I ask a dumb question?" He blurted out. Annabeth smiles at him, "It's like you need me to make fun of you" She joked lightly at him. Percy brushed off Annabeth's comment, "I've never been to Los Angeles before. I'm guessing neither of you have been to Los Angeles. So, how will we have any idea where we're going?" Percy asked them. "No idea. But that's like step 37, and we're still on step four" Grover shrugged at him, "Cross that bridge when we get there".
Percy just accepted Grover's answer, not even doubting his faith in his friend. "Follow-up stupid question" Percy spoke, "Dude" Annabeth breathed out as she rolled her eyes.
"And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end" Percy spoke the last line of the prophecy. "Back in Jersey, I told you the Oracle said this quest would fail. And no one's mentioned it since. Seems like something we oughta be taking a little more seriously" Percy added.
While Percy voiced his thoughts his gaze moved from his friends to the window, looking out amazed by what he saw. "Hey. Look at that. Are those..." He trailed off, "Centaurs'' Grover confirmed with a saddened tone. A small herd of Centaurs were galloping in the morning dusk through the fields outside the train. "No one even knows they're there" Percy was still amazed by the workings of the Mist.
"There used to be herds of them everywhere" Grover spoke up, his voice deflated. Percy was curious, "What happened to them?" He asked Grover. "Humans" Grover gave him the short answer. He took a breath, "A few thousand years ago, the god of the wild, Pan, disappeared. And ever since, without Pan to protect the natural world, humans have been trying really hard to chip away at it" He explained properly. "The bravest satyrs volunteer to become Searchers, trying to find Pan. None have ever returned" Annabeth added.
"Your uncle we found in Medusa's, Ferdinand. He was a Searcher?" Percy correlated looking at Grover, the poor satyr was silent only nodding to answer his friend. Corey placed a hand over his, rubbing his knuckles softly. "He was a brave Searcher and no doubt one of many who dedicated their lives. One day, when Pan is found, they will be remembered" She spoke softly, trying to get Grover to look at her. "Thank you" Grover smiled at her. Corey smiled back.
"The Oracle didn't say the quest would fail. Fail to save what matters most. That could mean a lot of things" Annabeth answered Percy's question. "That's how prophecies work, that's how fate works. It could mean a lot of things. The harder you work to understand, the harder it gets to understand. Sometimes, you've just gotta let it come to you when it's ready" She explained. "She's right Sea Pup, knowing too much about your future is dangerous hence why prophecies are so incomprehensible" Corey added.
A transit walked up to them, "Excuse me. Can I see your tickets, please?" He asked them. Corey looked at Annabeth who was slightly hesitant. "It's okay. Sorry, she gets nervous around strangers'' Corey smiled at the office while Annabeth took out their tickets. Corey had given them to her because she trusted that Annabeth wouldn't lose them. The officer inspected them, "You're in Cabin 17B?" He looked at them all.
Corey and the kids were brought to their cabin, only to be met by a smashed in window and their cabin in ruins. "You wanna explain?" He questioned them, mainly looking at Corey seeing as she was the eldest. "Wait. Wait, you think we did this?" Percy asked him. "Did you?" He raised his eyebrows. "I mean... How? And why?" Percy was at a loss for words, this couldn't be happening.
"Sir, when we left to get breakfast, everything was intact. We don't know how this happened" Grover told him but the officer wasn't having any of it. "We got a witness here, says she heard the window smash, and then heard children's voices" The officer pointed behind him to a woman talking to a different officer.
Corey stood out from behind Grover and Percy, "And you just assume that it was us? How many other children are on this train?" She glared at him, balling her fists. The man looked at Corey with a stern look. "Can you tell me what time you left the cabin?" He asked them, still focused on Corey. "Are we under arrest?" Annabeth snapped at him. He looked down at Annabeth, "I don't think you wanna take that tone with me, little girl" He had a condescending tone as he answered Annabeth. Corey let out a chuckle, "You better answer her, or trust me you will have bigger issues" She crossed her arms.
"Are we under arrest?" Annabeth asked him once more, with pride swelling in her words knowing that Corey was on her side
~Ψ~
The group were brought back to their booth as transit officers kept an eye on them. "So we're just killing time 'til we find out that guy's like a werewolf or something, right?" Percy guessed as he looked back at the officer.
"The train is arriving at St. Louis Gateway station in ten minutes"
Corey jumped at the voice, looking around for whoever spoke. "Who was that?" She hissed, frozen in place. "It's just the Public Announcement system, don't worry" Percy told her, holding her hand gently. Corey nodded but she still felt on edge. "I don't think he's a monster" Annabeth whispered to Percy. "Hard to say" Grover spoke gently, just in case. "Well, if he's not a monster, what's going on here? Why would anyone tear our room apart?" Percy asked, freaking out that this was happening to them again. "Maybe they were looking for something" Grover suggested, "We don't have anything" Percy reminded them.
Annabeth spoke up, "The people who think you stole Zeus's master bolt might disagree" She reminded them. "Right" Percy whispered. "Well, look, they're not gonna find something we don't have" Grover tried to be optimistic looking at everyone. Corey kept her eyes on the woman who apparently heard them, her body tingling like she'd seen her before. "Either way, we aren't spending the day answering questions in the St. Louis police station. We need to get out of this before we get delayed" Annabeth spoke louder this time.
The woman who heard them tapped her shoulder, she wore a white suit with dark hair and a pet carrier. "D-- Do you mind if I sit?" She had this sweet voice that got on all of Corey's nerves. She glared at her as she sat on the edge of the booth across from them. Her pet carrier placed on the other side of her booth, the pet whimpered loudly as the woman looked at them with concern. "You poor dears" She cooed at them with a small pout, "Your parents aren't here, are they?" She asked them as her pet kept making noise. She turned to the pink pet carrier, "Isn't that right, precious? Don't children get scared when they're all alone?" She asked the pet.
She turned back to the group, "It's okay. I'm a mom. I know how scared you must be'' She looked at Corey with a faux smile, "You understand don't you? I can sense a mother when I see one". Corey stiffened up at the comment, her fists balling up the sleeves of her jacket. "Excuse me. Would you mind giving us a little space?" She asked the officer, "I think...I think you're making them nervous" She tried to pat Corey's shoulder but the girl flinched, backing up closer to Percy.
She smiled once the officer was gone. "I want you to know...I don't actually think that you made that mess back there." She started to explain, "I just wanted a moment alone with you. There are some things I need you to understand–" The woman was cut off by Grover.
"You have something on your jacket"
Grover's eye squinted as he tried to see what it was on the jacket, "It looks like... It looks like glass" He stated. The woman's face turned cold as she started at Grover. "No one smashed out the windows from inside our cabin. Someone smashed them in from the outside" Grover stated keeping eye contact with the woman. The pet carrier started to shake violently, catching the woman's attention. "Yes, sweetheart. I know, I know. You're impatient." she cooed in a high-pitched voice, creping everyone out. "Oh! But we're almost there" She smiled creepily.
She stood up in front of the pet carrier, letting out a visible sigh, "This isn't your fault. But sadly, you're going to have to bear the burden of your parents' mistakes today" She scolded them softly, imitating a school teacher. Percy was ticked off. First she blames them for something they didn't do, then she made a cruel comment towards Corey and now this?
"Listen, lady. I don't know who you are, but I think I know what you are. We've run across a few monsters like you and we've sent them all packing" He snapped at her, glaring at the woman. " Monsters like me?" She scoffed at him, placing her hand over her heart. "Well...of course they're like me. They were my children" She smiled wickedly. Corey gulped, her hand flying to her necklace. "Isn't that right, Cordelia?" She looked at Corey who glared back with anger.
"Children? What does that mean?" Percy asked, feeling fear take over his body. "The Mother of Monsters" Grover sat up right, "Echidna" Annabeth turned her nose at her. "I was so hoping that you would be the one to recognise me" Echidna smiled at Corey. "Memory's been a bit spotty" Corey gritted her teeth, looking at the floor as she spoke. "You should pray to Mnemosyne, can't have you forgetting about Elise now can we?" Echidna chuckled lightly.
The pet carrier began shaking more, instead of whimpers coming from inside the carrier. "Monster. It's an odd word, considering my grandmother is your great-grandmother, and this has always been a family story" Echidna seemed sympathetic as she spoke.
"But... to my eye, the demigod is the more dangerous creature"
Corey eyes the pet carrier as it growls louder, her blood rising as Echidna spoke.
"Disruptive. Violent" She spoke, etching on everyone's nerves. "If I exist for anything, it is to stand in the way of monsters like you" Echidna spoke with venom, her sweet suburban mother act towards them vanishing. Echidna crouched down to her pet, "My little one here. She's just a pup now. Bless her heart" She chuckled softly, like a mortal cooing over her newborn child. She patted the carrier bag, "Today..." Echidna stood up and faced them "you will be her prey" She smiled.
Corey took a deep breath, watching Echidna as tears threatened to spill. "Are you afraid yet?" She asked in a sadistic way, "Oh. It's all right. Fear is natural" She sat down, resting against the booth. " It's also essential to the hunt. Your fear. Your doubt" She explained calmly, looking at Corey for a moment longer than the others. "Your confusion" Echidna chuckles softly as Grover and Annabeth struggle to understand Corey's connection to the woman.
Echidna's youngest began growling louder, falling deaf upon the mortals who surrounded them. "I needed you to understand what was happening so that she could track the scent" She mused as the fear within the four half-bloods became stronger and more potent. "So that she could learn and grow, because... that's what a good mother does for her children" Corey and Echidna locked eyes, pure darkness meeting pure grief. "Not that you would know" She told the eldest half-blood. But what Echidna didn't know was Annabeth had her dagger ready to attack.
The zipper opened on its own, the growling intensifying as Echidna gave them a sadistic smile. "You should run now" She advised them cruelly. The flap of the carrier opened. Before Corey could react, a spiked tail shot out missing her by an inch but piercing Percy's chest. Annabeth was faster, grabbing the tail and stabbing it with her dagger onto the table.
"No, sweetheart!" Echidna cried out. Corey grabbed Percy as Annabeth yelled at them to run. "Quick!" She yelped, pushing Percy and Grover past her. The transit officers saw them running, calling them to stop. "Don't stop, run!" Corey told them as they ran into a different train cart.
~Ψ~
The group ran from the officers who were being chased by whatever monster Echidna had brought on their little playdate. Corey ran behind them, her mind on overdrive. "Not again! Please Dad not again" She muttered, not noticing that Annabeth had run back behind her. "Annabeth!" Corey called out, turning to see the girl tying a chain around the door and a bar on the wall.
"Percy" Grover's tone caught Corey's attention as she saw Grover pull something from where the monster attacked him. "What is that?" Percy asked, never seeing anything like it before. "It's a stinger" Annabeth gasped for breath as the officers banged on the door behind her. "Grover, do you know what kind of monster has one of those?" Annabeth asked as Corey took it from his hands. She felt her hands trembling and the satyr answered, "I don't know. I mean, nothing good probably" Grover spoke shakily.
"Do you feel okay?" Annabeth asked him, "I think so. Why? Do you think it's poisonous or something?" Percy began to panic, looking at Corey for reassurance. "Seashell?" He called out. Corey looked petrified, her eyes staring at the stinger in her hands. "It's happening again" Corey choked back, her voice shaky and not helping anyone.
The train began to creak, the officers voices being drowned out by loud stomping a few train carts back. The shadow of the monster became bigger. "We gotta move" Grover panicked, grabbing Annabeth and Percy by their sleeves. Corey stepped back slowly, dropping the stinger as the monster growled in her mind.
"You shall be doomed to repeat your past"
"Seashell!" Percy shouted, causing Corey to run to them. She could hear the metal creaking and breaking as the group ran. "Off the train now!" Corey screamed as a door opened near them. Everyone jumped off onto the gravel tracks. They ran far from the train, stopping by a metal fence gasping for air. "It stopped" Corey spoke softly, barely above a whisper as she raked through her hair with her shaking fingers.
"Why isn't it still chasing us?" Percy asked them. "Echidna said whatever she was hiding in that carrier, it's young. It won't venture too far from her mother" Annabeth remembered, watching Corey hold back a breakdown. "Corey, do you know what kind of monster this is?" She asked her. Corey looked at them, failing to mask her fear. "She's learning to hunt... and this is like the hunting part" Corey's body was shaking.
"We need to go now!"