✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*( chapter 10! )*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
ten | we ruin a perfectly good bus
third-person pov!
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THANKS TO SILENA, Helen was all packed and ready to go on her quest by morning.
"Do you have your ambrosia and nectar? Also, I packed extra hair ties because you always lose them," Silena mothered as she looked around cabin ten, making sure they weren't forgetting anything.
"Yes, mom. And thank you, I don't even know where they go." she teased back, but Silena could tell she was grateful for her help. The room was quiet for the next few seconds as the sisters waited for one to talk.
Silena sighed, "Helen, I know you know, but please, please be careful. Apart from the fact that it would suck if you die, who am I going to practice my makeup on?"
Helen laughed at that, "Wow, Sil. You sure do have your priorities straight." But she stopped laughing at her sister's serious face, "Look, I can take care of myself, okay? I promise I'll come back without a scratch and you can practice your makeup on me anytime you want."
Silena smiled at that and squeezed Helen into a hug. Not that it mattered to Helen, she always had loved hugs.
With another hug and a goodbye, Helen was heading out of her cabin, ready to reunite with her friends next to Thalia's tree.
Helen walked as fastly as she could, already being late but wanted to keep her braid as neat as possible. As she got closer to the meeting point, she could make out the figure of her friends standing there, waiting for her. Helen was pleasantly surprised to find Annabeth among her quest mates.
"Annie! Did you convince Chiron to join in the quest?" she asked excitedly, but she didn't need a response as she saw Annabeth's excited face. She knew them that her best friend hadn't stopped listing the reasons why she should go on the quest all night to him.
They waved goodbye to the other campers that had come to wish them good luck and hiked up the hill. As they walked, Helen watched the strawberry fields, the big house, and the cabins. Even though she was going to miss all of it, she needed to go in this quest.
When they got to the top of the hill, Chiron was already waiting for them in his wheelchair form, next to him stood Argus, the head of security in the camp. Before anyone could talk, they heard rapid footsteps behind them.
Luke approached them, slightly panting from running with a shoebox in his hands. Annabeth blushed the way she always did when he was around and Helen smirked teasingly at her, which earned her a punch in her arm.
"Glad I caught you. Just wanted to say good luck and I thought... um, maybe you could use these."
As he opened the lid to the shoebox, Helen saw a pair of white-winged sneakers. Luke said, "Maia", and the wings started to flap and try to fly away.
Helen gasped as she heard Grover say "Awesome!". 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..." His expression turned sad.
"Hey man," Percy said, "Thanks."
They shook hands as a goodbye. The Luke patted Grover's head and hug Annabeth and Helen. Annabeth looked like she was about to pass out from happiness which made Helen snort.
Apparently, Helen wasn't the only one who noticed, because the moment Luke was gone, Percy turned towards Annabeth and said, "You're hyperventilating."
"Am not."
"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"
"Oh... Why do I want to go anywhere with you?" Annabeth replied frustratingly, stomping her way to the SUV.
Helen dramatically mouthed 'She did' to Percy when she heard Annabeth call for her.
When Helen was finally seated did it really sank in what she was doing. She was leaving Camp Half-Blood for a quest, to go to the underworld and prevent a war between the gods. Just 4 kids (Well, Grover was technically 26 but that doesn't count), without adults or a plan if things go wrong. She shook the thought out of her head. They were all going to succeed and come back safely. She was snapped out of her thoughts as Percy entered the van.
She turned to the window to look at her home one last time. Chiron stood under Thalia's Tree, standing full centaur form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur.
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Argus drove them out of the countryside and into western Long Island. For Helen it felt weird, being outside if camp again, the mortal world feeling more fantasy than the world of the gods.
"So far so good," Percy said, "Ten miles and not a single monster"
Helen laughed under her breath, "Don't jinx it, Percy"
Helen then blocked the rest of the conversation as Annabeth and Percy started to bicker. She didn't understand why Annabeth was so driven by past rivalries between there parents. They had happened hundreds of years ago, long before any of them was born. So what was the point?
As Helen's mind raced with thoughts, she didn't notice the sky start to darken and rain started to pour the closer they got to Manhattan.
Argus dropped them off at Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side. He helped them unload they're bags and made sure they had their bus tickets before driving away, the eye in the back of his head opened to watch them as he pulled out of the parking lot.
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It was still raining when they got bored and decided to play Hacky Sack. Now, before that moment, Helen had never played Hacky Sack, and it showed when she failed again and again to balance one of Grover's apple. Annabeth was incredible, balancing it perfectly whenever it was her turn, and Percy wasn't too bad at it either.
The game ended when Percy accidentally tossed the apple too close to Grover's mouth. Grover swallowed the entire apple in one bite— core and stem included.
Grover blushed as he tried to apologize, but his friends were to busy laughing to hear him.
Finally, the bus arrived. As they waited in line to enter, Helen noticed Grover smelling the air and looking over his shoulder. She took that as a sign to stay alert.
She didn't relax when they all found a seat together in the back of the bus. She turned towards Annabeth, ready to tell her to stay alert, but she didn't need too. Her friend was already looking around them, nervously slapping her Yankees cap on her lap.
Helen thought they were safe when she saw the doors closing, but her heart skipped a beat when an old, bony hand stopped the doors. At that moment, an old lady boarded the bus. She was wearing a velvet dress, lace gloves, and an orange-knit hat that covered half of her face. When she tilted her head up, it became clear. It was Mrs. Dodds. An uglier and older version of her, but it was her. Behind her, two more ladies entered, and Helen felt the dread come over her. They were the three Furies.
They sat in the front row, directly behind the driver. The two demon ladies on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. The message they left was clear: nobody leaves.
The bus pulled out of the station as Percy said shakingly, "She didn't stay dead long. I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."
"We said if you're lucky," Helen responded, her voice quivering the slightest bit, "You're obviously not."
"All three of them," Grover whimpered "Di immortales!"
"It's okay," Annabeth said, trying to muster a calming voice but failed, "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the window."
"They don't open"
"The back exit?"
There wasn't one. "They won't attack us with witnesses around," Percy said, "Will they?"
"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded him.
"But they will still see three old ladies trying to kill us, right?" Helen asked, but she already knew the answer.
"Hard to say. But we can't rely on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit through the roof?"
Just as Annabeth suggested it, the bus entered the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark with the exception of the running lights in the aisle.
Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat, almost rehearsed voice she announced to everyone on the bus, "I need to use the restroom."
"So do I," her sisters said. They started coming down the aisle. With every step they took, Helen cursed in her head and thought of a way out. But there wasn't any other exit. The only one was blocked by killer grandmas.
"I've got it," Annabeth said, "Percy, take my hat."
"What?" Percy asked confused, but Helen immediately understood what Annabeth was suggesting.
"Of course! Percy, you're the one they want. Go invisible and let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."
"But you guys—"
"There's a chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said, "You're the 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!"
Percy's faced scrunched like he wanted to say something but put the cap on. Helen couldn't see him anymore.
The three remaining friends waited quietly, hands on their weapons, but faltered when Mrs. Dodds stopped and started sniffling where Helen assumed was Percy. But apparently, she was fooled as they continued walking.
Helen's thoughts stopped when she saw what the old ladies had become. Their faces were the same (Helen guessed there wasn't an uglier one), but their bodies had turned into leathery brown bodies and wings, almost like a bat. Their purses had turned into fiery whips.
They lashed their whips in Percy's old seat, breaking it as they hissed "Where is it? Where?"
The rest of the people inside the bus started screaming and cowering away from the Furies. Whatever they were seeing, it couldn't be worse than this.
Helen mustered all of her courage as she said, "He's not here! He left!"
Time slowed down around them. The Furies raised their whips at the same time Helen and Annabeth drew their daggers and Grover prepared to throw a tin can. But before any of them could attack, everyone in the bus was thrown to the right, then slammed at the side of the tunnel, the sound of grinding metal hurting everyone's ears.
The bus careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm. The driver found an exit, they all shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, barreling down a New Jersey rural roads. They were finally regaining their balance when the driver hit the brakes.
The bus spun and crashed into a tree. The doors opened, and the driver was the first one out, followed by the rest of the passengers. The Furies and demigods all looked at each other, thinking about what had just happened. Then, the Furies lashed their whips as Annabeth and Helen slashed their weapons and Grover threw tin cans. But they all stooped when they heard a "Hey!"
At the end of the aisle stood Percy, with the cap in his hand. The demon grandmas turn around, slowly advancing as they flicked their whips, every time they did, angry red flames would dance along the wire.
"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, "You have offended the gods. You shall die."
"I liked you better as a math teacher," Percy sassed back.
Annabeth, Grover, and Helen slowly moved towards the backs of the Furies, ready to jump at the opportunity. Percy took a ballpoint pen out of his pocket, which had Helen confused at first, but quickly understood when it transformed into a large, double edges sword.
The Furies hesitated. "Submit now," Mrs. Dodds said, "And you will not suffer eternal torment."
"Nice try," Percy responded.
"Percy, looked out!" Annabeth cried.
The Furies lashed their whips. Helen jumped onto Mrs. Dodd's back while Grover tried to pry the lash out of her hands.
"Ow!" He said, "Ow! Hot! Hot!"
While Annabeth fought one if the other Furies, Mrs. Dodds tried to get Helen off her back. She kicked, clawed and hissed, but Helen had an iron grip on her while Grover Mrs. Dodd's legs tied with her own whip. When she was tied up they pushed her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to flap her wings to get up, but the aisle was too cramped, so she kept falling down.
"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised, "Hades will have your soul!"
"Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy yelled back. Helen did not know latin, and she didn't know Percy knew, but she imagined it was an insult.
Thunder shook the bus. Helen felt the hair on the back of her head rise.
"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at them, "Now!" Nobody needed to be told twice.
They all rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering in a daze or arguing with the driver (which made Helen feel incredibly guilty, seeing it wasn't his fault).
"Our bags!" Grover realized, "We left our—"
BOOOOOM!
Helen turned around and covered her head just in time. The windows exploded and everyone run for cover. The lightning creating a huge crater in, but the angry wail from the inside told them that Mrs. Dodds was very much alive.
"Run!" Annabeth said, "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"
My scrunchies, Helen thought sadly as the plunged into the forest as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind them and nothing but darkness ahead.
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author's note!
Soo first update after a long time! I'm sorry for momentarily putting my book on hold, but school is really driving me crazy. But I will still try to update as much as I can. Please vote and comment!