CHAPTER SIX
( bus goes kaboom )

I DIDN'T HAVE a lot of possessions in my name, but it did take me some time to pack. I figured it would be smart to pack some sanitary pads in case of an emergency, not only for me but for Annabeth too. I wanted us to be prepared no matter what. Of course, I grabbed an extra inhaler other than the one in my pocket in case it ran out. To my entire cabin, I might've looked a little paranoid, but it was my first quest ever. I needed to have everything.

The camp store gave Percy, the leader of the quest, one hundred dollars and twenty golden drachmas. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron had said, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. The coins might come in handy for nonmortal transactions – such as emergency Iris messages or anything else . He gave Annabeth, Percy and I each a flask of nectar and an airtight bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.

I decided to bring one of my bows, since I had two. One that I normally used and the other hidden under my bunk due to its sentimental value. One main problem was that I found it hard to stuff it inside of my bag since carrying it around might raise a few eyebrows. Finally, the Hephaestus cabin was generous enough to add a mechanism into the bow that made it simple to fold and expand when necessary. The arrows were complicated too, but they surprisingly fit my bag at a weird angle. My golden charm bracelet felt in its rightful spot on my right wrist, reminding me of the present my mother had given me on behalf of my dad during Christmas. If I tapped on its dangling sun charm, it transformed into a dagger, which was almost never used but I decided to bring it either way. Along with my sun charm, it had three others dangling down from it, all representing different things. There was an owl charm representing Annabeth, a caduceus for Luke, and a tiny lightning bolt for Thalia – symbols for my friends – which I wanted to fill my entire bracelet with.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. Grover wore his fake feet and his trousers to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's 'So Yesterday', both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

After Lee had to literally peel Will off my leg because he didn't want me to go, I was able to bid my goodbyes to everyone else in the cabin. We waved in farewell to the other campers and took one last look at the strawberry fields. I inhaled a long breath to take in the smell of the ocean one last time before hiking up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be my friend Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair.

Argus was the camp's head of security. He had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so you could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told Percy. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

     I heard footsteps behind us. Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. "Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

     Annabeth blushed, which was something she did nowadays whenever Luke was around. "Just wanted to say good luck," Luke said. "And I thought. . .um, maybe you could use these."

     He handed Percy the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. Then, he said, "Maia!"

     I jumped in startelement at the abrupt call of my name, raising my eyebrows at Luke. He smiled at me apologetically, pointing toward the shoes to indicate what he meant. That's when I remembered; Maia was also the name of Hermes's mother. Luke's shoes – if I recalled correctly – had been a gift from his father.

     White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much, he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

     "Awesome!" Grover exclaimed.

     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. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say goodbye. He blushed almost as much as Annabeth.

     "Hey, man," Percy said. "Thanks."

     "Listen, Percy. . ." Luke looked mildly uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just. . .kill some monsters for me, okay?"

     They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a goodbye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out. After that, he moved toward me and gave me a hug of my own. He even ruffled my hair a little bit, like he used to do when I was younger. I suppressed a smile when I remembered those memories.

     After Luke was gone, Percy's eyes focused on Annabeth, "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, Percy?"

     She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.

     Percy faced Chiron with the shoes in his hands. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"

     He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air. . .that would not be wise for you."

     Percy nodded, disappointed, but then he faced our satyr companion. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

     His eyes lit up. "Me?"

     Pretty soon the sneakers were laced on his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.

     "Maia!" he shouted.

     "Okay, we're gonna need to be careful when you address me or the shoes," I reminded.

     He got off the ground perfectly fine, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.

     "Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

     "Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading towards the van.

     "I'm just gonna – " I gestured toward the van and a flying Grover. "Okay."

     I began my way down the hill to the van with Annabeth and Argus since I figured Chiron would want to have a final word with Percy in private. Grover was still in the air, but he was losing altitude and got closer to our vehicle. Before I was too far away, I spared one last glance at the pine tree that used to be my friend Thalia. I hid a smile and stared at my shoes, trying to think that she would've been proud of me for being on this quest with Annabeth. I just wish I could live up to the expectation she had of me.

     Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. Since there were four of us, we had to be cramped up in the backseats of the van. It was almost like a demigod/satyr sandwich. It felt so weird being out on the open highway again, especially after so long. I suddenly felt a wave of self-doubt of my own knowledge of the outside world, since I hadn't been a part of it in five years. I probably looked like a baby gawking at the sight of the outside world for the first time. It was so much different from what I remembered.

     "So far so good," Percy told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

     She gave him a well-deserved irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."

     "Remind me again – why do you hate me so much?"

     "I don't hate you."

     "Could've fooled me."

     She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look. . .we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

     "Why?"

     She sighed. "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!"

     When I thought the conversation was over, his voice returned. "What about you?"

     "What about me?" I asked with a frown when I saw his eyes on me.

     "Any grudges between Apollo and Poseidon that I need to know about?"

     I pressed my lips into a thin line before answering. "No. In fact, they tried to overthrow Zeus together, although that didn't end well. He obviously didn't like that and sentenced them both to work as humans for years. They built the walls of Troy that made the city invincible."

     "Cool," he said. "So maybe we – "

     "Slow down, kelp head," I interrupted him. "I don't think we're gonna be friends."

     He stayed silent at my remark. That might've come out a little harsh, but I didn't make the effort to correct myself. It was cowardly of me to say the least. Don't get me wrong, I would've loved to make a new friendship, but I didn't want to get attached to someone who probably won't even make it to next year. I mean, Thalia had also been a forbidden child, and that didn't end well. I didn't want to make that same mistake twice.

     It was awkwardly silent after that. Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain. Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side. Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot.

     Grover shouldered his backpack and out of nowhere, he blurted out. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"

     He stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"

     "Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

     Percy nodded, eagerly curious now.

     "Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told him. "You call him 'Smelly', but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a fortnight."

     "Thanks," he 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."

     I could see the inner conflict behind Percy's eyes at those words. To say that I understood what he was going through wouldn't be accurate, but it wouldn't be too far off. He must've felt my eyes on him, since he lifted his gaze from the floor just as I redirected my attention somewhere else. I began talking with Annabeth after that, trying to avoid any sort of confrontation.

     The rain kept coming down. We got tired of waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. I could barely manage to lift the apple in the air before it fell. The game ended when Percy tossed the apple towards Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared – core, stem and all.

     Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but we were too busy cracking up.

     Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite food.

     "What is it?" Percy was the one who asked.

     "I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."

     His tone did not match his words, so obviously it wasn't nothing. I knew better and looked over my shoulder, too. Our journey to our seats in the back of the bus seemed like an eternity before we got there. We stowed our backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.

     As the last passengers got on, Annabeth grabbed onto Percy's knee with a whispered call of his name.

     An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse.

     Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like the first one – same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. A chill ran down my spine at the sight of them. They were as creepy as the twins from the Shining. They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves. The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the streets of Manhattan.

     "She didn't stay dead long," he said. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

     "I said if you're lucky," I told him. "We obviously know that you're not."

     "All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!"

     "It's okay," Annabeth reassured, already thinking of a plan. "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 moaned.

     "A back exit?" she suggested.

     There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped us. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

     "They won't attack us with witnesses around," Percy tried to calm himself down. "Will they?"

     "Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

     "They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

     She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit on the roof. . .?"

     We entered the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain. One of them – if I guessed correctly – Alecto, got up from her seat. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom."

     "So do I," said the second sister, probably Magara.

     "So do I," said the third sister, Tisiphone.

     They all started coming down the aisle.

     "I've got it," Annabeth announced. "Percy, take my hat."

     "What?"

     "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 cut him off. "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!" I urged him. In another situation, I would've been flattered that he didn't want to abandon us, but we were running out of time.

     He took the Yankees cap and put it on. He disappeared out of my sight and hopefully he managed to get a good distance away from the Furies in the aisle. Alecto stopped, sniffing, and looked in a specific direction. After a few seconds, she didn't seem to find or see anything and kept walking with her sisters on her tail. I clenched my jaw and my thumb grazed over the sun charm in my bracelet, making the dagger appear in my hand. By the time I hid it from sight, their hideous wailing was just inches away from us. The old ladies were not old ladies any more. Their faces were still the same but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet with gargoyle-like claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

     The Furies surrounded the three of us, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"

     The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They had seen something, but I wasn't sure what. Lets just hope it was a lot better than three scary monsters hissing at three kids.

     "He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"

     The Furies raised their whips. I prepared my dagger. Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.

     Before anyone could make the first move, the driver lost control of the wheel. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows made its way to my ears. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind us. We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins. Somehow the driver was lucky enough to find an exit. We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barrelling down one of those New Jersey rural roads. There were woods to our left, the Hudson River to our right and the driver seemed to be veering towards the river.

     The bus wailed once more, spun a full circle on the wet tar and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. I had to keep a good grip on whatever I could find to not lose my balance.

     The Furies got up from the floor. They lashed their whips at Annabeth and I while she waved her knife and I did a stabbing motion. From a mortal's point of view, we probably looked crazy. Annabeth yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans.

     Then Percy did something stupid. He took off the invisible cap and called out, "Hey!"

     The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at him. Alecto stalked up the aisle. Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather. Her sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled towards Percy like disgusting, nasty lizards.

     "Perseus Jackson," Alecto spoke in a shrill voice. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

     "I liked you better as a math teacher," he told her.

     She growled. I turned back to my friends and Annabeth nodded at me like she had a plan in mind. Cautiously, the three of us moved up behind the Furies, looking for an opening to attack. I was afraid of what they could do to Percy, and my own reflexes got me involuntarily reaching for my bow and arrow. Annabeth grabbed my arm before I could even pull them out, shaking her head in the process. I frowned at her decision, but then she gestured toward the front of the bus. Percy had taken a ballpoint pen out of his pocket and uncapped it. The pen elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword. The Furies hesitated at the sight of it.

     "Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."

     "Nice try."

     "Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.

     Alecto lashed her whip around the sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at him. He struck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backwards into a seat. I adjusted the arrow on the string and fired at the Fury on Percy's right. As soon as the celestial bronze arrow stuck itself in her flesh, she screamed and exploded into dust. Annabeth got Alecto in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backwards while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.

     "Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"

     Percy swung his sword again and the Fury that was making her way to him exploded like a piñata. Alecto was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but she held on while Grover got Alecto's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally they both shoved her backwards into the aisle. The Fury tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.

     "Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"

     "Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy yelled, which translated to, 'Eat my pants!'

     Thunder shook the bus.

     "Get out!" Annabeth yelled at Percy. "Now!"

     He didn't argue with her this time. We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, 'We're going to die!' A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped my photograph before I could recap my sword.

     "Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our – "

     A loud boom interrupted his sentence. The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs Dodds was not yet dead.

     "Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"

     We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us and nothing but darkness ahead.

author's note !!
my girl maia is just twelve years old so a lot of the things she says or thinks are childish because she's a child !! she's gonna have some growth

also, 'welcome to new york'  played in my head as i was writing the scene where argus drives them into the city. i feel like the song would fit maia pretty well, what do you think?

-see you soon, bex <3