pocket full of posies
❛ vii. monster doughnut kid ❜

━━━━━ POSIE HAD NEVER been afraid of heights. And she had never thought she might tumble to her death until last summer when Percy blowtorched a national monument and they had to dive five hundred feet to safety.

              That being said, you can still say without a doubt, Posie Easton was screaming her head off as she plunged towards the water below. It was only natural. She was about to fall to her death here.

              "Flask!" Percy screamed, voice breaking as they hurtled towards certain death.

              "What?!" Annabeth yelled back, rightly thinking Percy had lost his mind. She, along with the rest of them, was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, her hair flying straight up like a torch.

              But Tyson understood. He managed to open Percy's duffel bag and take out Hermes's magical flask without losing his grip on it or the boat. Arrows and javelins whistled past them. Percy ripped the Flask out of Tyson's hand, and sealed his eyes shut, like he was going to start praying.

              "Hang on!" he yelled.

              "We are!" Posie screamed.

              "Well—hang on better!" he quipped back.

              Suddenly, Tyson grabbed Posie by the back of her shirt. Percy gave the Flask cap a quarter turn.

              Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the Flask and propelled them sideways, turning their downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing. The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the Flask, like it was glad to be free. As they hit the ocean, they bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then they were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in their faces and nothing but sea ahead.

              I'm getting motion sick! Onesimus wailed as they skipped across the ocean.

              You can't puke! Posie yelled back. You're a voice in my head!

              Posie heard wails of outrage from the ship behind them, but the four were already out of weapon range. The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.

              As they raced over the sea, Annabeth, Posie, and Percy tried to send an Iris Message to Chiron. They ( see as in: Annabeth ) figured it was important they let somebody know what Luke was doing, and they was nobody better to trust than Chiron.

              Me, Onesimus sniffed.

              Percy and Annabeth have no idea who you are, Posie quipped. And they would really think I'm crazy if I told them you were in my head.

              Maybe—but you trust me with information.

              You're with me twenty-four, seven, I have no other choice. You see everything that goes on in my life—even my dreams.

              The wind from the Flask stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight—perfect for an Iris Message—but their connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show them Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was some kind of weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.

              Posie blinked at the centaur. "Are you at a party?"

              Annabeth shot her a look, a look that read Shut up, and she went on to explain what had happened since he left. They told Chiron about sneaking away from Camp, Luke and the Princess Andromeda, and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on our end, Posie wasn't sure he heard much of anything.

              "Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—"

              His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like warriors.

              "What?" Percy yelled.

              "Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, Posie, you should have never let Percy leave Camp! But if you do get the Fleece—"

              "Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woo-hoo!"

              The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made their boat vibrate.

              "—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—"

              Their misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.

              "Oh." Posie's heart sank even further. "Good talk, Chiron."

✿

An hour later, they spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coastguard cruiser passed on their starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. Posie figured it wasn't an everyday occurrence to see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by four kids.

              "That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as they approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like—"

              "Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," Percy blurted.

              Posie stared at him. "Um ... how do you know that?"

              "I—I'm not sure."

              Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"

              "Thirty-six degrees, forty-four minutes north, seventy-six degrees, two minutes west," he answered immediately. Then he shook his head, as if he was the one mystified. "Whoa. How did I know that?"

              "Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is so cool."

              "So he's a walking GPS?" Posie asked, causing Onesimus to chortle with laughter.

              Before Percy could come back with a response, Tyson tapped him on the shoulder and declared, "Other boat is coming."

              Posie looked back. The coastguard vessel was definitely on their tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.

              "We can't let them catch us," Percy said. "They'll ask too many questions."

              "Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide."

              That sounds like something a murderer would say before leading a victim to a secluded area, Onesimus said.

              Shut up, Posie replied.

              Percy loosened the Flask cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent them rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coastguard boat fell further and further behind. They didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and Posie realized they'd entered the mouth of a river.

              Near this point, Annabeth had to start directing. Apparently, the switch from saltwater to freshwater left Percy disoriented. Posie didn't even understand what difference it could make, but she didn't say anything.

              "There," said Annabeth. "Past that sandbar."

              They veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. Percy beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress.

              Vine-covered trees loomed above them. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river.

              "Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."

              Posie frowned. "What is?"

              "Just follow." The daughter of Athena grabbed a duffel bag. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."

              After burying the lifeboat with branches, Posie, Tyson, and Percy followed Annabeth along the shore, their feet sinking in red mud. Posie practically jumped onto Percy's back when a snake slithered by.

              "Get off," he grumbled, trying to push her away.

              Posie clung on tighter and yelped, "No way! Snakes are around!"

              She ended up hitching a ride on Tyson's back. Posie was starting to like the Cyclops a lot more after that.

              He's still a Cyclops, Onesimus warned, almost sounding concerned.

              Well, he's a nice Cyclops, Posie reasoned. He's giving me a piggyback ride so I don't step near any snakes.

              "Not a good place," Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were trying to feast on Posie's arms that were wrapped around his neck.

              After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."

              A lot taller perched on Tyson's back, Posie got a better view of what Annabeth was talking about. But still, as she saw was a patch of brambles. Then Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, and Posie realized she was looking into a camouflaged shelter.

              The inside was big enough for three, even with Tyson being the fourth ( though Posie did have to climb down from his back if she didn't want to hit her head against the ceiling ). The walls were woven from plant material and they looked pretty waterproof. Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout—sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too—bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty, like it had been vacant for a long time.

              "A half-blood hideout." Posie ran her finger along the javelin tips, wiping the dust away. "You built this?"

              "Thalia and I." Annabeth faltered for a moment before adding, "And Luke."

              Posie frowned. Despite seeing the death of Thalia a hundred times in her dreams, she had never seen anything like this in her dreams. In all honesty, Posie had only ever seen Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth all together while Thalia was dying. She couldn't envision the trio as anything else but that scene. She only hoped Annabeth didn't hold onto that memory the way Posie had to.

              Posie shook away the imagines of Thalia dying and looked around the hideout, trying to envision Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth all hanging out here, something as close to a family. No, they had been a family, until Luke betrayed them. Trying to envision the trio here didn't shake that image of Thalia dying, but Posie never thought it would. If anything, it only made her angrier at Luke—he had a family, and he wasted it.

              "So ..." Percy started, "you don't think Luke will look for us here?"

              Annabeth shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."

              She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.

              "Um, Tyson?" Percy turned to the Cyclops. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"

              "Convenience store?"

              "Yeah, for snacks. Powdered doughnuts or something. Just don't go too far."

              "Powdered doughnuts," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered doughnuts in the wilderness." He headed outside and started calling, "Here, doughnuts!"

              Posie sat down next to Annabeth. The blonde didn't look at her, but that didn't stop Posie; "I'm sorry you had to see Luke."

              "Not your fault," Annabeth grunted, unsheathing her knife and cleaning the blade with a rag.

              Posie looked at Percy. Say something, she mouthed to him.

              He sputtered for a moment. "Well, yeah, it sucks. But—um—I think he let us go too easily."

              Annabeth didn't seem to take Percy's bluntness too hard. She nodded and said, "I was thinking the same thing. What we overheard him say about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait' ... I think he was talking about us."

              "Is the Fleece the bait?" asked Posie. "Or is Grover?"

              Annabeth studied the edge of her knife. "I don't know, Posie. Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself. Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just can't believe he would poison the tree."

              "I can." Posie sounded bitter. "Saw him do it."

              The other stared at her. She was quick to add, "Dreams, alright? I saw him poisoning the tree in my dream. By the time I woke up, he ... He was already gone."

              "You saw him do it?" Annabeth asked. "In your dreams?"

              Posie glanced at Percy; he, Chiron, and Apollo were the only ones who knew she had the gift of foresight. She didn't want to tell Annabeth, but ...

              She shifted, swallowing the sudden bile in her throat. "Look—you know I suck at archery, and poetry, and—"

              Annabeth looked impatient. "Where are you going with this?"

              "I got Apollo's gift of foresight instead of his gift of archery." It practically tumbled out of Posie's mouth. "That's how I saw Luke poisoning Thalia's tree."

              "How long have you known?" asked Annabeth.

              "I wasn't sure until last summer," Posie admitted. "After one dream right before we went on the quest, I went to Chiron 'cause I didn't know what else to do anymore. He said ..." She shrugged. "He said that foresight was the thing I inherited from Apollo."

              "And you didn't think of telling us before?" Annabeth countered, with what looked to be an almost hurt expression.

              Posie glanced at Percy, almost guilty. "Telling you," she corrected. "Percy figured it out last summer."

              Annabeth's nostrils flared. "You didn't fucking tell me? Why?"

              The daughter of Apollo scrambled for an answer. "It's not exactly a conversation starter, Annabeth. Did you just want me to just waltz up to you and say, Hey, I have the gift of foresight. I keep seeing the night Thalia died! Just thought you should know!"

              She stood suddenly, ignoring Annabeth's shocked expression as tears burned in her eyes. "I don't want that gift." Posie practically spat the word. "Talking about it makes it real. Just like talking about what Luke did makes it real to you."

              Posie stopped suddenly, wishing she could take back the words. "I-I'm sorry, Annabeth. That—I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't— ..."

              Annabeth set her jaw, taking a breath. "I get it, Josephine. You're right." She blinked quickly for a moment, refusing to look at the other two. "I don't like talking about what Luke did, so I understand why you didn't tell me about your ..."

              "Curse," Posie supplied. "It's not a gift."

              Annabeth looked off for a moment. "Have you ... seen anything else? Anything that would be helpful?"

              "I don't know." Posie's shoulders slumped. "It all starts to run together after so long."

              "And you saw," Percy spoke up finally, "Thalia before?"

              She glanced at Annabeth, whose expression didn't change. "... Yeah. Um, when she ..." She trailed off.

              "You can say it," said Annabeth. "When she died."

              "Um, yeah." Posie wrung her hands. "And Zeus turning her into a tree. I should've told you, Annabeth—"

              "You're sorry, Posie. I get it. And I don't blame you for not saying anything." Annabeth exclaimed the blade for a moment. "I'm not sure I would have, either."

              "So, you're not too mad?" Posie asked.

              Annabeth shook her head. "Not too mad."

              "Thank the gods," Percy grumbled. "I would've felt like we were back in last summer all over again."

              "That was you and Annabeth." Posie frowned. "I was the one who had to put up with the two of you arguing."

              Percy smiled slightly. "If I remember correctly, you snapped at us for calling you Posie."

              She crossed her arms. "Rightfully so, in my opinion."

              He rolled his eyes and looked at Annabeth. "So ... what did Luke mean? He said Thalia would've been on his side."

              Annabeth's expression was tense all over again. "He was wrong."

              "You don't sound sure."

              Annabeth glared at him. "Percy, you know who you remind me of most? Thalia. You guys are so much alike, it's scary. I mean, either you would've been best friends or you would've strangled each other."

              "Let's go with best friends," he responded, sending Posie a look.

              "Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. So do you. Would you turn against Olympus because of that?"

              He stared at the quiver of arrows in the corner for a moment. "No."

              "Okay, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth stuck her knife blade into the dirt.

              There was silence after that. Posie tugged at the end of her hair, twisting it around her finger and then uncurling it. She glanced up, wondering why the others had stopped talking, and found they were staring at her. She jumped, ears burning, and asked, "What? What is it?"

              "Something Luke said." Annabeth frowned. "He knew about your ... powers. The green mist."

              "And glow," Posie added miserably. "I dunno how he knows about it. I haven't even ... I haven't even told Chiron about that. Or Apollo. Only you two and Grover know."

              "Kronos told him?" Percy suggested.

              "But how would he have found out?" Poise asked.

              Annabeth gasped. "When we were in the Underworld, and at the pit to Tartarus, you used the power. That must've been how he found out. And he had to be watching us the whole quest, too."

              Percy chewed on his bottom lip. "When I Iris Messaged Luke last summer, I also told him about how you managed to defeat Medusa. I bet he immediately told Kronos about it."

              Wanting to hit the son of Poseidon, but knowing it wouldn't be fair, Posie set her jaw. "Okay, so, Luke and Kronos know about ... whatever that green mist is. We don't even know what it is, so ..." She shrugged. "I bet they don't even know what it is, either. Luke's lying when he said he could help."

              "He also mentioned something about D.C. and a ring," Percy pointed out.

              Posie twirled the ring around her finger, chewing on her bottom lip. "It's just a useless ring, forget it."

              "But why would he mention it?"

              She shrugged. "To get under my skin."

              Annabeth eyed the ring on Posie's finger. She covered the jewelry with her hand, and Annabeth looked up at her. "Where'd you get the ring?"

              The daughter of Apollo swallowed. "It's a gift."

              An answer, Onesimus corrected in a grumble.

              It hasn't given me any answers, she countered.

              It will. Eventually.

              Before they could come up with any more questions, Posie blurted, "Luke said stuff to all of us. To get under our skin's best. We just need to ignore him. We can't let him win."

              Good, Onesimus sighed. Before they asked a question about Luke calling me a 'little friend', that bastard.

              "But ..." Percy sighed. "What did Luke mean when he talked about Cyclopes? He said you of all people—"

              "I know what he said," Annabeth said tartly. "He ... he was talking about the real reason Thalia died."

              Posie glanced over. The flashes of Thalia's death crossed her eyes. There hadn't been a Cyclops in the hoard of monsters but perhaps Posie missed it.

              Annabeth drew a shaky breath. "You can never trust a Cyclops. Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill—"

              She was interrupted when the door of the hut creaked open. Tyson crawled in.

              "Powdered doughnuts!" he said proudly, holding up a pastry box.

              "That's great, Tyson!" Posie congratulated him. "But, um, where did you get them? There's nothing around as far as I can see—"

              "Fifty feet," Tyson said. "Monster Doughnut shop—just over the hill!"

✿

So much for being a seer. Really, how could Posie not see this coming? There always had to be a catch when they had anything nice. She should've expected this.

              Currently, the four were crouching behind a tree, staring at the doughnut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked brand new, with brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot. Posie could see one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. That was it. On the store's awning, in huge black letters that even she could read, it said:

MONSTER DOUGHNUT

              A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in MONSTER. The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate doughnuts. She shook her head, trying to shake the smell away, but only ended up rattling Onesimus, who complained loudly.

              "This is bad," Annabeth muttered. "We're so fucked."

              "How?" Percy hissed back.

              "This shouldn't be here. It's wrong."

              "What?" Percy frowned. "It's a doughnut shop. You're really overreacting right now, Annabeth."

              "Percy, stop talking so loud!" Posie shushed him.

              "Oh, now you too?" Percy rolled his eyes. "Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."

              "Well ..." Posie shifted, glancing at Tyson. "He's a monster. Of course he's going to be fine."

              "Honestly, Posie ... Monster Doughnut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."

              He's not very bright, Onesimus grumbled.

              "A chain," Annabeth agreed. "And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you told Tyson to get doughnuts? Right here in the middle of the woods?"

              "Do you think it's a nest?" Posie asked nervously.

              "A what?" Percy balked. "A nest for what?"

              Posie would've answered if she hadn't heard something faintly in the woods. She looked at the others to see if they had heard it, too, but Percy and Annabeth seemed none the wiser. She turned an ear out, and her heart dropped. It sounded like something was dragging a large body toward them.

              "Um, guys—" she tried to interject.

              "Hang on, Posie," Annabeth huffed. "Look, Percy, haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast? One day there's nothing and then the next day—boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four—exact replicas spreading across the country?"

              "Seriously, you guys, I—"

              "Um, no," Percy mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've never really thought about it."

              The scraping sounds became louder, and Posie started again, "Guys, I hear something coming—"

              Annabeth cut her off; "Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed—"

              "It's behind us!" Posie squawked.

              Annabeth sighed, and looked at her. "What?"

              Posie pointed. Annabeth turned, then froze. A pathetic squeak came out of her mouth. "Oh, my gods—something's behind us."

              "I tried telling you," Posie grumbled. "No one makes any sudden movements, alright?"

              "Very slowly," Annabeth said, craning her neck to look up, "turn around."

✿

Posie didn't want to say it, but she did tell them so. "You should've listened to me," she grumbled, a combination of anger and fear mixed together. "I told you guys, but no, Annabeth had to explain something to Percy that he probably won't even remember!"

              "Hey!" he protested.

              "Shut up!" Annabeth snapped at the two. "Before it hears us."

              That made Posie stop. The scraping sound, she finally realized it was a large belly dragging through the leaves, and was closer than ever. The monster was rhino-sized, moving through the shadows of the trees, and hissing, its front half writhing in all different directions. Its skin was leathery, with multiple necks—at least seven, each topped with a hissing reptilian head. And under each neck, it wore a plastic bib that read: I'M A MONSTER DOUGHNUT KID!

              Posie froze in fear. That stupid fear of snakes coming back to bite her. It was bad enough there was a monster, even worse it hissed like a snake and had seven hissing heads.

              Percy took out his ballpoint pen, but Annabeth locked eyes with him—a silent warning. Not yet.

              Posie held her breath, practically trembling in fear. A lot of monsters have terrible eyesight. It was possible the Hydra might pass them by. But if Percy uncapped his sword now, the bronze glow would certainly get its attention.

              They waited.

              The Hydra was only a meter or so away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Then Posie noticed that two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas—one of their duffel bags. The thing had already been to their campsite. It was following their scent.

              Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward them and hissed.

              "Scatter!" Annabeth yelled.

              She dove to the right. Percy rolled to the left. Posie backed away and dove past an elm tree. She yelped as one of the Hydra heads spat an arc of green liquid that shot past her shoulder and splashed against the elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight towards Tyson, who still hadn't moved, petrified by the monster that was now right in front of him.

              Her heart lurched, and she took off running towards Tyson. She somehow managed to tackle him, knocking the two of them aside just as the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads.

              The Hydra stumbled backward, yanking its heads free and wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid, and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.

              "Come on, Tyson," Posie coaxed him, trying to keep her voice gentle. "We need to move."

              He trembled, and she patted his back, trying to pull him to his feet. He started to cry and she added, "Hey, it's gonna be alright. We just need to move."

              He rubbed at his eye, which was teary, and mumbled, "Thank you, Posie. You are kind."

              She nearly burst into tears for two reasons—one; the Hydra was stalking towards them, and was going to squish them—or worse—and two; the way Tyson acted. She had never thought of him recognizing the way people treated him differently at Camp, but now she knew. And it made her want to cry.

              The Hydra moved closer, and Posie raised her hand, silently praying some green mist miracle comes, but she didn't have to—Percy uncapped Riptide, sprinting towards them. "Posie, Tyson, move!"

              If his goal was to draw the monster's attention, it worked. The sight of Celestial bronze caused all seven heads to whip over to face Percy, hissing and baring their teeth. One head snapped at him, and instinctively, Percy swung his sword.

              "No!" Annabeth yelled.

              That was the dumbest thing he could've done! Onesimus snapped.

              He was panicked, okay? Posie quipped him. I haven't seen you face a Hydra head-on!

              I am, too! he disagreed. Right now, with you!

              Too late. Percy sliced the Hydra's head clean off. It rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon. In a matter of seconds, the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head. Now they were looking at an eight-headed Hydra.

              "Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Doughnut shop somewhere!"

              He dodged a spray of acid. "I'm about to die and you're worried about that? How do we kill it?"

              Tyson started sobbing, and Posie tried calming him down. "No, Tyson, Percy's just being dramatic. Everything's alright—"

              "I'm not being dramatic!"

              "—I promise Tyson, he's just being dramatic!"

              Still crying, he hugged Posie tightly. She cringed with pain, feeling as if the Cyclops was trying to kill her with a hug. "You promise, friend?"

              Her heart lurched again. "I promise. Please—let me down. My ribs feel like they're about to break."

              "We can only kill it with fire!" Annabeth shouted. "We have to have fire!"

              That sounded like a good solution, except—

              "We don't have any fire!" Posie yelled.

✿

Percy backed up towards the river. The Hydra followed. Annabeth moved in on his left and tried to distract one of the heads, parrying its teeth with her knife.

              Posie patted Tyson on the back, pulling out one of the daggers. "Don't worry! Percy'll be fine!"

              What about you? Onesimus pointed out in a drawl.

              She didn't respond to that. She charged for the Hydra. She ducked under one head, feeling that burn beneath her skin again. She saw the green glow begin to appear from the middle of her palm, and she raised it above her head, but another Hydra head came swinging out of nowhere and sent her flying. She hit a tree trunk with a pained grunt.

              That jarred me! Onesimus grumbled angrily.

              Then think how I feel, Posie practically groaned.

              "No hitting my friends!" Tyson charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Posie. The daughter of Apollo stumbled to her feet as Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists so fast it reminded her of the whack-a-mole game at the arcade ( but perhaps that was because she was seeing three of everything after slamming into the tree ).

              But even Tyson couldn't fend off the Hydra forever, no matter how much he wanted to for a friend.

              They kept inching backward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads without cutting them off, but Posie knew they were only postponing their deaths. Eventually, one of them would make a mistake and the thing would kill them.

              Then she heard a strange sound—a chug-chug-chug. The sound of an engine. It was so powerful it made the riverbank shake.

              "What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra.

              "Steam engine," Tyson said.

              "What?" Percy ducked as the Hydra spat acid over his head.

              Then from the river behind them, a familiar voice shouted, "There! Prepare the thirty-two-pounder!"

              Posie didn't dare look away from the Hydra, but she knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

              A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, m'lady!"

              "Damn the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"

              "Aye, m'lady."

              "Fire at will, Captain!"

              Annabeth understood what was happening a split second before Posie did. She yelled, "Hit the dirt!" and the four dove for the ground as an earth-shattering BOOM echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of them, showering them with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.

              "Gross!" screamed Annabeth.

              "Steamship!" yelled Tyson.

              Posie stood, knees practically knocking together, and coughing from the cloud of gunpowder smoke that was rolling across the banks.

              Chugging towards them, down the river, was the strangest ship she had ever seen. It rode low in the water like a submarine, its deck plated with iron. In the middle was a trapezoid-shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top—a wild boar and spear on a blood-red field. Lining the deck were zombies in grey uniforms—dead soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls, like the ghouls Posie had seen in the Underworld guarding Hades's palace.

              The ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser. She could just make out the name along the prow in moss-covered letters: CSS Birmingham.

              And standing next to the smoking cannon that had almost killed them, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.

              "Losers," she sneered. "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."

✿  AUG. 5TH, 2023  /  posie and tyson bonding <3

annabeth finally knows about posie being a seer- it didn't make too big of an impact of annabeth not knowing but still

anyways,, thoughts? opinions??

(not edited and barely proofread)