Published: September 10, 2021
Edited: July 22, 2022

'•'

"Thermos!" Percy screamed as we hurtled toward the water. 

"What?!" I screamed back. I'd thought Percy lost his mind. 

I was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, my hair flying straight up like a torch. Thank the gods that Tyson understood. He managed to open a duffel bag and take out a strange looking thermos. Arrows and javelins whistled past us but I sent jets of water up to meet them in midair, causing bursts of shrapnel and water to fly in every direction. Percy grabbed the thermos from Tyson and I hoped he knew what he was doing. 

"Hang on!" Percy screamed, his hand on the thermos cap.

"I am hanging on!" Annabeth yelled. 

"Tighter!" 

I hooked my feet under the boat's inflatable bench, and as Tyson grabbed Annabeth and me by the backs of our shirts, Percy gave the thermos cap a quarter turn. Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled us sideways, turning our downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing.The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the thermos, like it was glad to be free.

As we hit the ocean, we bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then we were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in our faces and nothing but sea ahead. I heard a wail of outrage from the ship behind us, but we 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 we raced over the sea, Annabeth and I tried to send an Iris-message to Chiron. We figured it was important we let somebody know what Luke was doing, since I had abandoned my post as spy, and we didn't know who else to trust. The wind from the thermos stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight—perfect for an Iris-message— but even with Percy and I holding the mist together with our will, our connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show us 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. We told him about Percy, Tyson and Annabeth sneaking away from camp, and 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, I'm not sure how much he heard. 

"Neridia," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—" His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it uplike Comanche warriors. 

"What?" I yelled. 

"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhereout of sight. "Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Percy leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece—" 

"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woohoooooo!"The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made our boat vibrate. 

"—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—" Our misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone. 

An hour later we spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on our starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. I guess it isn't every day they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids. 

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

"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," I said absently.. She stared at me in disbelief.

"How did you know that?" 

"I don't know, I just know it," I shrugged. Annabeth thought for a moment. 

"Percy, Neridia, what's our position?" 

"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," We said immediately. Then Percy shook his head. 

"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."

Tyson tapped Percy's shoulder. "Other boat is coming."

 I looked back. The coast guard vessel was definitely on our tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed. 

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

"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," I directed him. "I know a place we can hide." Percy risked loosening the thermoscap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent us rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. We didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered the mouth of a river.

I could feel the change from salt water to fresh water. Suddenly I was tired and frazzled, like I was coming down off a sugar high. I didn't know where I was anymore, or which way to steer the boat. It was a good thing Annabeth was directing us, she must have had the same idea I had.

"There," she pointed. "Past that sandbar."

We veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. Percy beached our lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress. Vine-covered trees loomed above us. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river. My mind crowded  with memories and I smiled softly. 

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

"What is?" Percy asked. 

"Just follow." Annabeth snapped and she grabbed a duffel bag that they'd brought. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."

After burying the lifeboat with branches, Tyson and Percy followed Annabeth and I along the shore, our feet sinking in red mud. A snake slithered past my shoe and disappeared into the grass. 

"Not a good place," Tyson observed. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm. After another few minutes, Annabeth paused. 

"Here." She muttered.  I moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, and I looked into a camouflaged shelter. The inside was big enough for four, even with Tyson being the fourth. The walls were woven from  plant material, like a Native American hut, but they were 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." Percy looked at Annabeth and I in awe. "You made this place?" 

"Thalia and us," I muttered quietly. "And Luke." Percy looked a little jealous at that.

"So..." Percy changed the topic quickly. "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 cyclopes. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"

"Convenience store?"

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

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

Once he was gone, Percy sat down across from Annabeth and I. 

"Hey, I'm sorry about, you know, seeing Luke." He apologized, obviously directing it at Annabeth, as I had been seeing Luke every day for the past year.

"It's not your fault." Annabeth assured him. She unsheathed her knife and started cleaning the blade with a rag, which didn't make her statement seem genuine.

"He let us go too easily," I told them. Annabeth nodded. 

"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 ."

"The Fleece is the bait? Or Grover?" Percy asked. They both looked at me. I shrugged.

"I don't know anything about that. They said something about controlling the prophecy but that's about all. Luke never wants me near the important meetings, it's like he's scared for me." I snorted. Annabeth studied the edge of her knife. 

"I don't know, Percy. 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 clenched my fist. "I'm so angry about that. He's a real jerk."

"What did he mean," Percy asked, "that Thalia would've been on his side?"

"He's wrong." I snapped immediately.

"You don't sound sure." Percy pointed out tentatively. 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.'"

"Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. So do you. So does Neridia. Would you turn against Olympus because of that?" Annabeth asked.. Percy stared at the quiver of arrows in the corner. 

"No."

"Okay, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth stuck her knife blade into the dirt. I sensed Percy wanted to ask us about the prophecy Luke had mentioned and what it had to do with our sixteenth birthday.

"So what did Luke mean about Cyclopes?" Percy asked. "He said you of all people—"

"I know what he said. He...he was talking about the real reason Thalia died, the reason I have that scar." Last summer, after the quest, Percy had walked in on me changing and noticed the scar. A long white line from the top of my right ribs down to my left hip. Percy waited, not sure what to say. I drew a shaky breath. 

"You can never trust a Cyclops, Percy. Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill—" I was interrupted when the door of the hut creaked open. Tyson crawled in.

"Powdered donuts!" he announced proudly, holding up a pastry box. Annabeth and I stared at him. 

"Where did you get that? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around for—"

"Fifty feet," Tyson cheered. "Monster Donut shop—just over the hill!"

'•'

"This is bad," Annabeth muttered. We were crouching behind a tree, staring at the donut 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. We could see one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. That was it. On the store's marquis, in huge black letters that even I could read, it said: MONSTER DONUT 

A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in MONSTER. The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate donuts.

"This shouldn't be here," Annabeth whispered harshly. "It's wrong."

"What?" Percy asked, looking unconcerned. "It's a donut shop."

"Shhh!" I hissed fiercely.

"Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."

"He's a monster." I snarled accusingly, causing Tyson to flinch away from me.

"Aw, c'mon, Neri. Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."

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

"It could be a nest," I explained. Tyson whimpered. I doubt he understood what I was saying any better than Percy did, but my tone was clearly making him nervous. He'd plowed through half a dozen donuts from his box and was getting powdered sugar all over his face.

"A nest for what?" Percy demanded.

"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?" I asked. "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?"

"Um, no. Never thought about it."

"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—" I froze, right behind my brother was a Hydra. I real life fucking Hydra. And we had zero fire.

"What?" Percy demanded. "They breed what?"

"No—sudden—moves," I whispered, like my life depended on it. "Very slowly, turn around." The thing had multiple necks—seven, each topped with a hissing reptilian head. Its skin was leathery, and under each neck it wore a plastic bib that read: I'M A MONSTER DONUT KID! Percy took out his ballpoint pen, but Annabeth locked eyes with him— a silent warning.

Not yet.

I understood. A lot of monsters have terrible eyesight. It was possible the Hydra might pass us by. But if Percy uncapped his sword now, the bronze glow would certainly get its attention. We waited. The Hydra was only a few feet away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was  hunting for something. Then I noticed that two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow  canvas—one of our duffel bags. The thing had already been to our campsite. It was following our scent.

My heart pounded. I'd seen a stuffed Hydra-head trophy at camp before, but that did nothing to  prepare me for the real thing. Each head was diamond-shaped, like a rattlesnake's, but the mouths  were lined with jagged rows of shark like teeth. Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven  heads turned toward us and hissed.

"Scatter!" Annabeth yelled. She dove to the right. I rolled to the left. Percy dropped straight down. One of the Hydra heads spat an arc of green liquid that shot past my shoulder and splashed against an elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight toward Tyson, who still hadn't moved, petrified by the monster that was now right in front of him.

"Tyson!" Percy tackled him with all of his might, knocking him 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 then wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid, and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.

"Move!" I screamed at Percy and Tyson. Percy ran to one side and uncapped Riptide, hoping to draw the monster's attention. It worked. The sight of celestial bronze is hateful to most monsters.

As soon as my brother's glowing blade appeared, the Hydra whipped toward it with all its heads, hissing and baring its teeth. The good news: Tyson was momentarily out of danger. The bad news: Percy was about to be melted into a puddle of goo. One of the heads snapped at Percy experimentally. He swung his sword.

"No!" Annabeth yelled. 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-sizehead. Now I was looking at an eight-headed Hydra.

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Donut shop somewhere!" Percy dodged a spray of acid. 

"I'm about to die and you're worried about that? How do we kill it?"

"Fire!" I told him, waving my sword in the air." We have to have fire!"

The Hydra's heads would only stop multiplying if we burned the stumps before they regrew. That's what Heracles had done, anyway. But we had no fire.

Percy backed up toward river. The Hydra followed. Annabeth and I moved in on the left and tried to distract one of the heads, parrying its teeth with our blades, but another head swung sideways like a club and knocked Annabeth into the muck.

"No hitting my friends!" Tyson charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Annabeth. 

As Annabeth got to her feet, Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists so fast it reminded me of the whack-a-mole game at the arcade. But even a cyclopes couldn't fend off the Hydra forever. Percy and I kept inching backward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads without cutting them off, but I knew we were only postponing our deaths. Eventually, we would make a mistake and the thing would kill us.

Then I heard a strange sound—a chug-chug-chug that at first I thought was my heartbeat. It was so powerful it made the riverbank shake.

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

"Steam engine," Tyson cheered.

"What?" I ducked as the Hydra spat acid over my head.

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

I didn't dare look away from the Hydra, but if that was who I thought it was behind us, I figured we now had enemies on two fronts.

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

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

"Aye, m'lady."

"Fire at will, Captain!"

Annabeth and I understood what was happening a split second before Percy and Tyson did. Annabeth yelled, "Hit the dirt!" and we 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 us, showering us with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.

"Gross!" screamed Annabeth.

"Steamship!" yelled Tyson. 

I stood, coughing from the cloud of gunpowder smoke that was rolling across the banks. Chugging toward us down the river was the strangest ship I'd 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 gray uniforms—dead confederate soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls, like the ghouls we'd seen in the Underworld guarding Hades' palace. The ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser.

I 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 us, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.

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

'•'

Word Count: 3288