Chapter 20: I Battle My Jerk Relative

A coast guard boat picked us up and brought us to the shore. I bet they were wondering how three kids in street clothes had gotten in the middle of the bay. They looked really busy to keep us for a while, their radios were jammed with distress calls. They dropped us off at the Santa Monica Pier and they gave us towels and a water bottle that said I'M A JUNIOR COAST GUARD! They left us there and they went flying off to save more people that also need help. Our clothes were so wet, speaking of this I wondered why when the guards took me out of the water my clothes were still wet because usually when I get out of the water I am perfectly dry. I guess my water proof abilities abandoned me. I was also barefooted, because I gave my shoes to Grover after the incident. It's better than the guard thinking that one of us are satyrs. After reaching dry land, we went stumbling down to the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. My backpack was really heavy because of the master bolt, but my heart was even heavier from seeing my mother. Annabeth told me she was so sorry for my mother. I tried not to hear what she had said, because every time I talk about my mother I start crying like a little kid. "The prophecy was right," I told Annabeth and Grover. But it wasn't Hades, Hades didn't want war among the big three. Obviously, someone else stole Zeus's master bolt Hades helm of darkness, and then someone framed me because I was Poseidon's son. Grover asked "Who could be that sneaky?" "Gee, let me think." I said. There he was waiting for us, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses. His motorcycle rumbled beside him. "You are supposed to die, Percy." Ares said, "You tricked me, you stole the Helm and the Master Bolt." I said. Ares then, took out this ski cap like the bank robbers wear and placed it between the handle bars, then the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze helmet. We gasped, "The Helm of Darkness!" Ares said, "Exactly, that means Hades will be mad at Zeus and Poseidon because he doesn't know who took the Helm. Then there will be a three way fight." "But they are your family!" Annabeth protested. Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest ones. Nothing like watching your relatives fight." I said, "The backpack you gave me had the Master Bolt, it was in there the whole time." "Yes and No, The backpack was the Master bolt sheath, it just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, just like the sword you have." I wondered how he knew about the sword, but I guess he should know because, he is the God of War. "You ordered the theft," I guessed. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you down to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go. You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. That thing in the pit is ordering you around." Ares said, "I am the God of War. I take no orders from anyone!"

I asked Ares to fight me. He laughed, "You've only got one talent, kid, running away. You ran away from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don't have what it takes." "Are you scared to fight me?" I asked him. Annabeth said, "Percy run!" The giant boar charged. I wasn't going to run away from the boar or from any monster anymore. As the boar rushed me, I uncapped my pen and side stepped. Riptide appeared in my hands. I slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the animal ran to the sea. I shouted, "Wave!" Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, the wave wrapped around it like a blanket. The beast squealed in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea. Then I turned backed to Ares. and asked him again, "Are you going to fight me now or send in one of those pigs and hide behind him." Ares was full of rage, his face was turning purple. "Watch it kid, I can turn you into something." Flames danced along the top of his sunglasses, "Oh man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot." "If I lose you turn me into anything you want, but if I win, the Helm and the Bolt are mine and you have to go away." He swung the baseball cap off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed, classic or modern?" I showed him my sword. "Classic it is." Ares said. Then the baseball cap turned into a two handed sword. Annabeth was forcing me not to fight Ares, but I couldn't help myself, he is too much of a jerk. Then she gave me something for good luck, even Grover gave me something for good luck. Ares warned me, "My strength is unlimited. I can never die. What have you got?" I didn't say anything, then he cleaved downward my head, but he missed me. The water pushed me into the air and I catapulted over him, slashing as I came down. But Ares was just as quick. He grinned, "Not bad, not bad." He was slashed again and I was forced to jump onto dry land. Then Annabeth screamed, "Percy, Cops!" I couldn't stop fighting Ares. I could hear car doors slamming. "There officer! See!" somebody told the officer. I heard the cop say, "Looks like that kid on tv....What the Heck... The other guy is armed, we need some backup. Me and Ares were still fighting each other not caring about the police. More sirens came. I stepped farther back into the water, but Ares was fast. A police voice on a megaphone said, "Drop the guns! Set them on the Ground. Now!" Guns? I looked at Ares sword, and it seemed to be flickering, sometimes it looked like a shotgun and sometimes it looked like a sword. Ares turned to glare at our spectators, which gave me a moment to breathe. He told them that this was a private matter and we continued. It was the same thing all over again, I slashed him, he deflected it, he slashed me then I deflected it. I felt the rhythm of the sea, the waves growing larger as the tide rolled in, and suddenly I had an idea.

A six foot wall of water smashed Ares full in the face leaving him cursing with a mouth full of sea weed. I landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his head, as i'd done before. He was really mad, but I noticed that he was injured. He was in pain, shock and disbelief he had been wounded. He went toward me, muttering greek curses. Then something stopped him from going to me. The darkness lifted and Ares was stunned. Then his body began to glow, Annabeth said, "Percy, Don't watch him!" I turned away as the God turned into his true immortal form. I somehow knew that if I looked, I would disintegrate into ashes. I looked back and Ares was gone. Then Mrs. Dodds said, "We saw the whole thing, so it truly was not you, Live well Percy Jackson. Become a true hero." Then they disappeared. Now it was time to go. I told Annabeth and Grover that we had to go to New York and fast. Today, was a very weird day, especially fighting Ares.

Chapter 19:We Found Out The Truth, Sort Of

Imagine the largest concert crowd you have ever seen, for example, a football field packed with a million fans. Now imagine a stadium a million times bigger with the stadium filled with people, the all of a sudden the electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, just complete darkness. Well if you can picture of that, now you know the Fields of Asphodel looked like. The black grass had been trampled on by a lot of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might have been a bank of storm clouds, except for this wickedly pointed needle all over the ceiling. I tried not to think they'd fall on us at any moment, but everywhere on the field were several that had fallen and penetrated themselves in the black grass. Anyways, We tried to blend in with the crowd, keeping a look out for security ghosts. I couldn't help looking for familiar faces that have came to the Underworld, but the ghosts were hard to look at. All of their faces shimmered, and they all looked slightly angry and confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sounded like bats twittering. You might think that the dead is scary, but they actually aren't, they are just sad. We kept walking following the line of new arrivals that sneaked in from the main gates toward a black tented pavilion with a banner that read: JUDGEMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION. Under the line it said, Welcome Newly Deceased!

One light coming from the right side of the judgement pavilion was much better, the line led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls, almost like a gated community, I think it was the happiest part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history. In the middle of that valley was a blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. It looked like it was a place for heroes. We kind of did a tour around the Underworld and everything looked depressing except for the place for heroes.

While we were walking, we heard Grover yelp. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth, then he landed flat on his back in the grass. Annabeth told Grover to stop fooling around, but the shoes were doing it by themselves. He was going down the hill so fast. I was sure Grover was going to go straight through the gates of Hades palace, but his shoes did a sharp right turn, then the slope got steeper, Grover picked up even more speed. Annabeth grabbed me and we went chasing after Grover. We told Grover to hold on to something so he could stop moving, well, while he was sliding down, his left shoe hit a rock, and went flying away, which left him with only the right shoe. Grover was able to stop himself by holding onto a rock and using it as an anchor. Me and Annabeth collapsed from exhaustion, Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. Then I heard something coming out from the darkness, the sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far below us. Annabeth started to hear the noise too, she said, "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus." I uncapped Riptide. The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, but then the voice started to fade away, just for a moment, before resuming its words. The words sounded even older than Greek. As if it was magic. Annabeth said, "We have to get out of here!" Me and Annabeth had to pull Grover to his hooves and started to back up the tunnel. But my legs wouldn't move fast enough, because my backpack pulled me down. Then all of a sudden, the voice got louder and angrier behind us, I got so scared that I ran out of there. A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, almost like something was trying to inhale us, and I think something was not too happy we had gotten away. Grover asked us, "What was that?" "Probably one of Hades pets." Annabeth said. Everything seemed to be fine, so I uncapped my sword, and put the pen back in my pocket. I asked Grover, "Can you walk?" He said, "Yeah I'm fine, I never liked those shoes anyway."

The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two story-tall bronze gates stood wide open. Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Some pictures were from modern times, an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with soldiers wearing gas masks and many more. Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I have ever seen. It had multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird looking plants that grew without sunlight. Then we passed by the garden of Persephone, "Keep walking." Annabeth said. I knew why she wanted to keep walking. The tart smell from those pomegranates were really tempting, they smelled really good, but if we ate Underground food we would never get out of the Underworld. I spotted Grover trying to grab one, big juicy one, so I pulled him away. We walked up the steps of the palace and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected light. When I looked up, there was no ceiling, just the cavern roof. Every side doorway was, at least one guard guarding the doorway. Anyways, we knocked at the front door. The room inside looked like the place in my dream, except this time the throne of Hades was actually occupied. He was the third God I met, he looked like he was ten feet tall, and he dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. Hades's Aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. Finally, he spoke, "You are brave to come here, son of Poseidon. After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish." My fingers felt really numb, tempted to just lie down and take a little nap at Hades's feet. I could curl up and sleep here forever. I fought the feeling by moving forward. I said, "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests, You give Zeus back his master bolt, and Charon wants a little raise." Then Hades rejected my requests, and said, "You, Percy, you have stolen the master bolt on the winter solstice, your precious father is keeping you a little secret, and you also stole my Helm of Darkness." "Wait, your Helm of Darkness is missing also?" Annabeth interrupted. "You and your satyr friend have been helping this hero, coming here and threatening me!" I said, "I had nothing to do with the Helm of Darkness!" I felt really offended by those words, Zeus and Hades think I stole the master bolt and the Helm of Darkness. I insisted Hades for the Master bolt, but he told me that I was the one that already possesses the master bolt. He told me it was in my backpack, I wondered why it was so heavy, so I opened it and there it was, the Master Bolt was actually there, I was shocked, I had the Master bolt the whole time. Wait, if the Master Bolt was in this Backpack, then Ares was probably the one that tricked me and the Gods. I tried to explain to Hades, but the Soldiers aimed their weapons right at us. Then Hades took out a ball of Gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of me, and there was my mother frozen in the shower of gold. Hades would only let her go if I returned his Helm. There was only one choice to get out of here and bring the Master bolt back to Zeus at Olympus. I handed one pearl to Annabeth and Grover and I told them what to do with it. I said bye to my mother and told Hades that I was going to bring his Helm back. Then I screamed, "Now Guys!" We smashed the pearls at our feet, for a moment nothing happened. Hades yelled, "Destroy them!" We started running away, and we were in our bubbles. That was the power of the pearls, I was scared that the Sharp stalactites would pop the bubble. We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and we were back on land. Well, now I have to go to Olympus, give Zeus the Master Bolt and tell him the Truth, oh, and I forgot one thing, The Helm of Darkness.

Chapter 18: Annabeth Does Obedience School

We stood there on Valencia Boulevard, looking up at the gold letters etched in black marble DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and it looked like there was a lot of people inside. Behind the security desk was a tough looking guard. I turned to Annabeth and Grover and said, "Okay, You remember the plan." We walked inside the DOA lobby. Muzak played softly on the hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were gray. There were cactuses in the corners, which was kind of scary because from a far distance they looked like skeleton bones. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people stnading, sitting and even staring out the windows. Nobody moved or talked, I could see them all just fine, but if I stare at them for a long time they start looking transparent,like I could see right through their bodies.The security guard's desk was a raised podium so we had to look up at him. I read his name tag then I looked at him, "Your name is Chiron?" Then the guard leaned forward and told me what it really said. The guard sounded like he had a british accent, his name was actually Charon. After he told me his name he asked what we were doing here. Annabeth said, "We want to go to the Underworld." He looked over at us again and asked us, "How did you guys die, then?" Grover said, "We drowned in a bath tub, a really big bathtub." It looked like he believed us and asked us if we had any coins to the Underworld. I set three golden drachmas on the counter, but his fingers hovered greedily over the coins, we were so close to getting in. Then Charon looked at me and sniffed me. He said, "You're not dead, you're a godling." "We have to get to the Underworld." I insisted. Charon made a small growling noice in his throat. He didn't let us go in, he was about to grab the coins but I grabbed them just in time. "No service, no tip." I said. So I took out a bag full of drachmas and spilled out the coins on the desk. Charon's growl now turned into a lion's purr, then he asked us how many we had in the bag. He really wanted everything in the bag, so he let us in into the Underworld. I told him that I would ask Hades to give him a raise. Then he escorted us to elevator and pushed the crowd of waiting spirits. The elevator was already filled with souls of the dead. The people in the lobby actually stay there for almost centuries until they are allowed to go to the Underworld.

I got a sudden dizzy feeling. We weren't going down anymore, we were going forward. The air turned misty. The spirits around me started changing shape, their clothes turned into grey hooded robes. The floor of the elevator began swaying. I blinked hard, and when I opened them Charon's clothes became a long black robe, when I blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore, it was a wooden barge. Charon was poling us across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other strange things. It was the River Styx, but the river was so polluted. Charon said, "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you came across, like hopes dreams, and wishes that never came true. I found myself muttering a prayer, but I wasn't quite sure who I was praying to, because down here the only God that matters is Hades. The shoreline of the Underworld came into view, it looked like we were getting closer. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand was everywhere. Charon told us about this three face dog that was really hungry, and I think I knew what he meant by hungry. So we got off the boat and followed the spirits up a well worn path. Now I know what Charon was talking about when he said that the three faced dog is hungry. It was Cerberus, that was the three headed dog name, but he was no where to be found. We kept walking until we discovered a lot of things in the Underworld, then we finally fond the dog. I took a big stick out of my backpack and tried to play with the dog, but it just satyed there growling at us. Grover said, "The dog looks very hungry, maybe we should walk away!" Then Annabeth told it to sit, the dog sat down and followed what Annabeth said. She threw a ball at the dog and the middle head caught the ball. "Good boy." Said Annabeth. Then she told us to go through the EZ death line, Annabeth distracted the monster, and me and Grover started running away. Annabeth wiped a tear off her cheek as she listened to the mornful keening of Cerberus in the distance, waiting for its new friend. Well, I kind of learned something today, that even here in the Underworld everybody even monsters needed a little attention once in a while.

Chapter 17:We Shop For Water Beds

This was Annabeth idea. She took us into the back of a Vegas taxi as if we actually had money, to go on a taxi. Then she told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."The driver was just sitting there chewing his cigar. Then he said, "That's three hundred miles from here, that means you guys have to pay me a lot of money." Annabeth asked, "Do you accept casino debit cards?" The driver said, " If they were the same as credit cards, I will take it," Annabeth handed the driver her LotusCash card. The driver looked unsure of what it was, so he swiped the card and his meter machine started rattling. The lights started flashing. Then, an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign. The driver was in shock, with his eyes open wide, then he said, "Where to in Los Angeles, uh, your highness?" "The Santa Monica Pier." Annabeth said strongly. Annabeth seemed to like the, "Your Highness" thing that the driver said. Annabeth told the driver to get us there as fast as possible. The taxi's speedometer never dipped below ninety five the whole way through the desert.

On the road, we had so much time to talk to each other. I told Annabeth and Grover about the latest dream I had. The Lotus Casino seemed to have wrecked my memory, because I don't remember anything about what the invisible voice said to me. Then Annabeth told me that my dream could have taken place at Hades. "Well, the place didn't look like it was Hades place." I said. Then Grover said,"That's usually the way they describe it." We kept arguing about the thing, until we passed wasteland, and we saw a sign that said California State Line, 12 Miles. I got this weird feeling that I was missing one simple, important piece of information. It was like when I stared at a common word I should know, but I couldn't' make sense of it, because some letters were floating around the place. Well, the more I thought about my quest, the more I was sure that facing Hades wasn't the real answer to everything. The problem was that, we were driving toward the Underworld at almost Ninety five miles an hour, thinking that Hades was the one who stole the master bolt. If we got there and found out it wasn't Hades who stole the master bolt, we wouldn't have time to look for the real person who stole the master bolt.

At sunset, we finally arrived at the beach of Santa Monica there were carnival rides lining the pier, palm trees lining the side walks. There were also homeless people sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the right time to surf. Grover, Annabeth and I walked down the beach. Annabeth asked, "What now?". I asked myself this question while we were walking, "How could I be the son of someone that powerful?" Then, I stepped into the water, Annabeth was trying to stop me, but I didn't listen I kept going and going until the water reached my head. I held my breath at first, everyone knows that it is really difficult to inhale water, actually it's impossible. Finally, I couldn't stand holding my breath anymore, so I gasped, I started breathing normally again. Then I walked down a little farther, somehow I could tell where everything was on the ocean floor, I felt something rub against my leg, I looked down and it was a five foot long mako shark. The weird thing was it didn't try to attack me, it was like my own dog. I tried to touch its dorsal fin, it bucked a little, but it was trying to tell me to hold tighter.I grabbed the fin with both hands, then it took off, with me holding on, the shark was carried me down into the darkness, then it let me go. When I let go, I saw something glimmering in the darkness, and the thing grew bigger and brighter as it went closer to me. Then I heard a woman's voice, almost like my mother's, it called out "Percy Jackson, you have come this far. Well done." The lady was the lady I saw in the Mississippi River." Then she told me she was the spirit of the sea, the naiads, her underwater cousins helped sustain her life force. She told me things about Poseidon and how he doesn't show himself to me. Then she went away.

I went back up to the shore with Annabeth and Grover waiting for me. With spare change from the money Ares gave us, we took the bus into West Hollywood. I showed the driver the Underworld address, but the driver never heard of the place. Then he said, "You remind me about this person I saw on TV, I tried to thing of something to tell the driver, so I said, "I'm a stunt double, for a lot of child actors. Good thing the driver believed me. We thanked him and got off on the next stop. We looked for the place for hours and hours, we tried to ask the people if they knew where the place was, but nobody seemed to know. We also had to hide in alleys because we had to avid the police cars. One time, I froze in front of an appliance store window because a television was playing an interview with a familiar face, my step dad, Smelly Gabe. He was talking to Barbara Walters. She talked to him about me and it seemed like Smelly Gabe was lying. I wasn't so happy about the interview, though. So we kept walking until we met these kids that surrounded us on the side walk. I uncapped Riptide. Once, their leader got closer to me I made the mistake of swinging. The kid was a full mortal, because the blade went right through the kid's chest. He was shocked, and he was really angry, so we ran away from them until we lost them. Then when we ran into the store called CRUSTY"S WATER BED PALACE, a man who looked like the owner of the store. He asked us if we wanted a water bed, we didn't want to say no, so we just followed him. He gave us a lot of deals that we could buy but we didn't want it, anyways we didn't even have enough money. Then Crusty held Annabeth and Grover and tied them to a water bed. He said that they need to be six feet tall so that they could fit the water bed. Well, things were not looking so good because he started stretching them. His name wasn't actually Crusty, it was Procrustes. They were screaming, "What are you doing Percy, come help us!" I uncapped Riptide and when I swung the sword Crusty stopped giving us deals. Then I cut the ropes and set Annabeth and Grover free. We left the shop, and went looking for the entrance to the Underworld.

Chapter 16: We Take A Zebra To Vegas

Ares was waiting for us in the diner parking lot. He said, "Well, well, you didn't get yourself killed," I said "But you knew it was a trap. Then he gave me a wicked grin. I shoved the shield at him and said "You're a jerk." Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. The shield changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. "See that truck over there?" Ares pointed to the eighteen wheeler parked across the street from the diner. Then he said " That's your ride, it will take you to L.A, with one stop in Vegas." On the back of the eighteen wheeler, there was a sign that said Kindness International: Humane Zoo Transport. Warning: Live Wild Animals. "You're kidding." I said. Then when Ares snapped his fingers, the back door of the truck opened. "Stop complaining," Ares said and Ares gave us blue bag, inside there were fresh clothes for us, twenty bucks in cash, pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double stuff Oreos. I was going to tell Ares that I didn't need his stuff, but then Grover interrupted, and said "Thank You, Lord Ares. It was probably a really bad insult to refuse something from a God, but I didn't want to accept his things. Anyways, I slung the backpack over my shoulder. I still wanted to punch Ares, I just couldn't stop the feeling. The funny thing was that, Ares reminded me about every bully I faced, and all the jerk's that called me stupid when I got expelled. When I looked back at the diner, I noticed the waitress who had served us dinner was watching us nervously, almost like she was afraid that Ares was going to hurt us or something. Then the waitress took out a disposable camera and took a picture of us. Great, I bet those pictures will be at the front pages of the newspapers. I just remembered, I told Ares that he owes me the information about my mother, then Ares said "You sure you can handle the news, she's not dead." Then he left on his motorcycle. Annabeth said to me, "That was not smart." "I don't care." I said. Grover interrupted us and pointed toward the diner, it was the two men that were going to drive the truck, "If we're going to take the zoo express, we need to hurry." I didn't like Ares idea, but it was the only good idea, we ran across the street and climbed on the back of the big truck.

The very first thing that bothered me was the horrible smell. It smelled like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. The trailer was really dark inside until I uncapped anaklusmos, and there was light everywhere. Then someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a hamburger meat. Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around the small space he had. Grover yelled "This is kindness?" I could tell that Grover wanted to go outside and beat the drivers up with his reed pipes. Then we thought about splitting up and helping the animals feel better. I found a water jug and refilled all the animals bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the tulips to the zebra and antelope. In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions, then Grover said "I should have told you the truth from the beginning, I thought if you knew that I was a failure, you wouldn't want me to be with you," I tried to cheer him up by telling him, "You were the satyr that tried to save Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." And I thing that cheered him up a bit. But, Grover still thought about what happened to Thalia, me and Annabeth tried to cheer Grover up, but it wasn't working, he was still guilty about everything. We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip, and the lion licked the last bit of the hamburger meat, then he looked at me happily. Then I saw Annabeth rubbing her necklace like she was thinking deep strategic thoughts. I asked her what she was doing, but she didn't seem to know what she was doing, but it looked like she was thinking about her parents. I told her to write a small letter to her dad and she thought it was a good idea. I was going to tell Annabeth something but then, when I looked at her, she was asleep. So, I closed my eyes trying to sleep.

While I was sleeping I had another nightmare, and it looked like the same nightmares that I had always had before, all I remember was that I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket. The other kids that I saw were going out for recess, and the teacher kept telling me to pick up my pencil and start writing. Then, I think the dream strayed from the usual, I know that I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. Somehow I know who that girl was, it was the daughter of Zeus, Thalia, she looked like she was really frustrated, and she was trying to get out of the straitjacket. Then the straitjacket melted off me, and I fell on the classroom floor, The teacher's voice changed until it was an evil voice telling me all sorts of things, she started threatening me, until I suddenly woke up. Grover was shaking my shoulder telling me that the truck stopped, then the trailer doors opened and we hurried somewhere to hide at. Then the two people went in and they were talking about sawing the animals in half. Grover told me that, the lion said the two people were animal smugglers, Grover told us "We need to get the animals out of here!" But I thought "How are going to do that?" So Grover used his animal language and tried to communicate with the animals. So, we got all the animals and started running away from the two drivers at the right time, A good thing was that the police started chasing the two smugglers. Then we freed the other animals that were in the trailer. We kept running until we made it to Las Vegas. But, I think we took the wrong turn because we found ourselves at a dead end standing in front of Lotus Hotel and Casino. There was some weird things in the hotel, the lobby was a giant game room, with old arcade games in it. Then we checked it and the man told us to go to room 4001, the man also gave us LotusCash cards, they work for everything in the Hotel. Then after we settled in our hotel rooms, we went for a little tour around the hotel. Well, things were a little weird, I asked people what year it was and people said random years, like 1977, another said 1993, another said 1985. I was kind of getting scared about everything that is happening right now. but I wished it wasn't true. I called Annabeth and told her that we had to leave because it feels like a trap to me. But she was so in to everything she didn't want to leave. Until she realized it was a trap, she asked "How long have we been here?" Then we started running, looking for Grover. Grover was playing a video game, I told him everything that was happening, then I ran to the nearest newspaper stand, and looked at the date. Good thing it was the same year, until I looked at the date, it was June 20. We had been at the Hotel for five days! That means that we only had one more day to our Quest! How were we supposed to finish our Quest Now!

Chapter 15:A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers

Dear Journal,





The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the summer solstice, our train finally rolled into Denver. We hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car. We hadn't even taken a shower since we left Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth wanted to call Chiron about what was happening, I said "We can't use phones, right." She said "I'm not talking about phones." Annnabeth was looking for something for half an hour, and we wandered through downtown. The air was dry and hot, it kind of felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Anyways, everywhere we looked at, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be watching me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city. Finally, we found an empty car wash place, we walked toward the farthest stall from the street so that no patrol cars could find us. I asked them what we were doing at the car wash stall, Annabeth said " I-M-ing" I thought she was talking about Instant Messaging, but she corrected me and she said it was Iris messaging. The rainbow Goddess carries messages for the Gods. Then Grover took out a spray gun and gave to Annabeth. Annabeth fed in quarters and sprayed it in the air. The water broke out into colours. Annabeth threw a Drachma into the mist and the coin disappeared in a golden shimmer. For a moment , nothing happened. Then I was looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island sound in the distance. Then I saw Luke standing there, holding a bronze sword. I called out his name he turned around and screamed "Percy!" We asked him where Chiron was and Luke said that he was down at the cabins. Luke said that there were issues going on with the other campers. Just then a big Lincoln continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum volume. As the car went into the next stall the bass from the sub woofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.



Then Annabeth wanted to stop the car's loud music, so she grabbed Grover and went to the guy's car. Which left me by myself and Luke. So, I asked Luke what was happening at the cabins. Luke said "Chiron had to break up a fight." Then Luke told me everything that is happening at the camp. Well, things weren't going too good since we left the camp. There have been fights going on just because of the Zeus-Poseidon incident. Then I told him pretty much everything about our quest, including my dreams, it felt really good to see him again I felt like I was back at home. I didn't realize how long I talked to him until the beeper went off on the spray machine. Luke told me "I wish I could be there," then he wished me good luck and the mist started to evaporate. Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing but then they stopped when they looked at my face, Annabeth asked me what happened, but I tried to change the subject, by saying "Come on let's look for dinner." A few minutes later, we were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. Around us were families eating burgers, and drinking malts and sodas. Finally the waitress asked us what we wanted but when she asked if we had money, we totally forgot that we didn't have money. Annabeth looked like she was going to pass out from hunger. I was going to tell her a fake story so that we could have free food, but then a rumble shook the building, a motorcycle had pulled up to the curb. Everyone in the diner had stopped talking and looked at the motorcycle that had pulled over to the curb. The guy on the bike looked like he could scare pro wrestlers really easily. As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. Then everyone in the diner went back to their conversations, just like nothing happened. The waitress said to us again "Do you kids have any money to pay for the food." Then the biker went into our booth and said "It's on me." I had this weird feeling, I wanted to punch the guy, what does he think he is. Then he introduced himself to us, he was actually the God of war, or Clarisse's dad, Ares. Ares talked to me about me breaking Clarisse's spear, I just sat there saying nothing. Then we talked for so long, until he talked about my mother. I wondered did he really know something about my mother.Then we went on this love ride that shows a camera at Olympus, everything was so clear, I was so amazed, until we crashed into a pipe. I thought we needed to talk to Ares again, about our problem.

Chapter 14:I Become A Known Fugitive

Dear Journal,

Things weren't going so well when I was in the river. The river raced toward me at a fast speed, the wind ripped the breath from my lungs, All the tall buildings and skyscrapers tumbled in and out of my vision. And then a whiteout of bubbles. I was sure I was going to sink down a hundred feet all the way to the bottom. My impact with the water didn't hurt at all. I was falling slowly now, and the bubbles were trickling through my fingers, then I settled down carefully on the river floor. A lot of disgusting garbage were all around me, beer bottles, old shoes, and plastic bags. But I realized two things, first I wasn't flattened down into a pancake. I couldn't even feel the Chimera poison boiling in my veins anymore, it was a good thing I was alive. Second I wasn't wet, I could feel the coolness of the water. I could see everything that happened to me, healing. But when I touched my own shirt, it felt perfectly dry. Then I saw a lighter that passed by with all the garbage. I flicked the lighter, it sparked, a tiny flame appeared, in the middle of the ocean. It was so weird! There, not five feet in front of me was my sword, I thought I lost it! Then I heard a woman's voice saying to me, "Percy take the sword. Your father believes in you. I knew the voice wasn't in my head or imagining it, her words seemed to come from everywhere. Then I saw the woman in the water almost like a ghost, I wanted to ask a lot of questions but she went away.

Then I came ashore next to a floating McDonald's. A block away I could see every emergency vehicle in St. Louis surrounding the arch. There were even police helicopters in the air, and circled over top of the arch. As I got out of the water, I started thinking about Grover and Annabeth if they were okay. Then I heard a familiar voice bleating, "Percy" I turned around and got tackled by Grover. They thought I went down to the Underworld the hard way. There was one reporter that found out who I was and what my name is. I was kind of scared being known by other people, they might try to find me. Then Grover told us, "First things first, we got to get out of here. Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted by the police. We got on board just before the train pulled out of Denver. The train went west as darkness fell, police lights still flashing behind us. We almost got caught by the police!

Chapter 13:I Plunge To My Death

Dear Journal,





We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through the hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain. It's good we weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. I felt that we were being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity. I tried to keep a low profile because I was all over the front pages of newspapers. One newspaper had a picture of me, with a sword in my hands. I read the picture's caption beside it and it said, "Twelve year old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be travelling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture." After I read this I was really worried that the Police might find me. "Don't worry, Mortal police could never find us." But she didn't look so sure of it.

The rest of the day I spent the whole time pacing the whole length of the train because I had a really hard time trying to sit down, or I just spent my time looking out the window. There were so many things that I saw when I looked out the window, once I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted for lunch. The little boy centaur, who looked like the size of a second grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I looked around the train, but nobody else had noticed the centaurs. Another time, toward evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I knew it was a lion moving through the woods, but lions don't live wild in America., and the animal was the size of a hummer. Our reward money for returning Gladiola was only enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. We couldn't get a place to sleep in the sleeping car, so we just stayed in our seats and slept. Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking me up, he did this so many times that his fake foot fell off and we had to put it back before the other passengers noticed it. After me and Annabeth finished putting the fake leg back on she talked about her childhood and how she got into Camp Half-Blood. Her life was really complicated, and it was kind of sad of where she had to go through.

Toward the end of our second day on the train, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi river into St. Louis. We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and I wasn't feeling so good. Then we ran into a fat lady that had a chihuahua. Something was weird about the chihuahua, it kept growling at us, even when the fat lady told the dog to be quiet. The dog looked to be very vicious and I was kinda thinking it was a monster. The dog kept barking and barking until one boy came up and said "Look a dog!" Then the dog's bark became a roar. The little boy screamed and went away to his parents. The dog changed into a chimera and it was so tall! It's back rubbed against the roof. It's head was the size of a lion, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail. Even the fat lady changed, Echidna was a snake lady. I had to face a fire breathing monster and its mother. They took my sword out and it went all the way in the water. Then Echidna told told me that if I was the son of the sea God she wouldn't harm. I had no choice but to jump in and retrieve my sword, it was actually a bad idea. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere!

Chapter 12: We Get Advice From A Poodle

We were really miserable the next day. We had to camp out in the woods, a hundred yards away from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was full of garbage, such as flattened soda cans and fast food wrappers. We took some food and blankets from Aunty Em's so that we could actually live during the night. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract any more monsters, so we decided to sleep in shifts. I volunteered to take watch first. Annabeth and Grover slept while I watched them. Grover was scared that something might come out and attack us, so I told Grover that I will wake them up if there is trouble. But Grover didn't want to sleep, so he told me to look at the sky and he said " This makes me sad. Look at the ground and the sky. You can't even see the stars. They have polluted the sky. This is a bad time to be a satyr." Then he told me something about a Great God named Pan. At first I thought he was talking about Pam, the cooking spray. Well, Pan was the lord and master of the Satyr's and one day someone screamed that the God, Pan, was dead. Since then, all Satyr's have been looking for him but no one was successful to find him. Grover said he wanted to be the first searcher to come back alive. I asked him "Why the first?" Then he said " No searcher has ever came back alive.

After a while, I started to think about what Medusa said to me, that I was being used by the Gods, I tried to forget about it, so I told Grover that I didn't care about the master bolt, I just wanted to go down to the underworld and see my mom again. I was thinking about my mom again, I started to feel a little sad. Grover had his reed pipes with him and he was playing Mozart, soft and sweet, I fell asleep. In my dreams, I stood in a dark cavern before a gaping pit. Grey mist creatures were all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I think were the spirits of the dead. They tugged my clothes, trying to pull me back. I felt like I knew I had to walk forward to the very end of the chasm. I felt dizzy when I looked down the pit. The pit was really wide and completely black, I knew it must be bottomless. Then I heard voices all around me. The voices wee scaring me until I felt someone shaking me, It was Annabeth and it was daylight. I was trembling from the dream. I could still feel the grip of the chasm monster around my chest. I asked Annabeth "How long was I asleep?" "Long enough for me to cook breakfast." Then she threw me a bag of nachos from Aunty Em's snack bar. I looked for Grover, he was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with something fuzzy in his lap. It looked like a dirty, unnaturally pink stuffed animal. Wait, it wasn't a stuffed toy, it was real, it was a pink poodle. I was scared, it might have been another monster looking for us. But, Grover said "No. It's not a monster, his name was Gladiola, and she ran away from her rich family. Grover could talk to animals, so he asked him where to go. Grover said "Gladiola says to go to the to an Amtrack station half a mile away." According to Gladiola, the west bound train leaves at noon. It was kind of weird listening to a poodle, but I knew it was the only to get out of the woods.

Chapter 11: We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium

Dear Journal,

If you think about it, it's nice to know there are Greek Gods out there because you have somebody to blame when something goes wrong. For example, when you are walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by three old monster hags, getting struck by lightning, and its raining on top of everything else. Most people think that this is bad luck, when you are a half blood. So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey river bank. Grover was shivering so much, that his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. I was pretty much in shock of what happened. Everything came back to me, the explosion of the bus windows still rang in my ears. I wanted to go back and get all our money, clothes and everything else, but Annabeth kept pulling us, saying, "Come on! The farther away we get, the better. What was I going to do now? I didn't have any clothes, any money, and the Ambrosia squares to eat when we were seriously hurt, really bad. We kept on walking and walking, We even sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.After tripping and cursing and literally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead, almost like the colours of a neon sign. I could even smell food. Fried, greasy excellent food. I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill. There we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra lean cut barbeque. I knew what I needed to eat, a yummy double cheeseburger.

We kept walking until we saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed down gas station, an old billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the place where I smelt the yummy food. Well, it wasn't a fast food restaurant liked I expected it to be. The neon sign was kind of hard for me to read or impossible to read. It said ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM. I asked Grover what the sign meant and he said "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." At the front entrance there were two cement garden gnomes, and they were smiling and waving looking like they were about to have their picture taken. When we were about to go in, a tall Middle Eastern woman, well, at least I thought she was. The lady said, "Children it is too late to be out alone. Where are your parents?" We couldn't think of anything to say, so I told her we were orphans and that we got separated from our circus caravan. She let us inside, and there, the smell was relaxing me, I was so hungry, I walked inside looking like an idiot. Anyways, I noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, and he looked like he was scared of the other garden gnomes. Aunty Em led us to a table, so that we could eat. I couldn't wait for the food! Then a hostess brought us plastic trays full of double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of french fries. They looked so mouthwatering! Then Aunty Em sat with us, just staring at us, while eating. It was kind of weird eating with someone that was staring at you. I tried to do something, so I asked her everything about her and her store. Her stories were interesting to me. Then she asked if we could have a photo with her, so we said yes. But, when she backed up she had a cement centaur beside her. Grover said "That looks like Uncle Ferdinand." He took a closer look and he said "That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Annabeth screamed "Look away from her!" She took her invisible cap on and she pushed us off the bench. Then I heard a rasping sound above me. I looked above and Aunty Em's hands turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails. I was about to look up even more but then Annabeth screamed at me "No! Don't!" More rasping. It sounded like tiny snakes, at about Aunty Em's head would be. "RUN!" Grover screamed and he ran to the gravel field trying to kick start his flying sneakers.

Then I looked up, but I looked at the mirror on the left side of her. I saw her dark reflection on the mirror and her hair was moving like they were serpents or snakes. She turned into Medusa, and she said "Annabeth's mother did this to me! the cursed Athena!" She told that I should be turned into a statue, and not go with the Gods. I wanted to run away but my legs didn't let me. I didn't know what to do, until Annabeth told me that I had to slice Medusa's head off. So, I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade grew right in front of me. I swung my sword randomly and I sliced her head off. The head landed right in front of me, I felt like throwing up. After that, We ran away from the store, but I remembered something. I went back to Medusa's office and In the cash register I found twenty dollars and everything else that we lost at the bus. I was relieved! We had everything back except clothing.

Chapter 10:I Ruin A Perfectly Good Bus

Dear Journal,

It didn't take me a long time to pack my things. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, so I only brought an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me. The camp store gave me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. The coins were huge! They were as big as girl scout cookies and they had images of various Greek Gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. Chiron gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. Ambrosia squares was God food, and it could heal us of almost any injury. If we had an overdose, it would burn us up literally. Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as a real human. Grover also wore his green rasta-style hat, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. When we were done packing our things, we waved good-bye to the other campers, said bye to everything else in the camp then we hiked up Half-Blood Camp, to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, the daughter of Zeus. I was really nervous about the quest, but I knew I had to do it.

Chiron and the surfer dude that was watching me in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He actually had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised about what was happening around him. Then Luke caught up to us and he gave me these shoes that had bird's wings on them. Luke also wished me and the others "Good Luck!" Then Chiron gave me an ordinary ballpoint pen that looked like the one that I used to vaporize Mrs.Dodds. "Thanks." I said. When I took off the cap the pen grew heavier and turned into a sword. Chiron said it was called, " Anaklusmos." I translated it to "Riptide." Then Chiron told me that I can never lose the pen, so I threw it really far away and it reappeared in my pocket. I was amazed! Anyways, for the first time the quest actually felt real. We were actually leaving the camp.

Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird being on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover looked like regular people when they sat beside each other. It was kind of weird for me they were just sitting there like they were normal, ordinary kids. So, in the front seat Argus kept smiling at me, and looking at me with his one blue eye on the back of his neck. Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was unset and starting to rain. Finally Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side. Then I saw a picture of me that said "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?" I ripped it out before Annabeth and Grover could see it. Argus unloaded our bags, pulled out of the parking lot and drove away. I was not comfortable when Argus left.

Finally the bus came, and we all boarded the bus. As the last passengers got on Annabeth clamped her hand onto my knee. An old lady boarded the bus, my heart skipped a beat. It was Mrs.Dodds, but older, way older. Then two other old ladies , looked exactly like Mrs.Dodds. I was starting to get really scared. They sat right at the front looking normal, but I knew one thing that they don't want anybody to leave the bus. So, the bus pulled out of the station and into the slick streets of Manhattan. I was shaking so much, I can tell that the old ladies were coming for me. Then the old ladies stood up and went down the aisle. Then Annabeth gave me her invisible hat and said, "You are the one they want,Percy. Go down the aisle and let them pass you." I was too scared but I knew I had to do it. I was free, they never saw me but I think they could smell me. But then they found Annabeth and Grover and they started to look for me. Then Annabeth took out her bronze sword and Grover took out a tin can from his back pack. They started fighting back at Annabeth and Grover, so I took off the invisible cap and I grabbed out Riptide. I swung my sword and I hit one of them, watched them turn into mist. Then there was a huge thunder bolt that hit the bus. Annabeth screamed "Get Out!" So we got out, and the bus exploded right in front of our faces. But we forgot our bags inside. I was relieved! I thought I was going to die!

Chapter 9: I am Offered A Quest

The next morning, Chiron moved me to cabin three, which is Poseidon's cabin I didn't have to share with anybody, I had plenty of room. I got to do anything I wanted to do, I sat at my own table got to pick all of the activities, and call lights out whenever I wanted to. I also didn't listen to anybody else I got to listen to myself. It was great being by myself but I felt miserable. Nobody mentioned anything about the hell hound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back. The attack scared everybody and it sent two messages: one, that I was the son of the Sea God Poseidon and two, would stop at nothing to kill me. They could even come and invade this camp that had always been safe. I noticed that the campers started to become afraid of me. Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with me after what I'd done to the Ares cabin, so my sword fighting lessons with Luke became one-on-one. The worst thing was that Luke pushed me harder than ever and he wasn't afraid of bruising me up in the process. Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted, because every time I tried to say something she would scowl at me. Then after the Greek lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself, almost like she had a lot in her mind. One thing that was really surprising was that even Clarisse kept her distance too. But her evil looks made it clear that she wanted to kill me or something. I know somebody at camp that made me mad, because one night when I came into my cabin I found a mortal news paper dropped inside the doorway. It was talking about the car crash that involved me and my mom. The article took me almost an hour to read, because it made me really angry.

That night I had my worst dream yet. I remembered I was walking down a beach in a big storm. There was a city behind, and it was not New York. It was somewhere else that I didn't know. Then I saw two people in Greek clothing fighting over something, like they were kindergarten students. Then I woke up. When I woke up, a storm was brewing, then I heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in!" I screamed. It was Grover, he told me that Mr.D wanted to see me. I was really nervous, because Grover seemed to be nervous. I think they want to talk to me about the storm because the storm hasn't been this big before. Anyways, When me and Grover went up the porch and went in the big house, Mr.D seemed to be really mad at me almost like he wanted to kill me. He kept saying all these things to me until Chiron stopped him. Then Chiron dropped his cards and said to me " Will you accept your quest?" I said "But I never got the details yet." "Well, That's the hard part." Then I told them if it was Poseidon and Zeus fighting over something really valuable, after I said that, Grover and Chiron looked at each other. Chiron said "Well you are right Percy, They are fighting over something really valuable that was stolen, to be precise a lightning bolt. I laughed a little bit and said "What?" "It is Zeus' master bolt." he said. "And they think you stole it." I was shocked. Then he continued to tell me everything about the problem with the Gods right now. Then Chiron told me to go up in the attic and talk to the oracle. Anyways, I went up to the attic and there was something there that looked like a snake's head. Then it said I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker and ask. So I asked it "What is my destiny?" All of a sudden, mist swirled thickly until it became clearer, it was smelly Gabe and his buddies. Gabe turned towards me and said "You shall go west, and face the God who has turned, then You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned, then you shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters the most." Then the mist just disappeared. I am finally on to my quest and two people with come with me on my quest. Grover and Annabeth.