Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1 : The Lightning Thief - MISSING SCENES

The Zombie Lives (Between Chapters 12 & 13)

"Well, the zombie lives"

Grover looked up to see Percy, who had just been awoken by Annabeth. He couldn't mistake the shaken expression on the young boy's face or the anxiety radiating off of him, but he said nothing at that moment. They had to deal with this poodle first.

And so, they did. They returned the poodle to its owners and got the money in return, then made their way to the Amtrak station. They knew this would probably burn two days off of their quest, and that obviously wasn't good, but it had to be done. Besides, it easily beat a bus both in safety and in speed.

Annabeth clocked out as soon as they all settled. The girl hadn't properly slept in a while, so the ride was a perfect time to try and catch up. Percy was also quite exhausted but he couldn't fall asleep. No, he knew that he'd probably just get another nightmare of what was to come, and for all he knew they could be visions of the future.

"Percy, did you have a bad dream last night?" Grover suddenly asked, pulling the young demigod out of his thoughts. "What?" Percy asked, having not fully heard the question due to his attention issues. "Last night, did you have a bad dream?" Grover asked again, patient as ever. Percy was confused by the question until he remembered that Grover could read emotions.

"Yes, I did" Percy replied cautiously, avoiding eye contact with the satyr. "Do you want to talk about it?" Grover asked gently, his tone serving as reassurance that Percy didn't need to talk about it if he didn't want to. This reassurance brought up warm memories of his mother, who'd bake him his favorite blue cookies when he had a nightmare.

"It's kind of hard to explain and I don't really feel like explaining it" Percy responded honestly. Grover just nodded before cautiously putting an arm over his back. Percy appreciated the gesture. "Well, I'm always here if you need to talk" Grover said with a kind smile. "I appreciate that, Grover" Percy replied, finally allowing himself to relax.

For the first time since the Minotaur, he felt at peace.