Annabeth Chase and the Lightning Thief

Chapter 38 - I return home in one piece

I knew that mortals were stupid, but I didn't realise they were that stupid.

According to the press, Percy Jackson wasn't a delinquent criminal after all. It was his crazy captor (Ares) who'd done all those horrible things, like blowing up the Greyhound bus, the St Louis Arch and the scene outside the diner.

He was a victim after all, dragged across country on the road trip to hell. It was all Ares's fault, who had managed to blow up the police car by firing his shot gun at a gas main leakage. Brave, misguided Percy Jackson managed to save himself and his two scared friends by battling their captor shotgun on rifle, only for the captor to get away in the wake of the explosion. It was all so simple.

The reporters told us what happened, pointing their cameras at our faces and we played at being victimized kids, acting tearful and exhausted. Percy was a star.

"All I want," he said, choking back tears, "is to see my loving stepfather again. Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk, I knew . . . somehow . . . we would be okay. And I know he'll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. Here's the phone number."

Grover and I merely had to wipe away tears and turn sorrowful eyes on the reporters and they were hooked. They passed around a hat and managed to rake up enough money for us to get three plane tickets.

Being a daughter of Athena, who is, in turn, a daughter of Zeus, I've never had any issue with flying. And I've seen many people terrified of flying, but Percy takes the prize. He went so pale he looked like a spirit, his hands clutching the armrests so tight, I thought they'd snap (either his hands or the armrests - I wasn't sure which was more breakable).

There was an army of reporters and camera crew waiting for us at the airport when we touched down, but I managed to steer them away thanks to my cap.

"They're over by the frozen yogurt!" I would yell, running airing invisibly. "Come on!" I lead them through in a dance all through the airport and when they were thoroughly lost, I met Percy and Grover back at the baggage claim.

That's where Percy decided to split from us. Although I protested, I could see from where he was coming from. It was his quest after all. He had to see it through. He didn't need Grover and I for the last part. Besides, we had to get back to Chiron and tell him what was happening. Otherwise, he'd be fretting about a war that will hopefully be stopped once Percy delivered the master bolt to Olympus.

Despite that, I still wasn't happy to see him go. We'd been through so much, fighting side by side, depending on each other to survive. And there was no guarantee that he'd come back from the gods alive. He was a child of the Big Three, a child that was not meant to be born. The gods might decide he was a liability and decide to kill him.

As much as he irritated me, I didn't want him to die.

I watched him hop into a taxi with mixed feelings, anxiety battling weariness and finality. There was nothing more I could do, but I didn't feel relaxed. Not when I rang Chiron and organized for Argus to pick Grover and I up. Not even when I finally walked up Half-Blood Hill and saw the hidden valley spread out before me. I was relieved and grateful to finally be back at home, but until Percy returned, the quest wasn't over.

As soon as I walked through the borders, I found Chiron and told him all about the quest, leaving out nothing. I made sure to especially describe the pit and what happened on the beach to break up Percy and Ares's fight.

"It was Kronos, wasn't it?" I asked, looking hard at Chiron.

"We don't know that for sure, child," he answered, but I knew him too well for that. He never could keep secrets from me. His face was like an open book, and on it I could see that he knew it was Kronos. The king of the Titans was rising once more.