Thunder and Blood

19

Annabeth

I climb aboard, taking a seat in the front. This early in the morning there is no one else on the bus, that being the case, the lady let me on for free. Which was super nice of her. I don't have anything other than drachmas to pay with, she probably would have looked at me weird if I gave her a handful of gold coins instead of dollar bills. 

I rest my head on the window, watching the trees go by as we gain speed. At some point I must have dozed off, which is only natural. I haven't slept in a while, and the Gods know I like sleep. 

I don't dream though, nothing at all. 

I awake to a light tapping on my shoulder, my eyes flutter open and I see the elderly lady standing over me. "You said you wanted to get off in Beacon Hills, correct?" 

I nod, rubbing my eye. I glance out the window, the sun has risen by now, it must be at least 7:00. I get up, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "Thank you so much ma'am, I really appreciate it."

"Anytime sweetie." She smiles, moving out of my way as I get out into the isle. Thinking back, I probably should have been more cautious. She seemed like a nice old lady at first, but so did Medusa. And look what happened with Mrs. Snake face. As I'm getting off the bus I realize that this could have gone horribly wrong, but when I look back at the old lady, she just smiles and waves. "You have a nice day now."

I wave back. "You too."

She shuts the doors, looking into the road before pulling away from the curb. I watch her leave, mad at myself for not being more careful. I should know better by now. 

I look around. It's a nice little town, with small, private owned shops and nice green areas. But God's, it's so humid. I fan myself off, starting to walk down the road. Now that I've narrowed Percy's location down, it should be easy to find him. At least I think it should be. 

I take the newspaper out of my bag, looking once more at the teenage boy on the front. Maybe if I find him, I'll find Percy. There is no way that the quest doesn't involve this Stiles kid. I'm willing to bet the rest of my drachma on it. 

I glance up, seeing a kid my age walking towards me on the street, head down and looking at his phone. "Excuse me." I say, going up to him. He looks up at me, giving me his attention. "What do you know about this?" I ask, pointing at the newspaper. 

"The Stilinski kid?" He sees the boy on the front cover, instantly knowing who I was asking about. "He was missing for a little bit, but I believe they found him yesterday. The whole thing has been crazy, he's been missing a few times over the past month." He shakes his head. "The poor sheriff, I don't know how he deals with this."

"The sheriff?" 

"His father, Sheriff Stilinski." The man explains, pointing at the article. 

"Do you know where they are?" 

He shrugs slightly. "No idea. My best guess would be at the station, if not there then they went home."

"Thank you," I begin to walk away. "And sorry for bothering you."

"All good." He watches me leave, then continues on his own thing. 

Percy was definitely sent for this. But why? What is so special about a missing kid that Chiron had to send Percy here secretly.  I think about this as I walk down the sidewalk, finding myself approaching a large neighborhood. This town doesn't feel right. I don't like it. Half-bloods have never been able to smell monsters. But if we could, I bet this town would reek of it.