Making Waves

Chapter 16

Percy shivered, pulling the sleeves of her sweater further over her wrists and rubbing her red nose. Bludhaven in the fall wasn't nearly as bad as winter, but she had greatly misjudged the temperature before leaving her apartment for the evening, the thin zip-up just barely keeping her body heat intact. At least, walking back from dinner, the warmth from the food pooled in her stomach, so she only had to worry about her extremities.

Percy didn't really like to eat alone, but recently that's exactly how she had been spending most of her mealtimes, and tonight wasn't any different. At least the food was good, she thought, sighing, as she crossed to the other side of the street, even if she did have to walk a whole fifteen minutes to get it. As she picked up her pace, bright neon storefronts shifted to dark brick house faces, the first sign she was headed in the right direction.

The trees that lined the sidewalks had turned to bright orange by this time of the month, and the first few leaves were starting to drift to the ground. She listened to the in and out of her breath, the crunching under her feet, and the slow hum of a car engine as it passed her. Through the cacophony of city sounds, something heavy slammed inside the alley at the end of the block.

Percy's ears perked up instantly, and she broke into a jog. It could be nothing, a trash bin lid snapping down, or the steel door of an establishment closing shut, but the prickle on her skin told her otherwise.

Pulling up short just before the corner, Percy slipped a hand into her pocket, retrieving Riptide, and peeked around the brick edge. Two large hulking figures, almost eight feet tall, even with their backs hunched, stood under a dented streetlight with thick iron clubs at their sides.

The one on the right turned. "You imbecile," he snarled to his companion, baring pointed yellow teeth.  

The other one shrugged, shoulders lifting his club a few inches before lowering it. "I thought it was an enemy."

"It was a lamp," the first sneered, jabbing his club into the other's stomach and causing him to stumble.

The light above them flickered, giving Percy a clear view of their faces, bumpy and misshapen, with deep-set sickly eyes. Oh great, she sighed, reaching up and dropping her hood, laistrygonians.

The leader, who she had deemed the leader for apparently being smart enough not to whack a streetlamp out of service, sniffed the air suspiciously. The monster whirled around with a snarl, but Percy was already walking towards them, flicking her pen. She wasn't even trying to hide, the scent of the sea blowing from her free hair and into the alley.

"Poseidon spawn!" he roared, showing every single one of his teeth.

"Congratulations," she rolled her eyes, sarcastic, "You found—"

Suddenly, she paused, and narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, I know you," Percy realized, recognizing the extensive tattoo work along his arms, "You're Joe Bob!"

The last time she had seen the giant had been at Meriwether College Prep, back during her second year of being a proper demigoddess. By standards set later on in her life, that had been a pretty good day, all things considering.

"We played dodgeball," she reminded him, because he looked a little confused at being addressed by name. She turned to his companion. "And you're—actually I don't know who you are."

The other giant, a few inches shorter than Joe Bob and with sparser tattoos, raised his free hand in hello. "Skin Peeler."

Percy nodded slowly, fingers still spinning Riptide casually, for now. "Where's your old crew?" she asked, tilting her head, because these monsters tended to travel in packs, "Marrow Eater and, uh, Skull Sucker."