σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I End Up in Miami Beach

Miami, Florida
Theo's POV

The first things I felt when I woke up were salt water on my face and Annabeth shaking my shoulders.

Annabeth: Theo, wake up.

In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. I could see a beachside highway lined with palm trees, storefronts glowing with red and blue neon, a harbor filled with sailboats and cruise ships.

Theo: Where are we?

Annabeth: Miami, I think. But the hippocampi are acting funny.

Sure enough, our water-horse friends had slowed down and were whinnying and swimming in circles, sniffing the water. They didn't look happy. One of them sneezed.

Percy: This is as far as they'll take us. Too many humans. Too much pollution. We'll have to swim to shore on our own.

Before I jumped off the hippocampus, I checked on Annabeth.

Theo: You okay?

Annabeth: Yeah. I feel healed already.

Theo: Good. Come on.

None of us was very psyched about that, but we thanked Rainbow and his friends for the ride. Tyson cried a little. He unfastened the makeshift things he'd salvaged from the Birmingham wreck. He hugged Rainbow around the neck, gave him a soggy mango he'd picked up on the island, and said goodbye.

Once the hippocampi's white manes disappeared into the sea, we swam for shore. The waves pushed us forward, and in no time, we were back in the mortal world. We wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for vacations. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish (which I perfectly understood) and tried to cut in line for customers. If anybody noticed us—six kids dripping wet and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster—they didn't let on.

Now that we were back among mortals, Tyson's single eye had blurred from the Mist. Grover had put on his cap and sneakers. Even the Fleece had transformed from a sheepskin to a red-and-gold high school letter jacket with a large glittery Omega on the pocket.

I immediately checked my watch to check the date and cursed.

Theo: Shit.

Grover: What?

Theo: It's June eighteenth. We've been gone for 10 days.

Clarisse: But that's impossible!

No, it wasn't. Time works differently in monstrous places. I still remember the Lotus Casino in Vegas. We've been in there for about 2 hours, but when we left, 5 days had passed.

Grover: Thalia's tree must be almost dead. We have to get the Fleece back tonight.

Clarisse slumped down on the pavement.

Clarisse: How are we supposed to do that? We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said. It's your fault, Jackson! And you, Miller! If you hadn't interfered—

Annabeth: Percy and Theo's fault?! Clarisse, how can you say that? You are the biggest—

Percy: Stop it!

Clarisse put her head in hands. Annabeth stomped her foot in frustration.

Percy and I looked at each other and we both remembered: This quest was supposed to be Clarisse's. For a scary moment, I saw things from her point of view. How would I feel if a bunch of other heroes had butted in and made me look bad?