THIS IS ME TRYING

8: Endure Fresh Shit

THE BUS journey was excruciatingly boring for Luna, since she had run out of things to do in the first hour. She had already played I spy, would you rather, and punched Percy every time she spotted a yellow car. She was sitting next to Annabeth on the isle seat at the back of the bus, looking at the back of people's heads and guessing what they're face looked like.

"Why didn't Chiron spring for plane tickets?" Luna questioned, as she held her nose so tightly it made her voice sound strange, "Now we have to endure the smell of fresh shit."

"It's not just monsters who would try and prevent this mission from happening." Grover explained, "Zeus might decide to take a shot at us himself."

The bus parked at a gas station, as Annabeth exclaimed, "We're gonna get some snacks."

"I'll come with you." Percy suggested, though Annabeth pushed him back down. In this moment, Luna realised that she liked Annabeth, mainly because she was so good at putting people in their places. It made Luna chuckle.

She continued, "No, you'll stay right there. Monsters can't smell you through that, so that's where I want you." She gestured to the smell of the public toilet aboard the bus.

"I wanna vote." Percy argued, "Who thinks that we should all go get to breathe fresh air and buy our own snacks?" He raised his hand.

"There's no voting." Annabeth deadpanned, "Chips and sodas okay for you guys?"

"I wanna vote on whether you get to decide we don't vote." Percy continued, "Come on, Lu, you agree with me?"

Luna raised her eyebrows sarcastically, "Are you saying us girls can't do stuff without boys?"

"What— no!" Percy frowned, "You know that's not what I mean."

"I'm kidding." Luna chuckled, "Come with us, if you want—"

"No." Annabeth sighed, "Grover, can you please tell your friend—"

"I really don't wanna be a tie breaker." Grover said as she started clapping a rhythm. Abruptly, the boy started singing, "Oh, golly, the road's gettin' bumpy 'cause I got me some friends who just can't get along..."

"Dude, what are you doing?" Percy interrupted in disbelief, and the two girls took this as an opportunity to get off the bus.

Annabeth followed Luna towards the candy isle, looking at the variety of foods in front of them. Of course, Luna had no idea what the candy were named due to her dyslexia, however she picked up the most colourful candy that caught her attention first.

Annabeth questioned, "How did you meet Percy? You two are close."

"He's my step-brother." Luna explained, "I moved in with him when I was 9."

Annabeth remarked sarcastically, "I don't think I would survive living with him. No offence."

"None taken." Luna replied, "He's not all bad when you get to know him. Percy just... has a way with words." She paused, "Just be patient with him and you'll soon realise how good of a person he is."

Annabeth nodded understandably, before speaking, "I'm sorry about what happened in capture the flag. It was wrong of Clarisse to—"

"It's okay." Luna shrugged, as she picked up more packets of candy.

"No, it's not." Annabeth replied slowly, "You don't like to ask for help, do you?" She paused at Luna, who's eyes were now darting around at her surroundings. Annabeth frowned slightly, "Oh, I'm sorry.."

"Shut up." The girl interrupted, as her eyes darted around her isle.

Annabeth frowned, "What?"

"No, no! Shut up." Luna repeated again, as she motioned Annabeth to look at the end of the shopping isle. She whispered, "That woman's following us."

"How do you know?" Annabeth questioned in concern.

"I've watched her follow us through three different isles." Luna explained, "It's either a coincidence or.."

"Or she's a monster. Spot them before they spot you." Annabeth finished, as the two girls quickly made their way to the counter to pay. She insisted, "I'll pay. You go back to the coach and warn Percy and Grover. Tell them we need to get off the bus, okay?"

"Okay." Luna nodded, following Annabeth's rules without complaints since she clearly knew what she was doing. Luna remembered Luke telling her that she had been at Camp for one of the longest out of everyone. So, Luna trusted her.

Luna climbed her way through the crowded isle to the back of the bus, where the boys were still talking about the song that Grover had sang. However, a glimpse of a familiar face caught her attention, as she noticed Mrs Dodds sat at the front of the bus. They connected eyes for a second, Luna's facial expressions, and it felt as though the world was moving in slow motion.

Because of this, Luna forgot the main plan, which was to tell the boys what was happening, so decided to repeatedly kick the bus window to open. Percy and Grover stood up immediately, their eyes widening at the frantic girl.

"What the hell?!" Percy raised his voice in panic, "Luna, stop."

Grover frowned, "I don't think these windows are suppose to open."

"What's going on?" Percy declared, "Lu, what's happeni—"

"She's here!" Annabeth interrupted, as she sprinted towards the three, "Open the window—"

"I'm trying!" Luna yelled in panic, as she repeatedly kicked the window with her converse.

"Oh no!" Grover exclaimed, as the four noticed Mrs Dodds in her natural form. She was covered in ebony scales, the colour fading into a dark red when it reached her head. She had huge wings which brushed the bus seats, as she slowly approached the back of the bus. She kept her eyes on Percy, as the boy stood up quickly, Grover following.

Luna tightening her first, before punching the window again and again. Nothing. The glass was thick and only vibrated with each punch and kick. Frustratedly, Luna went to punch the glass again but the window had already smashed before her fist had collided with it. She flinched, moving away from the glass shards that had fallen. Luna decided to ignore what had happened, noticing none of her friends had seen the glass magically shatter.

What was happening to her?

Luna pulled Percy in front of her, making sure that he left the bus first so he could be safe. However, her plan was stopped when another Fury had flown into the window, crashing on the seats and causing Percy and Grover to fall over. Luna stumbled onto the back seats of the coach, the palm of her hand was attacked by shards of glass that had imbedded itself into her skin.

"Shit!" Luna exclaimed, shaking her hand to stop the pain, though the adrenaline that rushed through her body helped her to not realise the amount of blood there was.

"Hey!" Annabeth shouted, drawing the Fury's attention, before she through a knife straight into its chest, causing it to evaporate into the air. Annabeth sprinted towards the smashed window, "We're done here, let's go!"