Heliophile - Apollo

1.11| Ana Doesn't Know How But Percy Becomes A Bigger Fugitive

Ana, Luke, and Grover raced to the river's edge. They couldn't hide their worry for their friend or more than a friend in Luke's case.

All three of Percy's companions held their breath before a ripple started to appear on the surface of the water. Then came the bubbles and then the hair of Percy Jackson.

A block away, every emergency vehicle in St. Louis was surrounding the Arch. Police helicopters circled overhead. The crowd of onlookers reminded me of Times Square on New Year's Eve. A little girl said, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."

"That's nice, dear," her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances.

"But he's dry!"

"That's nice, dear."

A news lady was talking for the camera: "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch."

"... an adolescent boy," another reporter was saying. Ana and Luke paused knowing that this wouldn't look very good. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion.Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities ..."

They watched as Percy backed away, trying to keep his head down. He had to go a long way around the police perimeter. Uniformed officers and news reporters were everywhere.

Luke and Ana were following Grover who bleated, "Perrr-cy!" Percy turned and got tackled by Grover's bear hug—or goat hug. He said, "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"

Apollo chuckled and spoke to Ana "more like the easy way. He can't seriously think that walking into the Underworld alive is easier than dying."

"I know." Ana responded as she watched Luke hug Percy close. "You're right, dying is the easier way but it's not something anyone wants to do."

Ana spoke out loud as she stood behind Luke. "We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?"

"I sort of fell."

"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?" Ana exclaimed incredulously.

Behind us, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher.

A woman was saying, "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua—"

"Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."

"I'm not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." Then she saw Percy. "There he is! That's the boy!"

Percy turned quickly and pulled Ana, Luke, and Grover after him. The group of four disappeared into the crowd. "What's going on?"

Ana demanded trying to figure out what in the name of her father and her soulmate was going on. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"

Percy told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, his high-dive act, and the underwater lady's message. "Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."

Before anyone could respond, the four passed another reporter doing a news break, and Percy almost froze in his tracks when he said, "Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."

The four teens ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley. "First things first," I told Grover. "We've got to get out of town!"

Somehow, they made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted. They got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind them.