𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐋¹ || 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐕

✦ 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄, 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 ✦

"PERCY, WAKE UP," SALTWATER SPLASHED PERCY'S FACE. AURORA WAS SHAKING HIS SHOULDER. In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. They could see a beachside highway lined with palm trees, storefronts glowing with red-and-blue neon, and a harbor filled with sailboats and cruise ships.

"Miami, I think," Aurora said, "But the hippocampi are acting funny."

Sure enough, their fishy friends had slowed down and were whinnying and swimming in circles, sniffing the water. They didn't look happy. One of them sneezed. Percy could tell what they were thinking.

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

"Stupid humans," Aurora muttered.

"You're human, Rory," Annabeth told her with a grin.

"I'm a demigod, Annie. Plus, you know what I'm talking about." Aurora stuck her tongue out.

None of them were very psyched about swimming to shore, but Aurora's jokes seemed to brighten their moods. They thanked Rainbow and his friends for the ride.

Tyson cried a little. He unfastened the makeshift saddle pack he'd made, which contained his tool kit and a couple of other 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, they swam for shore. The waves pushed them forward, and in no time they were back in the mortal world. They 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 and tried to cut in line for customers.

If anybody noticed them – six kids dripping wet and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster – they didn't let on.

Now that they were back among mortals, Tyson's single eye had blurred from the Mist. Grover had put on his cap and sneakers. Aurora, who kept her wings out to let them heal better, was now blurred by the Mist as well. 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.

Annabeth ran to the nearest newspaper box and checked the date on the Miami Herald. She cursed, "June eighteenth! We've been away from Camp for ten days!"

"That's impossible!" Clarisse said.

"Thalia's tree must be almost dead," Grover wailed. "We have to get the Fleece back tonight!"

Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. "How are we supposed to do that?" Her voice trembled. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said. It's your fault, Jackson! If you hadn't interfered–"