DEVOTION, percy jackson

They Meet The Mother Of Monsters

The group had made it on the Amtrak for two days, which was suspicious because everything always goes to shit faster.

The group sat at a table, waiting for the breakfast they ordered to be delivered. The group was chatting peacefully when all of a sudden a police officer walked up to them. "Can I see your tickets?" the man asks them. "Sure." Tallulah said, knowing they had nothing to hide.

"You guys are cabin B13?" The officer asked. "Yeah. Is there a problem?" Tallulah asked again. He sounded like he was accusing them of something, and she didn't like that. "Follow me," he said.

Annabeth looked at Tallulah, her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. 'What did we do? ' her eyes said. Percy got out of the booth, and helped Tallulah out. It was one of the booths that were elevated, so it was a giant step down. One wrong step off and Tallulah would end up rolling her ankle.

Annabeth led the way, followed by Percy, then Tallulah, then Grover. When they got to the cabin all of their mouths hung open. 

The room was completely destroyed, looking like a wild animal had torn through it. "You think we did this?" Annabeth exclaimed. "The woman next door said she heard children."

"Are we under arrest?" Annabeth asked him, her trademark snarkiness in her tone. "Are you really going to take that tone with me?" The officer asked her. "I said, are we under arrest?" Annabeth asked again, her hand adorned on her hip.

–

That was definitely not the right thing to say. The teens sat back in their original spots, waiting for the officer to come back. 

"You know, I was wondering when everything would go to shit. I was getting suspicious. Two days of peace is more than we have ever gotten." Tallulah said. Grover nodded in agreement. "You are such an optimist, Stormie." Percy said sarcastically. "Yeah," Tallulah smirked, "It's part of my charm."

A woman, probably in her late fifties, walked over to them carrying a dog carrier. The animal inside growled as she got closer. She tapped Annabeth on the shoulder and asked, "Do you mind if I sit? Oh, you poor dears. Your parents aren't here, are they?" The demigods stayed silent and just looked at her.

The animal in the cage started to whine again. "Isn't that right, precious" With the way the animal in the carrier was growling, Tallulah wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was. The woman continued and said, "Children get scared when they're all alone. I know how scared you must be."

They just stared at the woman, too stunned to say anything. The kindness the woman had was unnerving, making Tallulah suspicious. 

"I don't actually think you made that mess out there, but there are some things I need you to understand." the lady said. Grover interrupted her and said, "There is something on your jacket. It looks like... glass."

He continued and said, "No one smashed our windows from the inside. Someone smashed them from the outside in." The woman's smile, once friendly, became sinister.

"Sadly, this isn't your fault." the lady said, "but you are going to have to bear the burden of your parent's mistake today." Percy gave her a glare and said, "Listen lady, we've run across a few monsters like you, and we sent them packing." "What he said." Tallulah chimed in.

"Monsters like me? Why," she laughed, "I hope they are like me! I am their mother after all." Grover's voice shook as he said, "The mother of monsters." Annabeth and Tallulah said in unison, "Echidna."

"You know, my child here is only a baby. She needs a little practice hunting. I think you guys would be a perfect test run." The zipper of the bag slowly came undone, and Tallulah grabbed Percy's wrist with alarm. "You should run now." Echidna told them.