DEVOTION, percy jackson

Tallulah Surprises Her Father With A Visit.

Tallulah's eyes were red from crying and she was tired. "Maybe he survived. There is a river nearby." Annabeth said. "It's worth a try." Grover said. His arm was still around Tallulah, helping her as they walked.

Cops were swarming the area. They were trying to figure out what happened. Some suspected a terrorist attack. "They're looking at us." Grover said. Tallulah directed her eyes to where Grover was looking. "Dude, they are looking right at us!" Grover said again.

This time Annabeth looked over to where they were looking. "What?" She asked. "The cops, Annabeth. They are staring at us." "Oh. We should probably go then. Let's check by the river." They silently walked.

"You know what happened, right?" Annabeth said, reffering to Tallulah at the arch. "I think it was a panic attack." Tallulah whispered, head down. Annabeth nodded. 

"Have you had one before?" The daughter of Athena asked. Tallulah shook her head no. "When we get back to camp i can teach you how to handle it if it happens again. If you would like." Annabeth rambled. 

Tallulah gave her a small smile. "I would like that."

The sound of a helicopter could be heard, as the police looked for the culprit of the explosion. The group got to the boardwalk, searching the water for the missing boy. 

Tallulah rounded a corner, and looked out to the end. There was a boy jumping over the railing. When he turned to look in her direction, Tallulah gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" Grover asked her. "Am I hallucinating? Please tell me you guys see this too, because if not I'm going to... I don't know but it wont be good." Tallulah said, not taking her eyes off the boy. "No, I see it." Annabeth said. "Hey." Percy said, as if surviving a hundred feet was normal.

As soon as they heard the boy speak, Tallulah, Annabeth and Grover started to walk over. Tallulah pushed past them and sprinted as fast as she could over to the boy. 

"Look, I'm sorry about pushing you into the stairwell. Really, I am-" Percy was cut off when she hugged him so hard they took a couple steps back.

Tallulah buried her head in his shoulder and started to cry again. "I thought you were gone!" the girl cried. Percy hugged her back. "Can't get rid of me that easily." Tallulah hugged him longer than necessary, but Percy didn't seem to mind.

Grover gave an awkward cough. "We thought you had gone to Hades the hard way." the satyr said. "Surprise!" The son of Poseidon said. Annabeth just gave an exasperated laugh and said "Glad you didn't die, Seaweed Brain."

That made Percy and Tallulah stop hugging, a blush adorned on both of their cheeks. "You dont look like you're about to die any second." Tallulah told Percy. Percy just smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"So what happened?" Annabeth asked him. "The short version. We need to go to Santa Monica." Percy told her. "You are telling me the long version later, whether you want to or not." Tallulah whispered to him. Percy looked down at her, his wavy black hair tousled, somehow dry after his dive in the river. "Yes ma'am." The boy told her.

The group started to walk back toward the arch, so they could start to leave Saint Louis.

"Wait, we need to go to Santa Monica right now?" Grover asked, getting the group back on subject. "Yeah. There was this underwater lady who told me I must go to Santa Monica and do not trust the gifts. I have no idea what the second part means but I figure the first part is self explanatory." Percy explained. 

"We can't ignore a summon from your dad, Percy. If he asks us to go to Santa Monica, then that's where we need to go." Annabeth said.

All of a sudden the group heard, "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."