DEVOTION, percy jackson

Crusty Definitely Looks Like His Name

The group continued their walk. They had passed some super sketchy people along the way. Tallulah walked on the curb of the alleyway, balancing while she hummed Sign of the Times by Harry Styles.

The group continued their way through the alley way when a boy, probably seventeen, yelled "Hey you!" Percy, who was leading the group, stopped in his tracks, causing Tallulah to bump into his back, and Grover to bump into her's.

"For the love of the gods Percy, weren't you raised in New York? I'm from Missouri and know not to stop when someone shouts 'Hey you!' in a dark alleyway." Tallulah said exasperatedly, rubbing her nose which was in pain from running into Percy.

"Not the time, Lue." Annabeth told the shorter girl. The group of boys surrounded the quest members. Percy instinctively uncapped riptide. If Tallulah wasn't in a life threatening situation she would have hit him upside the head for his stupidity.

Percy made the mistake of swinging. The kid yelped, but he had to have been one hundred percent mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest. He looked down. "What the . . ."

The time was short between the time the boy's shock turned to anger. "Run!" Percy screamed at the others. They bolted as fast as they could through the group of boys.

The other three pushed two of the boys out of the way, but Tallulah did not get as lucky. One of the boys grabbed the hoodie of her green zip-up jacket. The force was so great she was pulled back, making a sort of choking sound at the feeling of the fabric choking her.

"Tallulah!" Annabeth yelled in alarm, noticing what had happened to the girl. This caused Percy and Grover to turn around in alarm. The three were trying to make their way over to her but the other boys were blocking their way.

By some miracle, Tallulah managed to get herself out of the jacket. The boy who grabbed her towered over her, holding her jacket in his hands. Tallulah turned around and did the most logical thing she could think of. She kicked him in the nuts and ran, leaving her jacket behind.

All the boys in the surrounding area groaned in sympathy, giving Tallulah a chance to escape. When she got to the group Grover grabbed her wrist. "There!" Annabeth shouted, pointing to a run down looking store in the alleyway.

The sign above the door said Crusty's WaterBed Palace. Grover translated it for the other two. They burst through the doors, ran behind a water bed, and ducked. A split second later, the gang kids ran past outside. "I think we lost them," Grover panted.

A voice behind them boomed, "Lost who?" Tallulah flinched so hard she fell down. Standing behind them was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. He looked like Mr. Clean if he was on drugs. He had gray, leathery skin, thick-lidded eyes, and a cold, reptilian smile.

His suit might've come from the Lotus Casino. It belonged back in the seventies. "I'm Crusty," he said, with a yellow smile. "Yeah, we can tell." Tallulah said without thinking. Annabeth slapped her hand over her mouth, desperately trying to stop her unfiltered thoughts from being spoken aloud.

"Sorry to barge in," Annabeth told him with an overly sweet smile. Percy said "We were just, um, browsing." "You mean hiding from those no-good kids," Crusty grumbled. "They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a water bed?"

Tallulah gave him a smile, which probably came off more as a grimace and said, "Oh no thanks-" She stopped talking when the man put his overly large hand on Percy's shoulder and led him deeper into the store.