𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 - 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

‧⁺˚*･༓𝑬𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻༓･*˚⁺‧

The bus pulled out of the station, and they headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. 

"She didn't stay dead long," Percy whispered to Phoenix, trying to keep his voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime." 

"We said if you're lucky," Phoenix replied. "You're obviously not." 

"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!" 

"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows." 

"They don't open," Grover moaned. 

"A back exit?" The blonde girl suggested.

There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, they were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around," Percy said. "Will they?"

"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded him. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"

They hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. 

It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain. 

Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus:  "I need to use the restroom."

"So do I," said the second sister.

"So do I," said the third sister.

They all started coming down the aisle.

"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away," Phoenix nodded in agreement to Annabeth.

"But you guys—"

"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Phoenix said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you Phee, I can't leave any of you!" 

"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"

Percy's hands trembled. He felt like a coward, but he took the Yankees cap, put it on, and disappeared from sight.

Percy managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past. Mrs. Dodds stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at him. 

Apparently, she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going. Percy was free and made it to the front of the bus. 

They were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now. 

Percy was about to press the emergency stop button when he heard hideous wailing from the back row. The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips. 

The Furies surrounded Phoenix, Grover, and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing:

"Where is it? Where?"