𝙇𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙨 (𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙭 𝙁𝙚𝙢! 𝙊𝘾) 𝙏𝙏𝘾

We Meet an Intimidating Pretty Girl

Usually, Sylvia was against stalking. Or, in this case, following people around. It was creepy and definitely unethical, immoral, and illegal. But when your enemy-but-also-not-enemy sneaks away from your quest party to talk to a cow-serpent thing, what else is one to do?

Fawkes? Sylvia looked down at the tiny phoenix hiding in her pocket. Are you seeing this? What the heck?

Fawkes's beady red eyes were staring down the cow-serpent as if it'd killed her entire family. Yes. That should not be here. This...this isn't good. At all.

And I'm assuming you're not allowed to tell me why? 

Her question was met with silence. Sylvia sighed and crept closer to Percy, who was standing at the north edge of the dam. He was talking to the cow-serpent, which was about thirty feet below him in the lake. When he looked around, most likely to check for anyone watching, she ducked behind a sign.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the creature.

"Moo!"

What's it saying?

Once again, Sylvia's question was met with silence. Stupid immortal rules. What was the point in having an all-knowing guardian angel phoenix if she wasn't allowed to tell her anything?

"How did you get here?" Percy asked, putting a hand on his hip like some worried mother.

Does he know it? Sylvia wondered.

I...I think so, Fawkes said. But...how? This isn't good. This is really, really bad, Sylvia.

It'd be nice if you could tell me why it was bad, instead of just telling me the same thing over and over again.

"I can't. My friends are inside." Percy gestured in the direction Thalia, Grover, Zoe, and Lux had left in.

At that, Sylvia had to refrain from asking, 'What friends?', as that would blow her cover. She was very, very tempted to, though.

Just then, Percy froze, as did Fawkes and Sylvia. As if in sync, they all turned to the east, where Sylvia's gut was telling her to check. There were two men walking toward them. They wore gray camouflage outfits that flickered over their skeletal bodies.

They passed through a group of kids, pushing them away and scaring them with their grinning skulls that vaguely reminded Sylvia of the emoji. 

Percy was still frozen, staring at the skeletons. Cursing herself, Sylvia darted out of her hiding spot, grabbed his wrist, and booked it for the visitor center. He didn't even question her presence, merely stumbling for a moment before allowing himself to be dragged.

They were almost to the stairs when Sylvia heard the sound of squealing tires. On the west side of the dam, a black van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly running into some old lesbian couple in the process. They were taking 'Bury your Gays' way too seriously, it seemed.

The van doors opened and more skeleton warriors piled out. They were surrounded.

"Shit," Sylvia muttered, backing up a bit. She glanced around, hoping an escape would just appear out of thin air.

It was Percy's turn to drag her, bolting down the stairs and through the museum entrance. The security guard at the metal detector yelled at them, probably because Sylvia's knives set it off, but they didn't stop.

Sylvia and Percy ran through the exhibits and ducked behind a tour group. Neither of them could see their friends, much to her dismay.

"Where's that damn snack bar?" she asked.