The Unusual Half-Blood

Chapter 7: Unexpected visitors

"Can I see your tickets?"

"Here", Annabeth said, as she handed them out to the bus conductor.

"Doesn't it seem.....too peaceful?" Grover whispered to me.

"I guess so."

It has been 25 minutes since we boarded the bus. It was almost empty, except for a few passengers - a handful of middle-aged men and women sitting in the front seats. Even though none of them looked particularly suspicious, we maintained our distance, sitting in the back and discussing our next course of action.

Our current plan was to reach the New Jersey subway station and board a train to L.A.. The entire journey would take 2-3 days.

That was simple enough. The tricky part was finding the entrance to the Underworld. Back at the camp, Chiron told us that the entrance is always in the west but it moves from age to age, just like the Olympus.

Right now, it's in L.A. But since we didn't know its exact location, we'll have to look around for a while. It might take hours or even days. That's why he was adamant that we leave the camp as soon as possible.

Then again, all of that comes much later. First, we have to make it to Los Angeles in one piece.

Suddenly, I felt a shift in atmosphere on the bus. It was subtle but noticeable.

Annabeth and Grover stiffened up.

"That lady......she wasn't there before, was she?", Grover asked.

At the front, a middle-aged woman was leaning against the bus Door. She wore a black long coat, lace gloves, and a black knit hat, which shadowed her face. Her skin was wrinkly and pale.

Sure enough, she wasn't there before.

And it was pretty obvious that she was not one of the passengers.

It was a monster. More specifically, it was a......

"A fury!", Annabeth gasped and looked at Grover, who was as pale as a ghost. A silent understanding passed between them.

"Do you guys know her?" I asked

"She is one of the 3 furies from the Underworld........they are Hades' torturers", Annabeth explained, as she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "It's fine. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moaned.

"A back exit?" she suggested

There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. Because right now, we were already on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"We'll have to break one of the windows", I decided, "Once we are out of the tunnel, we need to stop the bus before we can jump and escape."

"Leave it to me", Annabeth said, pulling out her Yankees cap from her bag. "I'll go to the front and pull the emergency handbrakes. When I do, run. Got it?"

"Wait, what about you?", Grover asked.

"Don't worry. Once the bus stops, I'll be able to escape from the Driver's door......I think." She said and took another deep breath.

Anyone could tell she was nervous.

"All right, I got this." She put on the Yankees cap and disappeared.