Deep Water, Percy Jackson

MISTAKE SEVEN: I Walked Right Into A Trap

The second I stepped foot on the sidewalk, I was running. I wasn't sure where I was or what direction I was headed, but any direction was better than none. Camp had taught me that the best option was always to stand ground and fight, but I wasn't sure if Chiron had ever fought a real monster. Standing ground looked like a one way ticket to the Underworld.

I didn't stop running until my legs felt like they were about to give out and my lungs burned with the effort it took to breath. The wind carried the eerie sound of the monster's laughter, but I couldn't see her anywhere. I was crouched low to the ground, leant against a streetlight somewhere in the suburbs.

It was only now, in the cold and in the dark, stranded and alone, that I began to realise the severity of my task. They could be anywhere in the country by now. I wasn't even sure where I was —— how could I attempt to find them?

What would Luke do?

Well, for starters, he probably would've killed the monster and stayed on the bus. He'd probably know where he was, maybe he'd even know where they were by now. It was fairly safe to say that Luke would never be in the position I was.

I sat down on the tarmac and took in a few deep breaths. The wind was biting tonight, and I hadn't brought a sweater. Annabeth had probably packed five. Usually, whenever I was stuck, or in trouble, she was the one I went to for advice. Luke had the experience, but Annabeth had the problem solving skills.

It felt like hours before the solution finally came to me.

When Luke had been on his quest to the Garden of The Hesperides, we hadn't had much contact from him. He'd wanted to be independent, to prove his worth and his ability to do things alone. It wasn't until after his quest had failed that we knew he was alive at all. We'd spent months preparing for a funeral without a body.

And then he'd given us an Iris-Message.

Just as everyone had sat down at the Mess Hall for dinner, before Mr D was going to give his end-of-summer speech, his image appeared. Bloody, beaten, and sitting on the tarmac of a gas stations car wash, it certainly wasn't Luke's finest look. The image was pretty hazy and the signal kept cutting out, but it was undeniably Luke. By the time the cheers had stopped, Luke had run out of quarters —— he didn't get the chance to tell us how he'd done, but at least we knew he was alive.

I just needed to find a gas station.

It felt like hours that I spent wandering around. I found a highway and followed it westwards, but it was miles and miles before I reached a deserted service stop —— nothing but a torn up billboard for a movie from the 80s, a closed down gas station, and what seemed to be a neon-lit diner. 

I stopped below the billboard for a second.

I didn't know much about Thalia's mother, but her face was one you could recognise anywhere —— perfectly styled blonde hair, soft blue eyes, and a mole near her lip like the one on Marilyn Monroe. I didn't know whether the mole was real, but from what I'd heard about Beryl Grace, I doubted it. Her face on the poster was faded and weathered, but it was undeniable how beautiful she was. I'd never really seen Thalia's face, but Luke said they looked alike. Maybe they both had the same sense of superiority in their eyes.

I turned away and kept walking.

The gas station was covered in graffiti. All of the windows were smashed, and the shelves had  been looted. I'd been hoping I could grab something to eat before I went in search of my friends, but clearly that had been wishful thinking. 

The car wash was tucked around the back. The only source of light was a flickering streetlamp —— every few seconds, I'd be washed in complete darkness. The wind howled around me, and for a little while I debated waiting until morning to do this. I could camp out in the gas station, get some sleep, and hopefully by daybreak everything would be less creepy.