It almost worked ✸ Apollo ¹

X. Homesickness

CHAPTER TEN
"ALL THE SAME NEWS!"

We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain. I finally had time to think about my dream a little more. It didn't make sense to me that Hades would threaten me. A shiver went down my back, overthinking that maybe it wasn't Hades who did all this.

I watched as my home was destroyed, nobody there to save it. My lungs started to fill with smoke which was terrifying. I knew it was a dream, but I felt like I was suffocating. Screams of terror echoed in my head. They all sounded familiar, like my family. They called my name.

"Hey, Lydia?" Grover was talking to me. I let go of the nightmares once again, and I turned to him. He gave me a newspaper.

The Trenton Register-News showed a photo taken by a tourist as we got off the Greyhound bus. Mainly the article was focused on Percy and his situation as a juvenile delinquent. But I froze when I read the entire thing.

The picture's caption read:

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene.
Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with three teenage accomplices.

One of these accomplices, police have been warned; seems to be a missing child from the state of Illinois named Lydia Winslow. She had ran away from her home over three years ago, and hasn't been seen since.

"Why am I on a missing case?" I mumbled "My mom knows where I went. I just haven't seen in her in person since then! I've sent her letters!"

Grover shrugged "I'm not sure, but I thought you should see it. Maybe the missing case was called in by someone else?"

"Probably the school district or something. They've never believed my mom when she kept me home for mental health days." I gave the newspaper back to Grover, I didn't want to look at it anymore. Frustration was boiling in my veins.

I was already upset about my nightmares, but now this newspaper made things even worse. I started regretting running from home. I could've stayed with my mom, my stepdad and my younger brother for just a little bit longer. I would've eventually had to go to camp. But at least then I would have more to share with them.

Now some evil being was going to hurt them, and I wouldn't be there to help. I had no idea what I was going to do. Did demigods lives have to be so complicated? I sighed, trying to stay calm and focused.

Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. It made me think how close I was to home. Just maybe an hour or so away. But we had a quest to do..

Then we finally pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver.
Grover stretched next to me. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."

"Come on, you two ," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."

"Sightseeing? Do we even have time?" I asked her.

"The Gateway Arch," she said. "And we have plenty of time, Lydia. Plus this may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"

I've only been here a couple times, but I've never seen the arch before. It seemed like fun to see. But even if I said no, Annabeth would still go. And we had to stick together.

Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."

"Really?" I glared at him "Are you trying to jinx us?"

"What? I'm hungry!" He protested, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling, but Annabeth kept telling us interesting facts about it.

I fidgeted with my camp necklace as we walked. I didn't have many beads on mine, but I was very attached to it. The crowds around us didn't seem to care that children walked by themselves. They looked at us and continued on if that was a normal thing in big cities. But maybe it was. I never lived in one.

"Guys," Percy suddenly said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

I didn't know why he asked that, but we all looked at him. Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade-"

Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place.... You mean, our friend downstairs?"

I didn't really care for the whole name thing. I knew names had power in the mythology world, but it felt kind of stupid. It actually reminded me of this book series I used to read when I was younger. The main character was told not to say the villain's name. Like it was taboo or something.

"Um, right," Percy said. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"I think so. It's something to do with Darkness, right?" I looked at Annabeth "Can't he like melt into shadows or whatever?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" Percy asked.

"Anyways, It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark, Lydia?"

I'd never thought about it that way, but I was still confused why Percy brought it up.

"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" Percy asked.

"Oh, thanks for the horrible thought." I smiled at him. "I really needed that."