Book 1 - The Constriction in Breathing Air

Chapter 10

"Two whole days," Annabeth said quietly, staring at the newspaper in horror. Outside, the Mojave Desert sped by as the Greyhound bus moved along. "We were in there for two whole days."

"Look on the bright side," Grover said, chewing on a tin. "We could've been in there for five days, and only had one to complete the quest."

"Or we could've missed the deadline," Percy pointed out. They all shuddered at the thought.

"I can't believe you kept that water bottle," Annabeth muttered, laying back in her chair.

"Hey," he protested, an arm curling protectively around the blue metal bottle covered in little snake- and winged sandal- stickers like she was going to snatch it. "Water is water."

Grover snickered.

Percy hadn't told them that no matter how much water he drank from it, it never seemed to run out. It was now up there on his 'Important Objects' list, right next to his heated sweater and credit card, and he'd fight anyone who tried to take anything on that list.

They settled into their seats and took turns resting as they approached their next stop.

Just as the sun started dipping below the horizon, the bus dropped them off and they walked the short way to the beach in Santa Monica. It looked exactly the way L.A. beaches do in movies, only it smelled worse.

He added Santa Monica to his mental list.

"Hopefully I'll be back soon," he assured the others. "Grover, you still have my card?"

Grover did.

"Good, go get some food and chill for a bit."

"Don't take too long," Annabeth warned. "Or we'll be forced to come in after you."

Percy grinned and walked into the sea.

He walked down into the shoals, somehow able to tell where everything was in the gloom. There were sand-dollar colonies dotting the sandbars; warm and cold streams swirling together to form the currents.

Something brushed against his leg, playfully darting around him. He grinned. It was a five-foot long mako shark, acting similar to a dog.

It wanted him to follow.

Percy gently grabbed its dorsal fin with both hands, and then they were off into the darkness.

It carried him to the edge of the ocean proper, where the sandbank dropped off into a huge chasm. A part of him longed to drop into the darkness, knowing if he went far enough he would find his father. Or his father would quickly find him.

Something glimmered in the darkness below, growing bigger and brighter as it rose toward him. A woman's voice, the same from St. Louis, rang out to greet him: "Perseus Jackson."

As she got closer, he could see her more clearly, and with it came the realization of who she was. She smelled like green rock candy and seals, sweet and like the ocean.

She had long billowing black hair that disappeared into the water, became the water at some point, and her eyes, now clear, glowed green. Her long dress of green silk shimmered. She had long, fin-like ears, and her hands were webbed and clawed like his own. She was riding a stallion-sized seahorse, who quickly darted off to play with the mako shark.

Most eye-catching, though, was the crown on her head. It was beautiful, a wreath of celestial bronze, lined with pearls, with coral, aquamarine, and other gems he didn't recognise forming waves. Another chain of the same bronze colour wrapped around her head, a bright blue gem centered on her forehead.