The Lightning Thief - Something's been Stolen

IMMORTAL GRUDGES NEVER FADE

Woo, another one! I am on a role tuhday!

Hope you like it! (Picture of Medusa on the side right there)

"Three Kindly Ones. All three at once." Grover was shivering and braying, his eyes had turned slit-pupiled and full of terror.

Percy, Grover and I, were walking through the woods, in the rain, along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson River stained the air.

"Come on! The farther away we get, the better." I repeated. Percy groaned and Grover whimpered. They both seemed to be in shock, and they were walking slowly, both pretty tired. I understood them, the explosion was echoing in my ears, it was raining, I was tired and fed-up, and I just wanted to sit. But I knew that wasn’t an option. The Furies had called for reinforcements before we left, and I knew for a fact that soon there would be monsters at our heels if we didn’t hurry soon.

"All our money was back there," Percy spoke up. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

Why, thank you Mr. Obvious. I wouldn’t have guessed. It’s not my fault that you had to have almighty enemies, ready to rip you into shreds.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—"

"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."

I clenched my teeth. "Shut up, goat boy,"

Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

I rolled my eyes at Grover. I was about to suggest a plan to find food, because I was really hungry, when I saw Percy’s disappointed face. Guilt clenched my stomach instead of hunger. Walking across the mushy ground, I realized that I really was grateful for what Percy had done, and I really was grateful that he was alive after trying to do it. When Alecto had curled her whip around Percy’s hand like that, I realized that no matter how much he annoys me, I actually did like Percy’s company, and would prefer for him to stay alive.

But something else was nagging at my conscience too. Another reason why I didn’t want Percy to die was because the quest had only just started, and my first chance at proving myself had gone wrong. Percy had basically finished the fight on his own. And… shamefully, I also didn’t want Percy to die because I didn’t want the quest to end. I hadn’t seen enough of the real world to go back to Camp just yet.

I sighed, knowing I was going to have to say something to Percy now, seeing as I basically just said: That was a really stupid idea, saving our lives. We’ve lost all our bags now, thanks to you. I left Grover to mourn about his tin cans, and went to walk beside Percy.

"Look, I..." What was I supposed to say now? Hey, thanks for almost dying for us. That was really thoughtful of you. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

"We're a team, right?" Percy replied.

I knew I should’ve said more, but what? I wondered if I should’ve told him about my selfish fear. Then I just decided to go for it. "It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world.”