Hellfire

19: The Walking Undead

NINETEEN

Jason had been on watch for two and a half minutes when they came.

The shadows that had been speeding over the horizon when Gabriel vanished took their sweet time. Maybe they stopped in Paris, Rome, or Amsterdam for tourist attractions. They probably raided a bunch of gift shops on their way to kill Jason and his friends.

He was bitter. Today had sucked. What with the dead dads, lost friends, and the fact that Piper was still mad at him for, what, telling her he missed New Rome's brownies? It seemed like everything Jason had done on this stupid quest so far was worth nothing. Percy, Nico, and Frank were lost. Leo's dad was about to die, and Leo couldn't even talk to him. All their parents were about to die. Piper was still mad at him. It was only a matter of time before Aphrodite smote him with some kind of dove or French cheese.

Jason rang the alarm as soon as he saw them. Panic welled inside of him, but he squashed it down. His friends needed him more than ever now. Gabriel's visit had really messed them up – Leo especially.

Annabeth and Hazel ran on deck. Piper followed them a moment later with her clothes wet and bubbles still in her hair. Leo followed them after a moment. Despite their quick actions, however, all of Jason's friends looked sullen and downhearted. Jason felt sad looking at them, but he didn't know what he could do. There weren't exactly a lot of ways to comfort a friend whose godly parents were dying.

"What is it?" Leo's hands were in flames.

Jason pointed to the horizon. "We've got dead company."

The figures were flying. Jason stared at them for a moment before he realized gryphons carried them.

"Duck!" Hazel shouted, grabbing Jason's shirt and diving to the floor. His shirt ripped at the shoulder, but they were unharmed. The gryphons screeched and soared overhead. They dropped the figures they were carrying.

They were made of smoke. Jason and his friends got to their feet, weapons at the ready. The smoky figures began to solidify until six people stood in front of them. Jason felt the blood drain from his face. They were corpses. They were all corpses.

"Oh, gods." Hazel's face was white. The corpses were solid now. They were living, breathing corpses.

"Zombie apocalypse," Leo muttered, eyeing the corpses warily.

The first corpse was short. He was bald and had a wispy beard. His eyes were sunk deep into his skull. His limbs were thin and frail. He was covered is a toga, the kind the Greeks used to wear in the ancient times. He had a satchel on his shoulder with a small ornate sphere carved into it. It looked remarkably like...

"Archimedes." Leo's flames went out. His eyes were wide. "Oh, man. It's really you."

Piper stared at an old, sturdy-looking man. He walked with a cane, but Jason had the feeling he knew how to use the business end of that thing. His nose was just like Piper's. Some of his features matched Tristan McLean exactly. "Grandpa Tom." Her bottom lip quivered. "You... How are you here?"

"That angel blew the horn, didn't he?" Grandpa Tom said. His eyes blazed. "He sent me here to deal with you, Pipes."

Jason stepped closer to Piper. Suddenly, he didn't care that she was still mad at him for missing the place where he grew up. "Deal with her? What do you mean?"

The third corpse stepped out from the shadows. Jason took a step back. Annabeth almost dropped her sword. A diamond the size of Leo's head flew out of the ocean, landing on the ground between Hazel's feet. Piper swore under her breath. Leo's shorts burst into flames.