The Half-Blood Project

25- Impossible Situations

Percy Jackson

I don't trust her. 

I don't trust anyone. 

But I accept the burgers, milkshakes, and fries without any complaints. It takes me a few minutes to realize I'm starving, so incredibly hungry, we hadn't had a real meal since...Vegas? The tacos in Denver were decent, but I didn't have a whole one, the enchilada's in Louie was decent but tasted like garbage. 

My stomach growls as I sit down at a picnic table in the warehouse which is filled with odd statuary and creeping garden decor. She says she imports and exports this kind of stuff, which is an odd business but it looks as though she does well. 

"Smells like snakes here." Grover sniffed the air and shrugged. "Maybe she exports to other countries?" 

The woman, Auntie M, is cooking away in a little kitchen nook, which has a deep fryer, a soda machine, and several grills, the smell of cooking meat and frying potatoes wafts to the table and I inhale the godly scent, it makes me shiver, making me again, realize, how hungry I am. 

"Weird stuff looks kinda odd though, all the statues look like they saw a monster or something scary." I noticed the odd, fearful looks on nearly every statue face, even a little girl, who holds an Easter egg basket in one hand. 

"Haha, that guy looks like my Uncle Ferdinand...." Grover pointed to a large man with curly horns and a horrified look plastered on his face. "But he went missing ages ago, I barely remember the guy, probably wrong." Grover gave another unsure shrug. Something tickled at the back of my mind, a thought, a fear, something I couldn't control. 

I shared a look with Annabeth, her dark eyes flickered to mine and they held the same thought, same fear, same something we couldn't control. Maybe it was because we were always on edge, always waiting, anticipating an attack. After all, that's what our life was now, and we couldn't control that, because it had been pressed in so deep, that it would never dry out. 

But then the look was gone, Auntie M placed three baskets of burgers, fries and huge vanilla milkshakes topped off with reddish-pink cherries and swirling Whipped Cream. 

"Thank you, Ma'am." I used my best polite voice and she gave me a bright smile in return. 

"It's no problem dearie,  we can call your circus later on after you eat and of course after a picture." 

She whisked away before I could ask what exactly she meant by a picture if she wanted one of us or something like that. I slurped my milkshakes down to nothing, devouring my fries and burger without any complaints, I was hungry.

"Damn Percy, you're like a human hippo." Grover laughed as I swallowed the last part of my burger. Annabeth looked lost in thought, staring at perpetually nothing, chewing her burger slowly. 

"That's a lot coming from you, you can eat anything." 

"Wax paper is delicious and you're too proud to admit it." 

"Wax-paper is NOT delicious, it taste's like wax." I stuck my tongue out. Grover crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. 

"That's what it's supposed to taste like dimwit." 

I rolled my eyes. "Annabeth, does wax-paper taste good?" 

She turned to us and swallowed a bite of her burger, eyes scrunched up in concentration, for a moment I thought she was going to slap one of us or she ignore us but then she broke out into a mischievous smile. 

"Of course it does." 

Grover slapped the table in celebration, giving me a sassy look of triumph. I groan, rolling my head on my neck, my back aching from sleeping in the car all day long. Why couldn't we just teleport to Olympus? It would be so much easier to do so. But of course, we have to take the difficult way there.