The Forgotten Daughter

Monsters

Idiot! Aliana could slap him.

The furies turned to face Percy, hissing.

Aliana gripped the hilt of her knife.

The monsters lunged at the boy standing recklessly in the middle of the aisle.

Annabeth and Grover leapt into action, attacking one of the creatures. Percy warded off the second, which left the last one for Aliana.

She stared down the monster, venomous dagger in hand.

The fury hissed menacingly.

"Bring it on, hag." Aliana challenged.

The creature lunged forward with a screech.

Aliana sidestepped the monster and slashed it across the back.

It screamed, if that's what you would call it, and whirled to face her. It limped forward, grasping for her with its clawed hands. Before it reached her, it crumbled into golden dust.

Aliana let out the breath she'd been holding. That was too close.

The others had dispatched their enemies as well. They were alone on the crashed bus.

Aliana heard a weird hissing sound, not like a monster, more like... she gasped. "Off the bus!"

They rushed out of the vehicle just before it exploded.

The shockwave threw Aliana forward. She rolled across the wet grass, finally sliding to a stop as her back collided with a thick tree trunk. She groaned as she pushed herself to her feet. It felt like she had broken something, or at least come close. She clutched her aching stomach and followed the others as they slipped away from the scene through the crowd.
* * *
They walk for what seemed like days.

Aliana kept calling for the others to stop so she could rest. Her back was killing her.

As they stopped for probably the twelfth time,  Annabeth suddenly snapped. "We don't have time for this. We have to keep moving. If you need a break so bad, you can go back to camp."

"I'm not leaving." Aliana held, straightening even though it hurt. "Sorry that I got hurt saving your life. Next time maybe I won't."

Annabeth scoffed. "Right. You saved OUR lives. The furies may not have noticed us if you hadn't brought that knife that probably smells like a Chimera!"

"Oh, so it's my fault." Aliana summarized.

"Isn't it always." Annabeth retorted.

Before Aliana could respond, Percy jumped in. "Guys! What's your problem?"

"I'll tell you what the problem is." Annabeth crossed her arms and glared. "She exists."

Aliana clenched her fists. "No, the problem is you wish I never did." She turned away so no one would see the tears that had slipped down her cheeks. "Annabeth, what did I ever do to you? Why do you hate me?"

Annabeth blanched for a moment. "You don't remember what happened the first time I tried to talk to you?"

Aliana hung her head. She did remember.

"I came to camp because I thought it would be different than home," she hugged herself. "but the first person that I try to talk to treated me like crap, like I was nothing."

Aliana turned and met Annabeth's sad, angry gaze. "I'm sorry. Whatever I said to you, whatever I did that day, I didn't mean it. I was nine and I had lost everything. I was still grieving and I took it out on everyone else." She looked away, unable to hold Annabeth's stare anymore.