I FELT LIKE I WEIGHT A HUNDRED POUNDS. Rain had soaked my clothes through, to the point that just walking felt like I was slogging through water. Cold had frozen my limbs. My feet in particular felt like rocks wrapped in bags of water. I might as well have wallowed in a river. 

Everyone was in shock. Grover kept shivering and braying and muttering about the Kindly Ones. Percy stumbled, shaking his head as if trying to clear it. Annabeth pulled us along whenever we slowed down. She insisted that we needed to get as far away as possible. I couldn't complain, even though it felt like my entire body was screaming. 

"All our money was back there," Percy reminded her. "Our food and clothes. most of it, anyway."

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

"Wait, what?" I protested, snapped out of my daze by the accusation. 

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

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

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

"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth. 

"He's right," I said. Discomfort made me extra irritable. I don't know why Annabeth was so insistent on berating Percy, but I didn't like it. "Percy was just trying to help. It's not his fault –"

"You shouldn't have helped, either," Annabeth snapped. "What were you thinking, crashing the bus?"

"Uh, I don't know, that it kept the Furies from biting your face off?" 

We sloshed across mushy ground. Twisted branches reached out at us like grasping hands. Percy and I stuck next to each other, as if it might encourage each other not to fall behind. 

A few minutes later, Annabeth fell in line next to us. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

"We're a team, right?" Percy said. 

"Go team," I said. I was too tired to actually sound enthasitic.

She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you two died...aside from the fact it would really suck for you –"

"Glad that got considered."

"– it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world." 

The thunderstorm started to let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. Because of that, I couldn't make out Annabeth's face to see how she was feeling. I suspected I wouldn't have understood anyway. 

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" Percy asked her. 

"No...only short field trips. My dad –"

"The history professor."

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. "It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody was going to interrupt. I didn't plan to. I understood. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."

There was something in her voice. Something that made me suspect she felt she was in the not category. 

"You did pretty good against the Fury," I pointed out. "I mean, I wouldn't even get halfway down the aisle, let alone tackle them."

Through the darkness, Annabeth almost looked hopeful. "You think so?"

Percy nodded. "Anyone who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me." 

"You know," Annabeth said, "maybe I should tell you...something funny back on the bus..."

Whatever that thing was, I wouldn't get to hear it. There was a shrill toot-toot-toot, like someone was strangling an owl. 

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods." 

He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff. 

Percy smacked right into a tree. It happened so suddenly I let out a choked snort of surprise. So much for finding a path. 

We considered to not find a path. Instead, we tripped and stumbled and cursed and ran into things, all the while feeling generally miserable. About a mile or so, a light appeared up ahead. Don't follow the light! my brain cried, before I remembered we were dead. 

Yet. 

Except it wasn't the sort of light I imaged at the end of the tunnel. Instead it was the bright, glowing light of a neon sign. I instantly started counting up how much of the money I had been given, and how much food I might have buy with it. I was tempted to get as much as I could, but fear of losing it made me decide to only buy meals now and maybe tuck the money on my person instead of in my losable bag. 

We kept walking until we reached a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business – the source of the neon light. 

At first I was disappointed to see it wasn't a fast food restaurant. But I was picking up on the smell of greasy goodness, which I had originally missed due to over thinking, so there had to be food in there. Somewhere. 

The building looked like some kind of roadside curio shop. There were selling a lot of different things for lawns – flamingos, cement grizzly bears, and collections of little ceramic mushrooms. The main building itself was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign was a crime against all dyslexic people everywhere.

It was written in red cursive neon. 

Between the already atrocious reading and memory, I think I read it as something like NTYUA EMS GRNEAD NEMGO IRUMMPEO. 

I was pretty sure none of those were real words. 

"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked.

I only shrugged. 

"I don't know," Annabeth said. 

Oh, right. She was also dyslexic. 

Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."

I supposed that sounded right. Two guardian Gomes were stood by the entrance. They were smiling and waving, like they were the encouraging us to come in. 

Percy started to cross the street. 

"Hey..." Grover warned. 

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Snack bar," Annabeth echoed. 

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

"Grover is right..." I said reluctantly. "We still have some food. Maybe we should wait for...I don't know, a real restaurant? Not in the middle of the woods?"

They ignored us. Probably because the food I was offering was just as soaked as we were. Grover and I hurried after them. After all, if this really was a trap, we couldn't just let them walk into it. Right? 

There was a forest of statues outside the building. Animals, children  – there was even a satyr playing the pipes. That creeped Grover out. 

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!" 

I narrowed my eye at the satyr. Did he look scared or was I just projecting? I couldn't tell. 

We stopped at the warehouse door. 

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" Grover said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian." 

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy pointed out. 

"These are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are...looking at me."

"Yeah, can we get back to the point?" I interrupted. "If Grover smells monsters –" 

I was interrupted by the door creaking open. Standing in front of us was a tall woman, dressed in a black gown that hid everything but her hands and the glint of her eyes behind a black veil. Her hands were wrinkled, so I guessed she was older, but they were manicured and elegant. 

"Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?" she said. 

"They're...um..." Annabeth started to say.

"We are very lost," I said flatly. 

"But, by dears! Surely not!" The woman cried. 

She somehow sounded sympathetic and concerned without her tone losing its calm, smooth tone. She reminded me of the grandmother of a friend I had in third grade, which almost made me forget I was nervous. 

"Yep." I was a really bad liar, but I hoped I didn't sound too nervous. Or was sounding nervous better, because we were lost? Ugh. I just didn't want her to know there was no one looking for us. That's how you get kidnapped. "Our parents should be close. I think."

The others nodded. 

"They said to meet at the gas station if we got lost," Percy said. "But...um...this might be the wrong one. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?" 

"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area." 

I your store? I thought. But I couldn't say that. Not right in front of her. So we take her and went inside. 

"What was that?" Annabeth muttered to me. 

"What?" I defended. "I had to say something." 

"That was terrible. You sounded like a robot."

"Maybe I was a charming robot."

The warehouse was filled with more statues. I wasn't sure if I should be impressed or scared. There were a hundred different people, all life sized and almost creepily realistic. They were all in different poses, wearing different outfits and different expressions. None of those expressions looked positive, though. 

I twisted my ring and glanced around. Aunty Em had locked the door behind us, so there was no quick exit unless we wanted to smash a window (oh, wait. The warehouse didn't have those! What was with these places and having no exits?) Grover kept whimpering nervously, which in turn made me nervous, to the point I thought the statues' eyes were following me. 

I was surprised to find that Aunty Em was right. At the back of the warehouse, there was what looked like a mini fast food set up, like the one you'd find in a gas station (Hey, what about that gas station next door? What happened to that? I thought. Then I forgot about that.) There was a counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. 

"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said. 

"Awesome," Percy said. 

"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."

I nodded and tried to look as much like I didn't have money as possible. Did that have a unique look? Whatever. 

Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It's my treat, for such nice lost children."

"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said. 

Aunty Em stiffened, like Annabeth had said something rude. She relaxed just as quickly, but I filed that in the back of my mind. Sure, Annabeth could be a little rude, but that wasn't something that you sniffed out just from a thank you. 

Or maybe Aunty Em just didn't like blonde people. I wasn't sure. 

"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." 

Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. As soon as I thought she couldn't hear, I leaned over to Annabeth and whispered: "Did we give her your name?" 

"I don't know. Maybe we mentioned it," Annabeth said dismissively. 

I wanted to say more, but before I could Aunty Em had returned. She laid plastic trays in front of us. Each were heaped with double cheeseburgers, a vanilla shake, and XXL serving of French fries. 

Percy and Annabeth scarfed down their food. Any other day, I would have died for this meal. Currently, even the soggy chips in my bag seemed more appealing. 

"Is something wrong, Atalanta?" Aunty Em asked. 

Okay. There's no way she got that name naturally. I don't think Annabeth knew my full name and, while Grover and Percy did, they never used it. It was always Attie. 

"I'm...um..." I tried to think of something. "Allergic to hamburgers?"

"Oh. Poor dear."

She sounded really sympathetic, which made me feel guilty. Both for lying and suspecting her intentions. Maybe she was just some kind lady trying to help, and my nerves were fried from the Furies. 

"What's that hissing noise?" Grover asked. 

I listened. I didn't hear anything. Both Percy and Annabeth looked just as confused. 

"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."

Pretty sure we didn't give his name, either. I definitely wasn't eating that food. 

"I take vitamins," Grover said. "For my ears."

"That's admirable. But please, relax."

Which is what people tended to say when you definitely shouldn't relax. It didn't help that Aunty Em wasn't eating the food. 

Okay. I did bill this thing as a guide, and I think this narrative thing is getting in the way of making a point. So let's take a pause so I can share some advice: don't eat food that the person who made it won't eat. Also don't ignore a thousand other red flags for some burgers. It will always end badly. 

"So, you sell gnomes," Percy said. 

He sounded deeply uninterested, but he was doing that thing where he always felt he needed to make conversation. Sitting in silence made him nervous. 

"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"A lot of business on this road?"

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built...most cars, they do not go this way now."

Suddenly the feeling of being watched grew even stronger. I turned. It was a statue. A girl, holding an Easter basket, except instead of the typical holiday joy her face was twisted in terror. It looked like she had been attacked. 

"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."

"Ah, well," I tried to sound casual. "I'm not any good at faces, either."

I wasn't good at any arts and crafts, actually, but I didn't mention that. 

"you make these statues yourself?" Percy asked. 

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." 

There was a deep sort of sadness in her voice. The kid that compelled you to try to make her feel better. I thought of Mom. If I had lost Percy, too...

Annabeth stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. Of all the weird things that happened, that was what seemed weird to her? That Aunty Em had sisters? 

"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a...a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I along have survived, but at a price. Such a price." 

For a moment, my brain generated only a computer blue screen. Then it rebooted so fast I inhaled sharply. Realization hit like a punch to the gut. 

"You're –" I was cut off by Annabeth stomping on my foot. 

"Maybe we should go," Annabeth said. "I mean, I'm sure our parents have reached the gas station by now."

I nodded frantically. "Yep. Our parents hate when we're late." 

I mean, I wasn't lying. Gabe had hated whenever we were even a second late, and he was legally my stepdad. Even if I refused to actually see him as such. 

"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eye like those."

"Really?" I said nervously. "I've seen lots of people with gray eyes. Yeah. Like...ten at least."

Aunty Em ignored me. She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly. 

"We really should go."

"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "Our parents are waiting! Right!"

"Mhm," I nodded and stood as well. 

Only Percy looked unconvinced. I wanted to shake him and yell "monster! Bad news!", but that sounded really obvious and likely to get us attacked. And I was not in the mood to get attacked, especially now that I was protecting our precious gear on my back. 

"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you got, won't you at least sit for a pose?"

"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily. 

"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

"Yes, of course," I nodded. My brain went into over drive trying to think. "But, um, you see...our parents...they don't like us getting photographed. Something about privacy."

"Of course, of course," Aunty Em said. I hated how understanding she sounded. "I would never think to share them without permission."

I twisted my ring nervously. 

"Please?" Aunty Em turned to Percy and I. I could practically feel the pleading radiating off her. "It's so nice to see such close siblings. It reminds me of my own sisters..."

I wanted to shout how do you know we're siblings? but, I had to admit, that wasn't exactly a hard guess. We looked almost exactly the same (at least, that was what everyone said. I think they were just too lazy to tell.) 

That seemed to be enough for Percy. "Sure we can." He sounded irritated that we would even consider otherwise. "It's just a photo, guys. What's the harm?"

"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. I noted she didn't include me. "no harm." 

"Our parents..." I protest weakly. 

But it seemed like the argument was over. Annabeth allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues. She directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. How nice. We got to sit down as we died. 

"Now," she said. "I'll just position you correctly. The young girls in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."

"Not much light for a photo," Percy remarked. 

"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"

"Where's your camera?" Grover asked. 

Aunty Em stepped back. She seemed to be studying us. My knee bounced as I resisted the urge to jump up and run. 

"Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

Oh, great. I hated smiling for pictures. My teeth always looked weird. Of course, I know that wasn't the most important thing right now, but I really didn't want to be immortalized in stone looking like a giant dork. 

Grover glanced art the cement satyr next to him. "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand," he mumbled. 

"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."

There was still no camera. The effort to play oblivious was starting to make my stomach hurt. 

"Percy –" Annabeth said. 

"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cured veil..."

"Percy, something's wrong."

"Wrong?" Aunty Em said. She reached up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"

Grover gasped. 

"That is Uncle Ferdinand!"

Annabeth shouted something about looking away. I didn't need to tell me, though, because as soon as Aunty Em's veil fell away I threw myself to the ground. Annabeth's legs disappeared – I guess she'd turned invisible – and Percy and Grover collapsed next to me. 

I didn't bother trying to get a look at what Aunty Em had appeared. I grabbed the back of Percy's shirt and hauled him to hide behind one of the statues. 

"Run!" Grover bleated. What do you think I'm doing? He raced across the gravel and yelled "Maia!" to start his flying sneakers. 

Percy stared at Aunty Em's hands. They had turned from perfectly manicured hands to gnarled claws. 

"What's happening?" Percy said. His voice slurred, like he still wasn't entirely conscious. 

"Dude!" I shook his shoulders in an attempt to clear whatever fog was blocking his common sense. "Aunty 'M!' Boyfriend! Hates Annabeth!"

"Medusa..." 

I wanted to cry. I supposed I couldn't blame Percy, though. Aunty Em had been really charming, and I'm pretty sure the only reasons I had made the connection was because I still remembered our conversation in the car with Annabeth. I could have been totally wrong. 

It just so happened I was right. Man. Being right sucked. 

I tried to think. Come on brain! Percy's namesake, Perseus, had been able to kill Medusa the first time. Except she'd been asleep. I mean, I thought she had been asleep. I really didn't remember. Either way, she was definitely not asleep, and really wanted to cut us into ribbons. 

Or, well, just Annabeth. But I liked Annabeth in one piece, personally. 

"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, children," Medusa said. She didn't sound like a monster. She sounded as kind and loving as she had before. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Anthena, turned me from a beautiful woman." 

"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted from...somewhere. I couldn't pick it out. "Run!" 

Like I needed to be told twice. I just needed to find a way to get away without being caught. Which, mind you, is a lot harder when you can't look at what you're trying to avoid. 

"Silence," Medusa snarled. Then, so suddenly I almost got whiplash, her voice went back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, children. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear children, you need not suffer." 

Nope! I'm good! I started to move to make a break for it, but then Medusa said, "Do you really want to help the gods? Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest?"

I tensed. No, I thought. Not really. The anger I had felt when I first arrived at Camp Half-Blood, which I had be come so use to that it was almost numb, started to work its way to the surface again. I just wanted my mom back. I just wanted to go home, even if that home had stupid Smelly Gabe in it (and maybe...maybe, with camp, we didn't need him anymore.) 

"What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dears. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."

That snapped me out of it. I mean, I don't think anyone would believe "you would be better off as a statue." Just in time, too, because Grover was coming blasting towards us, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight. He was navigating entirely by hearing and smell – which I guess he could do, as a satyr. 

I was stunned. Percy tackled me out of the way. 

There was a heavy thwack. I thought Grover had run into one of the statues. Then Medusa roared with rage. 

"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll ad you to my collection!"

Not if I have anything to say about it! I thought. Unfortunately, I actually didn't have much too say about it. I still couldn't look at Medusa, and the statues were clustered together, which made my slingshot basically worthless. 

"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back. 

We scrambled away as Grover went in for another pass. Somehow, he actually managed another hit. Medusa let out another cry, her snake-hair hissing and spitting. 

Right next to us, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy! Attie!"

I bit my tongue to avoid yelping in surprise. 

"Jeez!" Percy cried. "Don't do that!"

Annabeth removed her Yankees cap, becoming visible. "You have to cut her head off." 

"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."

"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed. It seemed like admitted she couldn't do it herself was physically painful. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get lose to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You – you've got a chance."

"What? I can't –"

"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"

Annabeth pointed to a pair statue, a man and a woman. They had wrapped their arms around each other, as if that could protect them in their moment of terror. 

I knew Annabeth was right, but I couldn't help but mumble, "Won't she just come back?" 

"Maybe. But some time is better than none." Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of –"

"You're saying it'll look weird, so her stone powers won't work," I interrupted. 

"Not exactly, but...sure. Basically." Annabeth looked disappointed that she didn't get to give her complex explanation. She toss the glass ball to Percy. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly." 

"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!"

There was a gutteral roar. 

"Maybe not." 

"Hurray," Annabeth said. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."

Percy took out his pen and uncapped it. Riptide raised over his shoulder, he disappeared into the statue forest, following the sound of Medusa's hair. I crouched behind a nearby statue. I didn't risk looked higher than a few inches off the floor to watch Percy's feet, in case Medusa turned our way. 

Annabeth had turned invisible, but I could still feel her hovering by my shoulder. 

I twisted my ring. I wished more than anything that I could help. I could hear Medusa crooning to Percy, but I forced myself to keep from listening. Come on, I silently prayed. Come on, come on, come on. 

I begged dad to help, even though I had sort of dissed him earlier and also we were decapitating his old girlfriend. Was that really worth letting Percy die over? 

Medusa cackled. "Too late."

There was the swish of something cutting through the air, then the sickening sound of something cutting through flesh. My heart dropped...until I heard to hiss of a monster disintegrating. There was a thud. 

He'd done it. 

I went to hurry over, but Annabeth grabbed my sleeve to stop me. She was visible again, her eyes locked on the sky. "Don't move."

She stepped forwards. Very carefully, with looking down, she dropped the monster's head in the black cloth, the picked it up. Only then did I approach. Monster juices were still leaking through, dripping onto the ground. 

Usually I would have been disgusted, but I was too busy being relieved that Percy was alive. As soon as Riptide was re-capped, I tackled him in a hug. Then I pushed up my glasses to quickly wipe my eyes before he realized I was crying. 

Not that I was crying. That would be silly. Clearly Percy had it under control and I definitely wasn't scared he was going to die. 

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was trembling. 

"Yeah," Percy said. He didn't sound okay, but at least he wasn't physically harmed. "Why didn't...why didn't the head evaporate?"

"Once you severed it, it became a spoil of war," Annabeth said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It cans till petrify you."

Personally, I planned to throw it in a river before I unwrapped it. But a good warning nonetheless. 

Grover moaned as he climbed down from...a grizzly statue? I blinked. How did he even get up there? Crashed, I guess from his state. A giant welt was growing on his forehead. His rasta cap hung from one of his horns, and his fake feet were gone completely. The sneakers were flying aimlessly in circles (good to know they wouldn't run off, I suppose.) 

"The Red Baron," Percy said. "Good job, man." 

Grover managed a bashful grin. "That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun." 

"You win some, you lose some, buddy," I assured, patting him on the shoulder. He winced and I quickly stopped. 

Once Grover snatched the shoes out of the air, we stumbled back to the warehouse. We found some old plastic grocery bags and double-wrapped Medusa's head. Just incase. Then, because apparently that was as careful as we were being, we plopped it down on the table. 

For a moment, we were all too exhausted to speak. Then, Percy said, "So we have Athena to take for this monster?"

Wrong thing to say. Annabeth flashed him an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you and Attie as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."

"Ew," I mumbled. "Major yuck." 

"Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa," Percy snapped.

"I didn't –"

Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of Percy's voice, she said, "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?" 

"Okay, not cool –"

"Forget it," Percy said. "You're impossible."

"You're insufferable," Annabeth retorted. 

"You're –"

"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines."

I nodded. "Can we just agree it was a group effort or something? On both fronts?"

Neither of them seemed to like that idea, but they stopped arguing. I took that as a win. 

"What are we going to do with the head?" Grover asked. 

For a moment, we just stared at the bag. There was a little snake hanging out of the hole in the plastic. WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS! was printed on the side. It looked so absurd I almost laughed. 

"We're not seriously keeping that thing, right?" I asked.

Percy got up. "I'll be right back."

He disappeared for a moment. For a moment we sat in silence. To be honest, I was waiting for Annabeth to say something. She could talk about me being a bad liar all she wanted, but already I was starting to figure out when she really wanted say something but didn't. For example: she was currently twisting her Yankees cap and staring hard at us, like she was trying to will us into asking her a question. 

So, I did: "You noticed something, didn't you? About the quest?"

"The Kindly Ones," Annabeth said. I was confused,  before I remembered that was what people called the Furies when they didn't want to get their attention. "I've been thinking about it since the bus...I think they were holding back." 

"Holding back? They were trying to kill us," I said. 

"No, they attacked us. If they were really trying to kill us, we never would have escaped." 

"And they were asking about an 'it'," Grover pointed out. "'Where is it? Where?'"

"So...they weren't talking about Percy and me," I said. "Unless they think we're one thing, and also not human, I guess." 

"I don't know. But if there something we're missing..." Annabeth trailed off. I got the idea. We'd be in big trouble. 

Just as I was starting to get concerned, Percy returned with a box. He packed up Medusa's head and filled out a delivery slip: 

The Gods 

Mount Olympus

600th Floor,

Empire State Building

New York, NY

With best wishes,

PERCY JACKSON

"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impenitent."

Yeah. Maybe they would. I considered that as Percy poured in some gold drachmas. Yet, as the package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!, it felt right. 

I only found myself wondering if I should have added my name to that slip. 

Author's Notes: Yes, yes, I know that the most prominent version of the Medusa story is that she wasn't "Poseidon's girlfriend" but raped, and also in the very Greek story the gorgons were just born like that and there was no transformation at all. But that's the version that exists in Rick's interpretation and I'd have to change the entire plot point to make that fit.