╔═══════════════╗

chapter vii.
( the lightning thief )
❝ red baron ❞

╚═══════════════╝

       NOW THAT THE FIGHT WAS OVER, my shock came back to me. But overall, I was angry. I was angry that the all three of the Furies had attacked us. I was angry at Zeus for blowing up the bus and the rain that poured heavily on us. I was angry at myself for dropping my bag instead of putting it on my shoulders. I was angry at myself for not remembering my friend's bags. But most of all, I was angry at Percy for jumping in, no matter how much I was glad about it as well. I knew I was too proud to admit it.

      So here we were, walking through the woods on the New Jersey riverbank, a small ball of light leading the way so we wouldn't run into anything, along with the yellow glow of New York City illuminating the night behind us and the horrible smell of Hudson River in our noses.

      Grover was shivering and braying behind me, his quivering voice full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

      Annabeth kept pulling us along. "Come on! The further away we get, the better."

      I agreed with her the whole way. We needed to get far away from Mrs Dodds and the exploded bus. Far, far away.

      "All our money was back there," Percy reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

      That was when I snapped at him. "Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight –"

      "What did you want me to do?" He replied, giving me an incredulous look. "Let you get killed?"

      "I don't need your protection, Percy. I was perfectly fine by myself."

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

      I glared at him. "Shut up, goat boy."

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

      We trudged across the mushy ground and twisted trees that smelled worse than Clarisse.

      I walked alongside Annabeth, and I could feel her eyes on me.

      "What?" I asked her, settling my eyes on her grey ones.

      "You're glad Percy stepped in." She said.

      "Am not." I retorted, but stopped at her look and sighed, before kicking a stone. "All right, fine. But don't tell me you're not angry as well. If he had been killed ... one, a war would rage, and two, we would lose this quest, you're only chance the see the outside world, my only chance."

      "True," Annabeth said. "But he's not dead, is he?"

      I glanced back at Percy, and sighed and muttered to Annabeth. "You'll regret this."

      "Sure."

      I fell back in step with Percy, and he frowned at me. I refused to look at him, so I focused on my feet.

      "Look ... I ... I'm glad you stepped in and came back," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I wasn't sure whether it was to help me stay warm or to stop the nerves in my stomach. "That ... that was really brave."

      Percy nodded slowly before a small smile came on his face. "We're a team, right?"

      I had to push back the smile on my face, but I could feel the tips of my mouth twitch. "It's just," I looked back up at the ball of light ahead of us, "that if you died ... well, apart from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the world would end, or, mainly, the quest would be over. This may be Annabeth's only chance to see the real world, and I don't want to ruin that for her."

      "You also don't want to ruin that chance for yourself." Percy then said, and I looked at him, my eyes wide. "Oh, don't give me that look, it's obvious. It's written all over your face."

      A small chuckle escaped from my lips. The thunderstorm had finally ceased, and the city glow had disappeared behind us. The only light was from my magical ball in front of us, but even then the darkness still won. The only thing I could see of Percy was the light of his sea-green eyes.

      "You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" He then asked and I shook my head.

      "No ... only for short field trips every now and then. My mom, my real mom, she ..." I sighed. "Let's just say ... people like my mom and people like me don't work well together. So, camp is my home. I mean, at camp you train and you train. That's all cool and stuff, but out here, in the real world," I glanced around at the trees, "this is where you meet the real monsters. It's where you see whether you're any good." I was rushing out my words now, unable to stop. "A-and Apollo children don't really get recognised, most people think we're show-offs and musical freaks ... I wanted to prove that I'm not that, that I am a hero."

      Even as I said that, my mind doubted myself. Percy might have noticed, as he then said:

      "You're pretty good with that knife."

      I looked up to him. "Really?"

      "Anyone who can take a Fury by themselves with a knife then proceeds to blind them is okay by me."

      I felt a smile form on my face. "You weren't too bad yourself. Since when did you have a sword?"

      He pulled out the pen from his pocket and handed it to me. I examined it, turning it over in my fingers, my eyes sitting on the Greek word etched into the side. Anaklusmos.

      "Riptide." I translated. "Not bad." I passed it back to him, and he shoved it back in his pocket.

      "Chiron gave it to me. Said there was a dark past with it."

      I frowned, trying to think through all the memories of past rants and random fact sessions with Annabeth, but the name didn't spark anything. "Not that I know of."

      We walked in silence for a few minutes. It was a comfortable one, and I enjoyed it. For once, we had a conversation without a fight. Then something popped up into my head and I grinned.

      "You know, Percy ... back on the bus, I should tell you ... something funny ..."

      But I was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot from Grover, who played his reed pipes.

      "Hey!" He grinned. "My reed pipes still work! If I could remember a "find path" song, so we can get out of these woods!"

      He puffed a few notes, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing when Percy immediately slammed into a tree.

      After that, Percy seemed to be in a pretty bad mood, so I decided not to talk to him. We continued to trudge through the wood, and my stomach felt as though it would start to eat my body from the inside out. I was starving. We walked for another mile or so before I could see light up ahead, and my ball faded to nothing. It was the colours of a neon sign, and the smell of glorious food came along with it, and my stomach rumbled loudly.

       The four of us began to walk faster until in front of us was a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed down gas-station, an old billboard for a 1990's movie and one open building, which was the source of the neon light and the smell of food.

       I was disappointed when I saw it wasn't a restaurant. It was a garden shop. With pink flamingos, different statues and earthy, spiritual stuff. The main building was a long, low-ceilinged warehouse surrounded by acres of statuary. I squinted my eyes at the neon sign, but my dyslexia kept me from being able to read it.

      For me, it was more like: NTAYU MES EGDARN GOMEN MPERIOMU.

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

      Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know."

      Percy glanced at me, and I shook my head. "No idea."

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

      Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, with ugly beards and really short, stubby legs, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.

      I pushed my thought away and made to cross the street, the smell of food was overpowering. Percy seemed to have the same idea, as he fell into step with me.

      "Hey ..." Grover warned.

      "The lights are on inside." Annabeth said, and I could tell by the look in her grey eyes that she was starving too.

      "Snack bar," Percy said wistfully, and I nodded.

      "Snack bar." I agreed airily.

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

      A part of me agreed with him, but the other half dominated and the three of us all ignored him and crossed the street.

      The front garden was a forest full of statues: cemented animals, children, even a satyr, playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

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

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

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

      "You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminium cans." Percy reminded him.

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

      I rolled my eyes. "Grover. They're just statues, it's not like we're in Medusa's lair or something."

      "Bla-ha-ha!" Grover bleated again. "That just made it all worse!"

      I was about to say something else when the door suddenly creaked open and standing in front of us was a tall, Middle Eastern woman – well, I guessed she was, as she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was all I could see of her face. Her coffee-coloured hands looked old but well-manicured and elegant. But something about her eyes under the veil made a shiver when she stared at me.

      "Children," she said, and her voice sounded Middle Eastern too, "it is too later to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

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

      Percy looked at me, and I sighed mentally, trying to think of an idea when something suddenly popped into my mind.

       "We're orphans!" I said, and I winced at how enthusiastic I sounded about the idea, and Percy gave a quick shake of his head at me.

      "Orphans?" The women said, and the word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears, surely not!"

      I was out of ideas. I glanced at Percy, and he took the cue.

      "We got separated from our caravan," Percy said quickly. "Our circus caravan." Circus?! "The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he means a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"

      I was ready to kick Percy where the sun didn't shine. Circus?! What petty excuse is that?!

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

      We thanked her and went inside.

      "Circus caravan?" I said softly to Percy, annoyed.

      "Orphans?" He countered back with, a brow arched.

      I rolled my eyes. "Your head is full of kelp."

      "Well, do you have any better ideas, Miss Sunshine?"

      I glared at him. "Call me that again and you'll regret it."

      The warehouse was filled with more statues, and I couldn't help but feel as if each and every one of them was watching me. Each had different expressions, different poses and different clothing. But each and everyone one seemed to have terror within their stone eyes, which made chills rise up my spine. They were all life-sized, and I wondered whether that was why they were never sold because they could never fit into a garden.

       Annabeth walked beside me, and she eyed the statues warily, her grey eyes seemed to scan them all, and I could tell her brain was moving at a fast rate. But every suspicion we had seemed to have been thrown in the bin without our help, the idea of food was too much. It blocked our senses.

      The fact that we wandering into a stranger's company, and accepting their hospitality didn't even come to me. The only thing that was on my mind was the smell of cheese hamburgers. I didn't notice Grover's continuous whimpers, or the fact that Aunty Em locked the door behind us, or the fact that the statues looked so real they could have even been people.

      We finally reached the dining room. There was anything you could have ever wanted, a fast food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater and a nacho cheese dispenser. We approached the few steel picnic tables out front.

      "Please, sit." Aunty Em said, and we did.

      "Awesome," Percy said.

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

      Percy looked as though he wanted to jab the satyr in the ribs, but before he could, Aunty Em spoke.

      "No, no, no children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."

      I gave a thankful smile.

      "Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.

      For a second, I thought Aunty Em stiffen, as though Annabeth had done something wrong, but as soon as she did, she relaxed.

      "Quite all right, Annabeth," she said, and I frowned slightly. How did she know her name? "You have such beautiful grey eyes, child."

      She disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. It gave me some time to think. I glanced at Annabeth, who herself seemed to be frowning a little bit at being called by her name when we didn't introduce myself.

      "You don't like vanilla shakes, do you, Claire?" Aunty Em then said, and my gaze snapped to where she was cooking. I frowned even deeper, how did she know...?

      "Ah, no ... I don't ..." I said slowly. "I prefer lime ... but how ...?"

      She cut me off. "Lime it is then, Claire."

      Soon after that, she brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes (or for in my case, lime), and XXL servings of French fries.

      Percy beside me launched into his food, and I scrunched my nose up in disgust before cautiously taking a sip from the lime shake. Annabeth ate casually, while Grover nervously picked at the fries. He eyed the tray's waxed paper line as if he wanted to eat that instead, but he didn't. To me, he looked as though he would throw up, his face was so pale.

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

      I listened but shook my head when I didn't hear anything. Percy shrugged, a few fries poking out of his mouth while Annabeth gave him a clueless look. I frowned disapprovingly at Percy, and he looked to me.

      "What?" He asked after he swallowed his food, and I sighed, shaking my head.

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

      "I take vitamins. For my ears."

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

      Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken her head-dress off, even when she was cooking. Now, she sat forward, her hands laced together under her chin, watching us eat. I eyed her nervously as I ate my fries. I hated having someone watch me eat, and it was especially unsettling when I couldn't see her face.

      Percy decided to speak. "So, you sell gnomes." He said, trying to sound interested.

      "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 ... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."

      Something about how she said it made me feel sick. It might have been the extra thick shake, but this was a queasy, uneasy feeling. A bit like a feeling in the bottom of my stomach telling me something wasn't right. I glanced back at one of the statues. A young girl holding an Easter basket stared right back at me. I looked around the whole room, all the statues ... they looked so real. They were all masterpieces ... except for the face ... they all seemed so startled ... even terrified.

      "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."

      Always the face...

      My gaze snapped back to Aunty Em, and my breaths quickened, my heart banged against my ribcage, as though they were trying to tell me something important, but I myself couldn't figure it out.

      "You make the statues by yourself?" I found myself asking in a soft, trembling voice.

      "Oh, yes." Aunty Em said. "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 only have my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." Her voice sounded so sad, but I was already snapped from my gaze.

      Two sisters ...

      Annabeth stopped eating and leaned forward. "Two sisters?" She asked, frowning.

      "It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad women 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 alone I survived, but at such a price. Such a price."

      It hit me like a slap in the face, added with a bucket of iced water over my head. My body went numb. It all made sense. The statues, the veiled-face, the sisters, the name, 'Aunty Em', the story ...

      She was Medusa.

      Annabeth and I shared terrified looks, and she nodded to Percy. I understood.

      I quickly shook Percy beside me, my whole body was trembling. "Percy," I said, trying to get his attention. When he didn't respond, I kicked him in the shin.

      "Ow!" He said, looking at me. "What was that for?!"

      "We need to go," I said to him tensely. "I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."

      I didn't understand why he hadn't realised yet. He had to have known the story. Athena caught his father and Medusa in her temple, and she turned Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair and could turn anyone to stone with just one glance to her eye.

      Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, and Annabeth was tapping his shoulder discreetly to get his attention as well.

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

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

      "We really should go." She said, and I nodded, following.

      "Yes, it's getting late," I said.

     "Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"

     But Percy still was not getting it, he frowned at us, glancing between us and Medusa.

     "Please, dears," Medusa pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, 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."

     I tried to show reluctance, so I wouldn't blow our cover. But even I couldn't stop how much my hands shook and how my weight shifted from foot to foot. "We're really sorry. I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy –"

     "Sure we can," Percy interrupted me, and I sent him a glare.

     "No, we can't," I said lowly to him, my voice stern.

     "It's just a photo, Claire," he told me. "What's the harm?"

     I was ready to drag him from the seat myself, but Medusa spoke, keeping me from doing so.

     "Yes, Claire," she purred. "No harm."

     I wanted to shout at her, but Annabeth stopped me. "It's an excuse to get near the entrance." She whispered to me. I looked to her. She had a point. So I sighed and nodded.

      "It can't hurt." I continued to glare at Percy. If we get turned to stone, I will personally make his undead life hell.

      Aunty Em led us back out the front door and into the garden of statues. She directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr.

      "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, and I hoped he was catching on.

      "Oh, enough," the monster said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"

      "Where's your camera?" Grover asked.

      Medusa ignored him and stepped back, as if to admire the shot. She didn't need a camera because, with one look, we will be her statues. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

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

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

      She still had no camera in her hands.

      "Percy –" I tried to say to the stubborn boy beside me, but he didn't listen.

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

      My heartbeat quickened, thumping against my chest so hard, it hurt.

      "Claire," Annabeth looked to me with wild, fearful eyes. I turned to Percy and said in a rushed whisper.

      "Percy, something isn't right. She's –"

      "Not right?" Medusa said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"

      "That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.

      "Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted, she whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished, her invisible hands pushed Grover off the bench while I dived to the floor, dragging Percy with me.

      We landed on the floor with a painful thump, skidding the gravel a few paces away from us on every angle. My palms, elbows and knees stung from being grazed by the small rocks, and my side ached from where I landed.

      I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, and Annabeth in the other. I tried to move, but Percy stopped me from doing so.

      I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. The sound slithered in my ears, and I knew they were the snakes. I could feel Percy moving from on top of me, and I panicked, pulling him back down with my eyes closed.

      "No! Don't!" I screamed at him, holding my arm over his shoulders, preventing him from looking up. I continued to try and move, but it hurt to do so. I grimaced at the pain, slowly trying to pull my leg towards my hand, to get my knife.

      I continued to hear the rasping sound above me from the snakes.

      "Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling. "Maia!"

      I tried and tried to move Percy, but he seemed to still be captured in the trance. I was stuck, right below Medusa herself.

      "Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," She said to Percy soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy, I might spare your friend. All you have to do is look up."

      "Don't listen to her, Percy," I said, and I felt Medusa's feet stomp on my left foot, and I cried out.

      "Silence, girl!" She hissed.

      I clenched my hand to help stop the pain, Percy better survive this, because I have put a lot in for him to keep his little ass safe.

      "The Grey-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa continued. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."

      "Don't listen to her!" Annabeth shouted from somewhere in the statuary. "Run, Percy, Claire!"

      My hand neared my boot, and I slipped my fingers inside, they clasped around the hilt of my knife.

      "Silence!" Medusa snarled at my friend. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."

      "No," Percy muttered, I could feel him trying to move his legs. I didn't help him because I was quietly readying my dagger in my hand.

      "Percy," I said quietly to him. "Get ready to run."

      "Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa said. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less Pain. Less Pain."

      I then, without looking, slashed my dagger out towards Medusa's voice. I heard a cry and an angry hiss. I brought my dagger back and saw blood on the blade. In the reflection, Medusa was doubling back away from us.

      "Now, Percy!" I yelled at him and helped push him off the ground. He pulled me up and we both ran away, not daring to look at the monster of a woman behind us.

      We hid behind a statue of a man with a pen and pad in his hand, which was frozen midway from slipping from his fingers.

      "Percy, Claire!" There was a buzzing sound, like a ninety-kilogram hummingbird in a nosedive in front of us. Grover yelled. "Duck!"

      We looked up from our hiding spot, and there was Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating from hearing and smell alone.

      "Duck!" He yelled. "I'll get her!"

      I felt Percy grab my hand and we both dove to one side, I hissed in pain again, effectively getting more scrapes on my skin.

      Thwack!

      At first, it sounded as though Grover had hit a tree, but then I heard Medusa roar with rage.

      "You miserable satyr," she hissed, "I'll add you to my collection!"

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

      With my hand still in Percy's, he dragged me away, the two of us scrambling into the midst of the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass. If we were in a different situation, I probably would have either blushed or thumped Percy over the head with my bow.

      Ker-whack!

      "Argh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair spitting and hissing.

      In that moment, I quickly took my key-necklace from my neck and spun it in my hand. In an instant, my new bow appeared in my hand and I felt the weight of quivers on my back.

      "Whoa!" Percy said in surprise, I notched a normal arrow after I put my dagger back in my boot.

      Then, from right beside us, Annabeth spoke. "Claire, Percy!"

      Percy jumped so high his feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Whoa!" He said again, then he saw Annabeth. "Jeez! Don't do that!"

      I looked at her as she took off her Yankees cap and became invisible. "You have to cut her head off." She said.

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

      "Percy, she's right," I said. "That's how Perseus killed her, you need to do the same."

      "Medusa is a menace." Annabeth continued. "She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but ..." She swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult decision. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You – you've got a chance."

      "What? I can't –"

      "Look," I stopped him, "do you want her turning more innocent people into stone?" I nodded to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone. He looked to them, and I could see a spark of determination flicker in his eyes. I then grabbed a green glazing ball from a nearby pedestal. I bit my lip at it, but gave it to him anyway. "A polished shield would be better. The convexity will cause some distortion, obviously. As the colour and the substance inside is –"

      "Would you speak English?"

      "I am!" I growled at him. "Look, just keep your eyes on the glass. Never look at her directly. If you need help, Annabeth and I will be there ... well, I'll be there with a blinding arrow. If I can get the correct shot, it should temporarily blind her, which can give you a more accurate chance at slicing her head off –"

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

      "Roooaaarrr!"

      "Maybe not." Grover corrected. He went in for another hit with the tree branch.

      "Hurry," Annabeth told Percy. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."

      Percy took his pen out and uncapped it. Riptide soon appeared in his hand, the bronze blade glinting dangerously. He went to leave, but I called him back.

      "Percy." He glanced back. "Be careful," I said to him softly, and he nodded with a small smile before leaving to find Medusa.

      Annabeth and I followed him, staying in the shadows and behind statues. Annabeth had her dagger out, in which we both stared at as we neared, then we saw her.

      Her face was pale as a ghost, with snakes for hair, writhing and spitting. She had claws for nails and sharp teeth, and I gulped at the sight.

      Grover was coming in for another turn, but this time, he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed his stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful, "Ummphh!"

      Medusa was about to lunge at him, but Percy yelled, "Hey!"

      He advanced at her with difficulty, with Riptide in one hand, and the glass ball in the other. I pursed my lips, if she charged, he would have a hard time defending her.

      But she let him approach – ten metres, five ...

      I glanced at Annabeth, and she nodded at me. I then ran to a statue near where Grover, Medusa and Percy stood and hid behind it. I didn't need a reflection, because Medusa had her back turned. I saw Percy glance to me, and I gave him a determined nod, and he understood.

      I slowly and quietly thought, blinding arrow, and sure enough, I pulled one from the quiver and carefully notched it.

      Oblivious to it all, Medusa spoke to Percy in her soothing purr. "You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy. I know you wouldn't."

       I saw Percy hesitate, and Grover yelled out. "Percy, don't listen to her!"

       I pulled the string back on the bow and aimed for the grizzly bear.

      Medusa cackled. "Too late."

      "Percy, Grover, look away!" I shouted just as Medusa lunged. I let the arrow loose. Percy ducked and turned away, while Grover took the initiative and covered his eyes with his arms. The arrow hit the grizzly bear statue and sparks flew towards Medusa. She cried out in surprise when they hit her eyes. Her cry soon turned to pain as she covered her eyes.

      "Now, Percy!" I heard Annabeth yell, and the son of Poseidon slashed up with his sword. A sickening shlock! Filled the air. Percy's sword travelled right through the monster's head, and the head fell to the ground as the rest of Medusa's body disintegrated with a hiss.

      None of us looked at the head, we couldn't, as the eyes would still work and turn us to stone. But I could hear the thing gurgling and steaming, which made me want to vomit. I made my way to Percy, not daring to glimpse at the ground.

      "Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed. "Mega-yuck."

      Annabeth came up next to Percy and I, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."

      Very, very carefully, Annabeth crouched down, and without looking, she draped the monster's head in the black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.

      "Are you okay?" I then said to Percy, my voice trembling.

      "Yeah," He said softly. "Are you? You had a few nasty falls."

      I looked at my hands, which were bleeding along with my elbows and legs. "I should be fine."

      "We don't have any ambrosia or nectar." Percy then said. I shrugged, wincing as I did.

      "Well, I'll just have to heal like a normal, person, won't I?"

      Percy nodded, not satisfied, but still moved on from the subject. He turned to Annabeth. "Why didn't ... why didn't the head evaporate?"

       "Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," Annabeth explained. "Same as your Minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."

       Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hang from one of his little horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. Luke's magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.

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

      He 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."

       He snatched his shoes out of the air. Percy recapped his sword. I turned my bow and quiver back into my key and slipped the string over my neck and tucked the key out of view. Together, the four of us stumbled back into the warehouse.

      We found some, well, I found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.

      Finally, Percy said. "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"

      I raised my brows at what he said. Annabeth glared at him, and went to speak, but I got there first, wanting to defend my best friend.

      "Actually, it's your dad's fault, remember? Or is your brain full of both kelp and seaweed?" he gave me a look. "Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in Annabeth's mom's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her into the temple, they became the three Gorgons. That's the reason behind Medusa wanting to kill Annabeth, but she wanted to preserve you a nice little statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."

      Annabeth nodded at me, agreeing with my statement.

     Percy's face was burning, and I could feel mine starting to too. "Oh, so it's now my fault we met Medusa? You're the one that crossed the street first."

      I balled my hands into fists, before sitting up straighter, and tried my best to impersonate Percy's voice. "'It's just a photo, Claire. What's the harm?'"

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

      I snapped back instantly. "You're insufferable."

      "You're –"

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

      "You can talk," Annabeth said, massaging her temples. "Here I am already with one. What are we going to do with the head?" She then said.

      We all stared at the thing, a snakehead was hanging out a hole in the plastic. Words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!

      I suddenly thought about everyone back home at Camp Half-Blood. I wondered what my brothers and sisters were doing, whether the weather was being held back, whether they were missing me.

      I remembered what Jenna had said:

      Now, all you need to do is make Apollo cabin proud! Oh, this is gonna be so good. We've never had a camper take a quest before for as long as Lee's been here, or you for that matter.

      I wondered whether I would be able to prove myself to the Camp, and prove that the Apollo cabin is better than what people say. But part of me doubted I could ever do that, it made me think that this quest will end up a failure.

      Suddenly, Percy stood up. "I'll be back." He said.

      I frowned at him.

      "Percy," Annabeth called after him. "What are you –"

      But he didn't listen, he disappeared behind a door that I believed would have been Medusa's office.

      Annabeth, Grover and I all glanced at each other, wondering what the son of Poseidon was doing.

      Then, Annabeth spoke again. "Something's not right."

      I frowned. "What do you mean?"

      She leaned forward, glancing at where Percy had left. "Remember the Furies?"

      "Yeah." Grover shivered. "All three ..."

      "Exactly." The child of Athena continued. "Why weren't they so aggressive? They could have easily slashed us to pieces. They were holding back."

      Grover seemed to have remembered something. "When Percy was attacked by Mrs Dodds, she wasn't as aggressive as she could have been either. Why are they holding back?"

      Something they said sparked inside me and my frown deepened. "Do you remember what they said? They kept on asking where the bolt was, or where something else was. It was as though they didn't know whether we had it or not. They're Hades' torturers, if anyone knew the Lord of the Dead had stolen the lightning bolt, they would. So why were they asking? Why did Mrs Dodds search for Percy, asking for the bolt, when Hades already had it?"

      That was when Percy came back with a packing, cardboard box with a Hermes Overnight Express delivery slip. We all fell silent, hoping he wouldn't ask what we were talking about, but he didn't seem to notice. He angrily packed up Medusa's head and filled in the slip. The three of us stayed completely quiet while he did so.

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 impertinent."

      He poured some golden drachmas into the pouch on the delivery slip that he must have found in Medusa's office. As soon as he closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!

      "I am impertinent," Percy replied. He looked up at me as if daring me to criticize. I kept quiet. I glanced down at my feet before saying with an arched brow.

      "Come on. We need a new plan."