Penny Ranger and the Lightning Thief

Chapter XIV: The Demon Triplits Hijack Our Bus

"So far so good. Ten miles and not a single monster." Percy commented as we drove through Long Island.

Annabeth glared at him, probably worried he would jinx our quest.

"It's bad luck to talk like that, Seaweed Brain." she warned him.

"Remind me again, why you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you." she said.

"Could've fooled me." Percy replied.

By this point I had started tuning out their conversation, which had turned into what I imagined was only the first of many rounds of bickering and arguing between the two. I instead turned to the window and watched as the trees and beaches slowly gave way to buildings and eventually skyscrapers, until we had left Long Island behind and where driving through Manhattan.

Argus dropped us off at the Greyhound station in Upper East Side. He helped us unload our bags and made sure we had tickets before leaving us to our own devices.

Annabeth and I sat down while Percy stared off into the distance. I imagined he was thinking about his mom, seeing as their apartment was close by.

"You want to know why she married him, Percy?" Grover asked as he joined Percy's side.

Annabeth looked at me questioningly, silently asking who 'him' was. I shook my head. I knew they were talking about Smelly Gabe, but that was Percy's story to tell. If he ever wanted Annabeth to know, then he would tell her.

"Were you reading my mind or something?" Percy asked in shock.

"Just your emotions. Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

Percy nodded weakly.

"Your mom married Gabe for you. You call him 'Smelly', but you have no idea. He has this aura... yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you and you haven't been near him in a fortnight." Grover told him.

"Thanks. Where's the nearest shower?" Percy replied.

"You should be grateful Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human it can mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside of his Camaro I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. She was a smart lady. She must have loved you a lot to put up with that guy, if that makes you feel any better."

I imagined it didn't. But at least he now understood why she had done it.

At that point Annabeth suggested we play some hacky sack to pass the time. Percy welcomed the distraction. Me, I was just glad we didn't have to spend all of our waiting time sitting in awkward silence.

We used one of Grover's apples as a ball. Annabeth was amazing at it. She could bounce the apple off of every part of her body. Percy and I weren't that bad either, occasionally missing the shot but being able to keep up most of the time. Grover was, in heavy contrast to the rest of us, terrible. But I suppose it wasn't as easy for him to do it with his fake feet.

The game ended when Percy shot the apple a bit too close to Grover's head. The satyr swallowed the apple whole with one single bite. He blushed and began apologizing profusely, but we were too busy laughing to care.

The bus arrived shortly after. As it stopped Grover began sniffing and looking around warily.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's nothing." Grover answered.

We wall knew it wasn't nothing. Grover's nervousness was enough to tell us that.

Still, we boarded the bus and got seats at back together. The others stowed their bags away, but I kept my backpack with me. It had my arrows in it and I wasn't about to just let those go. Especially not when I knew we were in imminent danger.

The last passengers got on and that was when I realized that I had made the right choice. The last three people to enter were a trio of old ladies with leather bags that looked like they could knock out a police officer. But what made chills run down my spine was when I recognized my old teacher, Mrs. Dodds. The other two looked almost just like her, so it wasn't hard to figure out who they were. The Furies.

They sat down in the seats at the front and the two on the aisle crossed their legs in an X. The position looked completely accidental but the message was clear: no one leaves.

I wasn't the only one to notice them, as Annabeth quickly grabbed Percy's knee and nodded towards them. The blood immediately drained from his face as he sunk into his seat.

"She didn't stay dead long. I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime." he said.

"I said if you're lucky. Which you're clearly not." I corrected.

"All three of them! Di immortales!" Grover whined.

"It's okay. The Furies. The three worst monsters of the Underworld. No problem. No problem." Annabeth rambled as she thought of a plan.

I considered asking what her definition of okay was, but that wouldn't have helped.

"We'll just slip out the windows."

"They won't open." Grover informed.

"Back exit?" I suggested.

Grover simply shook his head, looking more miserable by the second.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around, will they?" Percy asked hopefully.

"Mortals don't have good eyes. Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist." Annabeth answered.

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

"Hard to say. We can't count on the mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit through the roof..."

Precisely at that point, we entered the Lincoln Tunnel. There goes that plan.
Then, almost as if she had rehearsed it, Mrs. Dodds stood up.

"I need to use the restroom." she announced in an emotionless tone.

"So do I."

"So do I."

They then began walking down the aisle as if they were slashers in a horror movie.

"Okay, time's up. Any ideas?" I said nervously, my hand drifting towards my hairpin.

Annabeth's eyes suddenly lit up. You know, the way they do when she has an idea.

"I've got it. Percy, take my cap."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and walk up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away." she quickly explained.

"But you guys..."

"There's a chance they won't notice us. You're a son of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you." he protested.

I knew what was going on. You see, one of Percy's praise worthy qualities is his loyalty. I swear to Zeus, he woul voluntarily jump off a literal bridge towards his own death if it meant saving a friend. But that didn't help when we were trying to make sure he got out alive!

"Percy, go. We'll be fine. But in a few moments you won't, because you'll be minced by our former pre-algebra teacher and her demonic sisters, unless you go now." I told him.

Annabeth reinforced my point by thrusting her cap in his direction.

He still looked reluctant to leave us, but he put the cap on and vanished. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was now as safe as possible. I then turned towards the furies and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I had been training at Camp Half-Blood for months. Now it was time to put that training to the test.