The Green Eyed Ghoul

Heading West

A/N: Yellow is a color :).

The train pulled into Denver, and the trio climbed off. An old lady complimented the three young "ladies" on being so responsible and polite in an era of hoodlums and disrespectful brats. Annabeth thanked the woman, Touka smiled good-naturedly, and Percy felt dead inside.

Annabeth wanted to contact Chiron to give him an update on the quest, Percy wanted to find a store and buy something that didn't make him look like a girl, and Touka was having the time of her life as she watched her "sister" squirm in her shorts.

Unfortunately, they were all out of money aside from fifty drachmas and some spare change, so the Kraken had brought up shoplifting. Touka gasped and said aghast, "Now why would three responsible and polite young ladies such as ourselves ever perform such an unlawful act? For shame, Persia, for shame."

Annabeth openly laughed, and Percy just slumped over, defeated.

The quest traveled through downtown Denver for half an hour, with Annabeth leading them to a place where they could get in touch with camp. She annoyed the Ghouls by not telling how, or what exactly they were looking for. Eventually, though, they came across a deserted car wash, and grey eyes lit up like neon signs.

"So what are we doing here?" Touka said, making her displeasure vocal.

"We're I-M'ing Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."

"We're going to Instant Message a centaur that's half a continent away?"

"Not Instant Message, Iris Message. If you can make a rainbow, throw a drachma in it, know how to ask nicely, and she's not too busy, Iris can deliver a message to anywhere as the person you're asking for is under the sun. You two have 75 cents?"

Percy and Touka blinked, curious as to what would happen. The Rabbit found a couple of quarters in her pocket, and Annabeth activated the machine and set the nozzle to Fine Mist. Light shined through the airborne water, and a rainbow was created.

Annabeth threw a drachma into the light, "O goddess, accept our offering. Show me Chiron at camp half blood." The drachma disappeared in a golden shimmer. Nothing happened, but then the rainbow shifted and distorted, before strawberry fields and the Long Island Sound came into existence, along with a boy wearing an orange tank top and shorts with a sword in his hand.

"Luke!" Annabeth called out happily. Touka jerked her head to the side, and she and Percy quietly walked away, giving the two demigods their talking time.

"So how are we going to get to Santa Monica?" the Rabbit asked.

Percy shrugged, "Not a clue, but I have confidence that the answer will come to us when we least expect it."

Apparently they were least expecting it, because a Lincoln Continental pulled up in the next stall over, its stereo set to maximum hip-hop. The Ghouls shared a look, a silent message of understanding passing between the pseudo-siblings. "You're hiding the body," Percy said. Touka just hummed.

Maybe it was stereotypical, maybe it was judgemental, maybe it was just natural, but when the man behind the wheel of the Lincoln was large, dressed in baggy clothes, had a few gold teeth, and was carrying a gun, it immediately set off red flags. He also apparently had a thing for little girls, obvious when Percy came around the corner, the black man's grin somewhere between hideos and downright lecherous, with a very disturbing predatory gleam in his dark eyes.

The man shut off his stereo, leaving the lyrics '...I don't wanna hear that bullshit, I wanna hear that official shit...' hanging in the air. "Well hello there, shawty," the man slurred, "what's a pretty little girl like you doing walking around in a place like this? How 'bout this: you hop in my ride here, and we can go get some ice-cream or something before I drop you off wherever your house is?"