LUNACY; percy jackson

chapter 6

[act one; chapter six     -     a woman's rage]

    Her ear was ringing. It was sharp and invaded all of her remaining senses. So much so that she felt like she couldn't breathe. Not properly, at least. She focused on the ringing, tilting her head, tucking it lightly against her right shoulder. She didn't notice Annabeth until the blonde had grasped her hand within her own.

    Her best friend, who had taken the time to learn sign-language, lifted her hands and signaled in slow hand motions, asking her if she was okay. Andromeda nodded, her own hands, scarred yet soft, told her yes.

    She wasn't okay, not really. But no one else had to know that. No one but her.

    They walked along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind them, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in their noses.

    Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

     Percy and Grover continued to stop at times, complaining and muttering things in shock of the recent events, mostly to each other, though. Andromeda stayed quiet, however, right at the front, humming to herself, trying her damndest to block out everything that was not her own voice.

    Luckily Annabeth kept pulling them along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

    "All our money was back there," Percy reminded them, throwing his hands up, exasperated. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

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

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

    "You didn't need to protect me, Percy. Or the rest of us. We would've been fine. We all would've been fine."

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

    Finally, Andromeda stopped and turned to them, Annabeth veering around her best friend. "Can you two shut up please? I mean seriously, it's not like you've never fought anything before. There's a reason we train, a reason we fight in the woods against each other and monsters. There's a reason for everything just like the bus exploding. So please, just shut up."

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

    The ground gave off a gross smell and sloshed around their feet as they walked, so much so that Andromeda conjured up vines, watching as they wrapped around her feet, protecting her shoes, stopping her from sinking into it.