Do-over (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

13. Olympus is apparently a democracy

***IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU READ IT AND RESPOND TO IT IF YOU WISH. PLEASE AND THANK YOU.***

I had no idea how we had managed to get away from the beach without any intervention. The sidewalk was crowded with dozens of police officers and the occasional journalists talking to a camera in front of a news van. It was no surprise that there were civilians lurking around the edges of the police tape, taking photos and videos with their smartphones.

With all those people, we still managed to duck under the yellow police tape and walk away without anyone spotting us. I wasn't sure how but I wasn't complaining about it. Avoiding all eye contact, we walked over to the side of the street and hailed a cab before making our way to the airport.

The whole ride was silent. The taxi driver looked like he wanted to start a conversation but something stopped him every time. Maybe it was the air of anxiousness that seemed to ooze out of us, or maybe it was the look on my face. Either way, I was glad that we were being given some peace and quiet after all we went through. 

It wasn't long until we arrived at the airport. Just like when we were at the beach, the people at the airport acted as if we weren't three twelve-year-olds running around buying plane tickets without a passport. Somehow, we had gotten tickets to the next plane to New York using the leftover money we had without getting arrested.

I've been on a plane once, and that was not enough to prepare me for the second experience. I nearly ripped the armrests clean off during takeoff. Every single time the plane hit turbulence felt like Zeus was smacking the plane around and I found out that closing my eyes did nothing to help. 

I kept telling myself that being in a plane was just like being on a pegasus. Both were used to fly except a plane is just an enclosed space made of metal, much higher than where a pegasus would usually fly at and most definitely not neutral ground between my father and uncle.

The five-hour plane ride felt like five days. I had tried falling asleep but every time I was close to drifting off, a bump of turbulence would wake me up. For five whole hours, I was deprived of the sleep I wanted so badly. 

When we landed, there was nothing more I wanted to do than kiss the ground. Fortunately for us, there wasn't any news reporters or journalists waiting for us on arrival this time. I wasn't sure what happened there but I liked to think that it was the Fates' way of streamlining our journey. 

Hopefully.

It was proven difficult to talk Annabeth and Grover into splitting up at the taxi stand. I told them we needed to split up so they could tell Chiron what happened in case I didn't make it. Reluctantly, they agreed and we were all in separate cabs a few minutes later. 

I spent the whole cab ride just staring out the window absorbed in my own thoughts. Like always, Riptide was between my fingers as I played with the pen absentmindedly. I saw the cab driver look at me through the rear-view mirror from the corner of my eye but I ignored him. 

My thoughts were whirling at a thousand miles an hour. This quest, to put it simply, had been stressful. As much as I somewhat appreciated the Fates for sending me back in time to correct my mistakes, a part of me wanted nothing more than for it to end.

Every single move I make at every given second could potentially ruin everything. The actions I take could be the difference between world peace or the annihilation of the entire planet. Doing everything more or less like I had done it before almost five years ago was killing me. All I want to do was to find Luke Castellan and just shove a sword into his heart. To end everything before it even starts.