Who the hell thought making me a Half-blood was a good idea? {ON HOLD}

Act Two- 'AAAAAAAH' is my internal monologue for today.

Disclaimer: The world of Percy Jackson, its characters and settings are the copyrighted works of Rick Riordan and his publishing companies and affiliates. No profit was made from the writing of this story nor was any malice intended in any way, shape or form to the author or the actors/actresses who so brilliantly have brought them to life.This author is not responsible for underage readers. Please observe the ratings, warnings, and age of legal consent for your country.

We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, and past amber waves of grain. We weren't attacked, not even once, but I didn't relax.

I felt that we were travelling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was just waiting, waiting for the right opportunity. It could be my unhealthy levels of paranoia speaking, but when you're wanted by the normies and the mystics, I prefer to call it, 'having a survival instinct.'

Or we can all just call it good old fashioned paranoia. Does it really matter?

My name and picture were all over several newspapers. They'd somehow managed to get a photo of me in front of the exploded bus which had somehow ended up on the front-page to no less than five East Coast newspapers. I looked half-feral; Riptide was a blur that almost looked like a baseball bat while my water whip appeared to be a length of rope.

The picture's caption read:

Twelve-year-old Persephone Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of her mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the girl may be travelling with two teenage accomplices. Her stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to her capture.

"Don't worry," Annabeth told me. "Mortal police could never find us." She didn't sound so sure, but I appreciated the sentiment. Worst come to worst, water works on monsters and mortals alike.

The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train or staring out the windows. I couldn't sit still. It was like the train was a cage, and I was the lion.

Once, while looking out the window, I saw a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted for what appeared to be lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I enthusiastically waved back. Awww, he's adorable!

Closer to the evening, I saw a golden lion bounding through the woods at an incredible speed, keeping up with the train for a few seconds, before disappearing out of sight. I also spotted a moving tree. No, not like a nymph; a giant fucking tree just got up and started to stretch, like it was an Ent from Lord of the Rings. Wack, man. Wack.

The train line only went as far as Denver, and- since we paid to go half-way across the country- we couldn't only afford to get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. I think my neck became stiffer than a corpse. I tried not to drool in my sleep since Annabeth was sitting right next to me. Fuck if I know I succeeded.

Luke was taking a well-needed nap, curled up along the row of seats in the compartment. Judging by the way he conked out, it didn't seem like he would be awake for even a monster attack.

"So," Annabeth asked me, during a sleepless bout for the both of us. "Who wants your help?"

Okay. What? "What do you mean?" I mumbled.

"When you were asleep just now, you muttered, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"

Look, I didn't really want to tell her anything. What if she figured out I was dreaming about Kronos? What if she became more suspicious than a cat faced with a laser pointer? What if she gutted me or something? But the point is, I had only just recently gotten her trust. Luke was fully immersed in La La Land, so with no help from that front, I reluctantly explained in the vaguest terms I could.