SURVIVOR ➸ pjo x marvel crossover

xx.

20 | A SUDDEN GETAWAY

Cassie bolted upright on the couch, awakening from her sleep. She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a sigh as she tried to shake off another terrible dream that rang in her mind. She tilted her head to the side to see that Percy was still sound asleep.

She manoeuvred her way out of the couch without waking him up, seeming at peace. She grabbed the remote laying on the table in front of her, quietly turning the tv off. It seemed the two had fallen asleep in the middle of watching a movie.

Elias was asleep in his room and so was Annabeth with the kids. Nonetheless, it was quiet in the household in the middle of the night. The elder Hunter made her way towards the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water, sighing in relief as the cool liquid hydrated her throat.

She was washing her glass when a shiver ran down her spine. Her eyebrows furrowed, quickly placing the glass on the rack. It was as if her sixth sense was warning her of something, and whenever that happened, she had learnt that nothing good ever followed.

Cassie sprinted towards Percy, nudging him awake.

"Huh," Percy mumbled tiredly, trying to shoo her away.

"Wake up," Cassie urged. "I sense Tartarus is finally making his move on us. We're not safe at all, especially the kids."

"What?!" Percy's eyes shot wide, scrambling out of the couch, the sleep quickly vanishing from his eyes.

"Warn Annabeth and Elias, we need to leave immediately," Cassie ordered and Percy nodded hurriedly, bolting towards their rooms to wake them up.

Cassie quickly shut all the windows, drawing the curtains over them. She grabbed her jacket, zipping it over her faded grey shirt. She turned her head to see Charlie drowsily waddling over to her.

"What's happening?" The little Jackson asked tiredly.

Cassie smiled warmly at her, softly ruffling her hair. "Nothing important, love. Don't you worry about it."

Charlie nodded, lifting her arms while Cassie smiled, holding her up in her arms as she leaned closer into the tri-blood, almost falling asleep in her hold. Elias appeared in front of her, dressed in combat gear and ready, sharing a look with her before stationing for lookout.

Percy and Luke soon walked into the living room too with Annabeth quickly trailing behind them, carrying a bag stuffed with some spare clothes and Luke's jacket in her hand.

The blonde knelt down in front of her son, putting his jacket around him and zipping it up while he glanced suspiciously between the group of adults.

"What is going on?" Luke asked.

"Something important just came up-" Percy was cut off as Luke shook his head.

"No," he intercepted. "I want to know the truth, dad. I'm not dumb. I've seen how cautious and protective you all have been for the past two months."

"Now's not the time, Luke," Annabeth persisted, slinging the bag behind her shoulder.

Luke shook his head. "No, mom, I'm sick of all these lies you guys tell me. I know we're not normal, okay? I want to know why we need to leave in the middle of the night."

The four adults shared a glance, holding a silent conversation amongst them before Percy let out a sigh and crouched down in front of his son, placing both hands on his shoulders.

"You're right, we're not normal, Luke," Percy agreed. "And because of that, we're in great danger at the moment. Which is why we need to leave now. And I promise you, once we're safe, we'll explain everything, alright?"

"Okay," Luke replied with a nod.

Percy smiled, opening his mouth to speak again when suddenly, a howl shattered the night air. The demigods froze, immediately drawing their blades and taking up fighting positions, pushing Luke protectively behind them who's eyes were wide in shock.

Around them, everything was eerily still, and the silence was deafening.

Charlie jolted awake from the sound, her eyes wide as Cassie passed her in Annabeth's embrace, and then joined Elias's side quickly, scanning the shadows outside through the side of the windows, searching for the threat while trying to remain undetected.

Suddenly, a shadow to their right rippled between them in the living room, and a hellhound bounded out of it, knocking Percy back into the dining table by surprise before it was quickly turned to dust by Elias while Luke and Charlie cried out in terror.

Cassie rushed to Percy's side, helping him up quickly. Elias kept looking around cautiously before hurriedly leading Annabeth and the kids through their back door with Percy and Cassie protecting the rear.

They all made their way out into the quiet street when at least thirty monsters stepped out through the shadows as the demigods all went back-to-back, holding their blades protectively.

Annabeth's heart sank. There were too many of them, she thought as she desperately tried to think of a plan. Before the demigods could even think of retreating another way, the monsters had completely surrounded them.

Half of the monsters were hellhounds, a few cyclopes, some dracaena, and even a few telekhines. Cassie and Elias held their hand back to Percy and Annabeth, signalling for them to stay close to Luke and Charlie while they readied themselves to fight the monsters.

Just as the twins lunged forward to attack, they exclaimed out in pain, dropping down to the ground. Luke and Charlie cried out in horror at the sight, holding onto their parents tightly.

Percy and Annabeth stared at Cassie and Elias in dread when they saw the huge sharp spikes sticking out of their shoulders and torso. They pulled Luke and Charlie closer to them, covering their view while trying to remain calm and strong for them.

Harsh laughter started echoing from the shadows behind them. Percy and Annabeth turned and saw a new figure walking towards them.

"Hello Ms. Chase and Mr. Jackson," the figure said with a grin as he slowly stalked towards them. "Long time no see."