𝖇𝖆𝖉 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉 || ᴘᴊᴏ x ʜᴘ

18 - 𝕲𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝕻𝖆𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖟𝖆

The quartet kept walking through the woods in the heavy rain and deep mud until they ended up on the other side where they found a deserted two-lane road, there wasn't much out there but a closed-down gas station on the other side of the road.

Holly took a deep breath, inhaling the deep scene of rain and wood chips with a whiff of possible food.

"Can you smell that?" She asked.

They crossed the road and found a roadside curio shops that sell lawn statues that look like different kinds of animals, the main building was a long warehouse surrounded by acres of statuary.

There was a neon sign above the gate, but Holly had a difficult time deciphering the letters since it was in cursive and her eyes were blurring from the rain.

"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked as Holly fell in line with him.

"I don't know," Annabeth answered.

"Difficult to say..." Holly hummed.

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Grover translated for them.

Explaining the dozen statues that flanked the entrance, there were two cement gnomes that were smiling and waving as if they were about to get their picture taken.

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Snack bar," Annabeth agreed.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird, right Holly?"

"Something's off," Holly agreed but her senses were dulled from exhaustion and hunger.

The two ignored them and went straight for the door. Down the aisle of statues, they found all kinds of things there: cement children, cement dogs, even a cement satyr playing the pipes.

"Bla-ha-ha!" Grover bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

They stopped at the warehouse door.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminium cans," Percy reminded him.

"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me."

Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of them was a tall Middle Eastern woman, she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands and her head was completely veiled with her eyes hidden behind a curtain of black gauze.

Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"They're... um..." Annabeth started to say.

"We're orphans," Percy said.

"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"

"We got separated from our caravan," Percy continued. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"

"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."