ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕠𝕗 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤 | ℙ𝕁𝕆 𝟙

♡IV♡

𝐼𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀

 As soon as we got into the car, Sally slammed her foot on the accelerate and we stormed along the highway, flashes of lightning illuminating our faces. I kept glancing to the back of the car, where Grover anxiously tapped his leg and Percy stared at me with a confused look in his eyes.

After a long, drawn-out silence, Percy spoke up, causing me to look back at him. "So... you two and my mum. You guys know each other?" I cringed away, turning to the front again.

"Not exactly," Grover said, nervously tapping his shaggy knee. "We'd never met in person, but she knew we were watching you."

"Watching me?" The boy questioned.

"Keeping tabs." I corrected, looking at him through the review mirror. "Making sure you were okay. But- we weren't faking being your friends, we are your friends." I added hastily, not wanting him to get the wrong ideas.

"Um, right, what are you two again?" He asked cautiously, his eyes flitting down the Grover's furry hindquarters.

"That doesn't matter."

"I'll explain when we reach camp."

The two of us spoke simultaneously. I glared at the half-goat, it was wrong to keep Percy in the dark. "It doesn't matter?" I huffed angrily.

"Yeah, I mean, from the waist down my best friend is a donkey-"

"Goat!" Grover bleated, interrupting the shocked boy.

"What?"

"I'm a goat from the waist down!"

"I thought you said it doesn't matter!"

"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you under hoof for such insult!" He shrieked.

Percy's jaw dropped as he tried to process the information. "Wait- woah- satyrs? You mean, like, from mr brunner's myths?"

I butted in, sick of this tiring charade. "Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy?" I spoke quietly, the harsh rain pattering against the roof of the car was almost drowning the sound out. "Was mrs dodds a myth?"

"So you admit it, there was a mrs dodds!" He said, furrowing his eyebrows. I nodded, exasperated. "Then why did you lie?"

"We needed to protect you." Grover said, calming down slightly. "The less you knew the fewer monsters you would attract."

"We put mist over the students eyes so you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good, you started to realize who you are." I explained.

"Who I- wait a minute, what do you mean?"

The bellowing noise started up again, and I whipped my head to the back, looking outside Grover's window.

"Percy," Mrs Jackson spoke up softly. "There's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."

"Safety from what? Whos after me?"

"Oh, nobody much, just the lord of the dead and his most bloodthirsty minions." Grover said, looking behind him nervously.

"Grover!" Sally and I exclaimed.

"Sorry, guys. Hey, Mrs Jackson, do you think you could drive faster?" She made a hard left, and we drove past the 'pick your own strawberries' sign.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked, and I bit my lip in thought.

"The summer camp I told you about." Mrs Jackson replied, peering at the side mirrors to get a look at the beast chasing us. "The place your father wanted to send you." I could see she was holding back tears, and I felt a wave of sympathy for her. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have to give up your kid.