𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[7] The Monster Doughnut Mascot

"The thermos!" Percy screamed, clutching onto the boat for dear life.

"What?" Annabeth's face was wild, her hair flying straight up like a torch. But Y/N understood. With shaky hands, he managed to open the duffel bag and take out Hermes's magical thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat. Arrows and javelins whistled past his head.

Percy grabbed the thermos. "Hang on!" He yelled.

"We are hanging on!" Annabeth yelled back.

"Then hang on tighter!"

Percy hooked his feet under the boat's inflatable bench, giving the thermos cap a quarter turn. Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos, propelling the entire boat sideways. The downward plummet turned into a forty-five-degree crash landing.

As the boat hit the ocean, it bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then whizzed along like a speed boat. There was a wail of outrage from the Andromeda, but they were already out of range. Soon, the Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.

.

.

.

The salt spray kicked up a nice mist for Iris messaging. Annabeth decided to contact Chiron. After all, who else was there to trust? Percy told him about sneaking away from camp, and Luke and the Princess Andromeda and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on Chiron's end and the rushing wind and water on Percy's end, there wasn't much that was heard.

"Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—" His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him.

"What?" Percy yelled.

"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, Y/N, you shouldn't have let Percy leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece-"

"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woo-hoooooo!" The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made the boat vibrate.

"—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch..." The mist dissolved as a beer bottle was thrown at it.

An hour later there was land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on the right side, then turned like it wanted a second look.

"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as they approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like..."

"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," Percy finished. Everyone turned to him.

"How did you know that?" Y/N raised an eyebrow.

"I—I'm not sure."

Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"

"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," Percy said immediately. He shook his head in confusion "Whoa. How did I know that?"

"Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is so cool."

"Great. I'm a human GPS now." Percy mumbled.

"Other boat is coming." Tyson pointed. Everyone turned to see that the coast guard vessel was catching up. Its lights were flashing, and it was gaining speed.

"We can't let them catch us," Y/N said. "They'll ask too many questions."

"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide." Percy unscrewed the thermos cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent the boat rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. As they entered the mouth of the river, Percy could feel the change into fresh water, leaving him tired and frazzled.