𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐀, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

sixteen

YOU/EMBER ✦

the three of us ran through the doors, cops yelling at us to stop. when we reach one of the last carts i stop in my tracks and make sure i look the door before the officers could reach us. percy and grover stand near the end of the cart and i make my way over to them as grover exclaims, "percy!" pulling something out of his flannel.

"what is that?" percy asked frantically, the officers still banging on the door. "it's a stinger."  i tell him with worry, examining his demeanor. "grover, do you know what kind of monster could do that?" i ask with urgency. "i don't know— i mean probably nothing good." he responds. i look to percy whos clutching his arm and breathing heavily.

"do you feel okay?" i ask with concern, "i think so, why?" he questions looking between grover and i. "do you think it's poisonous or something?"

"open this door right now!" an angry officer yells. 

"i'm not sure." i tell him. the train suddenly takes a jolt, not letting us dwell on the situation any longer. something growls in the distance and grover tells us we've gotta go. the three of us run down the train cart to reach the outside, scared for our life as it shakes and growling in the distance fills our ears.

"why isn't it still chasing us?" percy asks as we stand on the train tracks. "whatever echidna was hiding in there was young— it won't venture far from its mother." i explain. "she's learning to hunt, and this feels like the hunting part." i finish. percy looks at me with fear in his eyes.

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"we aren't going to be able to outrun them for very long" grover says. we walk down an empty alley. "we don't need to." i tell them, "just some place... safe for now" i continue. "safe? any ideas where we might find one of those?" percy asks as we frantically walk down the alleyway. "i do." i spoke, "there's a sanctuary, dedicated to— athena." i say as i look to grover. "my bestfriends mom."

"there's.. an athenian temple hidden somewhere in downtown saint louis." grover adds, "yes but, it's not all hidden.

we walk up to the building, "we're safe here?" grover asks, "yes, no monsters can get in. not even echidna." i state. "great, well since our train exploded i'm gonna see if there's another one we can get tickets on. we can't stay here forever." he states, "just because we're prey doesnt mean were helpless." he expresses and walks away, leaving percy and i alone.

"he doesn't like it when people mess with animals" percy states walking by me referring to the artifacts in the building, "yeah, i know." i tell him and he turns his head to me— "so, this annabeth... this is her mom's place? i faintly remember her." he says. "yeah— annabeth is my best friend." i try and not reveal too much. i don't know if i should— or if its even the right time.

"and why do you think athena would help us?" he asks me. "she just will— her and my mom were pretty close." i tell him feeling like that's all i can say. annabeth told me that, wherever this quest leads us is where it's supposed to— even if it doesn't seem like it. this is supposed to happen— i keep reminding myself, right?

"pretty lucky we were in the right city for it." he says, "luck, or fate?" he looks at me. "you know this is a temple, you could say hi to your dad if you want." i tell him, "no thanks" he declined my offer, "what about your mom?" he asks me. i look down, "i shouldn't... i dont think shes very happy with me" i tell him. his brows furrow at what i had said. "what could it hurt you, though?" i question.

"your thing with your mom..." he starts, "i get it— i mean, i don't technically.... but i can understand how you feel, but— my father, i don't want anything from him. he's had his chance. honestly, you've done more for me in the passed few days, than my fathers done in my entire life. if i have i stick with someone... i—" he trails off. "careful, i think you were about to call me your friend." i say, "somewhere the oracles probably laughing at us but-" i couldn't finish my sentence before percy fell forward. i caught him before he fell. "percy!" i exclaim with worry. 

grover some running towards us, "what happened?!"