CHAPTER FOUR - I LOSE A FIGHT

When we got off of the Greyhound, Grover made a beeline for the restrooms. I wasn't surprised by that. What I was surprised by was Percy grabbing my hand and tugging me away from the station.

"Percy, what are you doing? Grover's going to be out in a second."

Percy stopped and faced me. "I'm getting us out of here. Are you going to tell me that you weren't the least bit terrified? Grover was looking at us like we were going to keel over in the next hour," he said. "C'mon, the taxi can drop you off at your house before it takes me home."

I tugged my hand away from his and shook my head. "I have to stay with Grover. I don't know where my home is, or even who my parents are here," I said. Percy opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Go, be with your mom. This is how it has to happen."

I knew that I was being eerily cryptic and probably wasn't helping the whole situation, but Percy didn't object. Maybe he heard the seriousness in my voice. He hailed the next taxi and got inside. He spared one final glance at me before closing the door. "I don't know what's going on, but be safe." Then the door slammed and the taxi was peeling out of the station.

I sat on the curb and waited for Grover. When he came out of the restroom a few minutes later, he found me, alone, silent tears running down my face., my head swirling with the knowledge that if Percy found out what I knew, he would never forgive me.

"Avalon, what happened? Where's Percy? Why're you crying?" He fired the questions at me like an artillery gun. I just shook my head and stood up, wiping my face with the back of my hand.

"That's not important right now. As for Percy, he went to see his mom," I said. Grover stared back at me in bewilderment, like he couldn't believe I just let Percy go. "It had to happen like that. I can't tell you much, I swore to Mr. Brunner I wouldn't, but Percy is in danger. And we have to follow him." I waved down a taxi, and Grover unfroze.

"I know he's in danger, but why would you just let him go if you knew he was, too?" He demanded. "Di immortales, Av! He needs our help!"

I snapped my head towards him, my eyes blazing. "I know that, you think that I don't? This is what is meant to happen! He has to go to Montauk with his mom. I told you, I can't say much about what I know, but I can tell you that if we don't get there by midnight tonight, Percy and his mom are both going to die."

Okay, maybe that was a little too much. The blood drained from Grover's face and he whistled as loud as he could. Soon enough, we were in a cab, heading towards Montauk beach.

*

During the ride, we had plenty of time to talk. Except, I couldn't talk about anything. My tongue would twist up every time Grover asked about what was going to happen, and my oath to Mr. Brunner was keeping me from saying anything else.

Grover wasn't very happy with me. He kept glaring in my direction. He obviously blamed me for letting Percy go.

"Grover, I told you, I couldn't have stopped him. And I couldn't have gone with him either, or you would've spent all night searching for us. I can assure you, that he is safe. Until we get there, no harm comes to him," I said, though I didn't think my words reassured him.

"How do you even know all of this? Wait, I forgot, you can't tell me."

I sighed. "Grover, I swore on the River Styx that I wouldn't tell you, or Percy, anything until we were safe at camp," I said. Grover's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"I'll stop asking you then," he squeaked out. His knee kept bouncing in anticipation, and he was looking at the driver's seat, a hungry gleam in his eye.

"I don't think that you're going to want to eat that," I whispered. His head whipped towards me. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to ask how I knew what he was, but he thought about it a little while longer and then just sighed in defeat.

Suddenly, the taxi screeched to a stop. Grover and I banged our heads against the front seats. "Hey, what's the big deal?" I demanded.

The taxi driver looked back towards us. "The road's closed, darlin'," he said. "Storm is pickin' up."

Grover fished some grubby-looking cash out of his shirt pocket. "We'll walk. Keep the change."

The driver shrugged, not bothering to ask why we would trudge around on the beach in a brewing hurricane. I'd guessed he'd seen weirder things, being a New York cab driver.

We had just watched the taxi drive over the last hill when a roar sounded behind us. We froze, and slowly turned around. A few hundred yards behind us, a massive humanoid figure loomed over the sand dunes. I gulped. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to meet him.

I turned to Grover. "Run."

*

We found the cabin as a crack of lightning lit up the sky. Grover and I started to bang on the door. "Percy, Sally? Open the door, we need to get out of here!" I yelled.

The door was flung open by a pretty lady with dark brown hair. I tried not to smile. I had always wanted to meet Sally Jackson, and of course I meet her in the worst circumstances. Percy was behind her, eyes wide, staring at Grover's legs. While we were running, he somehow must have gotten his fake feet and his jeans off. His hooves clip-clopped nervously on the cabin's deck.

"Searching all night," Grover gasped. "What were you thinking?"

Sally turned towards her son. "Percy, what happened at school? What didn't you tell me?" But Percy remained silent, still looking up and down Grover, like he had never seen him before.

I took this opportunity to keep my cover up. "O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" I yelled. "It's right behind us! Didn't you tell her?" Even though I knew that he didn't.

Grover did a double take. "I was going to say that," he mumbled.

I spared him a fleeting smile as Mrs. Jackson rounded on our friend once again. "Percy. Tell me now!"

Percy mumbled incoherently, but we got the gist of what he was saying. Sally grabbed her purse and Percy's rain jacket and shoved him outside. "Get to the car. All three of you. Go!"

Grover didn't need to be told twice. He trotted towards the Camaro as fast as his goat legs could take him. I gripped Percy's wrist, my hair plastered against my face from the rain. "C'mon, we have to leave now."

*

The car zoomed down the country roads. Every time lightning flashed, I would see Percy glance in the rearview mirror, looking at Grover. His expressions were almost comical, but I couldn't bring myself to laugh, or even smile.

Percy cleared his throat. "So, you two and my mom...know each other?"

Grover's pupils dilated, turning into slits. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew that I was watching you. And she didn't know about Avalon."

Percy looked at me. "Watching me?"

This time, I spoke. "Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But we weren't faking being your friends. We are your friends," I insisted.

"Um...what are you, exactly?"

Grover waved the question aside. "That doesn't matter right now."

"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, one of my best friends is a donkey–"

Grover bleated, his face contorted with offense. "Goat!"

Percy blinked. "What?"

"He's a goat from the waist down, Percy. Not a donkey," I deadpanned.

Percy looked at me with wild eyes. "And what are you, a sheep?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please. I'm like you. At least, I think I am."

"Like me? What–" but he got cut off by Grover sniffing indignantly.

"Donkey. Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!" Grover crossed his arms, more than slightly miffed about Percy's comment.

"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like...Mr. Brunner's myths?"

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?" Grover asked.

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds! Avalon and I were right!"

"Of course."

"Then why–"

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said. "I don't know how Avalon managed to stay alive for so long, maybe it was because you were the bigger target, your scent masked hers." They both looked at me, but I just shrugged. Grover continued, "We put the Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are. No thanks to Av, here," he added, and I elbowed him in the ribs.

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

A deafening roar sounded behind us. He was getting closer. That wasn't helping my mood.

"Percy," Sally began, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you and Avalon to safety."

My chest felt warmer. Even in this kind of situation, she thought of me as well as her son. It got me to thinking: were my parents the same parents I had when I wasn't thrust into this book? Where were they? Did they even live in New York? When I was twelve, in real time, we were living in California. If that was the same here, did they know who I was, and send me to Yancy to keep me safe? And which parent was my adoptive parent?

Percy's voice jarred me out of my thoughts. "Safety from what? Who's after us?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, his arms still crossed. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."

"Grover!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

I started to hyperventilate. All of the sudden, the direness of the situation came crashing down on me. I was in this book, and not only were the monsters after Percy, they were after me, too. And there was a good chance that I wouldn't make it out alive. My fate wasn't written down on paper, like Percy's. Without my permission, my brain went to what Mrs. Dodds had said: I was expendable.

Grover noticed my panic and tried to calm me down, but I waved him off. I swallowed my fear as best as I could. I could not afford to break down now.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked.

"The summer camp I told you about." Sally's voice was tight; she was just as scared as the rest of us, but she couldn't let it show, just like me. "The place your father wanted to send you."

"The place you didn't want me to go. And what does Avalon have to do with this? It's not like we have the same father," he said. Then he whirled around. "We don't have the same father, do we?"

I shook my head. "No, that I know for certain."

"Please, dear," Mrs. Jackson said, ignoring our mini conversation. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You and Avalon are in danger."

"Because some old ladies cut yarn."

I smacked the heel of my palm against my forehead. I never imagined him sounding so clueless when I read the book.

"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said, impatiently. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means – the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to...when someone's about to die."

"Whoa. You said 'you.'"

"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"

"You meant 'you.' As in me."

"I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you."

"Guys!" I shouted.

Sally swerved the car around our enemy. Part of me hoped that we would lose him in the storm, but I knew better. He bellowed in frustration, a deep rumble that I felt in my stomach.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

"We're almost there," Sally said. "Another mile. Please, please, please."

I could almost see the gears in Percy's head reeling. He turned to speak to Grover.

I gasped, my eyes widening ten-fold. I forgot about this part. I managed to throw my arm across Grover's body before the lightning struck, and the car was blown off of the road.

A scream ripped from my mouth, in an octave I had never managed before. My left arm felt like it was on fire. My legs got crushed underneath Percy's seat. My eyesight turned red from the pain.

The car skidded to a stop. I heard Percy's voice in front of me, but it sounded muffed, like he was speaking underwater. "Ow."

"Percy!" I heard Mrs. Jackson shout.

"I'm okay..."

My vision was going in and out. I took a shaky breath. "Grover, Avalon!" There was his voice again, but he sounded like he was shouting across a football field.

Finally, after what felt like hours, my eyes refocused. Percy was staring at me. He had a small cut on his forehead that was sending a trickle of blood down his temple, but other than that, he looked fine.

I wasn't so lucky. I couldn't move my legs, as they were trapped under his seat. My arm was worse. In an attempt to keep Grover from getting whiplash, my arm was snapped at the elbow, and I could tell that my shoulder had dislocated, or separated, or something. I tried to move it so I could cradle it against my body, but it felt like it was being flayed with a hundred knives.

"Avalon, oh god, your arm! What do I do?" Percy's voice was cracking with fear.

I swallowed down a wave of nausea. "Get Grover."

He was bent over at the waist, blood trickling from his mouth. I managed to pull one of my legs free from the front seat, and I lightly kicked his leg. He muttered "Food," and I sighed in relief. I didn't know if my trying to save him would've altered what happened.

"Percy," Mrs. Jackson said, "we have to..."

Oh no.

Blinded by pain, I forgot about our pursuer. I tried to turn my head to see how far he was, but my neck was stiff from the whiplash I had received from the crash.

Percy audibly swallowed. "Who is–"

I wrenched my other leg from underneath his seat, biting my tongue to keep from crying out in pain. "No time! Get out, now!"

Percy looked at me as I tried to kick open my door. "Why?"

"Percy," his mother said, her voice steely calm. "Listen to Avalon. Get out of the car."

I blocked out the rest of their conversation as I tried to pry my door open. Finally, I heard the click. "I got it!"

I pulled Grover to my side with my good arm, but it was still like carrying a dozen sandbags on my shoulders.

I heard the last of Percy's and his mother's conversation. "Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover, Avalon isn't in any sort of shape to hold him." Percy threw himself against his door, which swung outward. He pulled mine open and dragged Grover out of the car, me not far behind. Sally came up behind us, throwing Grover's other arm over her shoulder. I took up the rear.

Percy kept glancing behind him. Every time, I told him to look forward and keep running. If we slowed down too much, the monster would overpower us.

"That's–" Percy began.

"Pasiphae's son." I managed to choke out.

Despite our situation, Sally Jackson looked at me, her eyes shining with pride. Then her expression turned grim again. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."

"But he's the Min–"

"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."

I looked up at the pine tree. If we were in any other situation, I would have stopped to admire it. It was the size of a Times Square Christmas Pine, the needles thick and dark green, dripping from the rain. But we weren't in a different situation. The borders of the camp were the only thing that could protect us, and they were still too far away. We'd never make it. The monster slowed, and started sniffing the air.

"Food?" Grover mumbled out.

"Shh!" I whispered.

"Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?" Percy asked.

"His sight and hearing are terrible," Sally replied. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."

The Minotaur roared again. He picked up the car and threw it down the road. It made it a few hundred yards before the gas tank exploded and the Camaro went up in flames. I almost laughed. Not one scratch, Gabe had said to Percy.

Oops.

"Percy, Avalon," Mrs. Jackson said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way – directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

"Honestly Mrs. Jackson, I don't know if I can," I moaned, wincing in pain. My legs felt like lead, and I was sure one of my ankles was badly sprained. My left arm was going numb.

"You can, and you will." Her voice was stern, commanding, yet laced with concern. How does she do that?

"How do you know all of this?" Percy demanded.

"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."

"Keeping me near you? But–"

Percy didn't get to finish his sentence. The monster bellowed in rage, and charged towards us.

I took Grover's arm, the one Percy was holding. "Go!" I screamed at him. "He might not know I'm here, he's only after you!"

Sally nodded. "Separate! Remember what I said."

With (a lot of) her help, Sally and I pulled Grover away from the battle. The rain made it hard to see, but I watched as Percy dove out of the way. The Minotaur lost his footing for a second, and then turned towards us, his eyes full of hate. I think he knows I'm here.

My mind slowed down. I saw a fallen branch from a nearby tree, about the length of a sword. It was a long shot, but if I could save Mrs. Jackson, then I would. Percy was not going to lose his mother, not if I could help it.

I rolled and grabbed the tree branch with my good hand. The monster was right on top of me. I heard a strangled "Avalon!" but I couldn't tell who it was from, Percy or his mother.

I got a good grip on the branch, and then I swung it will all of the strength I could muster, which wasn't much. It whacked the bull-man across the snout, a satisfying crack ringing from the impact. Unfortunately, the crack was from the tree branch snapping in two.

For a moment, I was triumphant. The Minotaur staggered backwards, howling in pain, his muzzle wracked with splinters. I turned towards Mrs. Jackson. "Go, now!" I screamed at her.

Her eyes went impossibly wide. "Avalon, look out!"

I turned around just in time to see a meaty hand come across my vision. The monster backhanded me so hard, I flew ten feet in the air and hit my back on the pine tree. My vision went completely black. I could hear the battle raging around me, but I was blind.

"No!" I heard Percy yell.

I choked down a sob. I hadn't saved her after all. All I did was delay the inevitable.

Percy was screaming at the monster, but it was as if my ears were plugged. My eyesight was slowly coming back to me, but everything was impossibly blurry. I could just about make out shapes, but that was it.

I heard the dying roar of the monster, and a thud that shook the world. Percy won, I thought. He did it.

His blurry face appeared in front of me. He was crying. I probably was too. But he managed to shoulder Grover. "C'mon Av. We have to go."

I nodded, but my body still felt sluggish. I hauled myself to my feet and wrapped Grover's other arm around my good shoulder. Together, Percy and I stumbled across the property line and down the hill, making towards the big, sky blue farmhouse.