CHAPTER THIRTEEN - PERCY TAKES "FREE FALLING" A LITTLE TOO SERIOUSLY

My idea of fun was not riding on a train for two days.

Of course, it was much better than flying, but I would have preferred to drive. However, since we didn't have the money for a rental car, or gas, or even have our licenses, the Amtrak train was our only other option.

Percy didn't enjoy the ride, either. He was tense whenever he was awake, and kept his head low whenever someone passed us in our seats. The reason why became clear when he dropped a newspaper in my lap the first night.

It was the picture of Percy that the tourist had taken after the Greyhound exploded. His sword could have mistaken for a lacrosse stick or a baseball bat, but either way it condoned that he had a weapon. While Grover and Annabeth were facing away in the picture, I was right next to Percy, holding onto his elbow. There was a clear shot of my face, which made the entire situation much worse.

The caption of the picture read:

Twelve-year old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with three teenage accomplices, one of which is shown in this photo, holding onto Jackson. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture.

I looked over at Annabeth and Grover, who were sound asleep.

"Don't worry," I said to Percy. "Mortal police could never find us." However, even I didn't believe that.

Percy shook his head. "But now, there's a picture of you circulating. They don't know who you are yet, but what if your mom sees it? Then it will become an even bigger problem."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," I told him. "Chiron said that he couldn't find anything on my family. I don't think I have one here."

Percy frowned, but didn't say anything else. He got up from our booth and started to pace the length of the train.

I looked out of the windows, and watched as the countryside went by in a massive blur. After about a half an hour, Percy joined me. We saw a family of centaurs galloping across the wheat fields. The youngest caught our eyes and waved. Percy looked around, trying to see if anyone noticed, but I smiled and waved back. The little centaur's smile got even wider, and then the family bounded away.

Later, as the sun was setting, Percy pointed out a huge figure leaping through the trees. When I caught a better look at it, my heart froze in my chest. "The Nemean Lion," I whispered to Percy. "Best not to make eye contact with it."

*

The $200 from Gladiola's reward only managed to get us tickets as far as Denver. I offered to pitch in the $50 I still had in my backpack, but Annabeth insisted that we keep it, in case we run into trouble. I protested, wanting to stay as far away from Denver as possible, but once Annabeth made up her mind, it would take heavy equipment to change it.

We didn't have enough money to get a sleeper car, so we slept in our booth. Having slept in planes and cars my whole life from traveling to see both sides of my family, I could get comfortable in the rigid seat. The others weren't so lucky. Percy was contorted in an awkward position, Grover was spread out over two different seats, and Annabeth just couldn't fall asleep.

Grover didn't help with sleeping, either. He kept snoring and bleating, making it difficult to fall asleep. Once, his fake foot came off, and the rest of us rushed to get it back on before the other passengers noticed.

I moved to Grover's side of the booth, so I could keep a better eye on him. Percy and Annabeth sat across from us.

"So," Annabeth said, after we got comfortable again. "Who wants your help?"

Percy looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"

Percy's expression became guarded. He looked like he was about to make an excuse to Annabeth, but I kicked his leg. "Ow! Geez, Av!"

"Oh, was that your leg? I'm sorry."

Percy glared at me, but I gestured for him to talk to Annabeth. He grumbled to himself for a little while, but finally opened up and told Annabeth about his dream.

She was quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades," she finally said. "He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."

"He offered my mother in trade," Percy protested. "Who else could do that?"

"I guess...if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

Percy shook his head, getting lost in thought.

Annabeth looked at me. "You have an idea, right Avalon?"

"Um..."

She sighed. "Sorry, I know you can't talk about it." She scuffed her sneaker against the floor of the train car. "It's just frustrating, not having all of the answers."

"Trust me, it's nowhere near as frustrating as knowing the answers and not being able to talk about it," I said. She gave me a small smile.

Grover broke up our conversation by shuffling in his seat. He muttered something about food, and adjusted his head so he was leaning on my shoulder. I bit back a laugh, knowing that it wasn't the right time.

Annabeth leaned forward and changed the position of his cap, so it was covering his horns. "Percy," she began, "you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time–"

"This time?" Percy cut her off. "You mean you've run into them before?"

Annabeth looked like she was caught in a trap. Her hand went to her beaded necklace. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."

"What would you do if it was your dad?"

My eyes widened. This wasn't going to be good.

"That's easy," Annabeth said. "I'd leave him to rot."

Percy looked at her, bewildered. "You're not serious?"

I shook my head at him, begging him to stop talking. "Percy, that's not a good idea," I warned, but he ignored me, his eyes trained on Annabeth.

She sighed, and looked over to me. "It's alright, Avalon," she said. She turned her attention back to Percy. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy. He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that."

I snorted, involuntarily. "Why would she be happy about that? A mortal hero being raised on Olympus? Like Zeus would ever allow that. Besides, it would give anyone a massive god complex. And no offense, Annabeth, but you're already scary enough." I looked at my two friends. They were staring at me, obviously miffed that I had interrupted. I had to learn to stop doing that. "Sorry," I mumbled, scrunching down in my seat.

Percy looked over at Annabeth, trying to get the conversation rolling again. "But how...I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."

"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend that I didn't exist."

Percy looked uncomfortable. I couldn't blame him, exactly. Annabeth's story was tough to hear. "My mom married a really awful guy," he said to her. "Grover and Avalon said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."

Annabeth kept fiddling with her necklace, in the way she did when she was upset or nervous. She pinched her father's college ring between her fingers.

"He doesn't care about me," she finally said. "His wife – my stepmom – treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened – you know, something with monsters – they would both look at me resentfully, like 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."

"How old were you?" Percy asked her. His voice was soft.

"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."

"But...you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."

"Not alone, no," she agreed. "Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."

I gave her a small smile. "Those were their best years, you know. Running around together. When they found you, it made it even better," I said to her.

She looked up at me, her eyes a little misty from being lost in sad memories, but she returned the smile.

"I know," she whispered. Then she went back to staring out the window.

Percy gave me a look, like how did you know that? I rolled my eyes at him.

*

On June 13, our second day on the train, we crossed the Mississippi River and into St. Louis. The Gateway Arch loomed over the city.

Annabeth stared at it, an awestruck look on her face. "I want to do that," she sighed.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"

"Only in pictures."

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person," she said.

I leaned forward. "Oh, take me with you! I had the chance to go in high school, but my parents couldn't afford it."

Annabeth laughed. "You got it." She looked out the window to the Arch again. "I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."

Percy let out a bark of laughter. "You? An architect?"

I palm-smacked my forehead. "One day, that's all I ask," I mumbled, looking up at the train car's ceiling. "Just one day they don't argue."

My friends weren't paying attention to me. Annabeth's cheeks flushed red. "Yes, an architect," she snapped. "Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."

I groaned in exasperation. Percy fell silent, and looked out the window, down to the water of the Mississippi.

Annabeth frowned, figuring out what she had said. "Sorry. That was mean."

"Can't we work together a little?" Percy pleaded. "I mean, didn't Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?"

"The chariot," I blurted out. Annabeth and Percy looked at me. I felt my cheeks get hot, but I continued talking. "Athena invented the chariot, but Poseidon was the one who created the horses to pull it. They had to work together to make it work."

Percy nodded, gesturing to me. "See, Avalon thinks we can cooperate too, right Av?"

"Oh, definitely," I said. I tried to hide my smirk, but I don't think it worked. Annabeth gave me a funny look. "Um, you guys become great friends. Really, great friends."

They kept staring at me until the train pulled into the Amtrak station in downtown St. Louis. I jumped to my feet, uncomfortable with the attention. "Let's get off of this train, shall we?"

Grover stretched, and mumbled out "Food."

Annabeth nudged his leg. "Come on, goat boy," she said. "Sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?"

"The Gateway Arch. This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"

I raised my hand, desperate to get out of the train car. I was surprised that I had lasted this long. I was never good in small spaces.

Grover shrugged, after he and Percy exchanged looks. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."

*

The four of us hiked the mile from the train station to the Arch. Using some of my emergency cash, we got tickets for the museum and the elevator ride.

I loved museums. I always have. I walked next to Annabeth as we passed through the different exhibits. I could tell that Grover and Percy weren't all that thrilled, but they kept themselves occupied by listening to Annabeth spout facts about how the Arch was built, and eating jelly-beans from a huge plastic bag, that I had no idea how they got.

"You smell anything?" I heard Percy whisper to Grover.

"Underground," Grover replied. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

I spared a glance at Percy. He kept looking around us, scanning the room. "Guys," he said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

Annabeth looked up from a display she was reading. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade–"

I covered his mouth. "We're in a public place, smart one. You mean, our friend downstairs?"

Percy rolled his eyes at me, and pulled my hand away from his mouth. "Um, right. Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" Percy asked.

"It's the only day he's invited to Olympus, for the annual council of the gods," I said. "The darkest day of the year."

Annabeth nodded. "But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover continued. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

Percy looked around the dim-lit museum. "But then...how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?"

"He's not," I blurted out, before I could stop myself. All three of my friends looked at me.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "How you do know?"

I really wish they would stop asking me that, I thought. I cleared my throat, "Um, I don't," I said. It was the safest thing to say.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Percy said. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"

We walked through the rest of the museum, and stopped in front of the elevator car that would take us to the top of the Arch. "Oh, gods," I whimpered. It was possibly the smallest elevator I had ever seen.

Percy grabbed my hand, and gave it a light squeeze. From our short time at Yancy, he knew how bad my anxiety would get if I was cooped up in tight spaces for too long. "Don't think about it too much," he said. "We'll be out before you know it."

If I wasn't nervous before, I definitely was when the woman stepped into the car with us. She was a big lady wearing a bulging denim dress and a matching hat. She had a dog with her: a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar.

Before I could jump out and tell my friends that I'd wait for them on the ground, the doors closed and the elevator started ascending to the top of the Arch.

"No parents?" The woman asked innocently.

"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings," she said, and glanced at me. "This one doesn't look too thrilled, either."

Her beady eyes bored into me. I felt like curling into a little ball, but I straightened up as best I could and looked her right in the eye. "It's more so the company," I growled lowly. None of my friends made any indication that they heard me. All the woman did was sneer, baring her pointy, coffee-stained teeth.

The Chihuahua looked at Percy and snarled. I would have laughed if it was a normal dog, since that would have been the second pooch that showed immediate dislike towards my friend. The woman took her attention off of me and glared down at the dog. "Now, now sonny. Behave."

"Sonny," Percy said. "Is that his name?"

"No," the woman said, smiling.

The elevator doors dinged and slid open. I was the first to stumble out. Not that the observation deck was any better than the car.

I followed Annabeth around as she talked about how the changes she would have made. When she said a see-through floor would have been better, I felt the blood drain from my face. It was bad enough I was six-hundred feet in the air. I didn't need to see it for myself as well.

I sighed in relief when the park ranger announced that the observation deck was closing. Percy steered me, Annabeth, and Grover to the exit. He pushed us slightly to get us into the elevator, and was about to walk in himself, when he realized that there were already two other passengers in the car, leaving no room for him.

"Next car, sir," the park ranger said.

"We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."

I was close to hyperventilating, both from the small spaces and from the fight that was about to come.

"Naw, it's okay," Percy said. "I'll see you guys at the bottom."

"Percy," I said, stepping forward and putting my hand out to stop the doors from closing. "Switch with me, I'll stay for the next car."

He looked at me, taking in my pale and sweaty face. I tried to silently plead with my eyes, but it didn't work. "Av, you look like you're going to pass out. Just go, I'll be fine."

Grover gently pulled me away from the doors. I watched them slide shut, and the last glimpse I had of Percy was him looking at the fat lady and her dog.

I really was hyperventilating now. "Avalon, what's the matter?" Annabeth asked. But I couldn't respond.

The elevator doors opened and I shot out, dragging my friends with me. I burst out of the museum just as the side of the Arch exploded, the industrial metal practically vaporizing in the intense heat. I heard tires squealing and people screaming, as they watched the national monument go up in flames.

Annabeth gasped. Grover looked at me, eyes wide with fear. "What was up there?" He demanded.

"Echidna," I squeaked out. Annabeth whipped her head around to face me. "Echidna and the Chimera."

"What?" She shrieked.

"It was the woman, the woman with the dog! I...I tried to get Percy to come down with us, to switch places!" I was rambling now. I was sure it was my imagination, but I could almost hear the roars of the Chimera, the screams of the other passengers.

"I'm sure he's fine, Av. He's resourceful, he'll get through it," Grover said, trying to reassure me.

But just then, I saw a burning figure jump from the hole in the side of the Arch. I let out a strangled scream, my logical senses completely abandoning me. "Please," I prayed, to any and all of the gods.

Percy fell in what seemed to be slow motion, and I held my breath as he got nearer and nearer to the water. Annabeth, Grover, and I watched as he came into contact with the Mississippi, and disappeared under the murky water.

*

It wasn't easy finding him.

I knew the general area of where he was going to surface, and of course it was right next to all of the cops and news vans.

We scanned the bank of the river, trying to find our friend. I walked along the police perimeter, and, after what felt like hours, I spotted the familiar messy, black hair.