11CHAPTER 8
THE QUEST BEGINS AND A GOD AT THE CONVENIENT STORE
The morning after, I remembered we had our quest starting today, and I groaned. I got up and went to the Dining Pavilion for breakfast. I sat down at the Poseidon table alone. I glanced around at all the innocent campers. Man, I wish I was one of them.
I looked to find Grover and Annabeth. Grover was at the table with other satyrs, eating tin foil. He saw me and waved. I waved back, and looked at Annabeth. I saw her at the Athena table, eating and talking with her siblings. She noticed me staring at her and smiled. I blushed, grinned back, and went back to my breakfast of eggs, bacon, and orange juice.
I was really glad Annabeth was going on the quest with me. I like it when she's there. And Grover too, but… it's not exactly the same.
Yesterday, when I heard the prophecy line about 'the Child of Athena', I freaked. I made a silent vow: I will not let Annabeth die.
Right after breakfast, I went straight to my cabin and started packing. I told Chiron and them that I packed last night, but the truth is when I get scared or nervous, I start to procrastinate.
So, when I finally finished packing and double checking that I had everything, (extra clothes, food, nectar, ambrosia, etc.) I went to check on Grover.
"Hey, man." I say as I found Grover by the woods.
He smiled, "Hey, Perce. You ready?"
I shrugged, "I guess."
Grover frowned, "Something wrong?" he asked. I forgot that he could read my emotions. Stupid empathy link.
"Uh, no." I say, because I didn't want to talk about. I decided to change the subject. "Sooo… are you done packing yet?"
Grover looked over his stuff in his orange bag. "Hmm… yep." He said, then he his eyes were wide. "Oh no!" he exclaimed.
"What?"
"I forgot my tin cans!"
I chuckled as Grover ran to get his favorite snack.
I was walking back, when I saw a familiar blonde jogging toward me.
Annabeth smiled, "Hey," she said. "Why did I here Grover yelling something about forgetting his cans?"
I laughed, "It's nothing. What's up?"
"I just finished checking everything for the quest. Chiron said we have to leave in couple of hours, so we should go."
"Right." I said. Just before Annabeth turned the other way to walk back to camp, I grabbed her arm and said, "Annabeth, I have to tell you something." I don't know why I did that. She stared at me with a questioningly look. What was I going to say? I had no idea. I'm not even sure why I did that. I was going to say how much it means to me that she's here and coming with me, but I clammed up. Chickened-out. What is wrong with me?
"What, Percy?" she asked.
"Uh, um," I stuttered. "I, uh, forgot." I say stupidly.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "You are such a Seaweed Brain." She said simply, and walked away.
I sighed with relief and followed her.
Hours later, Chiron, Annabeth, Grover, and me were at the top of the hill. It was about lunch time so everyone else was at the Pavilion. No other campers knew about the quest because Chiron didn't want to worry them.
We were just about to leave for the quest, but Chiron gave us some words of encouragement first.
"Good luck, you 3. I have no doubt that you will come back with the Silver Sword, alive."
"Thanks, Chiron." Annabeth said.
Chiron nodded, "No problem. I wish you all the best. Now, it's almost noon. You must go."
Before we turned around, Chiron stopped me, "And, Perseus? Please remember what I told you." He had a gleam in his eyes. I wonder how it would feel, all the responsibility of these campers resting on your shoulders. I've always respected Chiron, but I never knew how it would be to be in his shoes. I know he wants the best for me, too.
I just nodded, "I will."
We grabbed our bags and stuff and headed downhill, to the woods. I took one last look at Camp Half-Blood. For some reason, I had a strange feeling that it would be the last time I saw it.
"So," Grover said as we were walking the streets of New York, "Where do we go?"
"Uh, the Bermuda Triangle." I said matter-of-factly.
"I know that." He says with a sigh, "But, how?"
I shrugged, but Annabeth answered, "It's in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Bahamas." She says.
"Yeah, that narrows it down." Grover mutters.
Annabeth shot him a look, "No one knows exactly where the Bermuda Triangle is, goat boy. It's unknown."
"Then how do we get there?" I asked.
"We'll find a way. If Luke can get there, so can we." Annabeth sounded so confident, that I really did believe her. "But first, we should probably get some food and supplies. Once we sail to the Atlantic, I doubt there'll be a McDonald's in the middle of the ocean." She says.
I nodded, "Good idea. I think there's a convenient store close by."
We walked to the store called, 'EZ Foodz and Drinkz'. I don't about you, but there are way too many z's in that. Anyway, us 3 got inside, we bought everything we thought we needed, and some other things. Grover got some aluminum foil, already-made enchiladas, and socks. I don't why he even needs socks since he doesn't even have feet, but hey, it's not my business.
Annabeth bought a lot of architecture magazines and other stuff.
I bought cookies, chips, and blue Twizzlers. I didn't know they had those, and I got pretty excited. I got about 10 packs. As I was looking around for something else useful, I bumped into someone. Literally.
"I'm sorry!" I said hastily.
"Oh, it's alright, Percy." The man said.
Uh-oh, I thought. When the dude looked up, I got a good look at his face. It was familiar, all right. He had a pointed nose, and a mischievous look.
"Hermes?" I gasped. Of all gods, I meet Luke's dad at a gas station. He was wearing a purple polo shirt and khaki pants. It looked like he was about to go clubbing or something.
Hermes smiled kindly, "One and only." He says, "Are you surprised to see me?"
"A little." I admitted.
He chuckled, "I could imagine. After all, you are on a quest to stop my son."
My eyes widen, "How did you know?"
"I am the god of messages, Percy. I know a lot of things I'm not supposed to." He winked.
"Oh," I say, a bit uncomfortably, "Then, are you here to stop me?"
Hermes shook his head, "No, no. I just came here to-"
"Percy!" Annabeth interrupted, she and Grover came back from the other aisle. "There you are! Look, I found-" she stopped at the sight of Hermes. She frowned immediately. "Hermes. Great." She murmured.
Hermes returned the look, "Annabeth. Good to see you." He said, forcefully.
"Wish I could say the same." She replied.
Those 2 glared at each other for a while. Annabeth hates Hermes because he blamed her for Luke turning out the way he did, and Annabeth accused Hermes for being a terrible father.
After about 30 seconds of silence, Grover coughed. "Um so, Lord Hermes, what brings you here?"
Hermes tore his expression away from Annabeth, and turned to Grover and I. "Well, actually I was here to give you 3 some advice." He said.
"Advice?" I wondered. "On how to destroy your son?"
Hermes sighed, "Not exactly. I mean, of course I don't want Luke to rise Kronos, but…" he trailed off. I knew what he was going to say, though. Luke is still his blood and flesh and he loved him.
"I guess I really want to help you." He continued. "It's a terrible thing Luke is doing, trust me, I know. I just can't believe he would go this far to prove a point."
I can believe it, I wanted to say but I kept my mouth shut.
"Anyway, the advice." Hermes said. "The Bermuda Triangle is the most dangerous place. Monsters of all kinds roam throughout the island. That is one of the reasons it is forbidden to the gods. But, I just wanted to give you some helpful weapons and supplies for the road." He gave each of us a blue medium sized backpacks.
"Great." Annabeth said with a fake smile, "Are we done here?"
Hermes kept in his anger with a deep breath, "One more thing," he said. He brought out an item out of his pocket that was silvery and shiny. A whistle.
Hermes held it out to me, "This will help you as you arrive at the Atlantic border."
"How is a whistle going to help us get across the ocean?" I asked.
Hermes smiled slowly, "You'll see." He said, "Now, I should get going. Good luck, you 3." And with that, he snapped his fingers and vanished.
"Huh," Grover said. "Well, that was nice of him."
I nodded but Annabeth just said, "Whatever, let's just pay for these and get out of here."
I forgot about the stuff we were going to buy from the store. I nodded and said, "Yeah, I'll pay."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, Chiron gave me some mortal money." I answered.
I went to the counter and paid for everything. When I was fishing in my pockets, looking for some cash, I saw the cashier guy checking out Annabeth, and I got mad. I narrowed my eyes, and tried to give the guy an evil look, "Hey, pal, that's my girlfriend you're staring at." I said harshly, but quiet enough so that Annabeth couldn't hear. The cashier dude raised his eyebrows, like, Yeah, right. After I paid, I grabbed the stuff and went back to my friends.
"Ready to go?" I said.
Annabeth nodded and started to walk toward the door. But Grover gave me a look, like he knew something I didn't.
"What?" I asked.
Grover smiled and shook his head, "Nothing," he said, "Nothing at all."
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