People ran out of the shop frantically.
"Hellhounds," Annabeth pointed.
Sure enough, there were at least three black dog-looking things the size of grizzly bears charging straight toward us. Percy pulled a sword out of absolutely nowhere and charged forward.
"Okay sure, let's all just pull weapons out of our ass," I mumbled. "You guys are like trouble magnets!"
I tried to stay out of the way since I didn't have much experience in fighting huge mythical beasts. That still made me fair game, though.
A hellhound managed to grab my shoulder with its huge claws. I winced and tried to wiggle my way free. Kalos bit and barked at the thing, but he was way too small to do anything.
I saw the blood trickle down my arm in a dark red river. Panic swelled in my stomach, creating horrible, tense energy in my gut. My eyelids got really heavy, and I got a massive headache out of nowhere.
"Ow ow ow..." I whispered, trying to figure out what I could do. My head was burning, and my arm felt like it was about to be torn off. My throat and chest tightened as my whole body got tense. My vision got blurry, and it looked like a purple filter was over my eyes. "Let go, let go..."
I gasped when I felt something snap inside me and found myself face first on a nearby table, but miraculously out of the hellhound's clutches.
"What- How did you do that?" Annabeth yelled as Kalos pulled me off the table.
"Do what?" I clutched my shoulder, my head still pounding. I went from super tense and high energy to exhausted in a matter of seconds. What happened?
"You just- you just zip zapped out of there!" Percy came running over.
"Whatever, can we just leave?" I said. I felt really dizzy. "I think I'm going to puke."
"Please don't," Annabeth groaned. "C'mon Percy, let's just get to the bus station.
We did our best to get out without having to fight, and by 'we' I mean Annabeth and Percy. I could barely stand, and didn't dare look at the gash in my shoulder. "I'm glad I brought a spare shirt," I winced as my shoulder moved. "God, I feel sick."
"Like, losing-a-lot-of-blood sick or I-just-freaking-teleported sick?" Percy asked.
"How am I supposed to know what that feels like?" I grumbled. My head was spinning, and I could barely see a foot ahead of me. Why was I so tired? And who was yelling so loud?
"Can everyone stop shouting?" I muttered, trying to tune out the loud noise.
"But no one's-" Percy started, but Annabeth shook her head sharply as if to say not right now.
We made it to the bus stop, but I still had a splitting headache.
"Oh my gods," Annabeth whispered as she finished taping up the gauze on my arm, trying to avoid the worried glances from people passing by. "I thought you were going to stay out of the way?!"367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvVbTW35Zg
"I was trying," I grumbled.
"Okay but seriously, how did you do that?" Percy whispered.
"I said I don't know!" I whispered harshly.
"You were right there, in its hands, and then -poof- you glowed gold and then were like, ten feet away."
"Where did they come from?" I asked.
"They could be the titan's minions, or maybe just some stray," Annabeth said as she helped me onto the bus.
"I feel like I hear a lot of people talking," I sighed. I heard voices coming from all directions, but I couldn't tell what they were saying.
"It must be a side effect of whatever you did, but I don't know any empousai that can do that," Annabeth said quietly.
We sat in silence as the bus rattled away, trying not to attract too much attention. Kalos tried to lick the gauze and whined softly. I leaned on a pole, Annabeth trying to support me so I didn't fall over.
We had at least six more hours to go until we reached Charlotte, and I never needed a Tylenol more in my life. The adrenaline had worn off, and now I just hurt everywhere.
"Here, drink this," Annabeth handed me the water bottle Mr. D gave me.
"I feel like wine probably isn't the best choice right now," I whispered.
"It's not wine! Just drink it. You too, Percy."367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8yxQH6vd8
We all took a drink, and surprisingly, I felt a lot better. It tasted like the strawberry tarts my mom used to make. I didn't bother to ask how a drink could taste like a pastry, I was just happy it was in my mouth.
The rest of the ride was pretty quiet, except for Annabeth, who was reading from a book about empousai (yes, she brought one. 'Just in case', she said,) to try to figure out what was wrong with me.
"Do your legs feel heavy or hurt?"
"No, but they're sore."
"How about your head, does it feel hot?"
"A little, but it mostly just hurts."
"Do you feel hungry? Like, bloodthirsty?"
"Ew, no."
She sighed. "Then I have no idea." She put the book away and pulled out another one, this one about Hecate. She read for a bit, so Percy and I didn't really pay attention until she tapped rapidly on my bandaged shoulder.
"Ow-! Hey, what are you doing?"
"Sorry," she said, unapologetically. "Look."367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfT7ufFWlG
She showed me a page that looked like it was written in Greek. How I knew that I don't know. I couldn't really read it though.
"It says that Hecate was the goddess of crossroads, so she could see into the future and past. She also has a bit of power over the dead after helping Demeter with Hades and Persephone. Also, she can warp reality and time."
She said that last part really slow and looked me right in the eyes, as this solved all our problems.
"Okay, what does that have to do with anything?" I muttered, not in the mood to decode her riddles.
"Isn't it obvious? You teleported. You warped reality and time!"367Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHM0AGPxwTV
"But her mom's not Hecate, she's an empousa." Percy frowned. "Also, I feel like warping reality isn't really a half-mortal thing."
Annabeth bit her lip. "I don't know for sure, but that's the only logical explanation I have."
"Okay, well let's test it," Percy suggested.
"What?" Annabeth and I said at the same time.
"Well yeah, isn't it part of the scientific process? To experiment or whatever?"
I looked at Annabeth. "That kind of sounds cool, but I can barely stand right now, and I think it makes me really tired."
"It also sounds kind of bad," Annabeth squinted at Percy. "What happens if she- I don't know- warps someone out of existence?"
"I guess we'll find out."
"Oh yeah, that's promising," Annabeth scoffed.
"Okay, how do I do it?"
"I dunno. What did you do back at the deli?" he asked.
"Um... I really just thought of trying to get out of there. Like, I had all this built up energy that just... snapped," I said, trying to think. Thinking really hurt.
"Okay, why don't you think about throwing that newspaper on that snoring guy's head?"
"Percy!" Annabeth said sternly.
"What? He's been snoring like an elephant this whole time! I bet he's making Bella's headache worse, too."
Annabeth huffed and crossed her arms, and Percy looked at me, mischief in his green eyes. It even felt like Kalos sighed.
"Okay, I'll try." His snoring was really annoying.
I focused really hard on the newspaper and felt really stupid. You ever try to use the force on the TV remote because it's too far away? That's what it felt like. I still tried though.
"It's not working," I sighed.
"Okay, then try... I dunno." Percy looked to Annabeth.
"I'm not helping you!"
He gave her puppy eyes. Now who's doing the seducing? I wanted to say.
"Oh, fine," Annabeth blushed a little. She opened up her book on Hecate.
"Hecate stored and expelled energy to make things rip through time. Maybe she focused on where she wanted it to be, gathered all her energy, and then, well, warped reality I guess." she shrugged.
"Okay, try that. Imagine where you want the newspaper to be, which is right in between the eyes of that guy." Percy smiled sheepishly.
I let out a small snort as Annabeth gaped at us.
"You two are so immature!"
I looked at the newspaper again, this time looking at the place I wanted it to go. I don't know how to warp reality, so I just pretended I was a Power Ranger transforming or something. Look, I told you that it felt stupid!
But it paid off because a few seconds later I could feel the purple haze and the energy inside me. Seconds later, that really annoyingly loud snorer woke up with a smack in the face, as well as three decently sized paper cuts.
Percy tried to hide his laughter, and Annabeth just shook her head. I was a hero, though. I could tell everyone was very happy that they'd never have to hear that irritating sound again. Even Kalos huffed happily.
"I can not believe that worked." I smiled. It seemed like the pain in my shoulder was a little less.
We spent the next three hours messing with people and even got a smile out of Annabeth once in a while. But there was one serious thought I had:
If I could teleport already, what else could I do?
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