So we finally got to Charlotte, our last stop before New Orleans. It was supposed to be quick, just grab some snacks and wait for the next bus, but it didn't go that way.
"Oh, sweet!" Percy said, jumping out of the bus. Kalos jumped out of my bag and headed off, but I wasn't worried about him getting lost anymore. Besides, he was probably tired of being in a bag, and of our messing around.
The bus dropped us off at one of the biggest tourist attractions in Charlotte: The Motor Speedway. Tons of NASCAR races have happened here.
"The Charlotte Motor Speedway," Annabeth sighed. "Designed and built by Bruton Smith, who also owns several other speedways. There's so much more he could have done with this one. The entryway arch is a bit disappointing in real life, and it could have been-"
"Oh come on! It's a race track Annabeth, not a piece of art. Let's go check it out!" Percy ran off to the stadium, leaving us behind.
"Um, doesn't it cost money to get in there?" I asked.
"Yeah, lots of money. Let's get him out of there before we get in trouble."
We ran after Percy through the massive crowds of people.
"Oh my god!" I whispered, watching as Percy slipped through the gate that was supposed to close off the entryway arch. Didn't he have any common sense?
"Percy!" Annabeth tried to call after him, but he had already managed to get into one of the stalls for the cars. We squeezed through the gate after him.
"Percy, we're not supposed to be here!" Annabeth whispered harshly.
"Yeah, but it's only for a few seconds. Look at this Camaro!" he ran his fingers across the smooth glassy finish of a very expensive-looking car.
"Boy, if Gabe saw me driving this," he laughed, opening the door of the car.
"Percy!" Annabeth whispered.
"Hey, has anyone checked 29 yet?" Someone asked.
"Uh oh," I said quietly. "Which number is this?"
"Get Percy out of here. I'll deal with that!"
"Wait!" I sighed as she ran off, giving me the shut up and do as I say look.
"Percy, stop being stupid! Let's get out of here!"
"Okay, okay, jeez. Live a little," he grumbled, starting to get out of the car
"Yes, have some fun. I'm sure the Titan Perseus doesn't mind," someone cackled from behind me.
I turned around to see a huge purple guy with... one eye...
"The Titan has big plans, and you immature twats won't be the ones to foil them!" he cackled, and I swear the ground shook. I froze.
"Quick, get in here!" Percy yanked me inside the car and flipped a switch.
"Don't you need a key?" I asked nervously as the monster behind us roared.
"Nope! This is NASCAR, baby!"
The engine whirred to life, and he didn't give it a second to breathe before slamming on the gas just as I realized there was no seat belt.
"Ugh, not again!" The grey sisters were enough high-speed racing for me.
"Hang on!"
He smashed right through the barrier and onto the race track.
"Oh my god, Percy! You're going to kill us!" I yelled over the roar of the engine.
"No I won't!" he laughed.
"How can you laugh when one, an actual demon is trying to kill us, and two, we're breaking the law?!" I tensed up as the car quickly gained speed.
"Practice!"
I looked behind us to see another car, and inside was the huge guy, who barely fit.
"You can't escape, Son of Poseidon! You will pay for your insolence!"
"Ha! I don't even know what that means, but good luck!" Percy laughed.
"Why do you have so many enemies?!" I was not laughing.
Percy glanced behind him for a few seconds, then swerved to the left where I got squished. The car had two seats but was definitely only made for one person.
"What do we do?" I winced as my shoulder moved.
"Here, take the wheel!"
"Wait, what?!"
We switched seats, and he pulled out his sword and leaned out the window.
"Percy, I don't know how to drive!"
"It's like Mario Kart!"
"What?"
"Just push the pedal and turn the wheel where you want it to go!"
"I know that, stupid!"
The monster's car smashed into the back end of our car, lurching us forward as he cackled. I tried not to look behind us and focused on the road.
"We need to go faster!" Percy yelled.
"I'm pushing down the pedal!"
"Yeah, no duh! Change the gear!"
"How do I do that?!" I looked around for a gear stick, but couldn't see one. It looked like it may have been automatic, but hell, what do I know?
The big dude was catching up. I thought for sure that he'd be too big and slow the car down. I looked closer in the mirror and saw that the wheels of the car had a purple cloud surrounding them, and weren't actually turning. It was... flying? Cheater.
"Okay, two can play at that game," I muttered. "Percy, hang on!"
"Why?"
Please work...
I tried to focus all my energy on one point in time, like on the train. I imagined the purple haze around me, carrying us to where I wanted to be.
I blinked, and we were several feet ahead of the cyclops now. Just where I'd pictured we'd be. I couldn't help but smile.
"Holy-" Percy hit his head on the window frame. "-Ow. Nice!" he looked back and smiled at me.
"Okay, now let's get out of here!" I didn't want to test our luck.
I spotted the entryway arch, the one Annabeth mentioned. I hoped it worked as an exit arch too. We crashed through the barriers, people running out of the way, and quickly got out of the car as it screeched to a halt.
"Go, go, go!" Percy said laughing.
We bolted out of the stadium as employees and security came after us.
"Where's Annabeth?" I yelled.
"We'll find her later!"
We ran into the mess of people outside, hoping to lose the cyclops and very angry security guards behind us.
"Well," Percy puffed. "You gotta admit, that was pretty cool!"
"We almost died," I said, also huffing. "But that was pretty exhilarating."
"Now we just have to find Annabeth," Percy said.
We looked around at the hundreds of people around us.
"Where do we look?"
Very conveniently, a loud voice on an intercom boomed.
"Could Percy Jackson please come to the information center? Percy Jackson to the information center, please."
"Well that was easy," he smiled. "Let's go."
It was easy getting there, sure, but getting out of there without getting your ear talked off...
"Oh, I cannot believe you two!" Annabeth seethed with anger.
"It was Percy's fault! He ran into the stadium in the first place," I tried to save myself.
"You said it was fun!"
"I said it was exhilarating, not fun!"
"Same difference!"
"Um, no it isn't!"
"Be quiet!" Annabeth groaned. "You're lucky they didn't get a photo! What were you thinking?"
"I saw a huge monster, and I escaped." Percy shrugged.
"Using an expensive race car and destroying a million-dollar track?! You couldn't have just run away?" Annabeth practically dragged him to the bus station.
"Uh, I'll have you know that Bella destroyed the track too!"
"What other choice did I have?" I snapped.
"Both of you were being stupid!"
"What did I do?" I sputtered.
"You teleported a whole car 200 feet in front of you! Did you honestly expect people to not bat an eye?"
"...Oh. Right."
I didn't think of that.
"Just hurry up," Annabeth sighed.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
