The Adventure That Lies Ahead | PJO x HP

CHAPTER 24

Annabeth volunteered to go alone since she had the cap of invisibility, but Percy and Isa convinced her it was too dangerous. Either they all went together, or nobody went.

"Nobody!" Tyson voted. "Please?"

But in the end he came along, nervously chewing on his huge fingernails. They stopped at their cabin long enough to gather their stuff. They figured whatever happened, they would not be staying another night aboard the zombie cruise ship, even if they did have million-dollar bingo. Isa and Percy didn't want Tyson to carry everything, but he insisted, and Annabeth told them not to worry about it. Tyson could carry four full duffel bags over his shoulder as easily as they could carry a backpack.

They sneaked through the corridors, following the ship's YOU ARE HERE signs towards the admiralty suite. Annabeth shouted ahead invisibly. They hid whenever someone passed by, but most of the people they saw were just glassy-eyed zombie passengers.

As they came up the stairs to deck thirteen, where the admiralty suite was supposed to be, Annabeth hissed, "Hide!" and shoved them into a supply closet.

Isa heard a couple of guys coming down the hall.

"You see the Aethiopian drakon in the cargo hold?" One of them said.

The other laughed. "Yeah, it's awesome."

Isa stiffened. She knew that voice, and she did not like hearing it. Especially here.

"I hear they got two more coming," the familiar voice said. "They her arriving at this rate, oh, man — no contest!"

The voices faded down the corridor.

"That was Christ Rodriguez!" Annabeth took off her cap and turned visible. "You remember —from Cabin Eleven?"

"Chris wasn't supposed to go back for the summer," Isa said now that she thought about it. "He was part of the list. But around August he told Chiron and Mr. D that he was going home. That his mom needed him."

"What's another half-blood doing here?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shook her head, clearly troubled. Even Isa was, she and Chris were friends. Not the closest, but they were still friends.

They kept going down the corridor. Isa didn't need any maps to know that she was getting closer to Luke. Isa sensed something cold and unpleasant — the presence of evil.

"Guys," Isa stopped suddenly. "Look."

Isa stood in front of a glass wall looking down into the multistory canyon that ran through the middle of the ship. At the bottom was the Promenade — a map full of shops — but that's not what had caught Isa's attention.

A group of monsters had assembled in front of the candy store: a dozen Laistrygonian giants, two hellhounds and a few even stranger creatures — humanoid females with twin serpent tails instead of tails.

"Scythian Dracaenae," Annabeth whispered. "Dragon women."

"Luke's really going all out isn't he?" Isa pondered out loud causing Percy and Annabeth to give her the, really? look.

Isa raised her hands up in a surrender. "Just saying."

The monster made a semicircle around a young guy in Greek armor who was hacking in a straw dummy. A lump formed in Isa's throat when she realized the dummy was wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. As they watched, the guy in armor stabbed the dummy through its belly and ripped upwards. Straw flew everywhere. The monsters cheered and howled.

"Alright then..." Isa said earning a smack from Annabeth. "Ow! Geezawheeze!"

Annabeth stepped away from the window. Her face was ashen.