Hey guys, sorry I did not realize that there was an error when I tried to post this chapter earlier, so here is a re-post!
Hope you like it. Feel free to tell me what you think!
Also I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever, but I'm working on it so hopefully more updates to come! :)
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I don't think I have ever been in a situation when Annabeth didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. As long as I have known her, we have never met a monster Annabeth did not know about, she knew the name of everything. Not only that, but she often knew who had fought it in the old days and how they won.
Well, not today. Today she was just about as clueless as me.
Earlier, after the strange encounter with the guys on the roof with the death pigeon and the creepy lady with the purple dress, I had asked Annabeth what in Hades had just happened, and who the heck was Achlys. Annabeth just looked at me, fear swirling in her storm cloud grey eyes. "I-I don't know," she whispered.
She began muttering to herself as she walked back to the table where all our stuff was. She hastily packed it all back up, her mind going a million miles an hour.
She was clearly distracted, and I was too afraid that she would hit me if I interrupted her thoughts, so I silently followed her outside.
We jumped on the next bus, going who knows where. We just knew we needed to get out of California.
We sat side by side in silence while the bus lurched out of the parking lot. We were both still in shock about what happened. Annabeth, I had a feeling, was more afraid than she was letting on.
After a few hours of sitting in awkward silence on an uncomfortable bus next to some guy that smelled like feet, we finally rolled into a bus station. I was relieved to get off the bus. As we walked in, Annabeth said "computers," and rushed over to the other end of the store where there was a counter filled with computer monitors. She plopped down in the first empty one and opened Google.
I had no idea what she was doing, so I mumbled something about getting food and wandered over to the snack isle. I loaded up on snacks: chips, pretzels, and chocolate, and even snagged a blue gatorade with whatever cash I had left.
I made my way back to Annabeth who was staring intently at the computer, scrolling though a Wikipedia page. "I remember this story now," she said turning to face me. "Achlys, she existed before Chaos. Listen to this," she said and began to read the article. "Achlys," she started. She pronounced it something like Ae-klis. "Ancient Greek: Ἀχλύς, meaning "mist" or "darkness" is an ancient greek goddess, symbol mist of death; in Greek mythology, according to some ancient cosmogonies, is the eternal Night before Chaos. If Achlys was a daughter of Nyx, or Night, then she may have been numbered amongst the Keres. According to Hesiod, Achlys was the personification of misery and sadness, and as such she was represented on the shield of Heracles pale, emaciated, and weeping, with chattering teeth, swollen knees, long nails on her fingers, bloody cheeks, and her shoulders thickly covered with dust."
Annabeth looked at me when she finished reading the first two sections. "I remember Chiron mentioning something about her," she said. I on the other hand, had no idea, but I was glad Annabeth knew something. Hopefully she could figure out what this Achlys lady wanted with me.
"She is so old that the Gods thought that she faded away. She hasn't been seen or heard from in, well, forever," Annabeth said with a grim look. She turned back toward the computer monitor. "I'm gonna keep looking, see what else I can find," she said as she scrolled though the website.
I sat next to her and began to open up some chips when I saw her. Behind Annabeth was some fat lady wearing a green, scaly looking dress. She was looking around hungrily at the people passing by when she met my eyes and gave me a giant smile, exposing her yellow, pointed teeth.
"Uh, Annabeth?" I whispered. "I think we should get out of here."
She looked at me, then looked in the direction I was looking and saw the pointed teeth lady. She glanced at me and said, "let's go."