Riding a train with a Karen

{Ohio, 15th of June 2006}

Thalia POV

The countryside blurred past us, a smear of green and gold in the fading light. We'd been riding for what felt like days, though my watch insisted it had only been hours. Lailaps and Swiper, pounded along the dirt road like living shadows, their massive bodies—now the size of vans—moving as fats as they could carry us.

But even giant dogs and foxes have their limits.

I could feel their exhaustion seeping into me, something I shared as I had been pondering what Alastor had said more and more.

Swiper's breathing had grown heavier, each pant a labored wheeze that sent a pang of worry through my chest. Lailaps, now moved as if he were pushing through molasses, her once powerful leaps becoming sluggish and uneven.

"Thalia," Percy called from where he clung to Swiper's fur, his voice tight with fatigue. "We've gotta stop soon. They're gonna drop if we push any harder."

I glanced down at Lailaps beneath me, feeling her massive frame tremble with each labored stride. He let out a soft whine, as if agreeing with Percy's assessment. We were pushing too hard, asking too much of them.

Annabeth, riding beside me on Lailaps' broad back, shot me a concerned glance. Her steel gray eyes, usually so full of plans and strategies, now held only worry. "There's a train station up ahead," she said, her voice steady despite the chaos of our journey. "It's the best shot we've got at covering more ground without exhausting them completely."

I gave a sharp nod, my mind already spinning through our options. The train station wasn't far—maybe a few miles at most. If we could just make it there, we could give Swiper and Lailaps a much-needed break. Let them rest while we rode the rails and put some distance between us and I didn't even know what would come next but best to always keep moving.

I leaned forward, patting Lailaps' massive neck. Her fur was damp with sweat, muscles quivering beneath my touch. "Hang in there, buddy," I murmured. "We're almost there. Just a little further."

She gave a soft growl of acknowledgment, pushing herself just a little harder. I felt a swell of pride and guilt in equal measure. I knew Ozzy had left them here to protect me not that I needed that, but I was feeling way too guilty about using them like motors.

By the time we finally reached the train station, Swiper and Lailaps were practically collapsing. Their enormous frames shrank back to their normal size as they padded along beside us, heads hanging low, tongues lolling out in exhaustion. I dismounted on shaky legs, steadying myself against Lailaps' side. Even demigods get sore after riding oversized magic hounds and foxes for hours on end.

The station loomed ahead, an old, dilapidated building that looked like it had seen better centuries, let alone decades. The rusted sign above the entrance, "Iowa City Central," hung askew, creaking ominously in the light breeze. A handful of people milled about on the platform, barely sparing us a glance as we approached. Small favors, I guess. The last thing we needed right now was attention.

Annabeth stepped up beside me. "There's a cop car parked near the entrance," she murmured, nodding towards a blue and white cruiser. "We need to be careful, the manhunt probably hasn't stopped yet.."

I followed her gaze, spotting the lone police officer casually chatting with the ticket booth attendant. A sinking feeling settled in my stomach, heavy as a lead weight. 

"On it," I said, already weaving the Mist around us, changing us.

I raised my hand and concentrated. I focused on each of us in turn, letting the Mist cloak our appearances in a shroud of normalcy.

Percy's wild black hair, perpetually windswept as if he'd just stepped off a beach, turned into a neat brown mop. His sea-green eyes, dulled into an unremarkable hazel. Annabeth's golden curls, transformed into a simple ponytail of mousy brown.

Grover, our resident satyr and Lord of the Wild, became the awkward college student version of himself, complete with ill-fitting jeans to hide his goat legs and a baggy hoodie that proclaimed "Tree Hugger" in faded letters. While I put most of my will into Lailaps and Swiper making them invisible to the mortal eye. 

When I turned the Mist on myself, I felt the familiar tingle of magic wash over me. My electric blue eyes, dulled into a boring gray. The black punk jacket I'd been wearing (because if you're going to face monsters, you might as well look good doing it) became a nondescript hoodie. I hated disguising myself, but it was the only way to get through unnoticed.

"Alright," I said, lowering my hands and feeling the weight of the magic settle over us like a second skin. "We should be good. Just keep your heads down and try not to do anything... demigod-y."

With the Mist cloaking our true forms, we made our way into the station. The ticket booth attendant barely glanced at us as we bought our tickets, his eyes glazed over with the boredom that comes from a lifetime of watching trains come and go.

The police officer, thankfully, didn't spare us a second glance, too engrossed in what looked like a riveting conversation about last night's baseball game.

We boarded the train without issue, slipping into an empty section near the back of the carriage. Percy collapsed into a seat with a groan that sounded like it came from the depths of Tartarus itself, his arms flopping over the back of the seat.

"I'm just gonna take a small nap, wake me if someone tries to kill us again," he muttered, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the seat.

"Will do seaweed brain," Annabeth replied, sliding into the seat next to him. Her tone was light, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her eyes kept darting around the carriage. She was just as worn out as the rest of us, but that big brain of hers never stopped working.

Grover settled in across from Percy, adjusting his fake feet beneath his jeans. "She's right," he said, his nose twitching like he was smelling something unpleasant. "I've got a bad feeling. Like... we're being watched."

I frowned and glanced around the carriage, my hand instinctively tightening on the hilt of my spear (currently disguised as a rather bulky umbrella, thanks to the Mist). A handful of other passengers were scattered throughout, but none of them seemed particularly interested in us—until I noticed her.

Sitting a few rows ahead was a woman who was impossible to miss, and believe me, I tried. Morbidly obese, with layers of denim stretched tight across her massive frame, she sat slouched in her seat, greasy bangs hiding her eyes. But what really caught my attention was the small, mesh cage in her lap. Inside, a chihuahua—if you could call that ugly thing a dog—was barking its head off, tiny eyes gleaming with an unsettling intensity.

The woman cooed softly to it, calling it "Sonny" in a voice that was almost too sweet, like artificial sweetener that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But it was her eyes—dark, almost vengeful—that kept flicking in our direction, stealing glances when she thought we weren't paying attention.

Grover shifted uncomfortably beside me, his hands rubbing together, which I appreciated since it meant he was controlling his bleating something very uch appreciated. "Is it just me, or has that woman been staring at us since we got on the train?"

I followed his gaze and locked eyes with the woman for a brief moment before she quickly looked away, pretending to fuss with the dog. My stomach twisted, a familiar sensation that usually preceded something trying to kill us. "You're not imagining it."

Grover leaned forward, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I'm getting a bad vibe from her," he whispered, his eyes darting nervously between us and the woman. "That chihuahua doesn't smell right. It's... not natural."

Annabeth tensed beside me, her eyes narrowing as she studied the woman with the intensity of Athena herself. "Stay alert," she murmured. "There's something off about her. Be ready for anything."

We tried to ignore the woman, to act like normal teenagers on a perfectly normal train ride (as if any of us knew what that was like). But the feeling of being watched persisted, an itch between my shoulder blades that I couldn't shake.

Every time I glanced in her direction, she was watching us, her eyes lingering just a little too long. The chihuahua barked louder, its sharp yips echoing through the carriage like nails on a chalkboard, how no one had stood up and told her to keep her dog quiet I didn't know.

Then, as if she'd been waiting for the right moment, the woman stood up. The mesh cage in her hands shook violently as the chihuahua—Sonny—continued its relentless barking. She waddled down the aisle, her bulk swaying like a ship in a storm, a sickly sweet smile spreading across her face.

"Sonny," she crooned, her voice too soft, too friendly. It made my skin crawl. "Don't be upset, sweetie. We're almost there."

My hand tightened around the hilt of my spear, the disguised weapon humming with energy beneath my fingers. Swiper and Lailaps, resting at my feet, raised their heads, their eyes gleaming with warning. Even exhausted as they were, they sensed the danger approaching.

Percy tensed in front of me, his muscles coiled like a spring ready to snap. "Here we go," he muttered, his voice tired. "So much for my nap."

The woman stopped in front of us, her smile stretching unnaturally wide, revealing a set of sharp, uneven teeth that definitely didn't belong in a human mouth. "Well, well," she hissed, her voice dripping with malice. "I've been looking for you."

A chill ran down my spine, electric and cold. Swiper growled low in his throat, his hackles rising as Lailaps let out a warning snarl. The other passengers on the train seemed oblivious to the brewing confrontation, the Mist working overtime to keep them in blissful ignorance.

I stood, meeting the woman's gaze head-on. Electricity crackled at my fingertips, barely contained. "Who are you?" I demanded, my voice steady even as my heart pounded a war drum in my chest.

The woman's smile never wavered, a grotesque parody of friendliness. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough," she whispered, leaning closer. The stench of sulfur and rotting meat washed over me, and it took everything I had not to gag. "But for now, let's just say that Sonny here is very eager to meet you. You see he doesn't take well when people bully him.."

Her eyes glinted, and then I noticed both the dog and her, their eyes were filled with hate like we had killed their family kind of hate.

She leaned in close, her fetid breath hot against my ear as she whispered one final word that made my blood run cold.

"Tell Odysseus it's his fault."

The chihuahua in the cage began to grow, its yapping turning into a menacing growl that shook the entire train car. As the mesh cage burst apart, I realized with sinking dread that our ten-minute break was well and truly over.