A demon and his ride try to kill us

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{Iowa, 14th of June 2006}

Annabeth POV

My instincts screamed at me to move. Now.

"Hold on!" I yelled, yanking the wheel to the right.

I spun the wheel to the left but then.

--BOOM--

Something hit our side, the van lurched violently, tires screeching as we veered off the road and crashed into the trees. The impact was brutal. Metal crunched, the windshield shattered, and the airbag exploded in my face, knocking the breath out of me. The world spun, and for a few seconds, I was weightless, tumbling through chaos.

Then, everything went still.

I gasped for air, my chest aching, ears ringing. "Everyone okay?" I croaked, shoving the deflated airbag out of the way.

Percy groaned beside me, rubbing his head. "Yeah. I think so."

Grover bleated from the back. "Define okay..."

Thalia kicked open her door, groaning as she stepped out, brushing off glass and debris. "That could've gone better."

I managed to open the door and stumbled out, my legs shaky beneath me. We were off the road, the truck wedged between two trees, smoke curling up from the hood. We had maybe a few moments before Alastor caught up.

"Move," I urged, my voice tight with panic. "We have to move."

But before we could even take a step, the ground trembled. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I felt it—a presence, something so wrong it made the air vibrate.

I turned, my heart sinking, and saw it.

The black car we'd been running from wasn't a car anymore. Its sleek, metal body had twisted and warped, morphing into a grotesque mix of car and beast. It stood on four legs—metallic, like the limbs of a monstrous horse—while the body still retained parts of the car, with the front half molded into a snarling, fanged grill. The headlights flickered like angry eyes, and the sound of its engine had turned into a low, menacing growl.

And standing in front of it, leaning casually against the twisted, abominable thing, was a man. No, not just a man—a god. Alastor.

He was tall, his hair a sharp red with black-tipped spikes that gleamed in the moonlight. He wore a red suit, perfectly tailored to his lean frame, with a matching red shirt underneath. Even his glasses were red, the lenses tinted the same shade as the blood-red eyes behind them.

"That's way too much red," Percy muttered, stepping forward, Riptide already uncapped in his hand.

Alastor chuckled, the sound cold and humorless. "You know nothing about fashion, child of Poseidon."

Percy scowled, clearly about to retort, but Alastor's gaze shifted from him to Thalia, his smile growing wider, more sinister.

"Ah, there she is," he said, his voice dripping with dark amusement. "Thalia Grace. I should have known my sisters wouldn't do a proper job with you. It seems I'll have to finish what they couldn't."

Thalia's face hardened, her grip tightening around her spear. "What are you talking about?"

Alastor stepped away from the monstrous car, his eyes never leaving Thalia. "I knew it would fall under my domain eventually. Family blood feuds always do. But lucky me, I get a two-for-one deal tonight. I kill you, and Zeus will pay for what he did to my lord's lover. And, as a bonus, I get to stop you from ruining an oath the gods made millennia ago." He spread his arms wide, like he was welcoming the carnage to come. "What a good day this is turning out to be."

My heart pounded. Thalia was visibly tense, her eyes flickering with a mix of rage and confusion. "What my father did? What are you talking about?"

Alastor's grin turned savage, sadistic even, it was unsettling to say the least. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough. After all I'm sending you to my lord myself so you can ask him when you get there, I wonder what punishment he'll give you."

"Enough talk," Percy growled, stepping forward, his sword gleaming in the moonlight. "If you want a fight, then let's go. I've had enough of car chases for this life and the next."

Alastor tilted his head, as if considering the challenge. "Ah, Percy Jackson. You are certainly brave. Foolish, but brave." He snapped his fingers, and the abomination behind him growled, its metal limbs creaking as it took a menacing step forward. "But tonight isn't about you. No, this is between me and Thalia."

I felt a chill run down my spine. We were outmatched here. Alastor was a minor god, yet he didn't feel like one. He was old, dangerous, and his power felt…wrong. Twisted.

"Thalia, wait," I whispered, stepping closer to her. "We need to think this through. We can't fight him head-on."

But Thalia wasn't listening. Her eyes were locked on Alastor, her anger boiling over. "I don't care what feud you think you have with me," she said through gritted teeth, "but no one's stopping me from getting to my brother."

With a flash of lightning, she charged, her spear crackling with energy.

Alastor's eyes gleamed, and in the blink of an eye, he raised his hand. The ground beneath Thalia erupted, a wave of raw energy slamming into her and sending her flying backward into the trees.

"Thalia!" Percy and I shouted at the same time.

Grover was already by her side, checking to see if she was okay. She groaned, pushing herself up, but the blow had clearly rattled her.

Alastor laughed, the sound cold and pitiless. "Oh, don't worry. I won't kill her yet. I want to savor this."

I clenched my fists, my mind racing. We needed a plan. We couldn't beat him in a straight fight. He was too strong, and that thing he'd brought with him was no ordinary monster. But there had to be something we could do.

"Annabeth," Percy said, his voice low, his eyes locked on Alastor. "Ideas?"

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. We had to buy time, find a weakness. Alastor was powerful, but every god had an Achilles heel. I just had to figure out his.

"We need to separate him from that monster," I said quickly. "Divide and conqu—"

But before I could finish, Alastor's abomination lunged forward, its metallic claws tearing through the ground as it charged toward us.

Percy stepped forward, his sword raised, ready to meet it head-on.

"Percy, wait—"

Too late. The monster was fast, impossibly fast. It lashed out with one of its limbs, and Percy barely managed to block the blow with Riptide. The impact sent him stumbling back, the force of it shaking the ground.

I could feel panic rising in my chest. I thought of every single myth including Alastor racking ideas, something, anything, I was a child of Athena this was my job. Then I realized something Alastor was...