riley doesn't care about the man

we would've had our pick of cars, but they were all wedged in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

none of the engines were running, which was pretty weird. i wasn't sure if the drivers had time to turn off the ignition before they got too sleepy. or maybe morpheus had the power to put engines to sleep as well (i'd have to ask silena later, or the hecate kids)

most of the drivers had apparently tried to pull to the curb when they felt themselves passing out, but still the streets were too clogged to navigate.

finally we found an unconscious man still straddling his yamaha cruiser. we dragged him off the cruiser and laid him on the sidewalk.

"sorry, dude," percy said. with any luck, we'd be able to bring his bike back. if i didn't, it would hardly matter, because the city would be destroyed.

"do you know how to drive this?" percy asked. "because i sure as hell can't."

"yeah," i muttered. "my dad got me a harley for my birthday, and i've been trying it out on a private track."

"you got a harley?" he muttered in disbelief. "and a private track?"

"yup," i said, popping the p. "i told my dad not get me a private track, but he wouldn't listen to me. he's a stubborn little shit."

"do you have a license?" he asked.

"nope," i answered, getting on it, and revving the engine. "you coming?"

percy climbed on behind me and hesitated. i gave him the helmet and he put it on once i told him i'd have energy shields protecting me. 

"gods, percy," i muttered, when he was fumbling with where to place his hands. i grabbed them and wrapped them around my waist. it was a little awkward, but we were in the middle of the war, who cares? 

percy cleared his throat and tensed.

i put the kickstand up, and drove the cruiser through the streets. our engine buzzed through the eerie calm.

our progress was slow. every so often we'd come across pedestrians who'd fallen asleep right in front of a car, and we'd move them just to be safe. once we stopped to extinguish a pretzel vendor's cart that had caught on fire. a few minutes later we had to rescue a baby carriage that was rolling aimlessly down the street. it turned out there was no baby in it — just somebody's sleeping poodle. i screamed, and almost dropped the poodle. percy grabbed it, but the dog hadn't even stirred.

we were passing madison square park when i noticed the first statue. i stopped in the middle of east 23rd, confusing the hell outta percy. i ran up to the bronze statue of william h. seward. percy followed me — he was still confused — but he followed me to the statue.

the guy, william — or should i say bill (i'm not funny) — was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed. he wore an old-fashioned suit — abraham lincoln style — with a bow tie and long coat tails and stuff. a bunch of bronze books were piled under his chair. he held a writing quill in one hand and a big metal sheet of parchment in the other.

"okay, i'll bite," percy finally said. "why do we care about..." he squinted at the name on the pedestal, "william h. steward?"

"seward," i corrected, absentmindedly. "he was a new york governor or something like that. minor demigod — son of... hebe. i think, don't quote me on that. but that's not important. it's the statue i care about." 

i climbed on a park bench and examined the base of the statue. yes, i know, i'm short.

"don't tell me he's an automaton," percy said. 

i smiled. "what do you know? you caught on quickly this time. turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army." 

"to attack olympus or defend it?"

i shrugged. "either one, i guess. that was plan twenty-three. he could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. it's dangerous, though. you know how unpredictable automatons are." 

"uh-huh," percy said. we'd had our share of bad experiences with them. "you're seriously thinking about activating it?" 

"annabeth and i have been studying daedalus's notes for a long time now," i said, searching for the button. "i think i can... wait, here we go." 

"please be a secret button, please be a secret button, please be a secret button." i pressed the tip of seward's boot, and the statue stood up, its quill and paper ready. 

"yay!! boom!" i made exploding gestures with my fist. "who just did that? i did. dam, i'm good."

"oh shut up. what's he going to do?" percy muttered, noting how he held his quill and paper. "take a memo?" 

"now you shut up," i said. i turned to statue, "hello, william." 

"bill," percy suggested. 

"bill... oh, what did i tell you about shutting up?" i muttered. 

the statue tilted its head, looking at us with blank metal eyes.

i cleared my throat and tried again, "hello, uh, governor seward. command sequence: daedalus twenty-three. defend manhattan. begin activation." 

seward jumped off his pedestal. he hit the ground so hard his shoes cracked the sidewalk. then he went clanking off toward the east. 

"he's probably going to wake up confucius," i muttered. 

"what?" percy asked.

"this other statue, on... division. the point is, they'll keep waking each other up until they're all activated." 

"and then?" 

"hopefully... they defend manhattan." 

"do they know that we're not the enemy?" 

"i think so." 

"that's reassuring." 

"it should be," i muttered. "i'm usually right."

a ball of green light exploded in the evening sky, cutting our conversation short. greek fire, somewhere over the east river. 

"we have to hurry," percy said. 

and we ran for the yamaha cruiser.  

we parked outside battery park, at the lower tip of manhattan where the hudson and east rivers came together and emptied into the bay. 

"wait here," percy said to me, handing me his helmet. 

i pursed my lips, "percy, you shouldn't go alone." 

"well, unless you can breathe underwater..." 

i narrowed my eyes at him, "you are so annoying sometimes." 

"like when I'm right? trust me, i'll be fine. i've got the curse of achilles now. i'll all invincible and stuff."

the reminder that percy had the curse of achilles didn't make me feel better. 

"just be careful. i don't want anything to happen to you." i froze. "uh, because we need you for the battle. y'know, not everyone's invincible." 

percy grinned. "back in a flash." 

he clambered down the shoreline and waded into the water. 

i bit my lip. the water was polluted, like really polluted. i tapped my J.A.R.V.I.S. wristband and a holographic blue screen floated above it.

"hello miss stark," J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

"hey J," i said. "can you reach outside manhattan?"

the a.i. was silent for a few seconds, "i am not able to connect to the malibu base, or any of your father's suits."

"i expected that," i muttered. "anyways, make a note to fund some hudson and east river campaigns or projects. the rivers are pretty polluted."

"of course miss stark. is there anything else?"

"nah. i'm good for now," i shook my head. "bye, bud."

the screen flickered shut. i leaned against the cruiser, waiting impatiently. unfortunately, another vision decided to show up.

'excitable little fellow,' said gandalf, as they sat down again. 'gets funny queer fits, but he is one of the best, one of the best-as fierce as a dragon in a pinch.'

i blinked twice, seeing rebecca and buck sitting on the windowsill, next to each other, reading their own copy of the hobbit. their legs hung out of the window, and it seemed like they were just enjoying the calm.

all of a sudden, some little kid came running up to them outside the house. while rebecca and buck were dressed in slightly better clothing, the kid's was a little dirty and tattered.

neither rebecca nor buck looked up — both too engrossed in the hobbit — but they made a small noise of acknowledgement.

"steve," the kid panted. "he's fighting noah."

the two siblings groaned in unison. rebecca and buck slipped a bookmark in their copies of the book.

"this asshole really isn't going to let me read, is he?" buck muttered, jumping off the windowsill and onto the street.

"language," rebecca commented half-heartedly as she followed him.

"no, but seriously. i just want to finish the book. can't he pick a fight later?" buck muttered.

my ringtone sounded, and i snapped out of the vision with a start. i wasn't sure what that was all about, but it sounded interesting.

"hello," i answered the phone.

"we got a problem," michael yew's breathless voice sounded on the other end. "another army over the williamsburge bridge."

"we'll be there," i promised. "give us a few minutes."

"one more thing," michael panted. "the minotaur's leading them."

fortunately, blackjack was on duty. 

percy did his best taxicab whistle, and within a few minutes two dark shapes circled out of the sky. they looked like hawks at first, but as they descended we could make out the long galloping legs of pegasi.

percy slipped on blackjack, while i sat atop of rio. i peered over the edge, and kept an eye out for the apollo cabin.

we saw the battle before we were close enough to make out individual fighters. 

it was well after midnight now, but the bridge blazed with light. cars were burning. arcs of fire streamed in both directions as flaming arrows and spears sailed through the air. 

we came in for a low pass, and i could see the apollo campers retreating. they would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows and dropping caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. 

but the enemy kept advancing. an entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. an occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a chink in their armor, and the unlucky snake woman would disintegrate, but most of the apollo arrows glanced harmlessly off their shield wall. about a hundred more monsters marched behind them.

hellhounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of an apollo camper and dragged him away. i didn't see what happened to him next. i didn't want to know.

i scanned the battleground for the minotaur. i found him quickly.

"there!" i pointed him out to percy.

percy gulped when he saw him. i didn't blame him. the minotaur was dressed for battle.

from the waist down, he wore standard greek battle gear — a kilt-like apron of leather and metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. his top was all bull — hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. 

he was huge — at least ten feet tall at least. a double-bladed axe was strapped to his back, but he was too impatient to use it. as soon as he saw us circling overhead (or sniffed percy, more likely, since his eyesight was bad), he bellowed and picked up a white limousine. 

"blackjack, dive!" i heard percy yell. 

we were at least a hundred feet up, but the limo came sailing toward us, flipping fender over fender like a two-ton boomerang. i swerved rio madly to the left, while blackjack tucked in his wings and plunged. 

the limo sailed over percy head. it cleared the suspension lines of the bridge and fell toward the east river. 

"holy fucknuggets," i muttered, using one of aurora's favorite curses.

monsters jeered and shouted, and the minotaur picked up another car.

blackjack and rio must've been conversing with percy because they dropped us off behind the apollo lines.

michael yew ran up to us. he was definitely the shortest commando i'd ever seen. he had a bandaged cut on his arm. his ferrety face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time. 

"glad you could join us," he said. "where are the other reinforcements?" 

"for now, we're it," percy said. 

"then we're dead," he said. 

i squeezed my eyes shut, hoping being so close to brooklyn wouldn't give me visions again. 

"you still have your flying chariot?" i asked. 

"nah," michael shook his head. "left it at camp. i told clarisse she could have it. whatever, you know? not worth fighting about anymore. but she said it was too late. we'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing." 

"least you tried," percy said. 

michael shrugged. "yeah, well, i called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. i doubt that helped. here come the uglies!" 

he drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. the arrow made a screaming sound as it flew. when it landed, it unleashed a blast like one of my dad's thruster blasts, but magnified through the worlds largest set of speakers.

the nearest cars exploded. monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. some ran. others disintegrated on the spot. 

"that was my last sonic arrow," michael muttered, upset. 

"a gift from your dad?" percy asked. "god of music?" 

michael gave a wicked grin. "loud music can be bad for you. unfortunately, it doesn't always kill." 

sure enough, most monsters were regrouping, shaking off their confusion. 

"we have to fall back," michael said. "i've got kayla and austin setting traps farther down the bridge." 

"no," percy said stubbornly. "bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. we're going to drive the enemy back to brooklyn." 

"oh no, don't say brooklyn," i muttered, blinking the vision away. 

i could feel the spots coming in, and i couldn't afford slipping into another vision right now. there was no time.

"uh, okay," percy muttered.

michael laughed. "how do you plan to drive the enemy back to br — uh... the place we shouldn't mention?" he corrected once he heard me groan.

percy drew his sword. 

"percy," i gripped his arm, "let me come with you." 

"too dangerous," he said. "especially since you don't like hearing broo — that place. besides, i need you to help michael coordinate the defensive line. i'll distract the monsters. you group up here. move the sleeping mortals out of the way. then you can start picking off monsters while i keep them focused on me. if anybody can do all that, you can." 

michael snorted. "thanks a lot." 

percy ignored him.

finally, i nodded reluctantly. "all right. get moving. but not because you just said all that. it's because i don't want to be any closer to that place than i am." 

percy gulped, but he spoke up, "don't i get a kiss for luck? it's kind of a tradition, right?" 

i almost smiled at the memory. instead, i flicked out my dagger and pointed at the enemy marching closer. "come back alive, seaweed brain. then we'll see." 

and with a weak grin, he stepped out to face the enemy.

i wasn't sure what exactly happened as he faced the enemy. i could hear insults being exchanged between the armies.

"will, vera, amora, sarah, andromeda, madison, rory, draco and liam," i called some of the apollo campers.

"pair up, move the mortals out of the way," i ordered. "kill monsters that get too close to percy, or any other camper."

they all nodded in response.

draco and i worked together. i wrapped energy around the cars, moving them off of the bridge while draco shot down any monsters that got too close. 

"he killed the minotaur!" a shout from michael sounded.

i ordered the group of apollo campers i separated to follow the rest of the cabin. now charged with the adrenaline of having the scariest of the monsters dead, we were all charged up.

"yeah!" michael yelled as percy sliced monsters left and right. "that's what i'm talking about!!"

liam whooped and shot a stray dracaenae. draco climbed the suspension cable and shot down another two hellhounds. madison, andromeda and sarah shot a group of empousai that were getting too close to percy.

i also switched out my dagger for my bow and arrow and shot down the enemy. 

"take that bitches!!" vera shouted as she shot down another two dracaenae with a single arrow.

we continued driving them down the bridge.

i felt a tug in my heart as we neared brooklyn. it was different from the visions, more like a sense of deja vu that i couldn't place. that's how i knew we were too far out. i shook the thoughts off and looked ahead for percy. 

"percy!" i yelled. "you've already routed them. pull back! we're overextended!" 

percy continued slicing down the enemy, then he saw the crowd at the base of the bridge. 

the retreating monsters were running straight toward their reinforcements. it was a small group, maybe thirty or forty demigods in battle armor, mounted on skeletal horses. one of them held a purple banner with the black scythe design. 

the lead horseman trotted forward. he took off his helm, and i recognized luke/kronos himself, his eyes like molten gold. 

the group of us behind percy faltered. the monsters we'd been pursuing reached the titan's line and were absorbed into the new force. 

kronos gazed in our direction. he was a quarter mile away, but i swear i could see him smile. a sinister smile, like he knew how this would turn out.

"now," percy said, "we pull back." 

the titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. the hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. i shot a volley along with our archers, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding. 

"retreat!" percy yelled to the group. "i'll hold them." 

in a matter of seconds they were on us. the apollo cabin tried to retreat, but i stood next to percy. i had my dagger out, and we slowly backed the bridge.

kronos's cavalry swirled around us, slashing and yelling insults. the titan himself advanced leisurely, letting his army tire us out first. 

percy and i fought to wound his men, not kill. that slowed us down, but these weren't monsters. they were demigods who'd fallen under kronos's spell. i couldn't see faces under their battle helmets, but some of them had probably been my friends. ethan might be here, alabaster, and countless more that i knew.

i slashed the legs off their horses and made the skeletal mounts disintegrate. after the first few demigods took a spill, the rest figured out they'd better dismount and fight us on foot. 

percy and i stayed shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions, like all those times before. a dark shape passed over me, and i didn't need to glance up. blackjack and rio were swooping in, kicking our enemies in the helmets and flying away like very large kamikaze pigeons. 

it almost made me laugh.

we almost made it to the middle of the bridge when i felt it. a chill down my spine, a tug in my lower back — the small of my back, to be specific. i wasn't sure how i knew, but percy was in danger. without thinking twice, i twisted my body around and felt a surge of pain run through my left arm as my body intercepted the blade.

"ah!" i cried out, clutching my shoulder as i fell.

"riley!" percy yelled.

i looked up to see a shocked face under the war helmet, clutching a knife covered in blood. my blood. the demigod's eyepatch was visible under his war helm. 

ethan.

"riley," i barely understood him with the pain coursing through my arm. "you idiot. that was f—"

"no!" percy slammed the hilt of his sword so hard into ethan's helmet that he dented it.

"get back!" he slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from me as i held my shoulder. "no one touches her!" 

i'm sure i would've been touched by his gesture, but at the time, i was dealing with a stab wound. it was like i could physically feel the life leaving me. i tried keeping my eyes open, but it was hard. my arm felt like it was on fire, as if a bucket lava that had been poured on it.

"interesting," i heard kronos.  "bravely fought, percy jackson. but it's time to surrender... or the girl dies." 

"percy, don't," i groaned. even though i was losing blood, and starting to feel delirious, i wasn't dumb enough to let him surrender.

"blackjack!" percy yelled. 

the next thing i knew something clamped around my armor, lifting me up in the air. blackjack adjusted me onto his back and flew away.

the last i saw of percy was him raising his sword against kronos in battle.

REY WRITES !

this was fun to write !

thanks for reading !!