His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.
“What?” I yelled.
“Curse my relatives!” Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. “Annabeth, you shouldn’t have let Percy leave camp! But if youdoget the Fleece—”
“Yeah, baby!” somebody behind Chiron yelled. “Woohoooooo!”
The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made our boat vibrate.
“—Miami,” Chiron was yelling. “I’ll try to keep watch—”
Our misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.
An hour later we spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on our starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. I guess it isn’t every day they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids.
“That’s Virginia Beach!” Annabeth said as we approached the shoreline. “Oh my gods, how did thePrincess Andromedatravel so far overnight? That’s like—”
“Five hundred and thirty nautical miles,” I said.
She stared at me. “How did you know that?”
“I—I’m not sure.”
Annabeth thought for a moment. “Percy, what’s our position?”
“36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west,” I said immediately. Then I shook my head. “Whoa. How did I know that?”
“Because of your dad,” Annabeth guessed. “When you’re at sea, you have perfect bearings. That issocool.”
I wasn’t sure about that. I didn’t want to be a human GPS unit. But before I could say anything, Tyson tapped my shoulder. “Other boat is coming.”
I looked back. The coast guard vessel was definitely on our tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed.
“We can’t let them catch us,” I said. “They’ll ask too many questions.”
“Keep going into Chesapeake Bay,” Annabeth said. “I know a place we can hide.”
I didn’t ask what she meant, or how she knew the area so well. I risked loosening the thermos cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent us rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. We didn’t slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and I realized we’d entered the mouth of a river.
I could feel the change from salt water to fresh water. Suddenly I was tired and frazzled, like I was coming down off a sugar high. I didn’t know where I was anymore, or which way to steer the boat. It was a good thing Annabeth was directing me.
“There,” she said. “Past that sandbar.”
We veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass.
I beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress.
Vine-covered trees loomed above us. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river. Basically, it wasn’t Manhattan, and I didn’t like it.
“Come on,” Annabeth said. “It’s just down the bank.”
“What is?” I asked.
“Just follow.” She grabbed a duffel bag. “And we’d better cover the boat. We don’t want to draw attention.”
After burying the lifeboat with branches, Tyson and I followed Annabeth along the shore, our feet sinking in red mud. A snake slithered past my shoe and disappeared into the grass.
“Not a good place,” Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm.
