CHAPTER TWELVE:
BUMPY SKIES

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DON'T GET HER WRONG, Annais Min wasn't afraid of heights. But after falling hundreds of feet through the air, that just might change. The endless sky was a hazy pink in the early dawn, but she was unable to truly appreciate the sight with death a mere second away. The shadows were fading fast as the sun began to rise and she was struggling to draw them to her in the chaos. Wind roaring through her hair like the failing whines of an airplane engine, her friends and her siblings screaming in her ears as they also fell. Festus had already crashed below them, his heavy body creating a giant crater in the roof of a warehouse followed by a plume of dark smoke.

It wasn't long before they were next.

A body shot past her; Leo. He was screaming bloody murder, fingers frantically grabbing at the air like the clouds would somehow cushion his fall, all the while Mel was clinging to his back like a terrified koala. She tried in vain to reach for them, her brow furrowed with determination as darkness gathered at the corner of her eyes, but she couldn't focus enough. Annais had never been in a situation where she had to shadow travel in mid-air let alone trying to bring five other people along with her. She wasn't even sure it was possible, but she didn't know what else to do when the impact would surely kill them. She shut her eyes tight, her chest heavy, before a voice rang through the echo in her ears.

"Annais!" Jason Grace shouted before a body was haphazardly crashing into her own, a muscled arm quick to curl around her waist. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, glancing to his other side where Piper was clinging to him with wide, terrified eyes. She had Ezra curled around her leg, the tether between them barely hanging on by a thread, and Jason struggling to fly with three people stuck to his side like glue. Still, he seemed nothing if not determined, the wind swirling around their feet and slowing their descent enough for Annais to speak.

"We need to get Leo and Mel," she shouted into Jason's ear. "Can you hold us all up?"

He didn't look convinced but he nodded anyways. Then, with a squeeze of Annais' hip, he declared to the three girls, "It's gonna get rough, so hold on."

Rough, in the end, turned out to be a massive understatement. Annais almost preferred the feeling of free-falling through the air, for now they were zooming to the ground at break-neck speed with a boy struggling to stay in control. A scream tore through her lips, her throat burning, but the sound was quickly torn away from her and lost in the wind. She was almost tempted to let go but Jason's grip seemed to get tighter just as they slammed into Leo and Mel, the former cursing them out while the other sobbed pitifully.

"Stop fighting," the boy hissed, his face going red with the strain of maintaining a weak air cushion beneath them. "It's me."

"My dragon," Leo cried, ignoring Jason as he wriggled around in protest. Annais had grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, his words barely audible through his splutters for air. "Y-You gotta save Festus."

"Are you stupid?" Ezra screamed, her eyes clouded with the rare sight of tears. "We're not dying for a fucking dragon!"

She barely got the words out before Jason let out a gasp and they suddenly dropped like stones. There was no way he could hold up six people, he was strong but not that strong. Annais shut her eyes again, desperate. She was the only other person who could possibly save them and she wasn't trying hard enough.

Please, she cried into the void. Please dad, if you're listening, help me.

There was a moment where time seemed to slow to a stop, then the air was fading from her lungs like someone had punched her in the gut. Annais opened her eyes, dark clouds gathering around her at a quickening speed. She grabbed hold of Leo as he threatened to slip away again, Mel curving around Annais' spare side as she noticed the shadows.

"Let me go," she shouted to Jason as he managed to hold them up for a handful of seconds. "Jason, you need to let me go."

"What?" he gaped at her, shaking his head quickly. "Are you out of your mind?"

But she refused to give him a choice this time. She grabbed his wrist, twisting it at an angle that wouldn't hurt the boy but was enough to make him uncomfortable. He instinctively released her before panic washed over his features followed by pure agony.

The last thing Annais heard before she, Leo and Mel disappeared into the shadows was his terrified scream.

Then, Annais could no longer hear, see or feel anything at all.

Just darkness.

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ANNAIS WASN'T SURE HOW long she was out for before Ezra slapped her across the face. To be fair, she might've deserved it after some of the things she said, but that didn't stop the anger that followed Annais gaining consciousness.

"Was that really necessary?" she hissed, followed by a groan as the blinding lights of the warehouse hit her eyes.

Ezra was standing above her with a smirk, her offending hand still outstretched as she waited for Annais to get up. "It worked, didn't it?"

She just scoffed, forcing her body to move no matter how much it hurt. Turned out shadow travelling with two people was a lot harder than her father made it out to be. Every bone in her body seemed to burn in protest as she rolled onto her side, her pain quickly fading from the forefront of her mind when she saw Jason crouched beside Piper helping her drink from a half-crushed canteen of water.

"Are you okay?" she gasped, rushing over to the girl's side and kneeling next to Jason. Apart from a few scrapes and bruises on his arms and dirt speckled through his soft blonde hair, he seemed alright -- exhausted, but otherwise okay.

Piper, on the hand, had clearly seen better days. Although her face was pale and her ankle was braced by a makeshift splint, she mustered up her strongest smile and a nod at Annais' question. "Never better."

Once Annais had looked over the others to check on them, she gave a sigh of relief. They were a bit worse for wear; Mel's ankle was twisted and Leo was also covered in cuts and bruises, but they were alive. She allowed herself to sit and rest for a minute, her heart beating heavy and her vision blurred. She could sleep for a lifetime and it still wouldn't be enough, but she ignored Jason when he tried to hand her a square of squashed ambrosia, the wind howling like a warning siren outside the warehouse. She didn't need it, not really. There would be other dangerous situations they had to face and they couldn't afford to have nothing to protect themselves then, Annais wouldn't forgive herself for wasting it.

"So," she cleared her throat, five pairs of eyes snapping to hers as she broke the silence. "What happened to the dragon? Do we know where we landed?"

Leo's face dropped at the mention of Festus. "I don't know with Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall." Annais frowned, going to comment but pausing. It didn't make any sense. Leo took her silence as a sign to continue, pointing over to the strange logo on the wall. "As far as where we are..." A large red eye with the stencilled words MONOCLE MOTORS, ASSEMBLY PLANT 1 stared back at them.

"Closed car plant," Leo summed up. "I'm guessing we crash-landed in Detroit."

From their surroundings, it would seem so, but something about that red eye said otherwise. Annais couldn't stop staring at it, an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Eventually, she passed it off as nausea from the dizziness and turned away. But she couldn't help feeling watched now, like there were monsters in the shadows.

"How far is that from Chicago?" Piper asked, mustering up enough strength to sit up.

Jason moved to help her, passing her the canteen when she reached for it. "Maybe three-fourths of the way from Quebec? The thing is, without the dragon, we're stuck travelling overland."

Immediately, the Mins began to protest. They knew first-hand that prophecies were never wrong. If they were told no to travel on land, they needed to do everything in their power to get back up in the sky.

"They're right," Piper voiced her agreement. "Besides, I don't know if I can walk. And five people -- Jason, we already know you can't fly that many across the country by yourself. And we can't make Annais do whatever she did back there, it's pretty clear it takes all her energy."

"Leo, are you sure the dragon didn't malfunction?" Jason sighed. "I mean, Festus is old, and--"

"And I might not have repaired him right?" Leo huffed, a muscle ticking in his jaw as a wave of anger seemed to overtake him.

"No one said that," Mel quickly intervened, though she went ignored as Jason stuttered out his defence.

"It's just -- maybe you could fix it?"

Just as quickly as Leo's anger came, it went. His shoulders slumped in defeat at Jason's question, and not even Mel's hand intertwining with his could evoke a smile on his face. "I don't know," he mumbled. "I'd have to find where he landed, if he's even in one piece."

"It's my fault," Piper spoke suddenly, her eyes ridden with regret. Annais frowned at her, concerned. What had happened that would make Piper think that? They were in the sky, it's not like Piper had any control over Festus or whatever knocked them down.

"Piper, don't be ridiculous," Ezra scoffed, though her tone was uncharacteristically soft as she moved to sit beside the dark-haired girl. "We were all asleep when Festus tapped out, you couldn't have done anything."

"Yeah, you're just shaken up," Leo agreed, reaching out to pat her uninjured leg when she opened her mouth to protest. "You're in pain. Just rest."

They were silent again. Seconds stretched into minutes as exhaustion threatened to consume them, Annais' eyes slipping shut as her body started to crash. She remembered the first time Nico had shadow travelled. He slept for days on end, cooped up in the Hades cabin with Hea and Annais force-feeding his body food. She was surprised Ezra had even managed to wake her up let alone that she hadn't passed out again. She could feel it coming, though, the overwhelming urge to just rest. She allowed her head to drop onto Jason's shoulder, a sigh slipping through her lips as Leo slowly stood up.

"I'm gonna scout around for Festus," he declared. "I think he fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him."

"No way," Mel immediately protested.

"It's too dangerous," Jason added, trying not to move as he noticed the strange flutter of Annais' eyes. He didn't know how to say it, but letting her go had scared him more than he'd like to admit. "You shouldn't go by yourself."

"I got duct tape and breath mints, I'll be fine," Leo chuckled, though the sound was a little too quick and panicked to be believable. "You guys just don't run off without me."

"It's not happening," Mel shook her head, slowly clambering to her feet and wincing at the weight she had to put on her ankle. "If you're going, I'm going."

"Mel, you're hurt--"

"I don't care, Leo, I'm not letting you go off on your own."

Leo let out a frustrated sigh but didn't fight. With a hesitant nod, he reached for Mel's hand while pulling a flashlight out of his toolbelt. Then, with one last glance at the other four, they were heading down the stairs and into the darkness below. Annais wanted to call Mel back, protect her from the strange feeling she couldn't shake. But before she could, she caught sight of the red eye again, a shudder running down her spine that Jason unfortunately noticed.

"You need to eat some of this," he insisted, holding out the ambrosia package again.

"No," she huffed. "I'm fine."

Jason sighed. "Annais, come on." Reluctantly, she met his eyes. He was holding the plastic bag out to her, a frown tugging at his eyebrows when he noticed her hesitance. He didn't understand, and frankly neither did she. She knew logically the ambrosia would help her, but she couldn't help feeling like a burden by taking it. Still, she couldn't say no with the look of sheer worry on Jason's face. Somehow, that was worse than the guilt she felt.

"Just one piece," she muttered.

He nodded eagerly, opening the bag and taking out a square. It tasted like freshly baked cookies, an aroma of warm Summer afternoons spent in her mother's back garden. Annais was only four when they left that behind, and yet she could remember every detail, every scent and every flavour. The ambrosia sharpened her senses just enough for her to see straight, her head lifting from Jason's shoulder as he turned to check on Piper again.

"You look better," he noted, checking to make sure the splint was still properly in place.

Piper followed his gaze, a faint flush to her cheeks as she said, "You did a good job, where'd you learn first aid?"

"Same answer as always," he shrugged. "I don't know."

A beat of silence. "But you're starting to get your memories back, aren't you?" she pressed. "Like that prophecy in Latin back at camp, or that dream about the wolf."

"It's fuzzy, like déjà vu," he sighed. "Have you ever forgotten a word or a name and you know it should be on the tip of your tongue, but it isn't?"

"No--" Ezra cut him off with a shake of her head, though Jason just sighed and turned back to the others. Normally, he wouldn't care for the girl's comments, but he didn't have the energy to entertain them just yet.

"It's like that, only with my whole life."

There was so much pain behind his words. Pain and frustration. Everything was just out of reach, so close yet so far, torturing him with hope and then shifting away before he could find the answers. Annais wasn't sure what she would do if she couldn't remember her loved ones; Melanie, Hea, even Ezra, seeing their faces and knowing they meant something but having no explanation would be awful. She reached out without thinking, squeezing his hand once before letting go. He smiled, staring down at his palm for a moment before turning away.

"That photo in your pocket," Piper muttered. She'd noticed the way Jason looked at Annais, but she didn't want to think about it. Instead, she mentioned the first thing she could think of. "Is that someone from your past?"

Jason frowned, pulling back at the question. Annais couldn't tell if he was upset by the intrusive nature of it or if he just hadn't expected it, but Piper was quick to apologise anyway. "No, it's okay," he let out a sigh, glancing at the Min girls almost nervously. "Her name's Thalia. She's my sister."

Ezra's breath hitched. "T-Thalia?"

Annais wasn't sure how the girl hadn't figured it out sooner, especially since she claimed to be so observant. It was obvious, to her at least, from the moment Jason's last name was revealed. She just didn't know how to bring it up, if it was even her place to ask him... "I figured she would be when we heard your last name is Grace. It's not exactly common for two children of the same Godly parent to have the same surname."

"I don't remember any details, I'm not even sure how I know--"

"You just do," Annais finished for him, smiling when he nodded in relief. "That's something, at least. You might not know everything, but when this is over, I can take you to Thalia if you want."

Jason practically beamed at the offer. "I'd like that."

They looked at each other for a moment, Jason with his megawatt smile and Annais with an unusual flutter in her stomach. She didn't get that feeling often, but Jason seemed to bring it out of her almost effortlessly. She didn't understand it, but Piper did. The dark-haired girl wore a frown as she cleared her throat awkwardly, capturing their attention from each other as they quickly looked away.

"Annabeth told me she became a Hunter of Artemis, right?"

"I get the feeling I'm supposed to find her," he admitted. "Hera left me that memory for a reason, it's got something to do with this question. But... I also have the feeling it could be dangerous. I'm not sure I want to find out the truth, is that crazy?"

"No," Ezra sighed. "But there's nothing safe about this quest, Grace. Sometimes, you have to do things even if they get you into trouble."

Annais scowled, feeling weird about the way Ezra worded that. Sometimes, you have to do things even if they get you into trouble. Even if they hurt you or the people around you. Ezra's face was blank as she sat there, and yet it spoke a thousand words to those who knew her best.

"Guys," Piper murmured, her voice low and nervous. "Speaking of the truth, I need to tell you something, something about my dad..."

Annais frowned at her, uneasy. "What do you mean?"

She didn't get the chance to respond. Below them, metal clanged against metal in a sudden screech, like a door slamming shut or swords clashing together. The sound echoed, echoed, echoed; then silence. Ezra was up on her feet in an instant, swaying slightly but not hesitating to reach for her dagger. Annais followed, sword raised, as she waited for the darkness to reveal something, anything.

"What was that?" Piper breathed out, eyes wide.

Jason joined Annais after a moment, peering over the railing just a few feet away. "Leo? Mel?"

No answer. The silence seemed deafening now as Jason backed away from the edge, forcing Annais along with him until the two were crouching on either side of Piper's shaking frame.

"I don't like this," the blonde boy said.

"Neither do I," Annais agreed. "It's too quiet." Silence again as they listened. Then, a screech came from somewhere downstairs. It sounded like a scream. "Should we go look?"

Piper nodded frantically. "They could be in trouble, you have to check."

"We can't leave you alone," Jason protested, though he didn't look pleased at the thought of leaving Leo and Mel defenceless.

"I'll be fine," she insisted, drawing her dagger Katoptris in a weak attempt to seem confident. "Anyone gets close, I'll skewer them."

Annais and Jason hesitated. A sensation like bugs crawling across her skin had her shuddering and stepping closer to the blonde boy. She despised feeling so exposed. "Fine, but Ezra can stay with you."

"What?" the girl in question huffed in outrage. "Not this again."

"Yes, this again, and don't even try to ignore me this time," she snapped. "We need to split up, and I'm not leaving Jason." There was a tense pause as she said that, Ezra raising an eyebrow with a smug smirk. Even Jason seemed confused at how persistent she was, but Annais refused to meet his eyes as she turned towards the metal staircase. "If we're not back in five minutes, Piper--"

"Panic?"

"Oh, please," Ezra scoffed, dropping down beside the girl despite clearly not wanting to. "I'll kill anyone before they even get up the stairs."

Annais didn't doubt it for a second. Still, she hesitated, watching as