The Romans weren't much different from the Greeks from what Percy could tell. They were a little more organized and clearly followed the orders of their leaders rigidly. The Stoll Brothers would've had a hard time. Percy still didn't understand how or why the Gods had kept their other sides a secret from their children but then again, Percy very rarely understood a single thing they did.

Reyna walked slightly ahead of the group, weaving them through cars that were packed on the highway while Percy hung back, bringing up the rear. Percy was used to being the one in charge but he didn't mind just following. He still had to think of what he was going to do next. It wasn't safe to try and cross the country all on his own, even if there weren't a bunch of dead bodies trying to attack them. But he knew he had to get back to Camp, to his mom and his friends and Annabeth.

Jason slowed his pace until Percy caught up to him. He had warmed up to Percy a lot faster than Reyna had. After a week and a half of him fighting walkers alongside her, she still didn't fully trust Percy. He couldn't really blame her though, if this was his group he would be wary too. Jason and Percy had a lot in common, though. Jason was a Big Three Kid too, a son of Jupiter. Which Percy might have been able to guess on his own; Jason reminded him a lot of Thalia, the only other Zeus kid he knew. He had found out the Roman Gods had no oath banning children of the big three. Despite this, Percy was the first son of Poseidon/Neptune that the Romans had met.

"I thought New Yorkers were supposed to be fast?" Jason asked. "You're always in the back."

"I can see everybody from here, I can watch their backs," Percy said. "Besides, I thought Cali Kids were supposed to be laid back, I've never seen someone so tightly wound," he nodded at Reyna.

"Ayyy, she's just watchin' yous," Jason said in a terrible accent, adding finger guns for good measure.

"Is that supposed to be a New York accent?"

"Yeah, bada bing."

"Literally no New Yorker ever has said that."

"Eh I've watched Friends, I know all about New York," Jason said waving him off. "Reyna will warm up to you soon enough, don't worry."

"She can be warm?" Percy asked.

"So we're told," Jason said. He looked straight ahead for a moment before looking down, his face pink. Percy looked up in time to see Piper turn away.

"Real smooth, dude," Percy laughed.

"What?" Jason said, ruffling his hair.

"Super neat trick I learned on the mean streets of Manhattan," Percy said. "If you want to talk to a pretty girl, it usually helps if you say words."

"I've talked to Piper," Jason said quietly so she wouldn't overhear them.

"Yeah, I bet asking her if she wanted more bread at dinner really got her going," Percy laughed.

"Well what did you say when you first started talking to Annabeth?"

"What's Annabeth got to do with anything?" Percy asked, taken aback.

"She's your girlfriend right? How'd you ask her out?"

"What? Why would you think she was my girlfriend?"

"We all thought she was your girlfriend. You really only talk about her," Jason explained. "'Oh Annabeth is gonna be so worried. I've gotta find Annabeth.' You literally described her as gorgeous, dude."

"That doesn't mean anything, that doesn't mean I like her," Percy defended. "That just means I have eyes. That's just...a statement of fact. That's how I'd describe you too if you were missing, does that make you my boyfriend?"

"Well if you keep calling me gorgeous, big boy," Jason winked.

Percy shoved his shoulder, rolling his eyes, but his laugh was cut short when he caught Hazel turning away from him again. He had thought she had liked him just fine. She had even shared some candy she had finessed out of a machine in a mall with him the night before, but after that morning, she wouldn't even make eye contact with him.

"Did I do something?" Percy asked Jason, still looking at the back of Hazel's head.

"I can't be sure with her, she's nice, but she's kind of different," Jason said. "I don't know all that much about her."

"You said you were at your camp your whole life."

"Yeah, I was," Jason said. "She wasn't. She showed up about two days before our city got attacked. She doesn't even know who her godly parent is, they all went silent before anyone could claim her."

"No one's heard from them at all, then?" Percy asked. They hadn't had time to talk gods since Leo and Piper had joined them. Though they had proved trustworthy, no one had the heart to drop the Myths Are Real bomb on top of the zombie news on the mortals.

"Besides claiming, how often do you really hear from our folks?" Jason shrugged.

"I mean, all the times they give us bullshit quests?" Percy offered.

"Wait, you actually talk to the gods?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, you don't?" Percy said.

"I've never even met my dad," Jason said.

"Yeah, well, your stepmom sucks so maybe consider yourself lucky," Percy said. He turned his attention away from Jason, seeing Hazel drop back from her place next to Piper. She let Percy and Jason catch up with her. Percy looked to Jason, who merely shrugged.

"Hey, Percy," She said, her voice strangely light and cheerful.

"Uh, hey, Hazel," Percy said.

Jason made a lame excuse to run forward to leave them alone. Clearly, he wasn't good at awkward situations.

"You're talking to me again?" Neither was Percy.

Hazel smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry about that, I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings."

Percy shared her smile. "As long as you're good."

"I'm fine," Hazel waved him off. "I just uh, wanted to ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"You said Annabeth has probably been looking for you, right?"

"She usually does when I go missing," Percy laughed. "Which is why I know she's gonna be mad when she finds me."

"Right, when she finds you," Hazel said, looking down. "You said she's blonde?"

Percy raised his eyebrow at Hazel. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious, you talk about her a lot," Hazel said.

"What, do you think she's my girlfriend, too?" Percy laughed.

"Is she not?" Hazel asked, innocently.

"She's not-," Percy sighed, not seeing the point in explaining the ins and outs of his and Annabeth's friendship to this group. "Yeah, she's blonde. And she has grey eyes, like all the other Athena kids. Here," Percy dug in his pocket for his wallet, right next to Riptide. It wasn't like they needed money any more or that he had any to begin with, but it was like a token of the old way of the world. He pulled out the little photostrip he, Grover, and Annabeth had taken when they went to Coney Island that last Spring break. "That's her."

Hazel went very pale but forced a smile. "She's so pretty." She said, her voice now shaky. "I uh, have to go." Percy was left alone once again in the back.