Chapter 7

Jacob

We drove for an hour, with no signs of any monsters. We had just made it from New York to Virginia. We also learned that River was a horrible driver. We nearly died.

Twice.

River almost hit a cat, so he swerved, and the van being so big, crashed into the guard rail. We popped a tire, and had to push it to the nearest truck stop, to fix it up. It was horrible. After that, we decided to let Val drive.

She was a lot better.

We were making stops along the way, and took pictures. While we were in Pennsylvania, we visited Gettysburg. We thought about the people who died. To think… Some of them may have been half-bloods.

In Virginia, we visited the U.S. Air Force Memorial, saw the Great Falls Park, and toured the Mount Vernon Estate, where George Washington lived.

To be honest, I was uneasy. We were having fun, of course. But I felt like we were wasting time. As much as I loved seeing these historical landmarks, I knew that we had to go. Now. After convincing them, we reluctantly got back on the road. By now, it was 9:00 at night.

I heard River and Val talking, so I decided to let them have their privacy. I looked at our misfit team. Six sat facing away, fiddling with her AK-47. She brought the gun with bronze bullets, to go with her simple sword. She would have scared me, if it wasn't for her being so fun-loving. Cody sat there, looking at the wall rubbing one of his amulets. He had two drum sticks and a magic marker. He said those were his weapons, but I didn't understand that. Nicole was asleep in the corner, on her bag. Apparently her shoulder bag could turn into a bow with arrows. I didn't know if I believed her or not.

I sighed and sat down next to Cody. "Hey," I said.

"Hey," he replied simply. His color changing eyes were a pale stayed quiet holding his amulet. It was a loop of metal, tinted blue. Inside it was two arrows crossed, forming an X. In the center was a blue stone I recognized as Lapis Lazuli. The necklace was an obvious sign for friendship.

"Ivy," I said. "You guys were close, right?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his shaggy, brown hair. "Yeah," he said. "Your sister, right?"

"Yep, you guys were inseparable. Were you…"

"No. No, we were just best friends. We came to camp together, and we've always been friends. But who knows…"

So we went on like that, telling each other stories about our lives. Apparently, before they came to Camp, they went on a field trip to the beach, and the chaperone turned in to a siren. And those amulets were made for protection. The one with a snowflake will keep him warm in the cold.

I saw Six pretending to sleep, and I heard River snoring loudly. Nicole gently said "Jerez," in her slumber. Val was nodding off, and Cody was trying to get some rest. I was the only one who wasn't tired at all.

I peeked in the window to the driver's seat. "Hey Val," I said gently.

"Yes?" She kept driving.

"You're really tired, and you should get some rest. I'll take over. And don't worry, I'm a lot better than River. We once took our principle's-the Manticore's-car for a joy ride. It took a while for the cops to catch us."

Val laughed quietly and let me climb in through the window. We traded places awkwardly, and I took the wheel. While Val was in the middle seat, she placed her head on River's shoulder. Those crazy lovebirds.

I drove a bit more, when I heard someone in the small window to the back. I glanced back, and saw Six. "Hey," I said.

"What's up Urkel?" she replied.

"Seriously," I said, giving her a look. "What's with all the nerdy nicknames? Pointdexter? Urkel?"

"I have a habit of nicknaming people. I can't figure your's out yet. Real names are stupid. My parents gave me a ridiculous girly one."

"What is it?" I tried.

"Oh please," said Six. "Why should I tell you? You haven't earned it."

I saw her army jacket had a crude patch that held a dark blue six.

"Why Six, then?" I asked. "And is it the numeral, or spelled out?"

She punched me in the arm, and it hurt. The van swerved a little. "My dad was a cop, and he made this patch. He was Officer #6. I was also 6 when he died…"

"I'm so sorry…" I said, trying to comfort her.

"Shut up dork," she said. "It was 7 years ago. And I think you should know by now that I'm not the weak little girl you make me out as. I would have kicked your ass yesterday, if you hadn't gotten lucky." She smiled.

"What ever."

We laughed. I didn't know her very well, but I knew that I liked her. As a friend!

I was enjoying this. We were going to save our friends, and we were having fun along the way.

"How did he die?" I don't know why I asked. But I really cared.

She looked at me with a thousand-yard-stare. She looked like she would call me a vulgar name, punch me, and get back into the back. Instead she told me.

"He died bringing me to Camp Half-Blood."

I thought that was all she was going to tell me. But she carried on.

"He was a cop. He educated me by himself, because he was smart. We always went across the country, because he kept getting relocated. Now I know that it was also to throw monsters off our trail. We were a family of two. We always visited the shooting range, because he wanted me to be able to defend my self. And I was only 6.

"Then we visited New York. We were going down a country road, when the RV flipped over. The couch slid, and it landed on my right side." She winced, remembering. "I still feel numb. Dad pushed the couch off of me and and broke the window above us. He helped me out. And I saw- I saw him.

"The wolf-guy. Lycaon. He tried feeding Zeus meat from a child. He was so angry, he turned him and all of his children into wolves. He was tall and had piercing yellow eyes. His children were all around him. My dad handed me a gun. It had 6 silver bullets. I made every bullet count. I killed 6 of the wolves chasing me. I made it to the entrance of Camp, but Lycaon was in front of me." She stopped and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her mind.

"It's OK," I said. "I've got it."

"Shut up Brainiac," she said. "Anyway, he killed my dad, and gave me a scar." I looked at where her beanie and hair covered the scar and eye. "Caleb and his sister-full sister Jenna, by the way-fended him off at only 8. They were able to get me in the barrier, where I was safe. I lived there for 7 years, and nothing spectacular happened. Except for the whole 2nd Titanochromy and such. Then Jenna disapeared 2 weeks ago. And I met you guys."

"I'm really sorry," I said. "I shouldn't have asked about your father."

"Oh grow some balls Eugene," she said. "Keeping my past bottled up would be like being a baloon. I could pop at any moment. So at least suck it up. The only real injury I got was losing my dad. Who cares about my little paper cut?"

I looked at her again. Through her blonde hair, I could see her right eye was a bit to pale. She was blind there. I reached out to put my hand on her shoulder. But as I touched her, she punched me. Square on the jaw. Despite the pain, I laughed. I had a friend.

Then suddenly, the van slammed into a huge object.