The town was small. It was also in the mountains, so the air was cold and thin. Roofs of cabins were covered in snow, and snow banks were lining every street. Tall pine trees rose over the valley, causing the shadows to darken the town, even though it was sunny out.

Grover walked up to Percy. Zoë was walking next to Percy, while Thalia and Bianca weren't that far behind. Grover started talking, loud enough for the two in the back to hear. "So, uh, what's going on with you and Zoë?"

Percy looked at Grover. "What's going on with you and that forest back at camp?" He said, deflecting the question.

Grover blushed. "Nothing. You didn't answer the question."

"You didn't either."

They were now in the middle of town, and stopped walking. From there, they could see almost everything. There was a school, a lot of tourist shops, some cafe's, ski cabins, and one singular grocery store.

"So. No bus station, no taxis, no car rental. What do we do?" Thalia said.

"I don't know, but there's a coffee shop!" Grover said, excitedly.

"Coffee sounds good." Zoë said.

"Screw coffee, I want the pastries. And the wax paper." Grover replied.

"Okay, so you two go get coffee. Percy, Bianca, and I will check out that grocery store. Hopefully they can give us some directions."

"Meet back here in 15 minutes, alright?" Percy said.

Everyone agreed.

Bianca seemed to be a little uncomfortable with Percy and Thalia. But after a while, she seemed okay. They found out some information about Cloudcroft. First, there wasn't enough snow for skiing. Second, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar. (Too low in Percy's opinion, those were worth at least 2 dollars.) Thirdly, there wasn't any way into or out of town unless you had your own car...

... Which Percy did. In his backpack.

Percy said as such, causing Thalia to storm out of the store, mumbling about jstupid angels. The store clerk looked like he didn't get paid enough to care, which he probably didn't. So Percy bought a rubber rat. And he paid 3 dollars, 2 for the rat, and 6 cents for tax. The remaining 94 cents went to the clerk. Maybe he could use 2 quarters as Beyblades or something. Hours of enjoyment.

Percy and Bianca sat on the porch, neither making conversation. Finally, she started with a, "Nice rat."

Percy put it on the railing, and mimicked jumping motions with it. He was supposed to be 14 after all. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She paused, as if nervous to continue. "Do you think that... that you could help me again?"

Percy smiled. "Sure."

He got up, and sat down next to her. "You are going to want to extend your senses. Just feel what's around you."

Bianca closed her eyes. "This is weird."

"Do you feel any disturbances?"

"Yes. They're below me..."

"Try and bring them to the surface." Percy guided.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, while her face scrunched up in concentration. She raised her hand, as if summoning something. Right by the stairs up to the porch, a little wishbone popped up, before flying through the air, and landing in Bianca's waiting palm, where she closed her fingers around it.

She looked at it with an expression of disbelief. "I... I... I did that?"

Percy nodded. "Yep."

Zoë came into view, a huge smile on her face, as she drank from a cup. Grover was next to her, carrying a drink carrier, and some pastries. Apparently, they had ordered hot chocolate for Percy and Bianca, while they had both gotten coffee. Zoë had also gotten Percy a chocolate chip muffin.

Percy turned to Zoë. "What's got you so happy?"

"My coffee."

"What about it?"

"I gave them my name. Told them to surprise me when she asked me how to spell it."

"Which one?"

"Mazikeen."

"Oh, I gotta see this, what'd they write?"

Zoë turned her cup to reveal, in big bold letters, MIKE. Luckily, Grover and Bianca were catching each other up on their separate adventures, so they missed this interaction. Finally, it was time to leave.

"Thalia, get your ass over here, we got to go!" Percy yelled.

Percy took off his backpack, took out the corvette, and set it on the ground. They watched as it grew.

Percy got behind the wheel, and Zoë again in shotgun. The other 3 again in the back. Percy turned on the radio, which was playing The Devil Went Down To Georgia. Percy scoffed. "Mortals and their stupid stories. I don't want souls, I'll get it eventually anyway." He said, muttering.

He drove until sunset, only stopping for gas. They had lost any concept of distance. When they stopped, the mountains had faded into flat dry land. And boy, it was hot as Hell. Well, close. Actually, no, not even.

They had ended up in some small, very small town. It was only on one side of a road, and half of that road was covered in sand. The only clue as to where they were was a sign on a post office that read, GILA CLAW, ARIZONA. Across the way, was a giant ass junkyard.

They had decided to sleep outside, for everything else was too weird, and they didn't want to go dumpster diving at night. Zoë and Bianca took out some sleeping bags and foam mattresses. Percy wondered if their packs were enchanted like his was. The sun had set by now, and all semblance of heat was gone. Percy and Grover gathered some wood from one of the abandoned houses and piled it up. Percy set it ablaze, with his mind.

He could tell that his powers were slowly coming back to him. It seemed that when he got reborn, many of them were locked away. But now, he was gaining them back, and they were getting stronger. When he got back to Hell, all of it would come back instantly.

The questers huddled around the fire, Percy and Zoë closer than everyone else was. She looked up and smiled. Her husband's handiwork was on display. "The stars are out."

The other 3 looked up and gasped. Because the place was pretty much deserted, there was no light to hide the amazingness of space. Millions of stars were on display, blues and purples mixing.

"I've never actually seen the Milky Way."

"This is nothing." Percy and Zoë said at the same time. "Before all the lights that polluted the sky, it was more amazing. Entire constellations have disappeared since then. These... These are the survivors." Percy explained.

They settled into silence. Eventually, Thalia spoke up. "We should get to bed. We can regroup in the morning. Maybe we can find a road to Vegas."

"NO! Not there!" Bianca said, frightened.

"Why?" Percy said.

"I... I think me and Nico stayed there once. I can't remember."

Suddenly, realization hit Percy like a truck. "You didn't... happen to stay at a place called, The Lotus Hotel?"

Bianca nodded. "How?"

"I stayed there once. It warps your time perception, making days feel like well, however long they would like."

"No, no." Bianca said, freaking out.

"Bianca, who is President of the United States right now?" Zoë asked.

"George W. Bush."

"And before that?"

"Roosevelt."

"Theodore, or Franklin?" Percy asked.

"Franklin. FDR."

"Bianca, Franklin was president almost 70 years ago."

She sat there shocked. Thalia wrapped her arms around her, comforting her.

Bianca didn't have much to think about it though, because a headlight illuminated them. And it seemed to be coming from a deathly white limo.

A/N. Alright, another chapter done. Hope you enjoyed it. Honestly, I have nothing to say right now, so, yeah.