We slept in a field somewhere on the outskirts of Winnemucca. I had taken off my shirt and replaced it with Luke's zip-up hoodie, but my pants were still a red-brown color and stiff from the blood. I was glad to be out of Old Battle Mountain. I hate that town.

I had nightmares of Rhode that night. I watched her kill descendants of Poseidon, drain them of their blood. The Arai even put my dad in the dream, just to put me on edge.

Luke was acting more protective than before. He was constantly on edge. It worried me.

"Luke, are you ok?" I finally asked.

"No, I'm not ok," he snapped.

I stumbled, surprised by the harshness of his words. Luke looked back at me with squinted eyes. I didn't know what to take from that. Logically, squinting eyes probably meant the sun was hurting your eyes or you were trying to see something far away. Or it could mean he was suspicious, or angry. I didn't know which it was though.

His gaze softened. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken like that. You could have died back there, Jase. And there would have been nothing we could have done about it. You've got to be more careful, don't go anywhere alone, ok? You're sticking by my side from now on, and no more sneak attacks," he said.

I offered a smile. "Yeah, I can agree with that."

Charlie jumped up behind us, ruining the moment. "Can we go to a YMCA or rest stop or something that has showers?" he asked.

Luke shrugged. "If we can find one. But first, we need to get some food. I say we stop at a Walmart."

"Why Walmart?" Grover asked as he munched contently on a soda can somebody had thrown at us from their car as we passed.

"If things are the same as they were 40 years ago, people don't need to look normal to go to Walmart. We might be able to get some food."

You'll never be normal.

"With what money?" Charlie sarcastically pointed out.

Luke smiled and pulled a wad from his pocket. "I nicked it off of that Texan dude on the way out of Battle Mountain."

I didn't remember us leaving Battle Mountain. Everything after me passing out was fuzzy. I didn't remember any Texan dudes but I didn't really care how Luke got the money, as long as I got dinner.

"Walmart it is."

Walmarts are kind of like Starbucks or McDonalds. Once you reach town, they're everywhere. It didn't take us long to find the signature free-camping-zone.

When my family used to go traveling, we'd often camp out in Walmart parking lots in our motorhome. It seemed too nostalgic to look back on, so I shook the thought away.

"Ok, Charlie and I will go inside and get some food and supplies. Grover, stay here with Jase and don't let him leave your sight," Luke ordered.

Grover nodded quickly but I rolled my eyes. "Luke, we'll be fine. Just get me some damn snacks," I said. Grover snickered at this, earning a glare from Luke. Charlie let go of my hand and gave me a quick kiss before heading off with Luke.

"Be careful, Jack!" he called over his shoulder. I saluted and tried to control the anxiety of watching him go. It was only for a few minutes, but it was still longer than I was comfortable with.

I was distracted from my worries as Grover suddenly clutched his head. A look of panic crossed his features, one so obvious that even I was able to recognize it.

"What's wrong?" I crouched beside him and held his arm.

"Something's wrong with Percy! The empathy link!"

I felt like somebody stuck their hand through my ribcage and was squeezing my heart. "Can you communicate with him? Is he hurt?"

Grover shook his head. "I don't think he's hurt, but I think they're being attacked. All I'm getting is a name, I don't know what's going on."

"What name?"

"Oscar!"

Whatever had a grip on my heart wrenched it from my chest, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it. I gripped Grover's arm tighter. I felt the Arai's energy buzzing around me, waiting for me to break. Instead, I pictured myself reaching out and grabbing the Arai by the neck. The visual helped me calm down enough to make a plan. A very outstretched, very stupid plan.

"Grover, I need you to channel my dad. I think I can get through to him."

"I can only do that if I'm asleep! And he would need to be too, it wouldn't work!"

"Grover, just trust me. I'll knock you out if you want to, but I think if you open the connection just enough for me to reach out, I can get through," I said.

"I have no idea what you mean—"

If I had both my arms I would have facepalmed. I settled for groaning instead. "Just focus on the empathy link. Focus on my dad and Oscar. Try to keep the connection open."

Grover nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. I took my mental grip on the Arai and held tight. I took the energy from them and focused on my grip on Grover.

I pictured myself traveling through the Arai's shadows. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but something told me I could do it. The Arai may not have told me I could use their powers for this, but since they were in my mind I knew anyway. I watched the energy traveling through the empathy link.

And suddenly, I was home.