Michael
_

We were crossing the Potomac when we spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one we'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward us.

"They know the van," I said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoe swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Killian said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Thalia said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" I asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoe shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoe said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

We bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after us.

I let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

I shrugged. "Things pop up overnight all the time. Time flies with ADHD."

"That didn't look so new," Killian pointed out. "How long ago..."

His voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," I said. "Next station."

Over the next half hour, all we thought about was getting away safely. We changed trains twice. I had no idea where we were going, but after a while we lost the helicopter.

Unfortunately, when we finally got off the train we found ourselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. I felt right at home.

We wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years.

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!"

We huddled around his fire, Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-ggreat."

"My feet are frozen," Killian complained.

I gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, that girl was in the clutches of our enemies. Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And we were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless persons fire.

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly I noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's... convenient," Killian said. "Thanks, uh..."

He turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of us was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.

An hour later we were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because we all got our own luxury car. Bianca was crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Killian was messing with the wheel of a Lamborghini. Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock stations from D.C.

I had claimed a gray Maserati and was fiddling with the controls when there was a knock on my window. I was surprised to see Zoe standing there. I lowered the window and she said, "May I join you?"

I nodded and she climbed into the shotgun seat.

My new lion friend was lounging in the back seat, enjoying all the space he had to himself.

"Good job back there," she said, glancing at the Nemean Lion. I'll have to give him a name sometime soon. I was getting tired of saying Nemean Lion everytime I was referring to him.

"With him?" I threw a thumb at the cat. "I didn't know what I was doing."

"You still managed to deescalate the situation brilliantly," she persisted. "Using your power from Selene to familiarize yourself with him was smart. Smarter than anything I could've thought of in that moment."

I shrugged. "I find myself calm in stressful situations. Overstimulation calms me."

"I...see." Zoe looked at me in a new light. "I wanted to talk to you about something. About Bianca."

"Yeah, Percy said some odd things about her before we left," I told her. "Made me promise to watch out for her. And to not lose her."

Zoe's eyes dimmed. "Yes. I've been doing my best to watch her as well. I'm afraid...I'm afraid it will happen again."

"What will happen again?"

"She'll die."

My heart stopped.

I swallowed loudly. "D-D...Die?"

Zoe nodded. "Back before whatever reversed time, she was on this exact same quest. The only difference was that she was a Hunter, like myself. We were traveling through a desert, through one of Hephaestus's junkyard, when we triggered the activation of one of his discarded inventions. In the end, she...We lost her. She'd vanished from the battle. We searched for her body, but it was just...it was gone." A tear fell from her brown eyes. "It was my fault she was on that quest. I insisted that she go with us, that she prove herself as a Hunter of Artemis, but all I did was lead her to her death. That's why Perseus and I were against her joining us on this quest. We don't want to face the same situation, risk losing someone so special and unique again."

"Did you love her?"

Zoe shook her head. "Not like that. Perhaps like a sister, if I had been given enough time. I had known her for only a few days, but I could tell she was special. She grew quickly, both in strength and resilience. She was destined for greatness. But that destiny was cut short by a decision I made."

Zoe turned her head to look at me and I could see just how broken talking about this made her.

"Michael, I do not want you to live with the same guilt, and neither does Perseus. We know that if something does happen, you will regret it for the rest of your life. And Bianca knows this, too. She knows what she faces, but she could not deny you."

"She couldn't deny me? What do you mean by that?"

Zoe laughed mirthlessly. "You do not see it? Intelligent you may be, ignorant you still are. There is a single reason my lady did not offer her a position with the Hunters this time around. A reason that was not there last time. You."

"Me?" I pointed at myself. "Me. Why would I be the reason she didn't join the Hunters? You guys seem awesome! Artemis almost extended an invitation to me but saw something in me that made her hesitate. Probably because I'm so much older than the rest of you girls."

"I appreciate your compliments," Zoe said. "But it is not your age which stayed my lady's tongue. It is not your physiology, either. It is your mind."

I frowned. "My mind?" I suddenly scowled. "Is it because I-"

"No," Zoe cut me off. "That was not even a problem in my lady's eyes."

"Okay, good, cause I was really starting to like Artemis."

Zoe smiled. "My lady is kind to those who view those around them equally. She does not take kindly to those who view themselves higher, who proclaims they are greater because of something as silly as their sex."

"I don't like those people either. Say, you didn't explain why Artemis didn't let me or Bianca join. Not that I 100 percent would've, but I definitely would have given it some thought."

"It is because of your experiences. I do not mean to pry into your personal life, but tell me this; are you a virgin?"

"No."

Zoe spread her arms. "There is your answer. Your mind has been influenced by the thing my lady tries to keep away from my sisters; love, sex, romanticism."

"And that's the same thing that prevented Bianca from joining?"

She nodded. "Though she is still a maiden, I assure you. I asked her myself."

"Hm. So that means she's in love with someone."

"And that leads me to my next questions for you," Zoe said. "How do you two know each other? It is obvious that there is a connection between you two, one that goes beyond you rescuing her in Maine."

"We've met before," I answered. I turned my head away from Zoe to look out the window. "A long time ago, back in California. It was the first time I went to Las Vegas, so I guess it was in Nevada, not Cali. I ditched my family and found her. She was living in a casino at the time, so I invited her to go explore. We visited some of the tourist attractions and had a genuinely fun time. She was...she was the first person outside of my sister who made me feel accepted. I...I..."

"You fell in love with her," Zoe guessed.

I nodded. "But we were twelve. I thought those feelings would fade. But they didn't. And even now, I still feel like I'm in love with her. It's hard to talk to her."

Hm." She shifted in her seat. "You know, Michael, that I am not good with love. I don't truly know what it is like, or how it feels to be in love. But I know it when I see it. And with you two, there is something there. I can see it on Bianca's face, hear it in her voice." She glanced at me. "But there's something holding you back. Another woman."

"That is a long conversation."

"We have time."