Chapter 4: Road Trip!
~Camp Half-Blood. Morning of Quest~
Percy POV
I woke up around the same time as Zoe and we both moved around one another in the cabin as we gathered supplies. My bow appeared on my back whenever I wished it, my combat pants held my kunai and I packed a few squares of ambrosia and a couple flasks of nectar. Kurouzu was in the scabbard on my back and my hunting knives were sheathed against my lower back underneath the sword for easy access.
I looked up at Zoe and she tossed me a backpack that held some bed rolls in case we needed to camp out, a pouch of drachmas, some mortal cash, and a few other emergency supplies. I slung it over my shoulder and looked back at my sleeping sisters one last time before heading to the meeting point at the hill with Zoe.
Zoe had Anaklusmos in hairclip form in her hair, bow at her back and knives at the ready. She had a backpack like me slung over her shoulder as we waited or the others. Bianca was in her typical hunter's garb and seemed to be on edge as she was literally just thrown into this mess of the Greek world. I gave her shoulder a squeeze in reassurance. "Don't worry. You'll be fine and we'll all look out for each other," I said and gave her a small smile.
Grover was the next to show up and he had on fake feet and crutches to blend in with the mortals which made sense, and a backpack containing Zeus knows what. Lastly, Thalia showed up 15 minutes late and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Nice of you to join us, Sleeping Beauty," Grover teased and Bianca and I smiled and chuckled, respectively.
"We've wasted enough time as it is. Besides, you used to sleep until noon when you were younger Percy so you can't laugh at that," Zoe said and I went red in embarrassment and the others snickered at me. We loaded up the van and piled in. Zoe decided to drive with Grover in the passenger seat for tracking purposes, Bianca and Thalia took the middle row, and I hopped in the back.
The ride was mostly silent in the early morning, only Grover and Zoe talked about the direction that they were headed and I was left to my thoughts; entirely unsure of what to expect.
3rd Person POV
The quest group stopped in Washington D.C. to use Grover's tracking spell again and get some food, as the first time Grover used it at camp led them to the Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian. They stepped out of the van and started to walk toward a small cafe when Percy fell into step beside Zoe. "Something's off here. Too many auras that shouldn't be here; disturbances in the ambient water vapor. I'm going to look around," Percy said in a hushed whisper so the rest of them didn't hear him and Zoe told him to be careful.
"Where's Percy going?" Thalia asked and Zoe turned back to the group. "He said he has to use the bathroom and he's always wanted to see the museum, so I gave him 15 minutes to meet us back here," Zoe replied in a tone that left no room for debate or questioning.
"So, Milady was here?" Zoe asked Grover and he took another sip of his drink and nodded. "Yeah according to the acorns I use for the tracking spell, she spent some time here looking for whatever she was tracking," Grover told her and she nodded.
"Maybe we should split up and look around for anything of importance," Bianca suggested quietly and the two campers nodded. "Percy's 15 minutes are about up. We will give the area a sweep before we hit the road again," Zoe said and they all agreed.
~Meanwhile with Percy~
Percy crept toward the building where he felt the auras and silently slipped in. He vapor traveled up to a vantage point in the shadows to observe the scene. There, he saw the blonde boy from his dream that tricked his mother into holding the sky, a handful of monsters, and a tall, hulking figure with his face covered in the shadows.
"They're here. What should we do about them?" the boy asked and the figure replied, but his voice sounded like an avalanche. "Do not worry about them. I have sent them a gift," he said and Percy silently cursed. "I also have insurance. Do you have the teeth?" he asked. "Yesss General," a dracnae responded and Percy cursed silently even more. 'That's Zoe's old man,' he said internally.
"Plant them," Atlas ordered and they carried it out. They "watered" them, but it looked like blood and out of the ground rose a dozen skeleton warriors, but they quickly grew a transparent sort of flesh and ironically police uniforms. 'Probably the mist,' Percy mused as he vapor traveled out of there and sprinted with the winds to find the questers.
Zoe POV
We just stood up to leave the cafe when Percy came sprinting into view which is never good. "We need to go," he said hurriedly and everyone looked uneasy. "What did you find?" I asked him and he took a sharp breath. "The blonde boy from my dream with The General. They know we're here and summoned these skeletal warriors with transparent flesh along with another 'gift'," he said and Thalia and I paled.
'This isn't good,' I thought as I nodded and took charge. "Okay we need to go n-" I began to say, but was cut off with a scream. "Look Mommy, a kitty!" a little girl exclaimed and we turned to see the Nemean coming toward us. "Di Immortales! It's the Nemean Lion. Run," I said and we all scattered toward the planes that hung from the ceiling.
Percy, Bianca, and I loosed several arrows, but they all bounced harmlessly off the pelt. It let out another ear shattering roar, but Percy seemed to be waiting for that and he fired one last arrow that struck the monster in the eye. This time it roared in pain.
"Does anyone have anything to choke it with?!" Percy yelled as he dropped to the ground and pulled out his knives. "Oh yeah, let me just pull out my super sized chew toy to stuff down its throat!" I heard Thalia yell back sarcastically. "You have the spear, smart ass!" Percy yelled to her and I realized what he meant.
"Thalia! Give Percy your shield. Percy, create an opening for Thalia and get it to open its mouth. The instant it does, Thalia jab that thing into the roof of its mouth and charge it with lightning!" I yelled all in one breath and they looked at me incredulously before nodding. Percy sheathed his knives and caught the shield that Thalia tossed to him.
Percy spun out of the way of another swipe while constantly moving forward and brought the shield up hard into the lower jaw with Thalia right behind him. After bashing it, he jumped and yanked the arrow out of the eye, making the beast roar again. Thalia thrust her electric charged spear through the roof of the mouth and the monster let out a gurgling mew before exploding into dust, leaving only the pelt behind.
"Nemean Lion pelt. Sweet," Thalia said and my lips pressed into a hard line. I know Percy despises Heracles for what he did to me, but he always was one to admit when he thinks things are cool; like the pelt for example from the way he was looking at it. "Your kill, Thals. Your spoil," he said and Thalia frowned. "Not my style. You take it Zoe. It was your plan," she said and I grimaced.
"All of it was possible because of Percy's arrow. You take it Brother," I said and he smirked. He grabbed matches out of the backpack and started a fire. He walked over to the pelt, grabbed it, and tossed it into the fire. "For Lady Artemis," he said and I beamed with pride while the rest smirked and nodded in approval.
Bianca POV
After they defeated the Nemean Lion I was feeling rather useless on this quest, but I didn't want to stress the group out anymore so I didn't say anything. Just as we were about to move out, we heard the clattering of bones and whipped around. The skeletal warriors with the transparent skin had found us and 3 of them were closing in.
"Sparti!" Zoe yelled and the others looked confused as we began dodging and countering. "They're strong spirits of warriors that can only be defeated by a child of Hades!" Zoe yelled and dodged again. I felt slightly nervous that it depended on me, but determination quickly settled back in as I saw an opening and took it.
I stabbed my knife through the spirit's heart and it crumbled into a pile of bones that was engulfed in a black flame. I turned to help Zoe with hers and quickly dispatched it as well. We turned to face the last one with Percy and Thalia to see Percy take a blow meant for Thalia and get a large cut on his arm. He hissed in pain and I growled and charged, ending the last one for now.
Zoe rushed to check on Percy and he said, "I'm fine. We need to go." Zoe nodded and we all rushed back to the van and took off. I passed Percy some ambrosia and poured nectar over the cut and slowly but surely it closed. Thalia wrapped bandaging over it and whispered a quiet thank you and he smiled at her and gave me one as well.
"Where are we going now?" I asked Zoe as we sped away. "Nowhere if we can't get rid of them," she said desperately and I turned around to see a military chopper in pursuit of us and paled. "We need to ditch the van, Zo," Percy said and I looked out the window to see a subway station coming up. "There! Subway!" I yelled and Zoe turned hard at the last second to make it to the station.
We all hopped on the first train South and switched trains a few times to finally lose the chopper. "Good thinking, Bi!" Percy said to me with a smile and I couldn't help but smile back to him. The others seemed grateful as well. "Nice fighting with the sparti as well. We'll need to parry their blows to give you an opening to end them," Zoe added and I nodded, the determination taking root again.
3rd Person POV
The questers rode the train to the end of the line and looked for a trainyard to catch another one West. They were exhausted, but the constant danger had kept their adrenaline levels high enough to cope with it. Now, they were crashing and crashing hard.
Wandering through the train yard, a voice spoke behind them, making them whirl around and draw their weapons. "Y'all kids look cold. Here, gather 'round," a homeless guy said from a trashcan fire. He was smelly and extremely grimy, but had an uncharacteristically white smile. "Y'all runaways?" he asked and Zoe answered. "Something like that. We're looking for a train to take us West," she said and the man scratched his dirty beard.
"I'm pretty sure there's one headed out that way three tracks down and to the right past the freighter," he said and we all nodded gratefully. "Thanks…" Percy started and the man caught on. "Fred. The name's Fred," Fred said and Percy smiled. "Thanks, Fred," Percy said one last time and Fred flashed a familiar smile with a wink.
The group found the train and on the side of the car it read, "SUN WEST LINES" and contained a bunch of luxury cars. Percy put two and two together and started chuckling to himself. The group looked at him like he'd gone crazy and he shook his head. "Get on before it leaves and I'll tell you," he said and they all hopped on.
"That hobo may or may not have been Apollo, which means that we'll be fine for a while," Percy said and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. After everyone ate a quick bite, they all separated into their own cars.
Grover took a jeep and passed out immediately, Bianca took a Range Rover and followed in a similar manner. Thalia hot wired a Bentley and was listening to some punk station, and Zoe and Percy hopped into a Mercedes SUV together.
Zoe POV
"Any idea how far this is going to take us?" I asked Percy and he shook his head. "The important thing is that we're getting a big chunk of traveling done safely so we can rest," he replied and I nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for burning the pelt," I said softly and he smiled at me. "Of course. You're my sister and if you loathe someone, then I do too by default," he said cheerfully and I laughed. "I don't think you loathe Thalia," I said and he blushed crimson for a moment, making me laugh again. "Y-Yeah, well. I don't think you loathe her either," he said and I hummed in contemplation.
"You know that I love you, right?" he said out of the blue and I looked at him. "What's that all about, Perce?" I asked, though I had my suspicions. "I'm just… I'm worried about you. I know who the General is Zoe. I'm not as big an idiot as you all think I am," he said softly and I took a shaky breath.
"I'll do what needs to be done like I always do," I said and he frowned at my answer. "Relax, Little Brother," I said and reached out to take his hand. "We're going to get her back and everything is going to be fine. I promise," I finished and gave his hand a squeeze. He pulled me into a hug and we sat there in the embrace for a moment or two.
"I love you, Zo," he said softly and I smiled and felt tears prick my eyes. "I love you too, Little Brother." He pulled back and smiled at me which I gladly returned and got out to go to his own car to sleep.
I took another shaky breath after he left. 'One will perish by a parent's hand… I can't tell him,' was the last thought as I closed my eyes and entered Morpheus' realm.
Percy POV
After the conversation with Zoe, I hopped into my own car and reclined the seat to be alone with my thoughts before sleep.
'One to perish by a parent's hand, huh? If it saves Zoe, then it has to be me; a monster. I can't lose her, but if I can save her, then I'd gladly have Mom take my life,' I mused before I was interrupted by the clicking of the passenger side door opening. I looked over to see Thalia getting in.
"Hey," she said quietly and I gave her a nod in confirmation. "I wanted to say thank you… for taking that blade for me from the sparti," she added softly and I gave her a small smile. "Don't mention it," I said and a rather awkward silence settled in.
"I saw you go pale back at the museum when I mentioned the blonde guy… Did you know him?" I asked and she tensed again before relaxing. "Yeah… he was the one that helped me get to camp. It was me, him, and Annabeth, the blonde that was taken back in Maine," she said and I nodded. "What happened, if you don't mind me asking," I said and she took another breath.
"Well, it was the three of us and Grover and we were running to get to the barrier at camp. Hades had sent monsters after us or more specifically, after me. Those two just got caught up with me. They weren't going to make it so I stopped and helped fend off the monsters while they got to camp… I uhh… I was going to die, but my dad took pity on me and turned me into a pine tree instead," she said and I looked at her disbelievingly.
"Seriously?" I asked and she nodded and gave a wry smile. "Years went by and Luke had had enough of the Gods. Promising things and not following through. Having children just to abandon them, so he deserted them and sided with the Titans. He poisoned my tree which helped maintain the barrier and Annabeth and Steven went on a quest to get the Golden Fleece to heal it," she said and I nodded following the story.
"It healed it a little too well because here I am now. Alive and no longer a tree," she finished with a dry chuckle and I joined in a bit. "What made you go on the run with them?" I asked and she tensed again. "Sorry. If you don't want to tell me that's fine," I added and she shook her head. "It's fine. Just expect the same questions back after," she said and I nodded slowly.
'Was I ready to talk to someone else? Well, I don't have to tell her all of it,' I thought as she dove back in. "My mother was an alcoholic…" she trailed off and I pulled her into a quick hug. She wrapped her arms tentatively around me and I felt a few stray tears hit my shoulder before we both let go. "I get it," I told her softly. "What about you?" she asked and it was my turn to take a deep breath.
"For starters, I know my Godly parent and it is biologically my father, but I will not tell you who it is. He was only a sperm donor and is a bastard," I said and she frowned but nodded anyways. "My mother and I lived in New York and when I was two, she married. He was nice at first; helping me with things, showing me love, but it was all a front… he started verbally abusing my mother and I in his drunken rages," I whispered and felt the tears prick my eyes.
"When I was five, I yelled at him for yelling at my mother and calling her a useless bitch and activated my demigod abilities… scared him so bad he avoided the two of us," I said and smiled slightly and Thalia looked sad. "Things got better for a time, but when a couple months after my sixth birthday I woke up to the shouting. I went downstairs… and saw him hit my mother. Once. Twice. Then I saw red… My abilities lashed out uncontrolled and... I killed them both," I whispered
The tears were falling from my eyes and Thalia grabbed my hand and squeezed. "Artemis found me and that was that. Somehow she let a monster like me join the Hunt," I finished and Thalia frowned. "I don't think you're a monster," she whispered and warmth filled my chest for a moment. I shook my head and bid her goodnight so she would leave.
Thalia POV
'Gods, he's had it far worse than most demigods, let alone people. I want to protect him,' were the thoughts racing through my mind as I closed my eyes.
AN: Chapter 4! Liking it. Until next time!