Chapter Nine: I Attend Camp Away From Camp

Thalia Grace

"Oh, Zoë. What do you want?"

Zoë took a deep breath. "This," she said in a voice softer and more unsure than I had ever heard her use in my time with her.

And then, we were kissing.

At first, it was a bit uncomfortable. Mentally uncomfortable because Oh my gods Zoë's lips are on mine and that's something that hasn't happened in seven years and wow, she seems nervous and wow, I'm nervous and do I want this or do I want her to stop should I kiss back what in Hades are we even doing oh shit oh shit oh shit. Physically uncomfortable because she was leaning down into the car to kiss me and I was straining upwards and I managed to bump my head. I shimmied over into the passenger's side.

Zoë looked hurt as I moved. "Was that a mistake?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "No it wasn't, stupid. I'm trying to make room for you."

Her lips parted in a silent "oh," and she got into the car. For a moment, we just sat there. I figured that Zoë was too embarrassed to begin kissing me again. So I took it up.

One hand propped me up in my seat as we kissed, and the other was on her back (yes, over her shirt. And over her jacket. Geez!). Even through the Hunter winter uniform, I could tell her skin was smoother than mine, more beautiful, just like her face. If I hadn't been so focused on the fact that I was kissing her again and it was better than I remembered, maybe I'd have been jealous.

After a few moments of soft, innocent kisses, I opened my mouth, just a bit. She followed... and so did her tongue.

I lost all sense, it seemed, except for the burning, wonderful, impossible feeling of having her to hold and kiss. And lust to go further. But specifics were lost to me... I couldn't tell you now what she tasted like, what we did, how long we were kissing. It seemed like forever. It seemed like we could go an eternity doing this if we wanted to.

We could go an eternity if we wanted to. I knew what I had to do, what I had been avoiding. When we found Artemis, I would make my pledge. And Zoë and I would live happily ever after. Just like we should have seven years ago.

Zoë was the one who stopped, her kisses regressing from the incredible, full of feeling kisses that we had been engrossed in, and moving back towards the soft, careful kisses. Eventually, she just pulled away. I saw that she was crying. "I am sorry, Thalia," she said.

"For what?"

"For kissing you without asking, for coming to you at all. It was... a weak thing to do. I had a bad dream, and I... you were the first person I wanted to come to for comfort. The only person."

I kissed her again- not anything sexy or lusty, just a comforting peck on the cheek. "Zo, I'm here. I'm here if you need me. Do you want to talk about your dream?"

"No."

"Okay." I took her hand. "It's okay to be weak, you know. Yes, you're a few thousand years old. But you're also fourteen. Sometimes you're going to be fourteen. You're not going know who you are, or where you're going. You're going to get scared. It will be hard to be brave. And I'm younger than you in terms of immortality, and not that much older physically, but I will tell you something. Things get better. Someday, you'll know exactly where you're going. I promise."

"But what if the problem is that you do know?" she asked.

"Then what that means is you've already begun to figure out how to deal with it." I took her hand. "And Zoë? I promise I'll be here with you every step of the way. This time, I will stay with you. I'm choosing right this time."

She looked deep into my eyes. I couldn't read her expression. "Promise me that," she ordered.

I nodded. "I pledge myself to the girlfriend-iness of Zoë Nightshade. I turn my back on the company of Luke Castellan, accept eternal kisses, and join her life. For good this time."

Zoë smiled. "Do not mock my goddess," she said, but this time I knew she was happy and only joking with me.

Suddenly, she put a finger to my lips. "Silence. Someone approaches."

I was amazed that she could tell that when the radio still blared Young the Giant, but I guess that was Hunter senses for you. Sure enough, as I dropped her hand, a knock came from the driver's side door. It was Bianca di Angelo.

Zoë opened the door and Bianca leaned in. "Zoë?" she asked. "What are you doing in here?"

"I could not sleep," the lieutenant said stiffly. "You were sleeping soundly, so I crept down to see Thalia."

"Oh. Well... it's morning now. And I think we're slowing down."

"You are right," Zoë nodded. "Let us roll up the metal curtains. Thalia, will thou join us?"

I nodded.

We rolled them up as the train stopped. I could see a sign bidding us "Welcome to Cloudcroft, New Mexico." It was cold, and I shivered, but Bianca and Zo seemed unaffected.

Percy and Grover walked drowsily down to where we stood. "Well," Percy said. "Guess we're going skiing."

"What?" I asked.

"This is a ski town. I think. I mean, normally ski towns have more snow, but..."

We hopped down from the train. Though the sign welcoming people to town was close by, the actual town was about a half a mile away. "Guess we better start walking," I muttered.

Grover and Percy raced ahead, Percy waving his hand and having the snow follow. I didn't know that his powers extended to snow. Yes, snow was water, and he was water based, but it was still incredible. It made me think of what I could do. I knew I could manipulate lightning... could that be extended to electricity? Could I power an appliance, or shut down a city? Zoë would know. I looked at her to ask, but she wasn't paying attention to me, or to the boys. She had her eyes on Bianca, who was chatting animatedly.

Does she even get that I hate it when she does that? I mean... I didn't care that she was friends with Bianca. That was great. But I couldn't get the idea out of my head that there was something more between them! How was I to know that before Zoë came down and started kissing me that she wasn't doing the same with the twelve-year-old Hunter? I was living proof that twelve wasn't too young for Zoë... that's how old I was when we were in a relationship for the first time.

I snorted and began to walk, the only one on my own in the group.

When we got to the middle of Cloudcroft, I saw what I hadn't from the train station- the town was really, really small. A small school that looked like it held every year from kindergarten to twelfth grade shined brightly down at us, even though the grounds were empty, the kids out for Christmas. There were several little tourist stops and some small cabins. A Wal-Mart stood in the center of it all. I looked around, taking it all in. "Great. No bus station, no taxis, no car rental. No. Way. Out."

"There's a coffee shop," Grover pointed out, as if he was trying to be helpful.

Zoë tried to hide laughter. "Yes. Coffee is good."

"And pastries, and wax paper!" the satyr added.

I sighed. "Fine, how about you two go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

Zoë looked at me, her face saying Is thou insane? I knew that this was about sending her and Grover in a team, and Bianca in the other. I kept my face clear of thought or emotion. Better that she didn't know I was a little bit jealous. "We'll meet in front of Wal-Mart in fifteen. Is that clear?"

"Clear," Zoë grumbled.

"Clear," echoed Bianca, Percy, and Grover.

I walked into Wal-Mart, not bothering to see if Percy and Bianca were following. I marched up to the cashier. "Okay, zit-face," I hissed. "What's the scoop on this town? And how do we get out?"

The teenaged clerk looked a little scared. "Um... this is Cloudcroft, New Mexico."

"Knew it."

"It's a ski town. The depression hit us hard. Nobody comes here anymore, mainly because there isn't enough snow to ski. And there's really no way out unless you've got a car. You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo. That's at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."

"Hey, look!" Percy exclaimed. We all turned, and found him holding up some huge rubber rat. "These are only a dollar."

Bianca and I glared at him. Sheepishly, he bought one. As soon as he was done, I dragged him out of the store. "Wonderful," I grumbled when we were finally outside. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."

"But the clerk said..."

"I know!" I roared. "I'm checking anyway!"

I stomped down the street. As soon as Percy and Bianca were out of sight, I crept to the little indie coffee shop where Grover and Zoë were getting food. I looked in through the window.

Zoë looked pained. I could easily see why- Grover was chattering away as they stood in line. The cashier was rolling his eyes as well as he filled up five cups. When he was finished, he put a bag on the counter and stuffed it with muffins and cakes. I smiled sadly and started walking away.

I guess I just needed some time to myself. Time to figure out what in Hades had happened. Zoë and I had been kissing. And not just light, friendly kissing... not just "we used to be in a relationship" kissing. This was passionate, incredible, something I had never known or known to hope for. It was an explosion of feelings. My body still quivered in a a delightfully intense way when I thought of it.

But was this what I wanted? Zoë and I had already been through one nasty breakup. I had no reason, none at all, to believe that this fling wasn't leading in the exact same direction.

"He will hurt and betray thou. Do not trust a hero," she pleaded desperately.

My eyes narrowed, and then softened. Zoë didn't know Luke. She didn't know how noble he was, how honorable. He couldn't hurt me. He never would. We were meant to be together like Zo and I weren't. Yes, we loved each other, she and I. But who ever heard of two girls having a happily ever after? "He won't. I won't." Please believe me, I thought desperately.

"Why can't you just leave him? You are so... you are so stupid, Thalia Grace!"

I froze, hurt. There was no way not to be hurt. The pain continued on, but it changed from shock to anger. "And you're a stuck-up, no good bitch! I never want to see you again, Zoë Nightshade!"

I took a deep breath, surprised at myself. "I... I didn't mean that."

Her eyes shone wet with tears. "No, thou meant it. I can see it in thy eyes. Get thee gone, daughter of Zeus."

"I didn't mean it," I pleaded now.

Too little, too late.

I looked up. The sky was clear blue now, and the mountains looked beautiful. Calming. I took a deep breath and turned around, ready to head back.

As I began to walk, I saw them. Skeleton warriors. "Oh gods, no," I breathed. I sped up, racing towards Wal-Mart with all of my might.

When they were in sight, I called out. "Hey! I just..." Suddenly, I saw Grover, lying down, groaning. I skidded to a stop. "What's wrong with Grover?"

"I don't know, he collapsed!" Percy said. Grover groaned as if in agreement.

"Well, get him up!" I pulled out my spear and glanced behind me. Luckily, I couldn't see the skeletons. "We have to get out of here."

"Why?" Zoë questioned, handing me a cup of iced mocha, loaded down with whipped cream. My favorite... she remembered?

I shook off the thought. "Jack Skellington, party of who the hell knows how many. We have to bounce. Now."

Zoë nodded. "Let us go."

Percy pulled Grover up, and we ran as fast as we could to the end of town. It was a good news bad news situation. The bad news was that we weren't very fast, what with Grover acting like some fangirl. The good news was that we still managed to get to the end of town before I spotted the skeletons again. They were wearing police uniforms... complete with guns. Which they drew.

I tapped Aegis, and it grew to full form. I shoved it into full view of the skeletons, trying to use the power of the fake head of Medusa.

They didn't flinch.

Percy drew Anaklusmos; Zoë and Bianca made their bows magically appear. "Back up," I ordered, and our group tried to. However, as we did, two more skeletons appeared from behind us. One of them raised their cell phone and made a series of awful chattering noises. "What the hell..." I whispered.

"It's near," Grover groaned.

Percy looked confused, and I'm sure I looked the same. "It's here."

"No! The gift! The gift from the Wild!"

I shook off Grover's bizarre mumblings. "We'll have to go one-on-one. Four of them; four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover that way."

Zoë nodded. "Agreed."

"The Wild!"

Percy charged first, and the rest of us followed on our respective skeletons. I jabbed my spear through mine, to no avail. Quickly, I glanced at the others to see how they were dealing with the issue.

Zoë had not yet struck. She was perched on a tree somehow, like a lioness on a rock, stalking her prey. Her eyes followed the skeleton's every move, strategizing and planning.

Bianca was having issues, and was mainly using evasive maneuvers. She was good at it; the skeleton had not struck her yet.

Percy was being shot at. He fell to the ground. "Percy!" I screamed, my eyes filling with tears.

I stared down my skeleton. Oh gods, was he going to pay. I charged him, filled with new anger and aggression that I couldn't wait to get out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy stand. How in Hades...?

On my other side, I heard crashing. Are there more? We can't even handle the ones we have!

A skeleton lunged at Bianca, and she stabbed him in the chest. He erupted into flames, leaving only ashes behind, like a vampire.

"How did you do that?" Zoë asked.

Bianca looked at her knife nervously. "I don't know. Lucky stab?"

"Well," the Hunter's lieutenant ordered, "do it again!"

Bianca tried, but the skeletons had moved too far away. They seemed almost afraid. "Plan?" Percy asked.

The ground rumbled. There would have to be more. I offered a quick prayer to my father, mainly thanks. We, I knew, were all goners. I wished I could hold Zoë's hand at the end.

"A gift," Grover said again.

Suddenly, the earthquake came crashing through the trees, into the road. It had apparently taken the form of a giant pig. The pig's eyes were angry, his tusks huge and pointy-looking. "REEEEEEEEEEET!" it squealed. It raked the skeletons up the road, destroying them effortlessly. For a moment, I was relieved. And then it turned on us.

I raised my spear, preparing to fight yet another losing battle, but Grover screamed "Don't kill it!"

The boar prepared to charge.

Zoë took a deep breath. "That's the Erymanthian Boar. I don't think we can kill it."

"It's a gift, a blessing from the Wild," Grover explained.

In response, the pig swung it's tusk and everyone but me had to dive for cover. "Yeah," Percy said sarcastically. "I feel blessed. Scatter!"

We did. The pig looked confused, and well, murderous. "It wants to kill us!" I exclaimed.

"Of course. It's wild!" Grover explained, as if that tiny fact made everything better.

Bianca was breathing heavily. "So how is that a blessing?"

As if offended, the boar charged at Bianca. She barely rolled under him, but luckily emerged unharmed.

"Keep moving!" Zoë ordered. We stayed scattered, Percy and I on one side and Zoë and Bianca on the other, Grover dancing all around playing his magical tusks. When the boar charged again, however, it was Perce and I he came after. I raised Aegis in defense, but it only seemed to make the boar angrier. Percy and I looked at each other and made a silent agreement: run.

The pig chased us over a large hill and onto a stretch of train tracks. Eventually, Percy found an escape: an old bridge, overlooking a large drop. Not heights not now oh gods help me oh gods we're all gonna die. "No!" I tried to convince myself.

"Come on! It'll hold our weight... probably."

It was the 'probably' part that bugged me in that sentence. "I can't!"

"Now!" Percy ordered.

I looked down. Bad idea.

Percy only gave me a weird look. Then he tackled me. I fell on Aegis, him on top of me, and we sledded on it. I don't think Dad's gonna like this, I had time to think.

The boar had fallen into the gorge. We had some time. Thank the gods at least that had gone right.

Percy looked at me. "You're afraid of heights."

I tried not to look guilty. "Don't be stupid!"

Comprehension dawned on his face. "That's why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."

I took a deep breath and smoothed out my hair. "If you tell anyone," I said in as menacing a tone as I could manage, "I swear..."

"No, no, that's cool," he laughed. "It's just... the daughter of Zeus, the lord of the sky, afraid of heights?"

I glared at him.

"Hellooooooooooooo?"

Grover's voice echoed from above. They had finally found us. "Down here!" Percy called.

Zoë, Bianca, and Grover looked down into the chasm. "Um, how do we get down there?" the younger Hunter questioned.

Zoë summoned her quiver and glanced into it. "I still have a zipline arrow. It is my last one, but tis necessary." And with that, she drew her bow and shot the arrow into the mountain above Percy and I. She attached the zipline thingy (what's it called? The thing you hang onto?) and motioned to her sister. "Bianca, thou first. And then the satyr. I shall follow."

The three other members of our party zipped down. When they were next to us, we stood for a moment and watched the giant pig struggle, trying to figure out how to use it. "A blessing of the Wild," Grover stated dumbly. I rolled my eyes.

Zoë, however, just nodded. "I agree. We must use it."

"Hold up." I put my hands out in a "stop" motion. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing?"

"It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?" Grover explained.

I wasn't convinced, but Percy looked excited. "Fun! Like, pig cowboys!"

Grover nodded, a smile on his face. "We need to get aboard. I wish... I wish I had more time to look around, but it's gone now."

"What's gone?" Percy asked, a stupid look on his face. I rolled my eyes again. Percy had a bad tendency to forget Grover's life ambition- finding the god Pan, the lord of the Wild. I didn't see how he could forget. It was such a big part of Grover. Almost his destiny. I could feel it on him, and yet... Percy never seemed to be able to.

Grover jumped on the boar; then he whipped out his pipes and began to play. An apple twisted in front of the pig, just out of his reach. I immediately understood what Grover was doing. "Automatic steering. Great." And I flung myself on the pig as well, right behind my satyr friend.

It took a moment for Zoë and Bianca to follow, and then Percy. After that, it was about a minute before the pig got loose. Suddenly, we were flying on the back of a pig as he ran west. My butt began to ache almost immediately, and I was afraid to open my mouth at all lest some bug get in. We ended up riding until sunset, and slipping off as he ate a cactus- needles and all. As we tried to get away from it as fast as possible, it squealed and headed back to Cloudscroft. "It likes the mountains better," Percy joked.

I looked around the place where the pig dropped us off. It was a small town... a ghost town. It didn't look like anyone lived here anymore. The sign, proclaiming "Gila Claw, Arizona," was crooked and worn. The only buildings were a small post office, a house or two, and a taco shop that looked... well... old. "I can't blame it. Look."

"Whoa," Percy said. I was confused... what about Gila Claw was "whoa?"... until I saw he was looking into the distance at a massive pile of junk.

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," I murmured. I glanced at Grover. "O don't suppose you have another wild boar up your sleeve?"

Grover sniffed the wind, trying to catch a scent and avoid wasting more acorns on a tracking spell. Eventually, unsatisfied, he fished out the seeds and threw them into the sand, playing a tracker's song. The spell began to work, and as it did, the satyr looked more and more worried. "That's us, those five little nuts right there."

"Which one is me?" Percy asked excitedly.

"The little deformed one."

I laughed and glanced at Zoë. Her face was perfectly serious, which made the joke all the funnier. That was one of my favorite things about her, her deadpan sense of humor. She could be saying the funniest thing in the world and not even smile. It was a gift that made me giggle time and time again.

Percy looked annoyed. "Oh, shut up."

"That cluster right there, that's trouble."

"A monster?" I inquired.

"I don't smell anything," he said nervously, "which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge..."

"Junk city," I finished. "Well, that's not creepy or anything. Camp now and overcome in the morning?"

My companions all looked at each other. "Agreed," they said in unison.

Zoë and Bianca pulled mattresses and sleeping bags from their packs, five of them. They set them in a circle, making it look like a setup for a ghost town slumber party. I giggled. "Hey, Percy," I said. "Grab some wood from that broken house. Grover, got any marshmallows?"

"Ate them all. And the bag."

"Damn it."

Percy returned with the wood, and we arranged it in the center of the beds. With a quick prayer, I zapped the pile, and it caught flame, warming the five of us nicely. We snuggled into our makeshift beds... and then the real fun began.

"The stars are out," Zoë commented contently.

Bianca sucked in air. "Amazing. I've never actually seen the Milky Way."

The lieutenant rolled over to face her sister. Her face was alight, pleased to be talking about her favorite subject- stars. "This is nothing. In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

"You talk like you're not human."

Zoë turned to face the interruption- Percy. Oh, Percy, I thought. They aren't.

I distinctly remembered learning that.

"Hunters are not human. Nor nymph, nor god, nor titan, nor demigod or monster. We become other when we pledge. Our vices diminish, as do our temptations. It is... peaceful. Calm. Wondrous." Zoë smiled, the vision of the happiness she was trying to sell me. "You would enjoy it, my Thalia."

I shrugged. "Maybe. Calm's kind of boring."

"That is spoken by one who has never known it. I believe thou will someday. I feel it." She brushed my hair back. "I cannot wait for that day."

"Me neither. Anyway... you were saying?"

"Oh, yes. Some Hunters do still relate to the species they were. Phoebe calls herself a demigod, daughter of Ares. Rose, a human."

"What are... sorry, were... you?"

She paused for a moment. "The easiest explanation is that I was a nymph. But no more. I am a Hunter."

She repeated that in the present. "I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"

"For you. Not thee." I smiled as I corrected her.

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "But you use you at the end of a sentence."

"And for the end. No thou, no thee, just you."

"I hate this language!" she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "It changes too often!"

Oh please, I said with my facial expressions as I caught her eye. If you had your way, we'd all be speaking Greek.

It would be a lot easier that way, thou... sorry, you... cannot deny this.

Maybe for demigods and certain Europeans. For everyone else...

There is only us in this world. You should attempt to learn Greek, Thalia. Besides your namesake, I mean.

Flourishing. Like a flower.

Like this love.

I looked away, suddenly a little bit shy. There was a moment of silence, then Grover sighed. "If only pan were here, he would set things right."

Zoë nodded. I could see sadness in her eyes. I wondered what put it there, my shyness, or Grover's hopes and dreams.

"Maybe it was the coffee," the satyr continued. "I was drinking coffee and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee..."

"Grover," Percy said. "Do you really think that was Pan? I mean, I know you want it to be..."

"He sent us help!" Grover said. "I don't know how... or why. But it was his presence. After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the best lead we've gotten in two thousand years. I was so close."

The conversation died down. Maybe I should ask about Bianca now, I thought. I was curious about how she killed the skeletons. I glanced at Zoë, silently pleading to be able to ask some questions of her sister.

Zoë nodded.

Author's Note: Wow, long chapter! I mean, it's almost 5,000 words and it covers over a chapter of The Titan's Curse. A lot happened in this chapter, and a lot is going to happen in chapters to come, so review and stay tuned!