This wasn't Will's first quest, and it wasn't even a proper quest, but Will couldn't help but feel excited. He wondered who this cousin was and if he knew how to get in contact with Will's dad and the other Olympians.
Will had been having terrible dreams over the past few weeks. Dreams always meant something for demigods, but for children of Apollo they were practically visions of the future. The only problem was, Will couldn't remember the content of his nightmares. He could always ask Clovis, he supposed, but given the opportunity he would rather confide in family.
When he went back to Cabin Seven to pack, it was empty. The Apollo campers had joined up with the Athena ones to scour the hills. Will felt a twinge of guilt; he liked Percy and hoped he was okay, but he really wanted to see this cousin of his. Will quickly threw together a pack of nectar, ambrosia, a change of clothes, a first aid kit, his ipod, and flashlight. They probably wouldn't be gone more than a few days.
He checked to make sure his quiver was fully stocked with both sonic and normal arrows. He went ahead and replaced his fraying bowstring with a new well oiled one. Will slung his backpack and quiver over his shoulder; grasping his bow, he left the cabin and went to the base of Thalia's hill.
Cletus was there, chewing something that looked suspiciously like a scrap of leather. He had a bag full of food. Will was glad to see that Cletus had thought to pack food that was edible to humans as well as satyrs.
"Where's Andy?" Will asked. He didn't know the girl very well, just that she had been on her first quest a few months ago and that she had annoyed Nico to Hades and back when they had both been staying in Cabin Thirteen.
"I think she's trying to find her shoes," the satyr said.
"Has she only got one pair?" Will asked. He knew a lot of the demigods came from fairly poor families, and he also seemed to remember that Andy stayed year round at camp, indicating that she didn't have much of a home to go back to.
"No, but she really likes that pair," Cletus said. She was very strange, this Andy. Will thought she was sort of cute, but he couldn't really keep up with her.
"Found them!" Andy called. Will turned and saw the girl bouncing over from the direction of the beach. She had tamed her hair back into a ponytail and thrown a black hooded sweatshirt over her orange camp shirt. Her jeans had been torn off at the knees.
"Hey Argus!" Andy smiled, waving at the multi-eyed guard who stood on the ridge above them. He was standing next to Peleus and waiting for them. Will could see the car keys of the van in one of Argus' hand.
Will offered to carry Andy's bag and she laughed like that was funny before turning and leaping up the slope. Cletus and Will followed her. As they got close, Peleus lifted his head and hissed softly. Argus glowered at the dragon with about twenty of his eyes and Peleus whimpered and cowered back.
Argus handed the keys over to Will with a stern look, as though warning him he'd better not crash the van, or blow it up, or have it impounded by a Cyclopes.
The van was nothing special, just a white mini with the words "Delphi Strawberry Service" printed on the side. Will sort of wished it was a little classier, but beggars can't be choosers as his mother always said. They loaded their belongings in the back, then climbed in front. Will made himself comfortable behind the wheel while Andy secured herself the shotgun seat and Cletus took over the back.
"Right, first things first," Will said, turning the radio on and clicking through the station. "No, ghastly, absolutely no, worst thing ever..."
"Wait, go back! I liked that one!" Andy said.
"No, you don't," Will told her.
"I think I know what kind of music I like!" Andy fumed.
"That's not music, that's Justin Bieber."
"Says who?"
"My dad's the god of music, I think I can tell what's music and what's not," Will said. He flipped through a couple more stations.
"This one!" Andy stopped him. OK Go's "Here It Goes Again" filled the car.
"Yes!" Will said, turning the volume up.
"Finally, we agree on something," Andy grinned. Will smiled back at her. Who knows, if nothing tried to kill them, this quest might be kind of fun. But then, what were the chances of something not trying to kill them? Slim to none.
Cletus fell asleep somewhere in Queens. Andy stayed up, talking to Will about anything and everything. She told him about her quest with Sam and how Sam hadn't wanted to become a goddess. She'd wanted to stay in camp with Andy and get to know her half-siblings in Cabin Seven. No, Andy hadn't known Sam had a cousin and she didn't know anything about him.
Will spotted the Empire State Building as Andy was twisting around in her seat, digging for something in the back. When she turned back around, bag of potato chips in hand, she saw him looking at the skyscraper.
"There's got to be a reason," Andy muttered. She pulled open the bag of chips and their scent filled the car; Cletus mumbled something about flatware being delicious before turning over.
"You haven't heard anything from your mom, have you?" Will asked. He knew Andy's mother, Macaria, lived in the Underworld.
"Nope," Andy said, offering him some chips. "I think the ban is extended to the Underworld. But then again, it's not like we talked much." Will nodded thoughtfully. The gods were rather unapproachable on a normal basis, but over the past few weeks...
"I just wish I could talk to him, one time," Will said. Andy said nothing, but Will had a feeling that she knew who he was talking about.
"Should we stop?" he asked, noticing a gas station up ahead.
"No," Andy said. "I have a feeling we should get back to camp as soon as possible."
Will nodded. He was glad he wasn't the only one with the uneasy feeling, but at the same time strangely disappointed. He was a son of Apollo, surely he should have premonitions or something besides nightmares. They opted not to stop for lunch, but ate the snacks Cletus had brought.
From New York City, Will took Northway I-87. After a while, he noticed that Andy kept looking out of the window and up at the sky.
"Waiting for a monster to swoop down and kill us?" Will asked. He made his tone joking, but both of them knew that he was dead serious.
"Something of that sort, yeah," Andy said. "How much longer, do you think?"
"About another five," Will guesstimated.
"Let's stop at the next town," Andy said.
He flipped on the blinker and changing lanes. "Cletus? Cletus, wake up! Dinner time."
A/N: No fascinating facts today, everything seems pretty straightforward!