A/N: Sorry, it's another short chapter.
They stopped at a Wendy's. Will had chosen it because it was normal, and normal wasn't something demigods often had.
Will got a cheeseburger and Andy settled down with a kid's meal of chicken nuggets. Cletus had a distinctly wilted salad. Will couldn't help but grin as they ate and Andy smiled back.
"So, when is something going to attack us?" Cletus yawned.
"Shut up, Mr. Tumnus," Andy growled, cuffing him on the back of the head. "We were enjoying the normality of the situation, thank you very much for ruining it."
They sat there longer than they had to, sipping their cokes. Andy eventually went back to the counter and ordered three Frosties. Will watched her for a moment, checking to make sure the girl at the cash register didn't turn into a harpy or something, before turning back. Cletus was frowning, his eyes downcast.
"What's up?" Will asked, immediately on guard.
"Something's stuck under the table," Cletus told him. "I think I've almost got it... there!" He pulled a ripped sheet of paper out from under the table just as Andy returned with desert.
"What's that?" she asked.
"I found it under the table," Cletus said. "I think... I think it might be from a half-blood." Will took it and began to read it softly, so that the people at other table couldn't hear.
"It says: 'I, Polydorus, always knew history to repeat itself. I have uncovered a great secret, something that may be the doom of us all. I should have listened when they told me to avoid the land south of Hudson Valley. I fear I shall never return home. They are coming for me. I do not have much time. I hope, if this note is ever read, that the news of my death will reach friends. Father, I am sorry if I have failed you'."
"Well, that's cheery," And said. "Reminds me of that scene in Lord of the Rings: 'We cannot get out. They are coming', or something like that."
"When was this written?" Cletus asked. Will turned the paper over and read the back. It was a flyer for a town meeting. A town meeting that took place forty years ago.
"I wonder who these friends are, the ones he wants us the reach," Andy mused.
"If this is from a half-blood, those friends are probably dead by now," Will said. "Polydorus. That name sounds familiar."
"I think we should go, before whatever happened to old Poly happens to us," Andy said.
"It's getting dark," Will said. "We should find someplace to stop the car for the night. Get some sleep. It's too late to help Polydorus now."
They took the slightly melted Frosties back to the van and Will started the car up. They decided to drive for another hour, pushing on to the next town before stopping. Cletus and Andy started a game of I Spy, but it didn't go on very long before it was too dark to spy anything.
"It just doesn't make sense," Andy said, frowning at the paper from the Wendy's. "I mean, why should he be afraid of the land south of the Hudson Valley? That's where camp is!"
"I dunno," Will shrugged. "Hey look, hotel parking lot. No one's going to notice a car that stays there overnight, huh?"
"And a public bathroom across the street? Score!" Andy said. Will wondered if she was really excited about the bathroom, or just pretending. It was hard to tell with Andy.
There was plenty of room in the back of the van to stretch out so, after a few trips to the bathroom, they lay down to sleep. Will put the earbuds of his ipod in and turned the volume down low. In the Apollo cabin, music was always playing and Will found he couldn't sleep without it.
Andy fell asleep right away, her mouth slightly open and hair falling across her face. Will, sitting with his back against the side of the van, leant forward and gently brushed the hair out of her face, so that she wouldn't inhale it and choke. Cletus, who'd been sleeping most of the day, looked wide awake and slightly nervous.
"You go ahead and sleep," the satyr told Will, his voice slightly muffled by the music playing in Will's ears. "I can stay up for a bit, make sure nothing happens."
"Thanks man," Will said. He pulled his bag closer and used it as a pillow. He tried to stay awake, but sleep overtook him.
A/N: Footnotes
Polydorus: the name refers to a prince of Troy mentioned in Hecuba, Metamorphoses, and The Aeneid. His father sent him away at the start of the Trojan War so he wouldn't be killed. However, Polydorus's protector betrayed and murdered him. Vergil claims that the dead prince was transformed into a myrtle tree, which bled and cried out when Aeneas plucked its boughs. This Polydorus, however, is a halfblood - but from which camp?