Demigods on the Loose

Chapter 8: Race to Philadelphia

Here we are again. Hope you like the chapter. Just for kicks, you'll never guess what the mode of transportation is.

"Why are you here, exactly?" Percy asked, not trusting his godly cousin.

"Well, as you know, I love a good fight, and I just happened to see you participating in one, so I figured that I could watch the show."

"Oh, sure, you'd rather watch a show than to act in one, because you're afraid that you might have a sword stuck into your ankle. Remember that, Ares? I'm pretty sure that they could hear you all over the states, you were so loud."

Ares did not look amused, as he continued,

"Yeah, well, it wasn't my idea to come here in the first place. Daddy Zeus saw the train explode, and figured that I could give you a means of transportation."

"Like a zoo humane transport truck?"

"No, Jackson, it's gonna be something else. And if you don't like it, too bad. You said so yourself, you and your friends have to find another means of transportation. Plus, with the way the cops are gonna be surrounding the states, this will be a good way to get around them."

Nancy didn't trust this Ares. For one thing, she remembered Percy telling her that Ares had been part of the plot for the world to fall into war when Zeus's master bolt went missing. How could they be so sure that Ares was telling the truth? Then again, he wouldn't gain much if the world fell to Kronos. Plus, they really didn't have a choice, unless they wanted to be stuck in New York.

They began to folllow Ares, as he lead them through a rather old parking lot through the slum area of Manhatten. After a few minutes, Ares stopped and pointed to an RV with bright colors and flowers all over it.

"You've got to be kidding me! A hippie van? We're not going in a hippie van!" Percy said in a that's-final tone.

"Okay then. Fine by me if you want the world to fall into ruin under Kronos, just because you don't want to set foot in a van."

"Oh, fine! We'll get in the stupid van. But when this is over, I'm going to kill you."

"Just get in the van!"

As Percy and the others climbed into the van, its engine started. They barely had time to sit down before the vehicle lurched forward. They quickly buckled themselves in as the RV made a sharp turn on a crowded intersection.

Link was hanging on for dear life, praying that he wouldn't be lurched out of the window. He didn't know who was crazy enough to be driving this thing. Link didn't understand what hippies were, but he didn't have time to ask before Tyson groaned,

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Please tell me that someone has a giant, plastic bag. Please!" Percy pleaded.

Luckily, Nancy just happened to have one for storage use. Quickly grabbing it, the others winced as Tyson let loose.

"What are hippies?" Link asked, after the danger of Tyson getting sick all over the floor was over.

"They're wierdos who.. Commune with nature. Wait a second? Does this mean that we'll be going through the woods? Huh. For once, Ares actually had a good plan. But still.. Hippies? Really?"

No sooner did Percy stop his tirade, than the vehicle lurched into a camping location just out of Manhatten. Whoever it was obviously didn't care if their RV got bashed up by crashing through the woods. When they finally stopped, Link released his hold on the seat arms, hands totally numb. He realized that he was lucky, since the others' seatbelts had given loose, and they had crashed onto the ground.

"Next time, maybe we should double-buckle ourselves," Thalia groaned, rubbing her head where it had banged into a table.

A few minutes later, the RV's door was thrown open and revealed a youthful looking man with blond hair and beard and was wearing clothes that hippies would wear.

"Well, we meet again, Jackson. It's been a while."

"Apollo? What are you doing posing as a hippie?"

"Well, I figured that I could use some good old-fashioned relaxation, so I decided to turn in this direction for that privilege. I hear that you're trying to get to Philadelphia. Truth be told, I was planning to go there myself as a stop, since I'm headed to Kansas. I suppose you know that Kansas is the location for the beginning part of the book, The Wizard of Oz? It's a good book. Then again, that would be why it's called a classic."

" Wait a second," Thalia interrupted, realization crossing her face. "if you're here in an RV, then who's driving your chariot?"

"It wasn't a problem. I just got my sister, Artemis, to handle it. And yes, even though she's the goddess of the moon, she assigned one of her Hunters to drive. She made sure that it was one who wasn't afraid of heights, though."

At this, Thalia winced, remembering when Apollo had trusted her to drive his sun-car across the sky. Long story short, it was a horrible idea, considering that Thalia was afraid of heights, which was ironic, since she was the daughter of the sky god. It almost seemed as if Apollo was trying to make her feel guilty, because of her weakness.

"Right, anyway, gang, it looks as if we're going to have to stick with Apollo until we get to Kansas. That shouldn't be too much of a problem."

However, Percy didn't reckon that Apollo had come up with about fifty haikus since they saw him last. And, as the gang came to realize, hippies weren't exactly modern. For one thing, they had to eat food from the earth. Straight from the earth, for crying out loud.

When it was supper, Grover decided to ask Apollo the fateful question,

"So, what do hippies usually eat?"

"Well, Grover, some are vegans, some are carnivores, but, since you're a satyr, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to go dig up some dandelions and clovers."

Nancy was shocked. Eat.. Dandelions and clovers? She had never heard of that ever being done. Then again, she guessed that that information would come in handy if they ever got stranded in the woods, which they probably would soon enough.

Link had heard the food ideas, and had wandered out into the woods. He quickly spotted some dandelions and clovers. When he bent down to pick them, he realized that his Triforce mark was pulsing out of control. Sensing that something wasn't right, Link transformed into a wolf to investigate.

He winced as he was forced to a crawling position and began to shrink a little in size. His ribcage shrank, a tail grew out from his tailbone, and claws sprouted from his hands. When the transformation was complete, Link shook his head of the fog. Lately, it was getting harder and harder to transform. Well, having your body undergo turning from a human to a wolf countless times was enough to tax it. Putting his mind to the task ahead, Link caught the scent of blood. Fresh blood. Padding forward cautiously, Link peered through the undergrowth, to spot the form of a giant consuming a.. Link felt like he was going to pass out, as he realized that the giant was having a buffet of.. Wolves. For the first time in his life, Link felt fear in his beast form. As a wolf, he felt unstoppable, but here, he was fair game. Now, Link understood the emotions of a prey animal, to always be on the run from what would hunt you down. To want to cower in a safe place, away from the world. To never want to venture out into the unknown.

As Link backed away, he stepped down onto a twig, alerting the giant of his presence. As the giant advanced toward him, Link felt like turning and running far, far away from here. But then he realized that, if he did, he would be giving in to cowardice. He would be betraying the very virtue that he possessed, not to mention that he would abandon his friends to the monster. The urge to protect coursed through every part of Link's being. He wasn't going to let this monster get to his friends. He would rather die first.

Link rooted his paws to the spot, as the giant got closer.. And closer.. And closer. Then, without warning, Link pounced onto the giant's foot and bit into its big toe. As it howled in pain, Link managed to scale up to the giant's head and dug his claws in, hard. The giant roared in anger and swiped its hand into Link, slamming him into a tree. Spots dancing in front of his eyes, Link stood up and growled in defiance. The giant sneered and uprooted a tree, planning to use it for a club. Link waited for just the right moment. Time seemed to slow down, as Link saw the club rocket toward him. When the timing was perfect, Link sprang onto the branch, and quickly turned into a human to grab hold of the branch with his hands. As the giant stared in confusion, Link quickly grabbed his sword and leapt onto the back of the giant's neck. With a great war cry, Link dug the sword into the monster's neck. As the giant fell onto the ground, dead, Link heard the pounding of feet as the others came to investigate the battle.

"Whoa, you took out a giant!" Tyson replied in childish wonder.

"Wait a minute. A.. Giant? I thought that they only lived in the north. What's one doing in the woods off of Manhatten?" Annabeth asked, in obvious fear.

When Nancy came closer to the great beast, she found the remains of the majestic wolves, where the flies were now starting to gather. When Nancy stared at her brother, she saw that he was staring at the wolves, looking paler than she had ever seen him before. As he tugged his sword out of the deceased giant's neck, his breathing started to become shallow. Nancy barely had enough time to get near enough to her brother, before he fainted.

OOXO

When Link regained consciousness, he felt like an absolute idiot for acting so weak. How could he have fainted like that, in front of everyone? Link sighed in annoyance. It was just that the sight of those wolves.. Creatures that were supposed to be dominant over the forest, and the fact that he could turn into one of them.. Link didn't even want to think about it. The sight of those wolves as food for a monster.. The sight of those mangled corpses.. Link had to close his eyes for a few seconds to clear away the image from his frazzled brain.

It took Link a few seconds to realize that he was in the RV, and that it was on the road. He sat up from the brightly-colored bed that he was on and tried to pinpoint where they were. They were far away from New York City, that was for certain.

"We're in the state of Pennsylvania, just so you know. You were out for a long time. Nancy was actually starting to worry about you. Guess seeing those wolves like that was pretty hard on you, huh?"

Link turned to see Thalia polishing her sword, which was crackling with electricity. Link wondered how she wasn't getting hurt. Then again, she was the daughter of Zeus, so, no big surprise. A few minutes later, Nancy came walking in. Of course, she went to her brother's side.

Taking the hint, Thalia walked out of the room to converse with Percy and Annabeth as to travel plans.

"Link, is there something bothering you?" Nancy asked her brother.

Link remembered when he actually considered running away from the fight. He figured that he wouldn't be able to hide it forever. Well, his sister was a professional in what she did, after all.

"Yeah, there has been something. When I saw that giant, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I mean, it was eating wolves. They're supposed to be one of the dominant species of the world. I understood, for that one moment, what it's like for prey, being hunted down without end. I.. Wanted to run away. I wanted to give in to my instincts and get away from the danger. That's when I realized what I was doing. I was planning to give in to fear. Then, I thought about you and the others. I couldn't just leave you alone with that.. Thing. So I did what I had to do, to keep you and the others safe. I've even begun to wonder if I'm even worthy enough to possess this mark."

"Of course you are, Link. The fact that you stood up to that giant and fought it, when you'd rather have run away, proves that you have true courage. True courage isn't about absence of fear. It's when you're scared of something, but you face up against it, anyway. That is a sign of true courage. Don't think, even for a second, that you're not worthy of the Triforce of Courage. The fact that you even participated in this quest shows that. Don't lose hope."

The encouraging talk was interrupted when Percy came out from the front.

"Alright, guys. We're at Philadelphia. We'll head for Kansas in two hours."

OOXO

Okay, the gang is making progress. Wonder what will happen in Philadelphia? Looks like you're just going to have to find out. Hee Hee Hee. I love keeping you guys in suspense. Hope you liked and please review!