ROAD TRIP

ANNABETH

We were all preparing to leave the safety of the bunker. The plan was to get on Percy and Fisher's luxury yacht and get to the island by boat. I strapped my bronze knife to my leg and observed all my friends. Everyone was gearing up for the next obstacle we would face. Percy told us to be armed like soldiers for where we were headed. Percy, Nico, and Jason were twirling their usual swords. Fisher had a sword in each hand, a special talent his dad had taught him. Will was armed with a bow and a quiver full of different arrows. Piper and Reyna also were holding long knives. Juliet was carrying a small bag with some useful supplies for later. Reyna, Piper and I were carrying most of our supplies and the guys were going to guard us. Percy stood up on a table.

"Half-Blood Island is the only safe place left for us." Percy said. "We are going to get our boat and get to the island."

"Where is this luxury yacht of yours at?" I asked.

"Florida."

"Florida?"

"Yea, Florida."

"How are we going to get to Florida?"

"With these." Percy pulled out some keys for everyone to see. He pointed towards one of them. "The keys to the ship and our ride down there." Percy indicated for us to follow him. We emerged from the basement and headed towards the garage. There were two nice cars parked inside.

"Nice." Will commented.

"We're not driving these." Percy said. Percy, Nico, Jason, and Fisher pushed the two cars to sides of the garage. Percy hit a button and a large circle in the middle of the floor opened up. An amazing armored truck slowly rose until it was sitting in the middle of the garage.

"Way better." Will said. The inside of the vehicle was big enough to fit a driver and two passengers at the most. The back of the truck was the best part. There were two benches on both sides for people to sit on. There were two mounted machine guns with chairs for the gunners and a chest stocked with extra ammo.

"Don't be afraid to fire away." Percy said. "We have enough ammo for a life time."

"Can I drive?" Fisher asked. Percy threw him the keys.

"Go nuts. Just don't crash when there are no other cars on the road."

"It's going to be a long ride. Get comfortable." Fisher told everyone.

Fisher jumped in the driver's seat and Reyna slid into the passenger side. Juliet sat between them in the comfort of the vehicle. Will and Nico raced to claim their spots on the machine guns. Piper and I sat next to each other on one bench directly across from Percy and Jason. Fisher started the car and we were on our way to Florida. It was silent for the most part as we drove through New York. A horde of zombies would follow the truck only to be left behind. Nico and Will began playing a game to see who could get more kills. Jason, Piper, Percy and I started a conversation.

"Is this really the world we live in? Where two guys are keeping score of who kills more people. Do you really think there will ever be a normal again?" Piper asked.

"I do think there will be. If we can get to this island, than we can escape all of this. We could live our lives without fear. Our children could grow up without even knowing that this ever happened." Jason said.

"We would give them gray crayons when we ask them to draw the sky." I joked.

"We would have to educate them. Could you imagine us teaching kids practical skills?" Jason said.

"Nothing is ever going to be the same." Piper said sadly. Percy shook his head.

"I can't believe that." Percy said. "You don't understand. This island that we're going to was built by the richest people in the world. Half-Blood Island isn't Hawaii, okay? It's heaven." Percy paused to let us picture this place. "The island has enough food that we could feed ten billion people a different meal every day for a year. The medical equipment is so advanced that Will is going to have a hard time figuring it out. You cannot imagine what this place looks like because nothing has ever been made that's so incredible." Everyone listening, including Nico and Will, seemed to perk up at that.

"So, you think things can go back to how they were?" Piper asked.

"No, they can't." Percy replied. "Things can be better." I smiled. "Imagine everything that was wrong with this world was wiped out. There would be no diseases, no war; our little world would be at peace. Over time, it could be better than it was. Everyone would speak the same language. Everyone would learn to survive and it's our job to prepare them for that."

"Spoken like a true leader, Perce." Will said.

"Thanks Will. Now, let's have some fun." Percy stood up along with Jason. They both unsheathed their swords and stood on one side of the truck, opposite from us. Percy tapped on the glass, getting Reyna's attention. "Take us closer to the side." Fisher pulled over to the side so that the wheels were just on the road. As the truck passed zombies, Jason and Percy would take off their heads like some teenagers would do to mailboxes. Everyone laughed and enjoyed themselves, trying to block out the fact that there were flesh eating monsters surrounding us. After a day's worth of driving, Fisher pulled over and stepped out of the car. It was around midnight when Fisher decided to get some rest.

"Someone's going to have to take over for me." Fisher said. Of course, Percy volunteered. Reyna grabbed some blankets for everyone as Percy jumped in the driver's seat. Fisher and Jason were in similar positions, leaning against the wall of the truck. Reyna and Piper used their respective boyfriends as pillows. Juliet fell asleep in the front. Will decided to get some rest too but Nico, the night owl, was alert and stared off in the distance looking for trouble. I decided to join Percy in the front. Percy started up the car and Juliet shifted, leaning on Percy. Percy smiled as I climbed in the passenger seat.

"Annabeth, you should get some rest." Percy said.

"No, it's fine. I'd rather stay up with you. Besides, it's dangerous to drive alone when you're tired." I replied.

"Don't you think most driving rules have gone out the window?"

"I like to pretend that they haven't." Percy got quiet after that. Juliet shifted again so that she was now using me as a pillow. We drove for a little before I asked Percy a serious question. "What do you think the future will really be like?" Percy glanced at me.

"What do I think it will be like or what do I hope it will be like?"

"How about both?"

"Well, I hope that we can get to the island. I hope that the nine of us can be happy, maybe have children later. I hope that they can grow up and Will can teach them how to be a doctor, Nico can teach them how to hunt, Fisher can teach them how to fish." I laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Fisher the fisherman." I said. Percy laughed.

"Yea, dad really loved the sea." Percy got serious again. "What do I think is going to happen? Honestly? I think that we are going to reach Florida. I also think that some of us will die along the way. But there's one thing I know."

"What's that?"

"Thalia, Zoe, Grover, Juniper, Beckendorf, Silena, Leo, Frank, Hazel, we were with them when they all died. I know that everyone is getting sick of watching their loved ones die. I know that there are only nine of us left and I know that if we lose even one person, then it will tear us apart. It will tear me apart."

"I know what you mean. We're coming down to the end. Either we all make it through or none of us will."

"It's one thing to lose some of your closest friends. It kills you. But if you lose your family, it destroys you." He paused. "That's the problem. You're all my family and I can't sit around and watch my family die. I won't."

"You won't have to. We will all make it through this. We will get to that island paradise and our kids will grow up happily. We can be together. It won't be easy but we're so close and we've come so far." I kissed Percy, careful not to disturb Juliet. Percy pulled over on the side of a hill. I follow Percy out of the car and we walked to the top of the hill. The hill was a cliff with a view of the bay and the thousands of infected milling around. I held Percy's hand as we stared down, out of sight, at the flesh eaters that stood between us and Percy's yacht. Percy pulled me close to him.

"Welcome to Florida."

I just wanted to thank everyone who has stayed with this story so far. A lot of the comments that I've gotten have been positive and they really mean a lot so thank you. I also wanted to say that this story is obviously coming to an end and I have two possible endings in mind. There is a somewhat sad ending and then there is a happy one so I will let you decide which would be best for the story. I'm considering writing one ending and then having an alternate one if that would be better. Thanks.

-Imagine Dragonov