We had to walk for almost an hour before we found a path that led up to the road. It came up on the east side of the river. Then we straggled back toward the dam. It was cold and windy on top. On one side, a big lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. On the other side, the dam dropped away like the world's most dangerous skateboard ramp, down to the river seven hundred feet below, and water that churned from the dam's vents.

Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Grover kept sniffing the wind and looking nervous. He didn't say anything, but I knew he smelled monsters.

"How close are they?" Percy asked him.

He shook his head. "Maybe not close. The wind on the dam, the desert all around us… the scent can probably carry for miles. But it's coming from several directions. I don't like that."

I didn't either. It was already Wednesday, only two days until winter solstice, and we still had a long way to go. We didn't need any more monsters, especially since I'm really low on energy.

There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said.

"You've been here before?" Percy asked.

"Once. To see the guardians." She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. They looked kind of like Oscar statues with wings.

"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."

Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to be looking at the statues' feet.

"What are they doing?" Percy asked.

"Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."

"Why?"

She shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."

"When you were here last, did they talk to you or anything?"

Thalia's face darkened. I guess they didn't, but I bet that's what she was hoping for, just some sort of sign from her dad. "No. They don't do anything. They're just big metal statues."

"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said. "We should eat while we can."

I smiled at Zoe, so did Bianca.

Grover cracked a smile too. "The dam snack bar?"

Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam French fries."

Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

Percy started cracking up, and soon the rest of us did, while Zoe just looked at us. "I do not understand." She said and crooked her head.

"I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said.

"And…" Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt." Bianca tried her best not to laugh, but she couldn't hold it in and she burst out with laughter. Percy was also laughing, but then he suddenly stopped.

Grover had stopped laughing too. He was looking around, confused. "Did I just hear a cow?"

I stopped too, concerned about what he was talking about, but that's strange, why would he hear a cow?

"A dam cow?" Thalia laughed.

"No," Grover said. "I'm serious."

Zoe listened. "I hear nothing."

Thalia was looking at Percy. "Percy, are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," He said. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."

"What's wrong?" Grover asked.

"Nothing," He said. "I… I just need a minute. To think."

Everyone hesitated, he looks upset for some reason…What happened when I wasn't with them? After a while we finally went into the visitor center without Percy. I looked back at him, he jogged to the north edge of the dam and looked over.

I was about to go back, but someone tugged on the back of my shirt, "Wyatt." I looked back only to find Bianca, damn…"Yeah?" I asked.

Looks like Wyatt has to explain some things to Bianca.

Thanks for reading!

Rilurz~