Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to Rick Riordan, Greco-Roman mythology, and/or their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: Hi, everyone! Posting this a little earlier than usual.

As always, hope you enjoy. Until next chapter,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis


~The Finding Home Saga~

~Finding Home~

~Chapter 55: I Get My First Driving Lesson~


Artemis assured us that dawn was coming, but you could've fooled me. It was colder, darker, and snowier than ever. Up on the hill, Westover's Hall was completely lightless. I wondered if the teachers had even noticed that the Koskinen siblings and Dr. Thorn were gone, and I decided that I didn't want to be around them when they did in the event that Ms. Gottschalk somehow remembered my name; I wondered again what had even happened to the Koskinen siblings, too.

The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set up. I stood shivering in the snow (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to be uncomfortable at all) with Katie, Bianca, and Thalia huddled around me as Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Katie and Bianca stood close together, but Thalia purposefully kept about a foot's distance between her and the daughter of Hades. I decidedly didn't like what that probably meant.

But for now, we had more important matters to think about other than that. Katie now looked almost unenthused as Thalia did about the whole situation going on with the Hunters. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well," she divulged.

"Was that the 'burning down cabins' thing that Artemis was talking about?" I asked.

She nodded.

"It's never a good thing when they show up," Thalia muttered disgustedly. I joined Katie in giving her a warning look; her tone was disrespectful alone right now, but especially when Artemis was probably within hearing distance for an immortal and I didn't want to give her a reason to turn me into a jackalope. But, if Artemis was listening to us, she pretended not to notice, and Thalia continued on just the same, "I bet they asked you to join the Hunt, Bianca, didn't they? They always prey on girls like that. They're so – "

"Bianca," Katie said loudly, "I know you've been working on your abilities ever since this summer, and you spent a lot of time with the Koskinen siblings? Do you have any leads on them that Artemis somehow doesn't?"

Thalia's look soured even further. Great. That confirmed my suspicions that she was upset with Bianca.

"No." The daughter of Hades shook her head sadly. "If I focus hard enough and I know people well enough, I can detect their life forces. I can't sense anything beyond if they're alive or not. But Lauritz and Ausma...the second that they went missing, I stopped being able to detect them. They're not living or dead, as far as I can tell. It's almost like..." She worried her bottom lip nervously. "They don't exist."

That was a terrifying thought, and it put the dampener on any further conversation. We remained silent until the sky began to lighten.


"About time," Artemis muttered. "He is so lazy during the winter."

I decided to take my chances at asking her a question. "You mean Apollo, Πότνια?"

There wasn't anybody else who she could really be referring to with that, but that wasn't the point. The point was, I knew the legends about Apollo – or, during the really earlier myths, Helios – driving a big sun chariot across the sky. But I also knew that the sun was really a star about a zillion miles away, a ball of gas that was bigger than I could even begin to comprehend. I'd gotten used to some of the Greek myths being real, but still...some weren't exactly as they were said to be, and I didn't see how Apollo could drive the sun.

"Yes," Artemis said. Then, as if she was reading my mind, "It's not exactly as you think."

"Oh, okay." I started to relax. "So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a – "

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.

"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

"Parks?"

I averted my eyes, and saw that everybody else was doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until my winter coat felt like it was melting off of me. Then suddenly the light died.

I looked – and I couldn't believe it. It was one of those fancy, fancy cars, the kind that can even be an incredible sight to see in New York City, a red convertible Maserati Spyder. It wasn't exactly to my tastes, but that was whatever. Because moreover, the metal of the car was glowing from how hot it was. So hot, in fact, that the snow around the Maserati had melted in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing on green grass and my shoes were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and for a second, I almost could've believed he was Luke; it made my heart skip a beat. But, this guy's hair was messier (like mine) and darker, honey blonde in hue, and he was shorter by one or two inches with not a single scar on his face. His smile was brighter and more playful, not nearly as reserved as Luke's smiles were after everything he'd been through. The Maserati driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.

"Wow," Thalia mumbled. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," I said.

"That's not what I meant."

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

"First, that is a lie. Second of all, we're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue – "

"So, what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis gritted her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a "stop everything" gesture. "But, first thing's first: I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groaned. Clearly, they had met Apollo before.

My eldest half-brother – and that was somehow even weirder for me to think about than Artemis being my half-sister – cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically:

"Green grass breaks through snow,

Artemis pleads for my help.

I am so cool."

He grinned at us, waiting for applause.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about, 'I am so big-headed?'"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hm." He started muttering to himself.

Zoë Nightshade turned to us. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, 'There once was a goddess from Sparta – '"

"I've got it!" Apollo announced. "'I am so awesome.' That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself. "And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"Not a problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see...Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus' girl, yes. Makes you and I cousins...well, all of us are cousins, really. Used to be a tree, didn't you? And you must be Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades," he said to the aforementioned girl next. She merely smiled at him. His eyes then fell upon Katie. "And Katie Gardner. You're Mom's daughter. You look a lot like her. Man, you have no idea how proud of you she is – "

"Brother," Artemis said as Katie's ears reddened and her spine straightened from the praise. "You should get going."

"Oh, right." As part of the sweep, Apollo's eyes landed on me. They narrowed. "You're Percy Jackson, right?"

"Yeah. I mean...yes, sir."

It seemed weird calling a teenager "sir," most of all one that was my half-brother, but I figured it could be worse. I could be talking to Arion or Pegasus right now instead.

I was expecting Apollo to say something about me just like he had the others, but he didn't. He only studied me, which I found a little creepy.

"Well," he said at last. "We better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way – west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

I looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.

The sun god fished his car keys from out of his pocket. "I hate to change it out of sports car-mode," he continued, sighing. He beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp. "But if I must, I must..."

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses like Goode High School used for school basketball games.

"Right," Apollo said. "Everybody in."

Zoë ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."

Zoë recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them 'sweetheart.'"

Apollo waved his hands in the air. "Sorry, I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyways?"

"Hunting," she spoke. "It is none of your business."

"I'll find out," he promised. "I see all. Know all."

She snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"

"No, no! I never mess around!"

Artemis rolled her eyes before looking at us. "I will see you by the winter solstice. Zoë, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

Zoë's posture straightened. "Yes, milady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted towards the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jingling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"


The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and me, the other highly infectious male in the group. Thalia sat up front, right behind the driver's seat, sitting so that her back was to the window. I sat on the seat diagonally behind her, and Katie and Bianca sat together.

"I thought the sun was a large, fiery ball of gas," Bianca commented, unknowingly echoing my earlier thought. "It was what they taught me in science class this past semester, at least."

Apollo chuckled as he finished walking up the stairs of the bus, the last one on the vehicle. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Although, actually, it depends on if you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? What fun is there in that? I mean, sure, the physical sun does exist in that way. But you want to talk about what humans think about the sun? Now, that's infinitely more interesting. Mortals have got a lot riding on the sun, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, and makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, cousin. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is the manifestation of the sun's power, and the way that mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

Not gonna lie, I wasn't done processing his impromptu speech yet, but Bianca seemed to understand what he was trying to say. She nodded. "It does."

"Great," Apollo said. He flashed us a grin. "Now, who wants to drive?" He specifically focused on Thalia. "What about you, daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the sky? You'd be perfect!"

Unexpectedly, Thalia's face paled just as soon as she had started to blush again. "N – no," she went, shaking her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo insisted. "How old are you?"

She hesitated. "I don't know."

That was one thing Will and the other children of Apollo hadn't figured out yet, though not for a lack of trying. Obviously, it was important to figure out how old she was. Because if she was (biologically) older than me, and depending on how much older she was...well, the time for the Great Prophecy could be coming up a lot sooner than expected.

I still thought I was the child of the Great Prophecy, though, just for the record. I didn't need to ask Luke to confirm something that I could somehow feel deep in my bones.

Yet, in direct contradiction to my thoughts, Apollo tapped a finger to his lips. "You're sixteen, almost seventeen."

Thalia's mouth dropped open. "How do you know that?"

"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week."

"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."

"Which means you're old enough to drive now! The minimum age for driving in the 'States is sixteen."

Alas, if he had been expecting to get a more enthusiastic response from her this time, he was unsuccessful. She shook her head more vehemently than before. "No, Lord Apollo, please. I...I don't want to start driving today."

For a second, I almost thought that Apollo was going to try and continue to coax her into it anyways. But something in her demeanor must've changed his mind, because his focus went away from her as he went back to jingling his car keys on his finger. "Alright, then. Hmm...who else? Bianca? Katie?" They were both reluctant, yet not nearly as much as Thalia. Katie, I knew, could probably drive the sun bus if she'd really wanted to. She had more experience than I did. Sensing their reluctance, Apollo, with some reluctance of his own, it seemed – and I didn't understand why – turned to me. "How about you, little brother?"

"Uh – " I started to say. It wasn't like I had any driver's experience, despite being sixteen.

"You're sixteen too, right?" he questioned rhetorically. "You're just as good of an option as anybody else is. Come on! Driving the sun chariot is a great honor. Not to mention, Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and you don't need to worry about the last kid I trained. You are a son of Poseidon, but Zeus isn't going to blast you out of the sky."

Apollo laughed good-naturedly at that. The rest of us didn't join in.

Slowly, I got to my feet. My palms all of the sudden started to feel sweaty.

This isn't going to go that bad, I tried to convince myself. It's not.

Apollo pressed a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backward (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't all that much different than reading forward). I was pretty sure it said: WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" he told me. "You're gonna be a natural!"

I sat down in the driver's seat and placed my hands on the steering wheel. I suspected it was made of Corinthian leather – and by this, I mean real leather made from Corinth, not the bullshit that they claim seats are made out of in luxury vehicles.

"Speed equals heat," Apollo advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

If nothing else, at least I didn't have to start the bus. Things could be worse.

I pulled back on the steering wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast that my back pressed against the driver's seat. Behind me, I heard multiple shouts.

"Slower!" Apollo exclaimed.

"Sorry!" I said, letting up on the gas pedal some. "I've got it under control!"

And if it was just Apollo giving me advice, I'm pretty sure I would've held true to my word. I stand by that claim.

But, unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Percy!" Thalia shouted, literally in my ear. She was right behind me. "You've gotta lighten up more on the accelerator!"

I gritted my teeth. "I've got it, Thalia."

"Loosen up," she told me.

"I am loose!" I snapped. I knew that I could've loosened up more – but, fuck, I didn't need her lecturing me right now. Not after she had already lectured me about the loss of my best friend earlier.

"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo advised. "Hang a left."

I adjusted the steering wheel. I didn't think it was that bad, but then I heard more shouts behind me. It was because of them that I didn't immediately realize my mistake.

"Your other left," Apollo suggested.

I focused on making a smoother transition this time. My nerves were beginning to get frayed. Driving for the first time was already nerve-wracking enough, but driving the sun chariot at the height of airplanes, with the view in front of me so dark that it was almost black? Yeah, no. I wasn't scared of heights, at least not as much as I should've been when Zeus had promised to blast me out of the sky before, but no.

I breathed in and out deeply to try and get myself to calm down. In, out. In –

"Ah," Apollo said. I couldn't help but think he sounded like he was trying to remain calm now. "A little lower, Percy. Cape Cod is freezing over."

I tilted the wheel. It felt like sweat was beading out on my forehead.

This was mistake number two. The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. I wasn't sure of who, because it didn't sound like Katie but all of the people on this bus besides me and Apollo were girls. We were now heading straight towards the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline right off to our right. And it was getting hot on the bus, even I could feel it.

Apollo was no longer standing right next to the driver's seat; he must've gotten thrown back. But I could hear him coming back up.

"Take the wheel!" Thalia shouted at him.

"No worries," Apollo said. "He just has to – WHOA!"

I saw what he was seeing, because how could I not? Down below us was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it had been snow-covered. As I watched, the snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smolder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.

I knew I needed to do something. But abruptly, it was like I was helpless – I couldn't do anything on my own. I neededsomeone to tell me what to do.

"Pull up!" Thalia shouted.

Robotically, I did as she instructed. I yanked back on the wheel. As we zoomed up, my eyes darted towards one of the mirrors. I could see the town, and the fires that were being snuffed out there by the sudden blast of cold.

"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead head. But let's slow down a little, Percy. 'Dead' is only an expression."

I was doing my best. The coastline of northern Long Island was in the distance. There was Camp Half-Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach. I could see the dining pavilion and cabins and the amphitheater. I didn't want to harm any of those things in what was obviously the worst first driving lesson ever.

"I'm under control," I muttered. "I've got this...I'm under – "

"Brake," Apollo said.

I moved my foot on the brake, but it slipped. Somehow.

"BRAKE!"

This time, I slammed my foot down on the brake, which had better results...maybe too much better. The sun bus pitched forward at a forty-dive-degree angle, and we slammed into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge FLOOOOOOSH! Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets. I hoped they wouldn't start hating me now for this, or if they did that it wouldn't be too much.

So much for this not going "that bad."

The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes.

"Well," said Apollo with a brave smile out of the corner of my eye. "You were right, little brother! You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"


Word Count: 3,512

Next Chapter Title: I Have Another Demigod Dream