Chapter 18

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the diner parking lot as we approached, our hearts pounding in our chests. Ares, the god of war, stood there waiting for us, his motorcycle rumbling ominously beside him. It was a tense moment, filled with a mixture of defiance and trepidation.

"Well, well," Ares taunted with a sly grin as we came to a halt before him. "You didn't get yourselves killed."

I couldn't help but return his smirk. "Yes, so sad for you."

Ares chuckled, clearly amused by our bravado. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."

"Yet these stupid kids got your shield and destroyed his spiders," I shot back, my confidence growing, "and managed to escape without a scratch, while the idiotic scared god of war ran off like a little girl when he realized his girlfriend's husband was going to embarrass his ass again."

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

I frowned, "You're kidding."

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me. Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

I sighed and shouldered the backpack.

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Annabeth spoke up, giving me her best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."

Ares kick-started his motorcycle. "Clarisse, you are a daughter of the war god, act like it. See you around, kids."

I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back." He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.

Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy."

"I don't care."

"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."

"Well, if the prophecy is correct..." I muttered, heading to the truck. Annabeth and Clarisse were right behind me.

The first thing that hit us was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter.

The trailer was dark inside until I summoned Morningstar and Gram. The blades cast light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and an antelope.

Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!

Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes, and his ribs showed through his white fur.

We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. After five minutes, I stood up and headed toward the animals. I drew water from a jug nearby and refilled their bowls, then grabbed the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.

Clarisse calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. I, in the meantime, used the dagger I had taken to get the gum out the zebra's hair. I then used some water to heal the lion's pink-eye. After some thinking I unlocked the cages telling the animals to behave or I would lock them back up.

Clarisse curled up on a turnip sack, I regulated water around us to keep us nice and cooled inside the hot trailer. Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; I grabbed one and sat next to her, popping the Oreo into my mouth.

It was Annabeth who broke the silence, her voice soft and tinged with regret. "Hey, I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."

I turned my head to look at her, offering a reassuring smile. "That's okay, Annabeth."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly as she continued, "It's just... spiders."

I nodded, understanding the source of her fear. "Because of the Arachne story. She got turned into a spider by Athena."

Annabeth's expression grew solemn as she confirmed my suspicion. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."

I couldn't help but grin. "We're a team, remember?" I said, reminding her of the bond we shared. "Besides, Clarisse even helped out."

From the corner of the trailer, where Clarisse had been sitting quietly, there came a mumbled response. "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"

Annabeth and I shared a chuckle at Clarisse's unexpected display of humility. It was rare to see her acknowledge her own contributions so openly.

As the laughter subsided, we returned to the task at hand, Annabeth pulling apart an Oreo and handing me half. We rode in comfortable silence for a few miles, the rhythmic bumping of the truck against the road serving as a constant reminder of our precarious situation. Inside the trailer, the zebra munched contentedly on a turnip, while the lion, having licked the last traces of hamburger meat from his lips, watched me with hopeful eyes.

Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.

"That pine-tree bead," I began, breaking the silence. "Is that from your first year?"

Annabeth's gaze shifted to her necklace, as if she had forgotten it was there. Her eyes softened as she considered the pendant, a tangible connection to her past.

"Yeah," she said, her voice carrying the weight of nostalgia. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now that was a weird summer...."

Her reminiscence brought a small smile to my face. "Sounds like quite the collection."

Annabeth chuckled softly. "Yeah, it is. Each bead holds a memory of my time at camp, both the good and the... interesting."

My curiosity piqued, I couldn't resist asking, "And the college ring is your father's?"

Annabeth's expression shifted, her demeanor suddenly guarded. "That's none of your—" She paused, reconsidering her response. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

The vulnerability in her voice was unmistakable, and I sensed that there was more to this story than she was initially willing to share. Still, I didn't press the issue.

"You don't have to tell me," I assured her, respecting her boundaries.

She sighed, her breath quivering slightly as if she were steeling herself to share a painful memory. "No ... it's okay." Annabeth took a shaky breath, her eyes distant as she began to recount her past. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her.... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."

Listening to her tale, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Annabeth. The complexities of family relationships were not lost on me, and her struggles with her father resonated deeply.

"That doesn't sound so bad," I ventured, offering her a glimmer of hope.

Annabeth let out a bitter laugh, the bitterness reflecting the disappointment she had endured. "Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids to be put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."

I could sense the pain in her voice, the sense of betrayal she must have felt at the time. It was a reminder of how the world of demigods was fraught with challenges beyond the monsters and quests we faced.

"You shouldn't give up," I told her gently, my voice filled with empathy. "You should write him a letter or something."

Annabeth's response was curt, but I could tell my words had struck a chord. "Thanks for the advice," she said, her tone cold and guarded, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."

With no more words exchanged, we settled into a contemplative silence. Annabeth, worn out by her emotional journey, eventually succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep beside me. I watched over her for a while, the truck's monotonous rumbling providing a backdrop to my thoughts.

Then, just as I was about to attempt some meditation, something small and light struck my shoulder. Startled, I looked down and saw Annabeth leaning against me, snoring softly. With a resigned smile, I shifted into a more comfortable position and allowed the rhythmic sound of her breathing to lull me into the realm of Morpheus.

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I awoke with a jolt as the truck rumbled to a complete stop and the engine was silenced. My senses immediately sharpened, and I nudged Annabeth and Clarisse, who had been dozing beside me in the dimly lit trailer.

"The truck's stopped," I whispered urgently. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."

Panic flashed in their eyes as they nodded in agreement. We didn't have much time. I knew we needed to hide, and fast.

"Quick, get close to me!" I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I grabbed both of their waists, and they pressed tightly against me. I closed my eyes, focusing on the water molecules in our bodies and the moisture in the air. I spread my search through the water molecules in a 10 mile radius around us. I would take the animals but they wouldn't survive long in the wild.

Just as the trailer's creaky doors began to swing open, there was a soft popping sound, and we vanished.

We reappeared a block away from the truck, but my precision in landing left much to be desired. I ended up on my back, the impact jarring but not painful. What made the situation more embarrassing was that Annabeth was straddling my waist, and Clarisse was sitting on my chest. Thankfully, there was no one around to witness our rather ungraceful arrival.

"Well, that happened," Clarisse grumbled, rubbing her head where she had bumped it during our teleportation.

"Yeah, I can agree with that," Annabeth added, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

I rolled my eyes, trying to extricate myself from beneath them. "Girls, as much as I love how you two feel on top of me, we have to finish a quest..."