CHAPTER NINE
( A GOD NAMED FRED )

        THE THROBBING IN Davina's head and the ache of her body eventually faded. She stared out the van window as Zoë drove. Her eyebrows furrowed when she caught sight of a familiar-looking helicopter. She realized it looked exactly the same as the helicopter that had been at Westover Hall.

"I think we're being followed," she announced, gaining everyone's attention.

Percy looked out his window. "They know the van. We have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into another lane in response.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover hoped when the helicopter did nothing except gain on them.

"No," Davina shook her head, looking away from the window toward the group. "They probably think it's one of theirs."

"How can the General use mortals?" Percy asked.

"Mercenaries," Zoë responded. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" Percy questioned. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

"The mist, Jackson," Davina reminded him. "Mortals see what they want to see."

"I doubt it would matter to them if they could see the truth," Zoë added. "Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

Davina turned back to the window, eying the helicopter. Zoë was right. No monster had ever hurt her as bad as some of the mortals she'd loved had.

Thalia closed her eyes when the chopper got closer. "Hey, dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. . . please?" There was no sign that Zeus was paying attention to her prayer. No rumble, no grey clouds. . . nothing.

"There!" Bianca exclaimed, pointing out the window. "That parking lot."

"We'll be trapped," Zoë countered.

"Trust me," Bianca insisted, so Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and pulled into the parking lot. The group left the van and followed Bianca down a set of stairs. "Subway entrance. Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

The six of them bought tickets, keeping an eye out for anyone seeming to follow them. They didn't see anyone and safely boarded. But when the train went above ground, they noticed the helicopter circling the parking lot.

Grover let out a breath of relief when they realized that it wasn't going to follow the train. "Nice job, Bianca. Thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased with herself. "Yeah, well, I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it because it wasn't here when we used to live in DC."

"New?" Grover frowned. "That station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca shrugged. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

"Wait a minute," Thalia sat forward. "There was no subway at all?"

Bianca nodded, making Davina furrow her brows. There was no way the subway was younger than 12 years old.

"Bianca, how long ago–" Zoë started but she was cut off by the sound of the helicopter growing louder.

"We need to change trains," Percy declared. "Next station."

☆ ★☆

        THEY'D SWITCHED TRAINS twice and eventually lost the helicopter before they reached the end of the line, finding themselves in an area with nothing but warehouses, train tracks, and a shit ton of snow.

Davina shivered, the cold hitting her skin through the thick material of her coat. She tugged her coat closer to her body as they walked through the tracks, hoping to find another train.

A homeless man stood next to a fire he'd made in a trashcan. He gave them a toothless grin. "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!"

Davina stared at him, trying to determine if he was trustworthy or not while the others walked toward him without a second thought. She knew pretty well how to tell, but there was something about the man that had her on edge.

"Are you guys serious?" she caught the end of Percy's fur coat. "He could be a murderer or a robber."

"Davina, we're a group of demigods and Zoë. I think we'll be fine," Percy kept walking and turned when he noticed she wasn't following. He sighed. "Look, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Please," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Like I need your protection, Jackson." Davina slowly moved toward the group. "I made a promise to Nico to keep his sister safe and if we're just trusting anyone, that's gonna make my job harder."

She placed her hands up to the fire and resisted the urge to let out a content breath when she felt the warmth.

"We should contact camp," Bianca suggested after a few moments. "Chiron–"

"No," Zoë shook her head. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest by ourselves."

"You know, you're never completely without friends," the homeless man commented. "You kids need a train going west?"

Davina narrowed her eyes at the guy. How did he know that? She opened her mouth to question him.

"Yes, sir," Percy answered before she got the chance to speak. "You know of any?"

The homeless man raised one of his hands and pointed. Davina turned to look, following his finger all the way to a train that was somehow snowless. It was an automobile-carrier train with a triple deck of cars. On the side, it read Sun West Line.

"That's. . . convenient," Thalia breathed out. "Thanks, uh. . ."

They turned back to the homeless guy only to find that he wasn't there. The trashcan they'd been using for warmth no longer held the fire, nor showed any signs of a fire ever being there.

Davina stared at the spot suspiciously before she followed the group to the train. They all split up into different cars. Zoë and Bianca in a Lexus, Grover playing racecar in a Lamborghini, Thalia listening to the radio she'd hotwired in a Mercedes.

Davina tinkered with the radio on her own BMW until music was playing. She flickered through the stations, stopping at an old rock station. She grinned victoriously and leaned back in the driver's seat.

"What are you listening to?"

Davina jumped and looked over to Percy, who was standing outside her car. She hadn't even realized that she'd been dozing off. She glanced at the radio.

How Soon Is Now - The Smiths.

"The Smiths," she stated, straightening herself in the driver's seat. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He slid into the passenger seat. "No."

Davina blinked at him. "What do you want?"

"Thalia kicked me out of her car."

"And you decided coming to sit with me was the best option you had?" 

"Well, Grover's trying to impress Zoë and Bianca right now with his pipe music," Percy shrugged. "So. . . yeah. You were the best option."

"I'm flattered."

Davina and Percy settled into silence as the radio continued to play in the background.

"Can I ask you a question?" Percy wondered after a while.

"You just did," she pointed out.

"Haha. You're funny."

She shrugged. "Thank you."

"I'm being serious."

"I guess," Davina gave in. "But if it's a stupid question, I'm kicking you out."

Percy hesitated for a second. "Why do you hate me so much?" He turned to look at her. "I mean, Annabeth didn't like me because of our parents, but you've hated me since I got to camp."

Davina pursed her lips. She'd been asked that question before, and every time she felt stupid for the answer.

"I don't hate you, Jackson. I mean, you annoy the shit out of me, but I don't hate you. It's more of a strong dislike."

"Fine," Percy huffed. "Why do you strongly dislike me?"

Davina swallowed. "Did Annabeth ever tell you about why I stay at camp year-round?"

"She told me you guys had similar stories, but that's it," he answered.

"My mom. . . she never recovered from my dad leaving her," Davina slowly began explaining, unsure of why she was telling him. "She hated me and loved alcohol, so my grandma practically raised me. When I was eight, my mom was passed out on the couch and I went to play outside. . . a cyclops attacked me. My mom didn't believe me when I told her what happened. She called me a liar, like she always did, and sent me to my room. I overheard her and my abuela shouting that night. My mom wanted to send me to one of those wilderness therapy programs and my abuela argued and reminded her about a place in Long Island my dad had told her about before I was born. I didn't want to get sent away, so I packed a bag and waited until they fell asleep. As I was leaving, I found a paper with an address on it on the kitchen table and took it. I almost went back after a few weeks. But I knew if I did, my mom would just send me away. Then I remembered the address. For some reason I thought it was my dad's, so I pickpocketed people and managed to get money for bus tickets. I ended up at camp."

Davina didn't like the way Percy was looking at her – a sad gleam in his eyes, a small frown on his lips. She hated it.

She cleared her throat. "The answer you're looking for is that I'm jealous, Jackson. You got lucky. Your mom loves you a lot. She led you into this world. She even drives you to missions. . ." She sucked in a breath to calm herself down. "I went back to my mom's when I was 11 to see if she missed me and to see my abuela, but she wasn't at our old house. I tracked her down. She opened the door with a baby on her hip, about a year old. The first thing she said when she saw me was what are you doing here? I told her about camp and my dad. . . she didn't believe me, obviously. She told me abuela had died about a year after I left and that I should leave and never come back. I could tell she'd sobered up because she was dressed nicely and didn't reek of alcohol. Obviously, she had a whole new family she didn't want me to be apart of. I didn't want to be apart of it either, so I did. I left."

"I'm sorry," Percy apologized.

Davina shook her head. "I don't need your apology."

"Ugh, finally," a new voice joined them. Davina's gaze flickered up to the rearview mirror. For some reason, she wasn't surprised to see the homeless guy from earlier. "Aphrodite's gonna be so happy."

"Who are you?" Davina wondered though she had a pretty good idea.

"Apollo?" Percy guessed.

"I'm incognito," the homeless guy – Apollo, confirmed, pressing a finger to his lips. "Call me Fred."

"A god named Fred?" Percy blinked.

"Well. . . Zeus insists on certain rules," Apollo responded. "Hands off when there's a human quest. Even when something really major is wrong. But nobody messes with my baby sister. Nobody."

"So you can help us?" Percy asked.

"Shh," Apollo hissed. "I already have. Haven't you been looking outside?"

Davina glanced out the windshield. She hadn't noticed how fast they'd been moving. The outside was nothing but a blur. "How fast are we going?"

"Fast enough," Apollo chuckled. "Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost sunset. I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least."

"But where is Artemis?" Percy questioned.

Apollo's face darkened. "I know a lot and I see a lot, but even I don't know that. She's. . . clouded from me. I don't like it."

"What about Annabeth?" Davina turned in her seat. "Can you see her?"

"That girl you lost?" Apollo frowned. "I don't know."

Davina swallowed back her anger. Gods only cared when it came to themselves.

"What about the monster Artemis was seeking?" Percy inquired. "Do you know what it is?"

"No," Apollo answered. "But there is one who might. If you haven't yet found the monster when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my Oracle."

"But it's your Oracle," Percy protested. "Can't you tell us what the prophecy means?"

Apollo sighed. "You might as well ask an artist to explain his art. Or ask a poet to explain his poem. It defeats the purpose. The meaning is only clear through the search."

"So, in other words, you don't know," Percy retorted.

Apollo checked his watch. "Oh, well, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again. Get some sleep! And when you return, I expect good haikus about your journey!"

𝒎𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍 !!
short chapter but davina's backstory yayy