~ ☼ ~

It had only been an hour since the bus left the station, and I was already bored.

I wondered if the inability to sit in one place for too long was a common trait for demigods. Kiera and Aria, who were residing just the aisle from Lucas and I, seemed antsy too. Lucas, who'd been staring dreamily out the window pretty much the entire time since our initial pleasantries, was the only one who apparently wasn't suffering.

Outside the windows, the road passed on endlessly, farm fields and patches of forests blurring together like paint. Inside the bus, there was hardly anyone else riding. I felt like I was in A Goofy Movie, with just as much awkwardness but a little less father-son bonding.

"So," I said to Lucas, trying to make conversation, "Where... are you from?"

The son of Athena blinked, turning away from the window. His gray eyes had gone from stormy to calm, no longer lost in thought, now holding a smile. "Connecticut," he answered. "A little town called New Canaan. It's outside Stamford, if you know where that is."

I technically didn't know where that was.... however, I did know it was in The Office. But, I could tell Lucas wasn't the type to watch workplace sitcoms, so I didn't make the reference. Instead, I looked him up and down, taking in his preppy style - Hollister polo, tan pants, boat shoes - and said slowly, "Let me guess... your dad's a lawyer?"

Lucas self-consciously glanced down at his outfit. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda." I quirked an eyebrow. "You know, we shouldn't be talking to each other. We're like, enemies. Emos and preps aren't supposed to get along."

"I think social norms don't really matter when you're connected by the fact that you're both half-god and you're soon going to be fighting a war."

His voice was solemn, almost grim, but there was some mischief in his expression. Like he wasn't joking - and obviously, I didn't think he was - but he was trying to keep the tone light nonetheless. It didn't work. My own smile soured into a frown. "Do you think we have any chance at saving Olympus and whatever?"

Lucas went quiet for a second, and without any humor at all, answered, "... I don't know."

I grimaced, but didn't know what to say. What was there to say that wouldn't spoil the mood completely?

My conversationalist just pursed his lips and went back to staring out the window.

We had to be out of New York by now, passing near Scranton or something. I don't know how, but Kiera had fallen asleep, and Aria was sharpening her arrows. My own weapon lay still with my violin in their case at my feet; my backpack, over top. I wondered if there was anything in there I could use to pass my time - maybe a science textbook or two?

Yeah, no, sitting in silence doing nothing is better.

So, in silence I did sit, my neck hot over my dim expectations for the near future, until I eventually drifted off as well.

———

When I woke up again, it seemed our luck had finally turned around. Just as I predicted, something bad had happened. The bus was broken down, stalled at the side of the road. I blinked as I took in what was around me - light streaming through the windows nearby, Kiera and Aria awake and talking, Lucas peering out the window intently.

"What's happening?"

Lucas answered without facing me. "I don't know. The driver's out there trying to fix the bus right now. Something happened that made us have to park."

"Doesn't that scream kind of... ominous, to you?"

"Well, at first, I was justifying it - probably just a dead battery, or something." Lucas turned towards me, now, and pressed his lips together. "However, it's been an hour, and I'm slightly concerned."

We stared at each other, and I narrowed my eyes.

"Yeah, okay, it's pretty ominous." Lucas stood up and moved past me, suddenly determined, although I didn't know why. He lifted up the overhead compartment and got out the bag he'd been carrying, as well as mine, which he gave to me.

"Uh, dude, what are you doing?" Kiera asked from where she was sitting. Her hair, formerly down, was now in two neat plaits on either side of her head.

"I'm going to see if I can help the poor driver figure out what's wrong." He closed the compartment, and sighed. "I'm no child of Hephaestus, but I know a few minor things about mechanics, so... it won't hurt to try."

"Well, if you're leaving the bus, so am I," Aria said, immediately getting up. "There's no way I'm letting us get separated. You never know what kind of monster could be lurking."

Kiera nodded gravely. "Hades, even the bus driver could be a monster!" she added.

Then, they all looked to me, and I let my shoulders slump. Here we go. Part of me really didn't want to do this, because I didn't want to go outside into a potential battle, but... it was better than sitting inside like this, doing absolutely nothing. So, I said, "I'll come too. We can all be a Triple A team together."

———

We all walked outside, and saw the bus driver standing by the side, trying to call someone. When he saw us, he put his phone away, and said, "Hey, folks, sorry we've been stuck for so long. I've been trying to get in contact with some sort of mechanic, but I have no service out here."

We did seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Oak trees towered over us, and the road we'd pulled off of was pretty much empty aside from a squirrel scampering across.

"Do you know where we are?" Aria asked politely. She seemed to fit in here perfectly, with her wooden bow and olive green jacket.

"Uh, somewhere outside the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, I believe."  He frowned. "I didn't realize the roads out here were so bad. All our wheels are flat."

"All of them?" Lucas echoed.

I looked at the bus, and saw, sure enough, that every tire had deflated. But the road, as gray and scratchy as it seemed, didn't look like it had that many hazards.

I looked at my 3 fellow half-bloods, and they stared back in disbelief.

"Well," Lucas said, straightening his collar and stepping forward, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

The man looked around, as if searching for an answer, then snapped his fingers in realization. "If you really wanted to, you could go find the park's visitor center. I know it's pretty close to here, just up the road a bit, and you may be able to get us help."

Kiera's eyes widened. It looked like she'd just found her life's purpose. "We can do that."

"All right. The rest of us will be here waiting."

———

It took around 5 minutes to find the entrance to the park - and the visitor center.

It really was just up the road a bit, past an open gate and a sign that said "Leonard Harrison State Park". Minivans and trucks with kayaks and tents on top were parked outside the visitor center, and just past the lot, trees barely obscured the sight of what I expected was the canyon. My father - the adoptive one - had often talked about coming here some summer, but we never got around to it. I wondered what he'd say if he knew I was here now, without him.

For the first time since my quest last year, I felt a pang of homesickness. Or more, family-sickness. Although I knew I couldn't talk to my dad right now (either one), I reminded myself to Iris Message my siblings the first chance I got. I just didn't know when that would be. We were just now walking across the parking lot, and but if there was a bathroom with a sink in there, and I could find a drachma...

"AJ?" Lucas asked, breaking me out of the haze of thought I'd been in. "Are you usually this quiet?"

I chuckled at the irony of me being quiet. "Sorry. I was just... uh, thinking."

"About what?"

"My siblings, my dad..."

Lucas made a face, then quickly tried to cover it up with a flat expression. "Lord Apollo? Why?"

I tried not to be offended by his reaction to Apollo. Sure, my dad was a jerk, but only his kids were allowed to call him that, y'know?

"Sorry if that came out rude." He shook his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets. That seemed to be his nervous tic. "I just-"

"It's fine." I said shortly. "I didn't even mean him, anyway. I was thinking about my adoptive dad, the one who raised me. He's a camping freak, loves state parks and stuff. I just feel bad being here without him, I guess. I feel kind of weird in general right now."

The son of Athena gave me a look of sympathy, but before he could say anything, we both realized we'd reached the doors to the visitor center. Lucas opened the door, letting Aria, Kiera, and I pass through, before coming in behind us.

I got a gust of cool air as I made my way inside. In front of us, a few teenage girls in puffy silver jackets were standing in front of a map of the park. To the right was a gift shop area, and to the left, sign-in for the campground.

Beside me, Aria came to a halt. "Holy Gods."

I looked at her, confused.

But her eyes were on the girls at the map, who turned around. One of them was south Asian, the next short and red-headed, the third pale and freckled with choppy hair. Each of them were wearing circlets around their heads, and each of them gave off vibes of extraordinary power. Especially the one in the middle.

Oh my Gods, the one in the middle seemed familiar. Somehow.

Aria's knees wobbled, and I caught her by the arm.

"You're the Hunters," she said breathlessly. Then, she pointed her eyes directly at the red-head. "And you're Lady Artemis."

~ ☼ ~

A/N: It's so weird starting out a book again. It feels like, for so long, I was just trying to finish them. This is moving a bit slowly right now, but it'll pick up soon!

Until next time, positive vibes, stay awesome!