CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
—stupid father

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  —JUDITH'S foot was aching with a throbbing pain, and it was all Zoë Nightshade's fault. Judith's leg shook uncontrollably whenever the group stalled, and it was all Zoë Nightshade's fault. Judith's head pounded with an oncoming migraine, and it was most definitely Zoë Nightshade's fault.

  The sensory overload was almost enough for her to accept Percy's offer of help to get her into the white van. Almost. Ultimately, she refused because she'd already endured the embarrassment of taking the elevator down to the first floor of the museum with Grover. She could get into a stupid van all by herself, no matter how much it hurt to do so.

  Even still, after having smacked his hand away, the son of Poseidon still placed a stabilizing hand against her back as she took that first step into the backseat ( arguably the worst place to put an injured person, but she tried not to whine ). Judith rolled her eyes as she plopped down, finding a duffel bag to elevate her foot on before turning a fierce look on Percy that blatantly said — don't touch me.

  He knew the look all too well.

  The drive wasn't terrible ... for the first few minutes. Judith continued to nurse her foot and chew on ambrosia, making sure to stop whenever her stomach felt like it was on fire ( because, unlike Percy Jackson, she had self control when it came to the stuff. She even saw him reach over to try and sneak some from her while she wasn't looking! ). Bianca continued to shoot her wary glances that seemed almost apologetic — probably feeling bad about how her new leader had just shot her. Thalia was stoic, probably restraining herself from commenting on Zoë's driving techniques. Grover was chewing anxiously on a piece of scrap metal he'd brought along, leaning away from Judith's bloody foot as it nestled next to him in the aisle. And Percy, well Percy was just a nuisance.

  "Does it hurt?"

  The daughter of Ares swung her head around to look him straight in the eye. She gave him the sweetest smile she could muster, even going so far as to bat her eyelashes. He was taken aback by the sudden action, so out of place coming from her. "Take a wild guess."

  His face dropped. "It was a yes or no question," he grumbled, looking out the window beside him at the passing shops and people, trying to seem unbothered.

  "It was a stupid, yes or no question," she corrected, making sure her voice was lower than the running engine. She knew Thalia wouldn't disagree with her or reprimand her and neither would Grover because of his anxiety, but she did not want to give Zoë the satisfaction of agreeing with her on the subject of males.

  "Oh, sorry for being a good friend," she heard him sass as he leaned his temple against the glass next to him. Then — in an annoyingly high voice to try and mock her — he said, "'Why yes, Percy, it does hurt. Thank you for caring enough to ask!'"

  And Judith saw a blinding red flash in her eyes. While the van simply darkened around her, Percy was bathed in the scarlet, glowing like a target. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to steal one of Bianca's arrows and stab it right through his foot — just to see how he liked it. But, she realized, he'd be even more insufferable if she did.

  "We are not friends, Percy Jackson," she bit out instead, staring intensely at the quiver on the new Hunter's back as she sat in the passenger seat.

  The boy finally turned away from the outside world, his eyes searching her face for a moment. "What exactly is the word you would use to describe what I am to you then?"

  "I have a few that could work," Judith chimed thoughtfully. "Nuisance, menace, a pain. Take your pick, I don't care."

  "I don't want to pick," Percy complained. "Those are awful choices."

  "Beggars can't be choosers, Barnacle Breath."

  "I do not recall allowing children on this quest," Zoë called from her driver's seat. "Thine arguing makes me wish I were as deaf as Tiresias was blind." A hush fell over the van and Judith rolled her eyes.

  Despite the lashing, Percy leaned forward to whisper to Grover. "Who was Tiresias?"

  Grover leaned right back to answer. "One of Apollo's blind prophets."

  "Why was he blind?" The son of Poseidon asked, his argument with Judith long forgotten as he got a mythical lesson in.

  The daughter of Ares snorted as she remembered the story. Thalia took the reins and answered in brief, albeit, awkwardly. "There was a quarrel between my dad and Hera. Zeus said women enjoy se —"

  Zoë practically swerved off the road as she shrieked. "We will not speak of that in this van, nor at any time to come!"

  There was a small pause before Thalia started to snicker and lean back in her seat, finding Zoë's fluster and anger ridiculous. Bianca looked stunned as she held onto the dashboard and Grover just looked increasingly nervous over all the tension. Percy still hadn't gotten his answer so he slumped in his spot, avoiding Judith's eyes. The girl was — unsurprisingly — perfectly okay with this.

  She looked over her shoulder, something in her gut telling her to do so ( as a demigod, it would be foolish to ignore that kind of instinct ), and immediately huffed at what she saw. "We've got company."

  A military grade attack helicopter hovered behind them, its rotor chopping up the clouds above them.

  "They know the van," Percy said, leaning around the girl to look at it. He didn't say anything as she pushed him away from her. "We have to ditch it."

  Zoë swerved into the fast lane as the helicopter gained on them.

  "Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully.

  Judith shook her head, recognizing it. "It's a Black Hawk; that is the military to the mortals. If they had planned to take it down, they would have already."

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

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

  Ah, the incentive of money.

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

  Zoë shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

  The helicopter kept approaching, moving faster than they were able to on the ground and Judith sighed. If they had taken a vehicle that wasn't 15 years old and didn't need an oil change every 100 miles, they'd have been long gone by then.

  Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard in her seat, clutching the seat below her. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

  The skies remained grey and unbothered, unsurprising, honestly.

  "There!" Bianca said, her head whipping to the right where a large overhang stood, signs all around telling them it was the underground railway system entrance. "That parking lot!"

  "We'll be trapped," Zoë said.

  "Trust me," Bianca said.

  Judith's eyes widened, certainly not one to just hand out trust like it was free. "Why should we trust you?" She questioned, wondering where the girl's sudden backbone had come from. But Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into the mall parking lot on the south bank of the Potomac, trusting her new recruit faithfully.

  They all climbed out of the white van and fled down the steps that led to the metro, Judith limping with a little trouble. She refused to acknowledge it, however; especially when she knew Percy would end up on her case again. Luckily, he was none the wiser, leading the pack.

  "Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

  "Anything," Thalia agreed.

  They all bought tickets ( well, Percy just put on his cap and hurdled over a turnstile ), and were through the minimal security area with little issue. Though, Judith had to begrudgingly assist a confused Zoë through the process of using her ticket.

  "Just put it in the slot and pull it out!" She yelled.

  "The blasted metal box will not take my paper!" Zoë shouted back.

  Judith ripped the small slip of paper out of the girl's hand before doing it herself. The turnstile loosened and the daughter of Ares had to push the Hunter through to get her moving.

  Other than that, though, it went pretty smoothly.

  They all let out a sigh as they collected on a pretty deserted train, allowing them to speak freely. Judith elected to sit in one of the seats, her foot throbbing still — she had no doubt that it would have healed by then if it hadn't been a stupid silver arrow. Percy went to sit across from her but she stuck her leg out and occupied the seat with her leg, her face shining in mock sympathy.

  "On your feet, lose your seat," she sang, leaning back comfortably.

  But Judith frowned as he just stepped over her bridged leg and plopped down beside her. He made himself cozy, showing her that he had no intentions of getting back up.

  "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway," Grover spoke up finally after their quick breather.

  Bianca looked pleased with her quick thinking. "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 D.C."

  Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

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

  Thalia leaned forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

  Bianca nodded, her face contorting into one of confusion as everyone stared her down.

  "Bianca," Zoë said. "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again as they emerged into daylight for a moment.

  "We need to change trains," Percy said, his hand grasping at Judith's hoodie to help pull her up. She swatted him away like a pesky fly. "Next station."

  The next half hour was filled with jumping from train to train. The daughter of Ares thought they were being a bit dramatic. They had lost the helicopter three rides ago, she was sure of it. But of course, Zoë was thorough and had to take extra ( unnecessary ) precautions.

  They eventually found themselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. Judith pulled her hoodie tighter around herself as snow flurries lightly sprinkled around them. She watched Percy put on his Nemean Lion jacket and snickered at how ridiculous he looked.

  He stuck out his tongue like the mature guy he was.

  They wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years. Between all the tracks, in a secluded clearing, a homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire, warming up his hands. Judith grimaced at his toothless grin as he noticed them standing around.

  "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!'

  Despite all their hesitance, they shared the barrel. Thalia's teeth were chattering as she said, "Well this is g-g-g-great."

  "My hooves are frozen —" Grover complained. Judith kicked him for the slip up but soon regretted it and bit her lip till it hurt more than her foot did, making it bleed.

  "Feet," Percy corrected, watching as Judith's hands clenched at her sides. He could see the hidden pain in her eyes as she stared deep into the fire pit and nursed her bottom lip. His cheeks warmed as he looked away with a blink ( he was still mad over the spat they had earlier, that was it ).

  "Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca said. "Chiron —"

  "No," Zoë said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

  "And where do you suppose we go from here, Miss Independent?" Judith asked, pointedly gesturing around them — no cities in sight. Zoë only glanced at her then stuck her nose away in the air like a pompous princess.

  "You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled. "You kids need a train going west?"

  "Yes, sir," Percy said, using his manners. "You know of any?"

  He pointed one greasy hand at a freight train. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

  "That's ... convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh ..."

  They all looked back at the trash can but the homeless man was gone and so was the fire. Their teeth all started to chatter again simultaneously at the absence of heat.

  "Is this safe?" Bianca asked un surely as they trudged over to the train.

  "Unless Miss Independent has a better idea, this is the best option we got," Judith told her as she walked past. Percy had already gotten up onto the first track and offered a hand out to her. Almost like habit now, she hit it away before getting up herself. But this time around, she had an injured foot to think about so it took longer than expected. She could faintly hear Percy laugh at her strained movements and scowled, feeling her pride get knocked down a few notches.

  An hour later and they were rumbling west.

  All the kids got their own cars to just huddle up in.

  Zoë and Bianca were crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Grover was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. Thalia and Judith fought over the black Mercedes for a few minutes before getting cold out in the open and just decided to share. They wrapped themselves up in their extra hoodies and down blankets that they'd packed away.

  A few minutes after getting settled, Percy rapped on the driver side window where Judith sat and she looked at him questionably, blinking.

'Open the door,' he mouthed through the glass. She shrugged and pointed to her ear, jokingly pretending not to understand to keep him out in the cold and away from her. The boy rolled his eyes and just climbed in the back seat.

  "I was going to ask politely, but you left me no choice," he muttered.

  "Uh, you had the choice to not come here," Judith pointed out as she purposefully reclined her seat into his knees.

  "Hey!" He cried and tried to push back but it had already locked into position. "I can barely breathe back here."

  Judith could see Thalia rolling her eyes, already getting annoyed with their constant bickering, but Judith couldn't stop. "There's fresh air outside, now goodbye." She looked at him through the rear view mirror and he was staring right back.

  Percy rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to be friendly, since I've been such a pain to you in the past, apparently."

  "Well, don't," She shrugged. "You will never be more than a pain."

  Thalia huffed. "You two have major issues. I'm going to go hotwire another car to play some music, hopefully it'll drown out your talking." She opened the door and climbed out, peeking her head in after. "Don't bother me."

  Percy took his chance and tried to scramble into the passenger seat. "Ugh, my birthing hips are too big for this," he said as he got caught multiple times.

  Judith fought the amused smirk that tried to take over her face at his comment and pushed him fully into his seat, seeing him smack his head on the dash.

  "Oops," She said in mock sympathy.

  He rubbed at his head as he righted himself. "I am very much hurt."

  Judith narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't know what hurt even means."

  She saw him glance down at her foot, hidden by the gas pedal. "Sorry," he said.

  Judith looked out the windshield and up a level to the two Hunters' car. "I don't need your apology."

  "I'm sure she didn't mean it," Percy said.

  "I don't care if she meant it or not," Judith crossed her arms. "She still shot me."

  Percy debated on what he wanted to say, knowing the smallest thing would set her off. "Do you get mad every single time one of your brothers or sisters hurts you?"

  Judith stared him crossly in the eye. "Yes. And then I get payback."

  Percy smacked his forehead. "Let's refrain from revenge. You would have done the same thing if someone was just following you around everywhere. She was just protecting them."

  Judith didn't answer, knowing he had caught her there. She would have done the same thing. Out of everyone she knew, she had the worst impulse control. She would have let her sword arm fly if she thought somebody was following her back.

  "Don't try to be smart, it doesn't suit you," Judith said instead, doing her best to be insulting. Maybe he'd leave to find some other car.

  "Well, someone's got to since —"

  "— Annabeth's not here to do it," Judith finished. "I know."

  "We're going to find her," he said, trying to convince himself, most likely. The declaration lingered in the quiet car as they reclined in their respective seats.

  "Did Thalia tell you where we're headed?" Judith asked after a bit and he shook his head. "San Francisco. Artemis was headed there."

  "What's so bad about that place, anyway?"

  Judith shrugged. "The Mist is like fog there, it's so thick because of the Mountain of Despair. Monsters can just get away with anything there."

  "What's the Mountain of Despair?" Percy turned to her, finally getting answers.

  "I actually don't know. Thalia didn't want to talk about it and I've never heard of it in lessons," she admitted. She looked out the window again, but this time, something caught her eye.

  A blur of a city. It wouldn't have been too eye catching but it was a whole city in one second.

  "Percy, how fast are we moving?" She sat up.

  He also looked outside and noticed the same thing, a whole state practically flying by them in minutes.

  Judith's hand flew to her belt when a voice piped up in the backseat. The two teenagers looked back to see the hobo from earlier. Well, the hobo that was a god in disguise.

  "An easy trick," he said, his teeth still grossing Judith out.

  The two teenagers didn't answer, their eyes shifting between each other and the hobo.

  "The kids stare at me
    Pondering the cool train
    I say you're welcome."

  "Apollo," both Judith and Percy conclude at the same time.

  The man placed a finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."

  "A god named Fred?" Percy asked.

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

  "You're here to help then," Judith drew up.

  "Who do you think tricked out the train, sweetie?"

  Percy took one look at Judith's face, sure that she would pop him right on the nose for the nickname so he instead asked his question. "How fast are we going?"

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

  "But where is Artemis?"

  His 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."

  "The Mist?" Judith asked, managing to calm down enough to not break his teeth, but she still had a sneer.

  "Something like that." He shrugged, almost nonchalantly, but anyone with eyes could see his shoulders were tense and his eyes were shifty and anxious.

  "What about Annabeth?" Percy asked then.

  He frowned. "Oh, you mean that girl you guys lost? Hmm. I don't know."

  Judith gripped the steering wheel. She wouldn't hit a god. She wouldn't hit a god. Percy seemed to be thinking the same thing as his breathing hitched but he had more control.

  "What about the monster Artemis was seeking?" He asked next. "Do you know what it is?"

  "No," Apollo said. "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 what you're saying is," Judith growled out, "you don't know."

  Apollo checked his watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! And when you return, I expect a good haiku about your journey! Oh, and Miss Judith, someone has a message for you." His face turned serious at his last comment and she narrowed her eyes.

  And then he snapped his fingers. And just like that Judith felt herself pulled into a deep sleep.

  Judith couldn't comprehend the scene at first. It looked like the sea and sky had switched places. The dark gray clouds were almost blue as they rolled like stormy waves, crashing into the side of the mountain in front of her. The ground felt unstable, like the tectonic played were at work beneath her, moving about, colliding with each other.

  Gathering her bearings, she looked around, hand finding her belt soothingly. She wasn't weaponless.

  There was a booming voice from beside her and the girl spun to face the man who had spoken. But she didn't need to see him to know who it was. Something was igniting in her just by being in his proximity..

  She had never seen him up close, personally. The only time she'd gotten a glimpse was last year when he was cracking down on Clarisse for her quest. Her father.

  He was bigger than she remembered, but maybe that was just because he was trying to scare her. It was working. "You've made a real statement comin' out here."

  His tone implied he wasn't mad about it, but his voice was never joyful, so Judith didn't want to assume anything. She also didn't want to talk, not when her words would only be used against her.

  "Silent, huh? I'm trying to help you here," he gruffed and Judith straightened out. "It'd be a shame to lose another one of my children while Clarisse is out of commission. She would have been my first pick for this quest."

  Judith crossed her arms. "I'm doing just as good as she would have done."

  "And that arrow to the foot is proof of that, right?" Ares chuckled. Judith looked away from his void-like sunglasses, hiding the fiery pits of hell that sat behind them.

  "That wasn't a monster, it was Zoë Knightshade," Judith grumbled.

  "That's even worse," Ares growled. "I'm expecting big things from you. You've taken on this task and now you need to succeed, not just for yourself, but for me." Judith breathed deeply. "Those skeletons, they won't die with just your normal sword. They die by fire."

  Judith nodded. She could buy a lighter as soon as possible.

  Ares took off his sunglasses and hooked them on his shirt, his eyes downcast. Just in case, Judith looked away from the blazing irises, knowing they'd turn her to ash with one glimpse. They were already burning her skin like searing coals. "Give me your sword."

  Judith looked down at her belt and pulled it out to form her blade with a few clicks. She stepped closer without raising her gaze to hand it over. She watched his hands graze the edge and Judith could visibly see it turning a deep orange with heat.

  "Don't knick yourself with this, you'll die instantly," Ares said, his voice grave.

  "Wasn't planning on it," Judith mumbled and she could feel him stare at her.

  "You got a lot of nerve talkin' to me like that," he handed the sword back and Judith could just feel the coil of energy hidden within, vibrating her hand with excitement, ready to kill some skeletons. She held onto it tightly, getting used to the surge of power at her fingertips.

  "You have a lot of nerve taking 14 years to talk to me," Judith said back and looked back at his face once she knew his sunglasses were back.

  Ares grimaced, his teeth peeking through his parted mouth. "You should be grateful I'm even here. I could let you and your posse suffer with those skeletons. Don't mess this up."

  And with that Judith could feel herself jerk awake.

NOTES;
VERY LONG, VERY BAD. VERY SORRY

edited : 07 / 14 / 2020