chapter V

🌷 The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, their train rolled into Denver. They were hungry and in desperate need of a shower, which Daphne was sure was extremely clear. The three hadn't showered since they had left Camp Half-Blood, and Daphne couldn't remember the last time she had showered since crawling on the streets.

Annabeth had vocalised the idea to contact camp first, but it had been in Daphne's head since she heard Luke was there. She missed her old friends sorely, though it had only been a week since she'd seen them from her own eyes.

There was nothing to ever prepare you to miss five years of your life. To think that you died, only to wake up as though it was all a coma. For everything to be the same, but different. For nothing to have changed, but carry a sense unfamiliarity she was sure she wouldn't get used to soon.

Everyone moved on, but she stayed there. Imprisoned in stone as her friends aged without her.

She wondered if she'd recognise Luke, and wondered if he'd remember her. Something in her heart ached knowing that Thalia wouldn't be on the receiving end of the call.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth commanded. "We need to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

"We can't use phones, right?" Percy asked cluelessly.

"She's not talking about phones." Daphne explained unhelpfully.

They wandered through downtown for about half an hour, too exhausted to talk. Percy still looked as though he wasn't sure what Annabeth was looking for. The air was dry and hot, which felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Everywhere they turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at them, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.

Finally they came across an empty do-it-yourself car wash. They veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes open for patrol cars. They were  four kids hanging out at a car wash without a car; the perfect look of suspicious behaviour. Their dirty and ragged clothes didn't help present them with any favours.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."

"Daphne?" Grover turned to her.

"I've got a five year old stick of gum and a receipt for Medusa's statues." she shrugged. No drachmas there.

Percy fished out my last bit of change and passed Grover a quarter, which left him two nickels and one
drachma from Medusa's place.

"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?"

He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."

"Instant messaging?"

"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"

Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."

Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.

Annabeth held her palm out to Percy. "Drachma, please."

He handed it over and Daphne started to feel queasy.

Annabeth raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."

She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer.

"Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then she was looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. They seemed to be on the porch of the Big House, a place three of them recognised but Daphne was still a stranger to. Standing with his back to them at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.

Daphne didn't know how she knew, but it was Luke. And suddenly the queasy feeling in her stomach made her feel so incredibly ill.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

"Luke!" Percy called.

He turned, eyes wide. Daphne could swear he was standing three feet in front of her through a screen of mist, except she could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow.

She slipped out of view before he could take her in. From the side, she shook her head at their inquisitive looks.

"Percy!" His scarred face broke into a grin. "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

His voice carried as Daphne backed away from the Iris message. She could hardly handle seeing Annabeth grow from a kid to be her own age, she wasn't sure how to take in Luke surpassing her in years. She already decided to handle her problems by ignoring them, and speaking to Luke would be too hard to explain to him, anyway.

Just then, as though her prayers for an excuse had been answered, a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hard rock. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much it shook the pavement.

"Chiron had to-what's that noise?" Luke yelled.

"I'll take care of it.'" Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight. "Grover, come on!"

"What?" Grover said. "But-"

"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered.

Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi, handed him the spray gun and followed Annabeth. Daphne mouthed him a 'sorry' and followed behind them.

"I don't know wh-" Daphne started nervously.

"It's okay." Grover interrupted her with the kind Protector smile he always wore whenever she cried. "You don't have to explain-"

He was interrupted by the car turning its music up louder. Grover kept speaking, but all Daphne saw was mouthed words which she was sure would've been comforting if she could hear them. Annabeth strode past them and knocked furiously on the car window.

The man inside jumped as though he hadn't expected to be interrupted. He waved her away angrily and Annabeth had to knock again, louder this time.

This time, he rolled down the window and yelled over the music, "The hell do you want, you damn kid? I ain't got any money-"

"Can you turn your music down?" Annabeth shouted back, but Daphne had heard her scream louder than that before. A lot. She was purposefully speaking quietly. Daphne smirked from where the guy couldn't see her and Grover standing.

"Huh?" the guy in the car yelled back.

"Your music!" Annabeth said, even quieter this time. She was miming something with her hands, and Daphne knew that it was just utter rubbish.

The guy leaned out of the window, a big bushy moustache coming into view. "The hell are you saying, kid? Speak up!"

"Your music," Annabeth said calmly. "Your -" she mimed something unintelligible betweeen every word. "Music - turn - down -"

Daphne pushed herself forward into view when the guy was just not getting what she was saying. This dude seemed pretty committed to his rock bands - he wore a printed t-shirt and had about a thousand CDs littered around his car.

"What's going on here?" she demanded, shouting above the music enough so that he could hear her.

"This freak show isn't leaving me alone!" he shouted, waving angrily in Annabeth's direction. "Talking about some-"

His rock band hit a guitar riff, and the rest of his speech was lost in translation. When the fuming man had finished. Daphne nodded her head as though she knew exactly what he said.

"Need me to sort her out for you?" she yelled back,"Your music sucks." she added quietly.

The guy frowned, "What?"

"Turn your music down!" she screamed back.

Finally, he seemed to get the hint. Annabeth had done the work in getting him annoyed, and Daphne was about to cash in on it. He reached forward and turned his music down less so it didn't shake the walls, but it still made Daphnes ears ache.

"Listen, you either need to turn your music off or turn around and find a different car wash!" Annabeth commanded him, crossing her arms in that threatening child of Athena way she did.

The guy inside didn't seem to feel the same intimidation Daphne and Grover would. Instead, he laughed right in her face. "Oh yeah? And how you gonna make me?"

Annabeth's eyes flashed dangerously, and Daphne hastily stepped in. "Listen, ah, our brother over here -" she grabbed Grover and pulled him into frame. He gulped. " - he's sick. Like, really sick, and while our parents are washing the car the music is too loud for his poor, frail ears-"

"Yeah yeah, that's too bad!" he yelled back. "Go back to your own car and maybe it'll be quieter over there, heh?"

Before any of them could react, Annabeth had reached into the car and twisted the dial to the radio, switching off the music completely.

"What the hell, kid?!" he shouted, looking like he'd reach for her if she hadn't slithered out too fast for him to catch. "What was that for, huh?'

"Wait - just look!" Daphne pointed at Grover. "Look, Grunt. Show him your diseased foot!"

Grover looked at her reproachfully as though he was saying, seriously? Still, he reached his leg up and kicked off his shoe, showing the rock music guy his fake foot which looked swollen and too overly-large for his proportions.

"See?" she said, pulling her best sympathy face and pointing at Grover's weird fake foot. "He's so ill, and your music is hurting a poor child."

The rock lover got out of his car and slammed the door in a way which would've been threatening if he didn't reach five-foot-nothing. "Get out of the way or get splashed!" he threatened them, unhooking the nozzle from the wall and going to wash his car.

"Keep your music off then!" Annabeth snarled. If there was one thing she hated, it was being patronised by people she knew she was smarter than.

He turned back at them with a deep glare in his eye and started on them angrily. "Listen up, punks-"

He took a mean step forward and didn't finish his sentence. Because just as he did, Grover had stumbled backwards and his fake foot went flying off, exposing his full goats hoof.

Annabeth and Daphne's mouthes hung open as they stared at the hoof, to each other, to the guy who was backing away from them like they were circus freaks.

"What the hell?" he whispered to himself, before gathering himself together and holding up the water nozzle like a protective weapon. "Who the hell are you people, huh? Stay back!"

"We-" Annabeth started. Before she could come up with any explanation, the music guy pulled the trigger and doused all three of them in water.

Daphne opened her eyes as she gasped for air just in time to see him drop the nozzle and scramble back into his car. He slipped a few times on the water, but ultimately managed to make it to his car and pull out, speeding away without putting his seatbelt on.

A couple of seconds passed as they took in what had just occurred. Then, Annabeth's little giggles started the rest of them off, howling with laughter, clutching their stomachs. The mist usually made mortals see Greek things differently to help conceal their world, so Daphne wondered what the guy saw in order to be so horrified of them.

They walked back to their station, still choking on laughter when they found Percy standing as the Iris message shimmered away. He looked pale, and they immediately quieted to ask what was wrong.

"Nothing," he forced a smile. "Why don't we find something to eat?"

Daphne wanted to question him, but her stomach was growling loud enough for Camp to hear. They all agreed and left the self-washing station to find a roadside diner. On the way, Percy recounted what he and Luke had spoken about. Apparently, the tensions in Camp had never been so high. She could tell there were some things he was leaving out, but didn't want to put him on the spot by asking. If he was hiding it from them, there was good reason, she was sure of it.

Finally they found a diner which Daphne was too hungry to read the name of. The hunger was bearable before the smell of greasy fries and burgers invaded her senses, dizzying her mind already. They shuffled into a booth and the waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically at the four. "Well?"

Percy stuttered when he spoke, his jaw slack from the smell of burgers all around them. "We, um, want to order dinner."

"You kids have money to pay for it?"

Grover's lower lip quivered. Daphne was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum. Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger, and Daphne felt as though she was exactly the same. For the past few days, all she'd been eating was old bags of chips and granola. She needed greasy fries and a chicken burger.

Daphne looked to Percy as he tried to think up a sob story for the waitress when a rumble shook the whole building, a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant pulling up to the curb outside.

All conversation in the diner stopped. The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather-but leather that looked like ... well, Caucasian human skin.
Daphne shivered and sunk back into the diner booth, mortified at the sight.

He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face Daphne had ever seen- handsome, she supposed, but wicked-with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights.

As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She asked them again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"

The biker said, "It's on me." He slid into their booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth and Grover against the window. Daphne was silently counting her blessings that he didn't choose the side she and Percy were squished into.

The angry biker looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and snapped, "Are you still here?"

He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen.

The biker looked at Percy, almost as though the rest of them weren't there. She couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, but one look at Percy told her that all sorts of bad feelings started boiling in his stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. He looked like he wanted to hit a wall or pick a fight with somebody.

He gave Percy a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"

It clicked. Her sudden uncomfort which had nothing to do with her starvation, Percy's sudden anger and Grover not being able to hold back from chewing the napkins.

"What's it to you?" Percy shot back. He looked furious.

Annabeth's eyes flashed him a warning. "Percy, this-"

The biker raised his hand, and Annabeth instantly shut her mouth. Daphne sat up a little straighter.

"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

"You're Clarisse's dad," Percy realised. "Ares, god of war."

Daphne didn't know who Clarisse was, but decided that she didn't like her from the way Percy said her name. Ultimate hatred.

Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. Daphne avoided them. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."

"She was asking for it."

"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for-I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."

The waitress came back with heaping trays of food-cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes. Daphne's mouth hung open at the sight, instantly closing it so she wouldn't drool all over the table. She was used to feeling hungry, but she'd never seen such a feast in front of her while on the verge of starvation.

Ares handed her a few gold drachmas. She looked nervously at the coins. "But, these aren't..."

Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"

The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.

"You can't do that," Percy snapped at Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."

Daphne looked up from her burger guiltily. She was already half way through it, and hadn't even thought about not eating to take a moral stand.

But it tasted so good. She hadn't eaten warm food in what felt like years, and started to wonder if the waitress had brought enough food.

Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."

Annabeth and Daphne exchanged looks over their burgers. That was never a good sign.

"What favor could I do for a god?"

"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little ... date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."

Daphne coughed, glad that the fries were there to stifle her laugh. She didn't want to offend him, but she couldn't help it - her favourite stories about their mythology consisted of Ares and Aphrodite (the goddess of love) being caught red-handed on little dates, generally from the mastermind Hephaestus.

But she wasn't so lucky for Ares not to notice her. He turned to Daphne, and she tried not to shrink under his powerful glare. "Who're you then, demigod?"

"I'm Daphne." she stuttered. "I- I'm unclaimed. Gatecrashed the quest, yknow?"

"Never heard of you." Ares said simply.

Is that good or bad? Daphne quietly prayed it was a good thing. She was too starving to fight someone.

"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?" Percy snapped. Daphne seized up. The god of war was probably the worst one to antagonise so brashly.

The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter. "Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."

Percy looked like he wanted to punch this guy, but somehow, Daphne could tell he was waiting for that. Ares's power was causing his anger. He'd love it if he attacked, and Percy didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She sipped on her chocolate milkshake.

"We're not interested," he said. "We've already got a quest."

Ares's fiery eyes made Daphne see things she didn't want to see- blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield. She was trying to avoid his gaze, but it was almost as though his eyes were commanding everyone's to find his. "I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful ..." He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry. "Well ... if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."

"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"

"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."

"Thanks," Percy grumbled. It was obvious he didn't want to be laden with the pressure of saving the entire world from something that wasn't his fault. Daphne seriously believed there was nobody out in the world who would want that, but then she caught a glimpse of Annabeth and paused.

"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends." he added.

"We're doing fine on our own." Percy insisted. Daphne admired his stubbornness.

"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."

"My mom?" It caught his attention, and it caught Daphne's too.

She suddenly realised how little she knew about the quest she was partaking in. From what Annabeth and recounted to her, they had to retrieve a stolen Lightning Bolt and give it to Zeus before the entire world fell into war and chaos. But until she found out about Percy's father, she hadn't even questioned why the pressure was thrown onto his shoulders. And at the mention of his mother, Daphne was beginning to wonder if there were any ulterior motives.

Ares grinned with triumph, as though he just played his monopoly card. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

"What interrupted your date?" Percy challenged. "Something scare you off?"

Annabeth caught her breath as though expecting Percy to be pulverised. Daphne, who was sitting in the splash zone if that was to happen, shifted away from him slightly.

Ares bared his teeth, but Daphne could tell if he really was furious, he would've had more venom behind his eyes. There was something false about his growl, almost like he was nervous.

"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."

After that, Daphne felt as though she must've fainted, or fallen into a trance, because in the matter of a blink, Ares was gone. She might've thought the conversation had been a dream, but Percy and Annabeth's expressions told her otherwise.

"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good. Oh, gods, I'm panicking again, but I'm too tired to - blahhh! -"

Annabeth stuffed a cheeseburger in his mouth to stop him from bleating and alerting the entire diner that he was half goat.

Daphne stared out the window and saw that the motorcycle had disappeared. She shuddered at the memory of the sickly, flesh-coloured seat and scooched away from the window slightly.

Daphne didn't know what Percy's mom had to do with their quest, but the miserable look on his face made her think that it couldn't have been anything vindictive. "Ares must love to mess with people's feelings." she tried to convince him. "That's half his power - wars are started by people with loose emotions. Try not to listen to him too much."

"It's probably some kind of trick," Percy resigned, finally reaching over and grabbing some fries. "Forget Ares. Let's just go."

"We can't," Annabeth said, glancing around as though Ares was still hiding in the diner, wedged between the two old ladies taking their lunch. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."

Daphne looked down at her third cheeseburger, which suddenly didn't seem so appetizing. "Why does he need us?" she asked depressively. "Just sounds like more danger to stop us getting home."

Great, now she was homesick for a place she had never even reached. She wanted to curse Ares, but was afraid that he'd smite her where she sat.

"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," Annabeth said thoughtfully. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."

"But this water park ... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?" Grover asked anxiously, nibbling on some cutlery.

Annabeth and Daphne glanced nervously at each other.
Annabeth said, "I'm afraid we'll have to find out."

♡ ࿔･ﾟ𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆
🪷🫧🌷

   JUST realizing how crazy it is that percy actually fought a god. THE god of war. that's... so embarrassing. ares sucks

TUNNEL OF LOVE RIDE NEXT!!!!!! WOO?!?!