They were crossing the Potomac when the group spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one they'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward them. 

"They know the van," Percy said urgently. "We have to ditch it." 

Zoe swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.

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

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Finley said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?" 

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "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 asked with furrowed brows. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?" 

Zoe 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 coming, making a lot better time than they were through D.C. traffic. Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. 

"Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?" 

But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm. 

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!" 

"We'll be trapped," Zoe said. 

"Trust me," Bianca said. 

Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. The group left the van and followed Bianca down the steps. 

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

"Anything," Thalia agreed. 

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them. 

Grover let out a sigh. 

"Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway." 

Bianca looked pleased. "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 sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?" 

Bianca nodded. 

Finley remembers Annabeth telling her about the architecture in D.C. and the subway stations. There was no way it's that new. She remembers Annabeth saying it was made decades before their birth. 

Bianca is younger than them. 

"Bianca," Zoe said. "How long ago..." 

Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again. 

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

For the next half hour, the group only thought of getting to safety. They changed their trains twice. 

Unfortunately, when they finally got off the train, that was it. There wasn't another train. It was nothing but industrial area with nothing except warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder here.

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. 

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. They must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!' 

They huddled around his fire, Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-ggreat."

 "My hooves are frozen," Grover complained. 

"Feet," Percy corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy. 

"I'm sorry," Finley said, studying the homeless man. "Do I know you? You seem . . .familiar."

He was familiar to Finley. She couldn't explain why he was, but he was. 

She might have imagined it, but he winked at her. 

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

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

Finley gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Annabeth was in danger. Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And they were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless person's fire. 

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

"Yes, sir," Percy spoke. "You know of any?" 

He pointed one greasy hand with a glare at the black-haired boy. 

Suddenly the group noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. 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..." 

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of us was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him. 

An hour later they were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because they all got our own luxury car. Zoe and Bianca were crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Grover was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rockstations from D.C. Finley was asleep in a red Mercedes SLK with her feet curled into her chest as she listened to music. 

"Join you?" Percy asked Thalia. 

She shrugged, so he climbed into the shotgun seat. The radio was playing the White Stripes. He knew the song because it was one of the only CDs he owned that his mom liked. She said it reminded her of Led Zeppelin. 

"Nice coat," Thalia told him. 

He pulled the brown duster around him, thankful for the warmth. 

"Yeah, but the Nemean Lion wasn't the monster we're looking for." 

"Not even close. We've got a long way to go." 

"Whatever this mystery monster is, the General said it would come for you. They wanted to isolate you from the group, so the monster will appear and battle you one-on-one." 

"He said that?" 

"Well, something like that. Yeah." 

"That's great. I love being used as bait." Thalia said sarcastically. 

"No idea what the monster might be?"She shook her head morosely. 

"But you know where we're going, don't you? San Francisco. That's where Artemis was heading." 

Percy remembered something Annabeth had said at the dance: how her dad was moving to San Francisco, and there was no way she could go. Half-bloods couldn't live there. 

"Why?" he asked. "What's so bad about San Francisco?" 

"The Mist is really thick there because the Mountain of Despair is so near. Titan magic—what's left of it—still lingers. Monsters are attracted to that area like you wouldn'tbelieve." 

"What's the Mountain of Despair?" 

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know? Ask stupid Zoe. She's the expert."

She glared out the windshield. Percy wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but he also didn't want to sound like an idiot. He hated feeling like Thalia knew more than he did, so he kept his mouth shut. 

The afternoon sun shone through the steel-mesh side of the freight car, casting a shadow across Thalia's face. Percy thought about how different she was from Zoe—Zoe all formal and aloof like a princess, Thalia with her ratty clothes and her rebel attitude. But there was something similar about them, too. The same kind of toughness. Right now, sitting in the shadows with a gloomy expression, Thalia looked a lot like one of the Hunters. 

Then suddenly, it hit him: "That's why you don't get along with Zoe." 

Thalia frowned. "What?" 

"The Hunters tried to recruit you," Percy guessed. 

Her eyes got dangerously bright. He thought she was going to zap him out of the Mercedes, but she just sighed. 

"I almost joined them," she admitted. "Luke, Finny, Annabeth, and I ran into them once, and Zoe tried to convince me. She almost did, but..." 

"But?" 

Thalia's fingers gripped the wheel. "I would've had to leave Luke." 

 "Oh." 

"Zoe and I got into a fight. She told me I was being stupid. She said I'd regret my choice. She said Luke would let me down someday."

Percy watched the sun through the metal curtain. We seemed to be traveling faster each second—shadows flickering like an old movie projector. 

"That's harsh," he said. "Hard to admit Zoe was right." 

"She wasn't right! Luke never let me down. Never." 

"We'll have to fight him," Percy said. "There's no way around it." 

Thalia didn't answer. 

"You haven't seen him lately," he warned. "I know it's hard to believe, but—" 

"I'll do what I have to." 

"Even if that means killing him?" 

"Do me a favor," she said. "Get out of my car." 

Just as he was about to leave, Thalia spoke. 

"Percy." When he looked back, her eyes were red, but he couldn't tell if it was from anger orsadness. "Finley wants to join the Hunters, too. Maybe you should think about why." 

***

Finley woke up surrounded by bright light. Everything was white, no aspect of color. Just plain white. 

Then, in a distance, a figure was emerging. They were tall with sandy blonde hair, but it was hard for Finley to see even as she squinted. 

"Finny," Luke grinned softly. 

Instinctually, she moved for her sword, but found her ring gone. 

"Now, now, Finny," he said sadly. "There isn't a need for weapons."

"Where's Annabeth?"

"Safe."

"Held hostage?" Finley suggest. "Held the sky for a while. Probably bleeding to her death."

"You really think that low of me?" Luke asked offended. "You used to think so highly of me."

"You're right. I used to." Finley hissed. "Now you're nothing more than a backstabbing bitch with daddy issues."

"Ouch," Luke held a hand over his heart. "Finny-"

"Don't call me that," she growled. "You lost that right."

"Finley," he began. "I'm disappointed in you."

"Okay," she said, clearly not caring. 

"You can't see the bigger picture. The end game," Luke presisted. 

"What end game? The one where everyone goes 'Another One Bites The Dust' and just go into the Soul Stone," Finley sassed. "Or Kronos's plan for world domination?"

"Neither," Luke informed. "Kronos doesn't want 'world domination'."

"You. Are. Insane."

"No, I'm not," Luke crossed his strong arms over his chest. 

"Lu," Finley began, using the old nickname she has for him. "We are talking about the titan that ate his own children."

"What he has planned for humanity-"

"What? Cannabalism?"

"No. He plans to end world hunger." Luke reasoned. "A world without poverty."

This, of course, was a complete lie. However, Kronos wanted Finley on his side. 

Finley pursed her lips and crossed her arms. 

"You can finally be more than Percy Jackson's Side Kick," Luke stated. "You can finally be who you are meant to be. You can change the world. You don't have to worry about being looked down upon by everyone at camp."

Finley didn't move. 

"You can be a queen, Finny."

"I already am."

Despite the words leaving Finley's mouth, she doubted it. She hated how intriguing Luke's offer was. She hated how much she wished to take it. 

"What do you say, Finny?" Luke held out his hand. "Join me. Join me and be great. Join the winning side."

Finley never gave her response because she woke up. 

***

"Sunny?" Percy shook Finley in attempts of waking her. 

She hummed in acknowledgment. 

"The train has stopped," he said softly. "We need to go."

They'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs ofthe cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny. 

As they walked, Percy told Grover and Finley about his conversation with Apollo the night before—how he'd told him to seek out Nereus in San Francisco. 

Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first." 

The group had a huge deadline looming, aside from saving Artemis in time for her council of the gods. The General had said Annabeth would only be kept alive until the winter solstice. That was Friday, only four days away. And he'd said something about asacrifice. Finley didn't like the sound of that at all. 

They stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: aschool, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store. 

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No wayout."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover. 

"Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good." 

"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper." 

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Finny, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions." 

As they walked, Finley was lost in thought. Her dream conversation thing remained in her mind. 

She could finally be something valuable. She could be more than someone's sidekick. She could help make the world great. She could change the world. 

She hated Luke for abandoning her. But if his reason was to make the world great, she might reconsider. He went against the Gods to end poverty. To end racism. To find a cure to cancer. To make the world a better place. 

She would do anything to do that. 

But something (or someone) was holding her back.

Something was tethering her from dropping this quest and running to help Luke. 

Percy ran into a pole, falling to the snow-covered ground. 

"Good job, Seaweed Brain," Finley snorted as she helped him up. "Did you just . . .not see the ginormous pole in front of you?"

Percy scowled and rubbed his head. 

"I swear on my father that pole was not there before," he said begrudgingly. 

"Whatever you claim."

Inside the store, they found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car. 

"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars." 

The clerk looked so lonely, Percy bought a rubber rat. Then they headed back outside and stood on the porch. 

"That was fantastic," Finley huffed sarcastically. "Totally didn't want some mac and cheese cups."

"Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in theother shops has a suggestion." 

"But the clerk said—"

"I know," Thalia told Percy. "I'm checking anyway." 

"Honestly!" Finley ranted. "What type of grocery store doesn't sell mac and cheese cups?"

"I don't know, Sunny," Percy frowned.

"Well, I'm going to walked down the street like Thals," Finley declared as she marched in the opposite direction.

Percy let her go. He knew how it felt to be restless. All half-bloods had attention deficitproblems because of their inborn battlefield reflexes. They couldn't stand just waiting around. 

Bianca and Percy stood together awkwardly. 

"Nice rat," she said at last. He set it on the porch railing. Maybe it would attract more business for the store. 

"So... how do you like being a Hunter so far?" Percy asked the newest addition to the Hunters of Artemis. 

She pursed her lips. "You're not still mad at me for joining, are you?" 

"Nah. Long as, you know... you're happy." 

"I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality." 

Percy stared at her, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before, more at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cap anymore. She kept her hair tied back, and she looked him right in the eyes when she spoke. With a shiver, Percy realized that five hundred or a thousand years from now, Bianca di Angelo would look exactly the same as she did today. She might be having a conversation like this with some other half-blood long after he was dead, but Bianca would still look twelve years old. 

"Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured. She looked at me like she wanted assurance it was okay. 

"He'll be all right," Percy assured. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Annabeth and Finley." 

Bianca nodded. "I hope we find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friends like you and Finny." 

"Lot of good it did her." 

"Don't blame yourself Percy. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You're a good guy." 

The compliment took him by surprise. "Even though I knocked you down in capture the flag?" 

She laughed. "Okay. Except for that, you're a good guy." 

A couple hundred yards away, Grover and Zoe came out of the coffee shop loaded down with pastry bags and drinks.

"So what's the story with you and Nico?" Percy asked Bianca. "Where did you go to school before Westover?" 

She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago." 

"You never lived with your parents? I mean, your mortal parent?" 

"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school." 

"Why?" 

She knit her brows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks. And then... I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover." 

It was a strange story. Then again, Bianca and Nico were half-bloods. Nothing would be normal for them. 

"So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" Percy asked. "Just the two of you?" 

She nodded. "That's why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish, but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico—don't get me wrong—I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day." 

"Zoe seems to trust you," Percy said. "What were you guys talking about, anyway—something dangerous about the quest?" 

"When?" 

"Yesterday morning on the pavilion," he said before Percy could stop himself. "Something about the General." 

Her face darkened. "How did you... The invisibility hat. Were you eavesdropping?" 

"No! I mean, not really. I just—" 

Percy was saved from trying to explain when Zoe and Grover arrived with the drinks and pastries. Hot chocolate for Bianca, Finley, who had returned, and Percy. Coffee for them. Percy got a blueberry muffin, and it was so good he could almost ignore the outraged look Bianca was giving him. 

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe said. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?" 

"Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to—" 

He froze. Percy was about to ask what was wrong, when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning. Zoe gasped. 

"Grover, thy cup."Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves. Percy's rubber rat squeaked. It scampered off the railing and into the trees—real fur, real whiskers.  

Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. The group gathered around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering. 

"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just... What's wrong with Grover?" 

"I don't know," Finley said. "He collapsed." 

Grover groaned. 

"Well, get him up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."

The group made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes. They drew their handguns. 

Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into me. Percy drew Riptide and Finley brought out Light Bringer. Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept swooning and leaning against her. 

"Back up," Thalia said. The group started to—but then Finley heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind us. They were surrounded. 

"Well," Finley sassed. "So much for a calming vacation in New Mexico."

One of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it. Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone. 

The skeletons had split up to look for them. These skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon they'd have a full party on their hands. 

"It's near," Grover moaned. 

"It's here," Percy said. 

"No," he insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild." 

Grover was in no shape to walk. He definitely wasn't in shape to fight. 

"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia said. "Four of them. Five of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover that way." 

"Agreed," said Zoe. 

"The Wild!" Grover moaned. 

A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but Finley kept her eyes on the skeletons. She was hesitant to attack at first. 

What if she was fighting against the side that actually meant to do good?

Percy charged. 

Finley doesn't know how, but he deflected to bullet with his sword. 

The skeleton drew a baton to attack Percy. Finley leaped forward, slicing off the skeleton's arms at the elbows. Then she swung Light Bringer through his waist and cut him in half. His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. 

Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at her and tried to fire, but Percy knocked his gun into the snow. He thought he was doing pretty well until the other two skeletons shot him in the back. 

"Percy!" Finley screamed. 

He landed face-first in the snow . . .but he wasn't dead. 

The Nemean Lion's fur! 

His coat was bulletproof. 

Finley charged the second skeleton. Zoe and Bianca started firing arrows at the third and fourth. Grover stood there and held his hands out to the trees, looking like he wanted to hug them. 

There was a crashing sound in the forest to their left, like a bulldozer. Maybe the skeletons reinforcements were arriving. 

Percy got to his feet and ducked a police baton. 

The skeleton Finley had cut in half was already fully re-formed, coming after her. 

There was no way to stop them. Zoe and Bianca fired at their heads point-blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. One lunged at Bianca, and she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge. 

"How did you do that?" Zoe asked. 

"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?" 

"Well, do it again!" 

Bianca tried, but the remaining three skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed the group back, keeping the, at baton's length. 

"Plan?" Percy said as they retreated.

Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were cracking. 

"A gift," Grover muttered.

And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig Finley has ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry. 

"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed and raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. The force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere. 

Then the pig turned on them. 

Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it.'" 

The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge. 

"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill it." 

"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!" 

The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. 

Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. Percy had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar TuskExpress. 

"Yeah, I feel blessed!" Finley sassed. 

"Scatter!" Percy shouted.  

They ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused. 

"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said. 

"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"

"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked exasperatedly. 

"Maybe we tame it!" Percy suggested. 

"I don't have the time to tame a wid boar!" Finley sassed. "I barely have time to understand what the hell my Spanish teacher is saying!"

"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him. But Thalia, Percy, and Finley won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on them, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. 

Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives, Finley thought to herself.

The boar charged them. 

They only managed to keep ahead of it because they ran uphill, and they could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plow through them. On the other side of the hill, Percy found an old stretch of train tracks, half-buried in the snow. 

"This way.'" he grabbed Thalia's arm and they ran along the rails while the boar roared behind them, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves just were not made for this, thank the gods. 

Ahead of them, Percy saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. 

Finley had a crazy idea. "Follow me!" 

Thalia slowed down—they didn't have time to ask why—but Percy pulled her along and she reluctantly followed. Behind them, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased us. The trio ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side. 

"No!" Thalia screamed.She'd turned as white as ice. They were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below. The boar was right behind them. 

"Come on!" Finley urged. "It'll hold our weight . . .Probably." 

"I can't!" Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear. The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed. 

"Now!" Percy yelled at Thalia. She looked down and swallowed. Percy swore she was turning green. 

Percy didn't have time to process why. The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight toward them. 

"Time for Plan B," Finley told Percy. 

He nodded and tackled Thalia, sending them both sideways off the edge of the bride, into the side of the mountain. They slid on Aegis like a snow-board, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. 

Finley found a metal board. Seeing as it was the best she was gonna get, she road it like a snowboard down the hill. 

Fun fact, Finley actually loved snowboarding and she was good at it. 

The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snow drift with a huge POOOOOF! 

Thalia and Percy skidded to a stop. They were both breathing hard. Percy was cut up and bleeding. Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to them, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All Percy could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either. Percy looked at Thalia. 

"You're afraid of heights." Now that they were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look. 

"Don't be stupid." 

"That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it." 

She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell anyone, I swear—" 

"No, no," Percy began quickly. "That's cool. It's just... the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky,afraid of heights?"

She was about to knock him into the snow when, above them, Grover's voice called, "Helloooooo?" 

"Down here!" Finley shouted as she appeared beside the two.  

A few minutes later, Zoe, Bianca, and Grover joined the trio. They stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow. 

"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated. 

"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it." 

"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing." 

Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?" 

"Fun," Percy nodded. "Like... pig cowboys." 

"We need to get aboard. I wish... I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now." Grover confirmed.

"What's gone?" Finley asked.

Grover didn't seem to hear her. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it. 

"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great." 

She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the other four.

Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar. 

 "Wait a second," Percy said. "Do you two know what Grover is talking about—this wild blessing?" 

"Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong... I never thought I would sense that presence again." 

"What presence?" 

She stared at me like Percy was an idiot. "The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."

Percy stood in shock. 

Finley grabbed his elbow before guiding him to the pig. 

"Come on, Seaweed Brain. Let's go horseback riding on the prehistoric wild boar."