LUNACY; percy jackson

03.11

[act three; chapter eleven     -     storm]

They were crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter, Donnie pulling Thalia back when she didn't see it. 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. "We have to ditch it."

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

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

Donnie shook his head, his dark curls bouncing with the movement. "They probably think it's one of theirs."

"Mercenaries," Zoë 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. "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."

Thalia couldn't help but look at Andromeda, who out of all of them, understood changing the perception of mortals.

She sighed and looked out the window, "I don't know. It could go either way. It could be an actual helicopter and they would see it as attacking us or following. But...this has another type of power at work, it could—I don't know." She turned back to them, "But Zoë's right. Humans, mortals, they can be worse than us, monsters, gods, titans. It doesn't matter. We're all terrible. We've all done terrible things one way or another."

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?"