Do-over (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

25. One is lost in the land without rain

I got no dreams that night. I can't remember the last time I had a dreamless sleep.

The train had already stopped when I woke up. Like before, I found myself in a small town by the name of Cloudcroft in New Mexico. I was the last person out of the train.

'Took you long enough,' Thalia smirked. 'Did you have a good beauty sleep?'

I simply smirked back. 'Of course. How do you expect me to keep my face this amazing?'

Grover snorted and Thalia let out a soft chuckle. Bianca and Zoë rolled their eyes but had smiles nonetheless.

'You wish, Kelp Head.' Thalia punched my arm playfully.

I rubbed my arm with a fake pout, which elicited more chuckles and soft laughter. It was good to see my friends lighten up a little after what we've already been through.

Unfortunately, it's all going to be downhill from here.

I looked around the small town and took note of all the buildings and possible hiding places. The town was set in the mountains. I could see the snowy tips jutting out of the pine trees dotted around the valley, those trees casting shadows in the snow.

It took us a while to walk the half-mile from the train tracks to Main Road. The new lion-skin coat did nothing to protect me from the cold. I was chilled down to my bones and I could tell it was affecting my quest mates the same, if not worse.

'Okay,' Thalia said as she exhaled through her mouth, producing a white mist. 'Now that we're here, where do we go next?'

I locked eyes with Zoë for a split second. We both knew where the quest would take us: back to her old home. Back to the Garden of the Hesperides. We were the only two who knew, and it just didn't seem fair that the others didn't know where they were being led to. 

'San Fransisco,' Zoë said as she scanned our surroundings for the umpteenth time in the past twenty minutes. 'Milady Artemis is being held captive on Mount Othrys.'

Thalia looked at Grover, whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates. 

'The Mountain of Despair,' Thalia murmured. 'But that would mean-'

'She's holding the sky,' I said grimly. 

Our group descended into silence as the others pondered what that meant, that a goddess was being held captive under the heaviest thing in existence.

'So that's what that line in the prophecy means,' Bianca pondered. '"The Titan's curse must one withstand". Someone has to hold the sky to free Artemis.'

My back protested at the memory. Even though I was in my old body, I could feel the ache that was to come already. I just hope that I will be the one to hold the sky again. I couldn't let anyone else bear that godsforsaken burden. 

'We shall not discuss this any further,' Zoë said with finality. 'What we need to focus on now is how to get there.'

Cloudcroft, as quiet as it was, had something waiting for us. It was our way down the mountain and it was probably somewhere eating dirt. In the meantime, we had more important issues to deal with.

'Oh, hey. A coffeeshop,' I pointed out. 'Anybody want some hot chocolate?'

'Again?' Thalia rolled her eyes.

'It's cold,' I shrugged.

'Fine,' Zoë remarked as she surveyed the town once more. 'Grover and I shall collect the drinks. You three figure out how to get out of here.'

Mission accomplished. 

So I went with Thalia and Bianca around Cloudcroft. I twirled Riptide between my fingers absentmindedly as we went from shop to shop asking about a way out of this place. Thalia eventually left us to go find more information. I think it was because I bought the rubber rat. Maybe she was scared of rats.