Call to the Wild

167 8 2
                                    

Y/n's POV

"Guys, there's a helicopter following us," Percy alerted everyone as Zoe swerved into another lane. "They know the van. We have to ditch it."

"And go where?" I question. "They'll just follow us."

"There! That parking lot! Trust me," Bianca pleaded. Zoe whipped the van to the right, and we flew across traffic and into a small mall parking lot. When we exited the van, Bianca led us down a few sets of steps that led us underground. "Subway entrance. Lets go south. Alexandra."

Within no time, we all bought tickets and headed through the turnstiles. A few minutes later, we had safely boarded a southbound train. I let out a breath and slumped into me seat, glad to be out of harm's way. Quests tended to put you through the wringer, and this one was doing just that. 

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

"Yeah, well. I remembered that station from when Nico and I came through last summer. I was really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C.," Bianca mentioned. 

I frowned. "What? Bianca, that station looked really old."

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

"Wait a minute," Thalia interjected. "No subway at all? How long ago-" 

Percy cut Thalia off. "We need to change trains. Next station."

We ended up changing trains twice. By now, I had no idea where we were going, but I didn't care. As long as we got somewhere safe. Eventually, we reached the end of the train line, and we had to get off. The train stop was in an industrial area filled with nothing but warehouses and railroad tracks. Oh, and snow. Lots and lots of snow. I shivered and pulled my jacket closer, but it didn't do much to protect against the harsh weather. We wandered through the railway yard, which was just rows and rows of freight cars covered in snow. In the center of them all, a homeless man was standing in front of a trashcan fire.

"Y'all need to warm up? Come on over," the man urged.

"Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca suggested as we all gathered around the fire. 

Zoe shook her head. "They cannot help us any more. We must finish this quest ourselves."

"You know," the homeless man started. "You're never completely without friends. You kids need a train going west?" 

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

The man pointed a finger behind us, and when I turned around, I saw a new, gleaming freight train. It was carrying three different levels of vehicles, all in the safety of a train car with mesh curtains. The side of the car read "Sun West Line", a line I had never noticed before. I wanted to say thank you to the homeless man, but when I turned back around, he was gone. Everyone settled in their own cars, and I chose a bright red ford mustang. One of the old timey ones. I climbed into the driver's seat and threw my bag in the backseat before staring out at the horizon. The sun was going down, meaning I should have been getting some sleep, but I couldn't. All I could think about was what had happened at Westover Hall. What had happened to Annabeth. And usually, restless nights like this tended to bring the worst dreams.

"Don't be afraid of dreams," a voice lectured from next to me. I glanced over, and upon seeing the homeless guy, I wasn't surprised. "If it weren't for dreams, I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." 

"Hello, Apollo," I greet.

"You don't seem surprised to see me," Apollo noted.

"I learned to stop being surprised by things a long time ago," I claim. "So, let me guess. You're here to help with the quest. But you can't help. Not directly, anyways. I'm gonna assume this train will get us across a good chunk of the country, but that's where your help ends. You won't tell us where Artemis is or what the creature she was hunting is. And you probably can't tell us anything about Annabeth either. So what's even the point?"

Poseidon's Daughter; A Percy Jackson FanfictionWhere stories live. Discover now