These Lifeless Things || p. jackson

IV. Cars and Conversations

OF COURSE PERCY GOT HIS WAY. Of course he got to sneak out on another quest and be the hero of it all. It was bad enough Zoë was tolerating him, but Thalia was too. Xiao felt totally betrayed, but there wasn't much she could do but sit there and take it. Well, actually she wasn't sitting for long. By the time they crossed the Potomac, they had figured out that a helicopter was following them and that they had to switch cars.

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

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

"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."

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," Zoë said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

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

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

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind themselves 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."

Xiao frowned. "Did you see the look of that place? It's definitely older than you."

"I don't know," Bianca said. "Just 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.

Xiao knew next to nothing about D.C., but she didn't see how their entire subway system could be less than twelve years old. She supposed everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they looked pretty confused.

"Bianca," Zoë 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."

Over the next half hour, all they thought about was getting away safely. They changed trains twice. Xiao had no idea where they were going, but after a while they lost the helicopter.

Unfortunately, when they finally got off the train they found themselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder here.