- 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 . . . Being a half-blood only caused trouble. Not many lived long and if ithey did, their life was filled with dangerous adventures and tribulations.
Stella had always been beloved by her fellow campers...
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🏹 | CASTLES CRUMBLING ₊˚ପ⊹ .୧ ‧₊˚⋅🗝️ a c t o n e ━━━━━━❛titan's curse❜ chapter eight . . . the toes of the dam statues
AFTER SULKING FOR A MOMENT OR TWO, Thalia had convinced the others to continue on with the stupid quest. At the edge of the dump, they found a tow truck so old it might've been thrown away itself. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so they decided to borrow it.
Thalia drove. She didn't seem as stunned as the others.
"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded. "We need to keep moving."
She navigated through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at. Zoe sat up front with Thalia. Grover, Estella and Percy sat in the pickup bed, leaning against the tow wench. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like an insult after losing Bianca.
Estella wanted to believe that Bianca was still alive somewhere. But she had a bad feeling that she was gone for good. Probably her child of Apollo 'spidey senses' tingling.
"It should've been me," Percy said. "I should've gone into the giant."
"Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough that Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if..." He sniffled. "Do you think anybody else would be my best friend?"
"Ah, Grover..."
He wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy, like he had on war paint. "I'm... I'm okay."
Estella squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.
He wasn't okay. Ever since the encounter in New Mexico—whatever had happened when that wild wind blew through—he seemed really fragile, even more emotional than usual.
The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well, because the road dead-ended.
Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"
Estella scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below us.
"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."
There was a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a goat path," Percy said.
