cupiditas |PERCY JACKSON| [book 3]

XXII

 SELENA SAT WITH GROVER AND THALIA in the canoes while Percy sat with Zoe. She sat silently as the water naiads pushed them upstream.

"What was that back there?" Thalia asked from behind her, "In the junkyard? The green mist?"

"I don't know." Selena mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself,

"Do you think it came from your Godly parent?"

Selena shrugged, "Must've been."

"Who do you think it was?"

"I don't know, Thalia!" Selena snapped and everyone looked at her. She sighed, "I'm sorry." She mumbled. Selena looked back at her friend, "Honestly? It felt like I was being... possessed. Like I was there... but wasn't in control of my body."

"I'm sorry." Thalia stated after a moment, "I didn't mean to push. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Selena smiled at her friend, "I'll be fine, Thalia."

Suddenly the canoes began to slow down and Selena looked ahead. The river was blocked. A dam the size of a football stadium stood in their path.

"Hoover Dam," Thalia stated, "It's huge."

They stood at the river's edge, looking up at a curve of concrete that loomed between the cliffs. People were walking along the top of the dam. They were so tiny they looked like fleas.

"Seven hundred feet tall," Percy stated and Selena smiled, "Built in the 1930s."

"Tallest dam in the world." Selena continued,

"Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said.

Grover sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."

Zoe stared at them. "How do you know all that?"

"Annabeth," Percy answered, "She liked architecture."

"She was nuts about monuments," Thalia said.

"Spouted facts all the time." Grover sniffled. "So annoying."

"I wish she were here," Selena sighed,

The others nodded. Zoe was still looking at the four of them strangely, but Selena didn't care. It seemed like cruel fate that they'd come to Hoover Dam, one of Annabeth's personal favorites, and she wasn't here to see it.

"We should go up there," Selena said "For her sake. Just to say we've been."

"You are mad," Zoe decided. "But that's where the road is." She pointed to a huge parking garage next to the top of the dam. "And so, sightseeing it is."

They had to walk for almost an hour before they found a path that led up to the road. It came up on the east side of the river. Then the five of them straggled back toward the dam. It was cold and windy on top. On one side, a big lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. On the other side, the dam dropped away like the world's most dangerous skateboard ramp, down to the river seven hundred feet below, and water that churned from the dam's vents.

Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Grover kept sniffing the wind and looking nervous. He didn't say anything, but Selena knew he smelled monsters.

"How close are they?" Percy asked him.

He shook his head. "Maybe not close. The wind on the dam, the desert all around us... the scent can probably carry for miles. But it's coming from several directions. I don't like that."

Selena didn't either. It was already Wednesday, only two days until winter solstice, and they still had a long way to go. They didn't need any more monsters,

"There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said.

"You've been here before?" Percy asked.

"Once. To see the guardians." She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. They looked kind of like Oscar statues with wings.

"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."

Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to be looking at the statues' feet.

"What are they doing?" Selena asked.

"Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."

"Why?"

She shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."

"When you were here last, did they talk to you or anything?"

Thalia's expression darkened. Selena could tell that she'd come here before hoping for exactly that—some kind of sign from her dad. Some connection. "No. They don't do anything. They're just big metal statues."

Selena thought about the last big metal statue they'd run into. That hadn't gone so well. But she decided not to bring it up.

"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said. "We should eat while we can."

Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"

Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."

"And I want a dam soda." Selena snickered.

Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

Maybe it was the fact that they were so tired and strung out emotionally, but Percy started cracking up, and Thalia, Selena, and Grover joined in, while Zoe just looked at them strangely. "I do not understand."

"I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said.

"And..." Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt."

They all busted up for several moments before Percy went still and the smile melted off his face. Then Grover's smile fell, too "Did I just hear a cow?"

"A dam cow?" Thalia laughed and Selena giggled with her,

"No," Grover said. "I'm serious."

Zoe listened. "I hear nothing."

Thalia was looking at Percy. "Percy, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."

"What's wrong?" Grover asked.

"Nothing," Percy answered. "I... I just need a minute. To think."

He looked upset, so Selena wound her arms through Grover's and Thalia's, "C'mon, guys. I need some dam food."