The Adventure That Lies Ahead | PJO x HP

CHAPTER 49

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 fuel, so they decided to borrow it.

Thalia drove. She didn't seem as stunned as Zoë, Grover, Percy, or Isa.

"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded them. "We need to keep moving."

She navigated them through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at it. Zoë sat upfront with Thalia. Grover, Percy, and Isa sat in the back, leaning against the tow winch. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like an insult after losing Bianca.

Isa's hand closed around the little figurine that had cost Bianca her life. She knew who the god was, Isa already had him. It was Hades. Why did Bianca have to get it? Isa was more than willing to give Nico her Hades figurine.

'Oh, gods... what were we going to tell Nico?' Isa stressed out in her head.

Isa wanted to believe that Bianca was still alive somewhere. But she had a bad feeling that she was gone for good.

"It should've been me," Percy said. "I should've gone into the giant."

"No it wasn't," Isa said. "I shouldn't have even allowed you. It should've been me."

"Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough 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?"

"Grover," Isa said in her natural calming voice. Percy doubted if his sister even knew she was doing it.

"Ah, Grover..." Percy said.

He wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy like he had war paint on. "I'm...I'm okay."

But 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. Percy and Isa were afraid to talk to him about it because he might start bawling.

At least there's one good thing about having a friend who gets freaked out more than you do. Isa realized she couldn't stay depressed. She had to set aside thinking about Bianca and keep them going forward. She had to stay strong for them, though she couldn't help but wonder what Thalia and Zoë were talking about in the front of the truck.

The tow truck ran out of fuel 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?"

Percy and Isa 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 meters across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below them.

"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."

Percy and Isa tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face.

"That's a goat path," Isa said.

"So?" he asked.

"Well if you didn't notice, the rest of us aren't goats."

'We can make it," Grover said. "I think."

Isa thought about that. She'd done cliffs before, but she didn't like them. Then she looked over at Thalia and Percy and saw how pale they'd got, especially Thalia. Out of the three of them the rank from who had the fear of heights the most to least was Thalia, Isa then Percy. And with Thalia's problem with heights... she'd never be able to do it.