❛008❜

THEY HAD ARRIVED ON the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. the sign said welcome to cloudcroft, new mexico. the air was cold and thin. the roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

all of her friends were freezing in their boots by the time they got to main street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. as they walked, percy and ivy told grover about their conversation with apollo the night before – how he'd told them to seek out nereus in san francisco. neither of them mention the position they woke up in.

grover looked uneasy. "that's good, i guess. but we've got to get there first."

ivy tried not to get too depressed about their chances. she didn't want to send grover into a panic, but she knew they had another huge deadline looming, aside from saving artemis in time for her council of the gods. the general had said annabeth would only be kept alive until the winter solstice. that was friday, only four days away. and he'd said something about a sacrifice. she didn't like the sound of that at all.

they stopped in the middle of town. everything was pretty much visible from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafés, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"great," thalia said, looking around. "no bus station. no taxis. no car rental. no way out."

ivy scoffed. "there's not even a mall."

"there's a coffee shop!" said grover.

"yes," zoë said. "coffee is good."

"and pastries," grover said dreamily. "and wax paper."

thalia sighed. "fine. how about you two go get us some food. percy, ivy, bianca and i will check in the grocery store. maybe they can give us directions."

they agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with them, but she did.

inside the store, they found out a few valuable things about cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the magazine collection was too big for the population of the town, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and the only easy way to get in and out of town was through a personal car.

"you could call for a taxi from alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "that's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. cost several hundred dollars."

sighing at their luck, ivy found herself looking through the magazines. it looked like they were going to be stuck in buttfuck anyway. a title caught her eyes, helipress. the magazine had the professional photo of a helicopter in the front, she grabbed a copy and walked back to the cashier.

percy had a rubber rat on the counter. she placed the magazine next to his item.

the son of poseidon knitted his eyebrows at her. "you're serious about the helicopter thing?"

"yes," ivy said confidently. she flipped her over her shoulder, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at the boy. "when i'm in the air i don't want you begging me to teach you how to do it."

percy blinked at her, looking stunned for a second. before clearing his throat and paying for their items.

then they headed back outside and stood on the porch.

"wonderful," thalia grumped. "i'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."

"but the clerk said –" percy tried to say.

"i know," the daughter of zeus told him. "i'm checking anyway."

ivy looked between percy and bianca. she turned on her heel and walked to the other side of the porch where there was bench.

"fitzy, where are you going?" percy asked.

she held up the magazine over her shoulder. "to read, i'm just going to sit over there."

setting herself in the old bench, ivy opened her helicopter magazine and started reading. she tuned out bianca and percy's conversation as she got to reading. it was a bit difficult though, since it was in english but she managed to get a few pages of reading. the murmurs of the percy's voice talking to bianca was a nice background nice, until a part of the conversation caught her ear.

"zoë seems to trust you," percy said. "what were you guys talking about, anyway – something dangerous about the quest?"

covering her face with the magazine, ivy frowned. everything about the quest was dangerous as it is. she peaked to see her surroundings, zoë and grover were walking towards the store.

"when?" bianca asked.

"yesterday morning on the pavilion," percy said. "something about the general."

silence. ivy debating interjecting herself in the conversation to question further, but decided eavesdropping was better.

"how did you..." bianca said at last. "the invisibility hat. were you eavesdropping?"

oops.

"no! i mean, not really. i just –" percy stammered.

percy was saved from trying to explain when zoë and grover arrived with the drinks and pastries. hot chocolate for bianca, percy and ivy. coffee for them. ivy got a chocolate chip muffin. she almost choked on it when she noticed bianca's look of outrage towards percy.

"we should do the tracking spell," zoë said. "grover, do you have any acorns left?"

"umm," grover mumbled. he was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "i think so. i just need to –"

he froze.

ivy was about to ask what was wrong when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had got lost in the middle of winter. fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. and something else – almost like a voice, trying to say something. a warning.

zoë gasped. "grover, thy cup."

grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away – a tiny flock of doves. percy's rubber rat squeaked. it scampered off the railing and into the trees – real fur, real whiskers.

grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. they gathered around him and tried to wake him up. he groaned, his eyes fluttering.

"hey!" thalia said, running up from the street. "i just... what's wrong with grover?"

"i don't know," ivy said. she placed her hand on his forehead, his temperature was still the same. "he just collapsed."

"uuuuuhhhh," grover groaned.

"well, get him up!" thalia said. she had her spear in her hand. she looked behind her as if she were being followed. "we have to get out of here."

they made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. they stepped from the trees on either side of the road. instead of grey camouflage, they were now wearing blue new mexico state police uniforms, but they had the same transparent grey skin and yellow eyes.

they drew their handguns. ivy had always wanted to know how to use a gun, but she changed her mind as soon as the skeleton warriors pointed theirs at percy.

thalia tapped her bracelet. aegis spiralled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. their glowing yellow eyes bored right into the son of poseidon.

percy drew riptide, zoë and bianca drew their bows. although bianca was having trouble because grover kept swooning and leaning against her. ivy drew her golden knife. a part of her wanted to use her powers she had realized that the more she pushed herself to the brink, the more control she had even if it exhausted her. but using her powers meant having a soldier out of comminition, and grover called gunshot on that spot.

"back up," thalia said.

they started to – but then ivy heard a rustling of branches. two more skeletons appeared on the road behind them. they were surrounded.

one of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it. except he wasn't speaking. he made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone. suddenly, ivy understood what was going on. these skeletons were now calling their brethren. soon they'd have a full party on their hands.

"it's near," grover moaned.

"it's here," percy corrected.

"no," the satyr insisted. "the gift. the gift from the wild."

ivy was too preoccupied with the skeletons and his condition to process what he was saying.

"we'll have to go one on one," thalia said. "four of them. five of us. maybe they'll ignore grover that way."

"agreed," said zoë.

"the wild!" grover moaned.

a warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but ivy kept her eyes on the skeletons.

percy charged.

the first skeleton fired. percy deflected the bullet off with the edge of his blade and kept charging. the skeleton drew a baton and percy sliced off his arms at the elbows. then he swung riptide through his waist and cut him in half.

his bones unknitted and clattered to the tarmac in a heap. almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. the second skeleton clattered his teeth at percy and tried to fire, but the boy knocked his gun into the snow.

ivy thought he was doing pretty well, until the other two skeletons shot him in the back

"percy!" ivy screamed.

the son of poseidon had landed facedown in the street. ivy let out a sigh of relief when she saw percy move, and there was no blood. the nemean lion's fur! his coat was bulletproof.

ivy and thalia charged the second skeleton. zoë and bianca started firing arrows at the third and fourth. grover stood there and held his hands out to the trees, looking like he wanted to hug them.

the brunette saw the skeleton percy had cut in half had reform and attacked said boy once again. she realized there was no way to stop them. zoë and bianca fired at their heads point-blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. one lunged at bianca, and ivy thought she was a goner, but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. the whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.

"how did you do that?" zoë asked.

"i don't know," bianca said nervously. "lucky shot?"

"well, do it again!"

bianca tried, but the remaining three skeletons were wary of her now. the skeletons pressed back on them, keeping them at baton's length.

"plan?" percy asked as they retreated.

"don't die," was all ivy could offer him.

the trees behind the skeletons were shivering. branches were cracking.

"a gift," grover muttered.

and then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig ivy had ever seen came crashing into the road. it was a wild boar, ten metres high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.

"reeeeeeeeet!" it squealed, and raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. the force was so great they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere.

then the pig turned on them.

thalia raised her spear, but grover yelled, "don't kill it!"

the boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

"that's the erymanthian boar," zoë said, trying to stay calm. "i don't think we can kill it."

"it's a gift," grover said. "a blessing from the wild!"

"tell the wild that we would've settled with a sock!" ivy complained.

the boar said "reeeeeet!" and swung its tusk. zoë and bianca dived out of the way. percy had to push grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the boar tusk express.

"yeah, i feel blessed!" percy said. "scatter!"

they ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

"it wants to kill us!" thalia said.

"of course," grover said. "it's wild!"

"so how is that a blessing?" bianca asked.

to ivy it seemed like a fair question, but the pig was offended and charged the hunter. bianca was faster than she'd realized. she rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. it lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the welcome to cloudcroft sign.

ivy was pretty sure hercules had fought this thing once, but she couldn't remember how he'd beaten it. she had a vague memory of the boar ploughing down several greek cities before hercules managed to subdue it. she hoped cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks.

"keep moving!" zoë yelled. she and bianca ran in opposite directions. grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him. but thalia, percy and ivy won the prize for bad luck. when the boar turned on them, thalia made the mistake of raising aegis in defence. the sight of the medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. maybe it looked too much like one of his mother. the boar charged them.

they only managed to keep ahead of it because they ran uphill, and they could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plough through them.

on the other side of the hill, ivy found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow.

"this way!" ivy grabbed percy's hand, also taking thalia's arm and they ran along the rails while the boar roared behind them, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. its hooves were just not made for this, thank the gods. at the back of her head, she noted that the pig needed a pedicure.

ahead of them, ivy saw a covered tunnel. past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge.

percy had the crazy idea face. "follow me!"

thalia slowed down – ivy didn't have time to ask why – but the brunette pulled the daughter of zeus along as percy pulled her. behind them, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased them.

ivy, percy and thalia ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.

"no!" thalia screamed.

she'd turned as white as ice. they were at the edge of the bridge. below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about twenty meters below.

the boar was right behind them.

"come on!" percy insisted. "it'll hold our weight, probably."

"i can't!" thalia yelled. her eyes were wild with fear.

the boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.

"now!" percy at thalia.

the daughter of zeus looked down and swallowed. ivy swore she was turning green.

she didn't have time to process why. the boar was charging through the tunnel, straight towards them. percy tackled thalia and ivy, sending the three sideways off the edge of the bridge, into the side of the mountain. they slid on aegis like a snowboard, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. the boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. the boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge pooooof!

the three skidded to a stop, breathing hard. ivy was cut up and bleeding, much like percy. thalia had pine needles in her hair. next to them, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. all ivy could see was the bristly tip of its back. it was wedged completely in the snow like styrofoam packing. it didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.

percy looked at thalia. "you're afraid of heights."

now that they were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look. "don't be stupid."

ivy shrugged. "it definitely explain you're awful driving in the sun chariot. it's fine if you don't want to talk about it."

thalia gave her a thankful look, taking a deep breath. then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "if either of you tell anyone, i swear –"

"no, no," percy said, there was a teasing smile playing on his lips. "that's cool. it's just... the daughter of zeus, the lord of the sky, afraid of heights?"

percy was about to be knocked into the snow when, above them, grover's voice called, "helloooooo?"

"down here!" ivy called, shaking off the dirt off of her clothes.

a few minutes later, zoë, bianca and grover joined them. they stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

"a blessing of the wild," grover said, though he now looked agitated.

"i agree," zoë said. "we must use it."

"hold up," thalia said irritably. she still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a christmas tree. "explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."

grover looked over, distracted. "it's our ride west. do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"

"fun," percy said. "like... pig cowboys."

"we're playing vaqueros," ivy snorted. "gabriel's little cousin prepared me enough for this."

"we need to get aboard," grover announced. "i wish... i wish i had more time to look around. but it's gone now."

"what's gone?"

grover didn't seem to hear percy's question. he walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. grover took out his pipes. he started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. the apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.

"automatic steering," thalia murmured. "great."

she trudged over and jumped on behind grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of them.

zoë and bianca walked towards the boar. ivy following behind them.

"wait a second," percy said. "do you guys know what grover is talking about – this wild blessing?"

"of course," zoë said. "did you not feel it in the wind? it was so strong... i never thought i would sense that presence again."

"what presence?"

"the lord of the wild, of course. just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, i felt the presence of pan."

a's notes

traumatizing fact: i went to a farm as a school field trip in 3rd grade and a pig escaped AND CHASED ME AN MY BSF AROUND IT WAS THE SCARIEST THING EVER. u can say i don't like pigs anymore.

thoughts???