The Sun and The Sea

Gods' Junkyard

The sun faded from the sky, casting hues of pink and orange across the sky. The mountains began to fade to flat, dry plains. The distance between blades of grass grew until the group met the desert. 

As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all. 

"This is as far as he'll go," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating." 

"100% would not recommend wild pig as the next quality car," Finley announced as she jumped off the back of the boar. 

Percy couldn't help but agree as he joined her. 

With a final round of its meal, the boar sequel and ran off towards the mountains. 

"It likes the mountains better," Percy guessed. 

"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look." 

Ahead of the group was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoe Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills, but they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever. 

"Whoa," Percy breathed. 

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Grover. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?" 

Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to Finley, but Grover looked concerned. 

"That's us," he said. "Those six nuts right there." 

"Which one is me?" Percy asked with his arms crossed. 

 "The little deformed one," Zoe suggested. 

Finley snorted. 

"Oh, shut up." 

"That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble." 

"A monster?" Thalia asked. 

Grover looked uneasy.

"I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge..." 

He pointed straight toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet. 

They decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of them wanted to go Dumpster-diving in the dark. 

Zoe and Bianca produced six sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks. Their packs were relatively small, making Percy question how it was even possible. However, seeing as he is a demigod with the ability to control water, it wasn't that surprising. 

The night got chilly fast, so Grover and Percy collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon they were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere. 

"The stars are out," Zoe said. She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange. 

"Amazing," Bianca said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."