Olivia Anworth liked to know everything. She knows nothing about Percy Jackson.
Percy Jackson seemed to know nothing. He has no problem getting to know about Olivia Anworth.
Annabeth Chase thought she knew everything. Alice Rosario changed that.
Ali...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝟖: 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞'𝐬𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭
December 19, 2019
THEY FOUND A TOW TRUCK AT THE END OF THE DUMP.
It was old, but the engine started and the tank was full, so they weren't picky. Thalia drove. She didn't seem as stunned as the rest of them.
"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded them. "We need to keep moving."
The skies were clear and bright, almost too bright. Zoë sat up front with Thalia. Grover, Alice, 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 everything that'd happened so far.
Percy looked down at the little figurine that Bianca gave her life to get. He wondered what god it was supposed to be before sighing, knowing that Nico would immediately have the answer.
Oh, gods... what was he going to tell Nico?
"It should've been me," he said. "I should've gone into the giant."
"Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough Livvy 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..." Percy said.
"I'm hurt, Groves," Alice said. Her voice sounded like she was trying to tease Grover, but she lacked the energy that usually came with her words. "We grew up together."
"Sorry, Alice," Grover said. He wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy, like he had on war paint and turned to Percy. "I'm... I'm okay."
But he wasn't okay. Ever since the encounter in New Mexico, he'd seemed more emotional than usual. Percy and Alice shared a look, both of them thinking the same thing.
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?"
Percy 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 them.
"I guess we walk now," Alice said dryly.
"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."
Percy peered at the tiny ledge Grover was pointing to. "That's a goat path," he said shortly.
