The First Goddess Alexis - Heroes of Old and New

Chapter 10.

Hi..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Something wrong Alexis?

Um.......

Oh, just spit it out already!

*whispers* I have another video.

*groans* All this fuss over something as little as that?

Here it is.

........

And now the chapter can start!!!

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We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as my backside could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was.

I have no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping (do boars gallop?) across 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 stated. "We need to get off while he's eating,".

Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then we waddled away as best we could with our saddle sores.

After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled round and galloped back towards the east.

"It likes the mountains better," Percy guessed.

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

Ahead of us was a two-lane road half blown over with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings to small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like hadn't been open since before Zoe 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 then I noticed 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," I heard Percy gasp.

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked over to 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 anyone, but worried Grover.

"That's us," He said. "Those seven nuts right here,". (the nuts were kind enough to include Asteria).

"Which one is me?" I asked.

"The little deformed one," Zoe joked.

"Oh, shut up," I cracked a smile.

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