The Battle for Olympus

Percy

Percy only got shotgun because Thalia's spear wouldn't fit in the front and she insisted on having it with her.

Why can't we just use your nature magic? Percy had asked.

Because that's only for hunters, dumbass, Thalia said. And they're not coming with us.

So Percy was stuck in a car with Thalia and Clarisse as they sped across Texas and Oklahoma with the growing doom bearing down on them. Each day Annabeth spent in New Rome was more dangerous, and Percy was really starting to fantasize about all the ways he was going to rip Jason's head off. Of course he couldn't voice those when Jason's sister was sitting right behind him, but it helped calm him.

"So I take it Artemis abandoned you too?" Clarisse asked, ignoring Percy entirely.

Thalia fidgeted. "Not exactly. I can't say any more, you never know who's listening."

"Like who, Zeus? I'm pretty sure he has better things to do."

Percy had offered to drive, Clarisse stubbornly refused. He suspected she liked the control.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "My father is a very powerful man with eyes all over. I don't want to get Artemis in trouble."

"Right. Didn't he... turn you in to a pine tree instead of actually helping? Doesn't sound like he really pays attention."

Thalia tightened her grip on her spear. "Clarisse, I swear to god."

"Okay!" Percy jumped in. "Want to play the license plate game?"

"Before lightning girl fries the radio?" Clarisse said, "good plan."

"You want me to fry the radio?" Thalia snarled, "Here you go." With a pleasant pop! blue sparks flew from the radio and the music fizzled out.

Clarisse yanked her review mirror down to glare at Thalia. "Are you kidding me!"

"You told me to!"

Percy didn't want to bet on a Clarisse-Thalia fight. "Why don't we-"

"Shut up!" they said in unison.

"Right." Percy reached to turn the radio on, then drew his hand back when he remembered. "Anyone want to sing?"

"See if whoever owned this car has any CDs," Clarisse suggested, switching lanes to get around a semi.

Thalia frowned. "Wait, this isn't your car?"

"Well, I borrowed it in San Francisco before I escaped Camp Jupiter." Percy grimaced. "I do plan to return it."

"Well that's great. Wait until the owner reports it missing and we'll have the romans and the police on our asses."

"More enemies!" Clarisse chimed in. "I don't see the problem."

Percy sighed and rooted around in the glove compartment. Napkins, hand sanitizer, and a couple of expired insurance cards.

"No luck," he reported.

Clarisse tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel and stared out at the landscape in front of them. It was pretty in a farm type of way. Rolling hills of golden fields, towering wind mills, a rare cactus, it reminded Percy of the Triple G ranch he'd been trapped at with Annabeth and Nico. He shook his head. Not a great memory.

A dark sensation grew behind him, leaching the color from the hillsides. Percy lifted his head. It had been forever since he'd felt that, almost like-

"Oof!" the boy said, slamming down into seat. "You have no idea how hard it is to shadow travel into a moving car."

Thalia jumped, nearly decapitating him with her spear.