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chapter nine. ☄︎. *. ⋆
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LET ME TELL YOU, two days on the Amtrak train is long enough for a lifetime. I'd never had much of a problem with motion sickness, but every time we passed over a big river or sped around a tight corner, I was at major risk of repeating my shebang with Medusa's head.
After Grover had received directions from a pink toy poodle (don't ask), we used the reward money from returning said poodle to its owner to buy tickets for the Amtrak. According to Percy's brilliant leadership, Denver was our next destination.
We weren't attacked on the train once, but that didn't help anybody's nerves. I could barely get any sleep—and to make matters worse, the train's engine produced a low grumbling sound, so every time I even tried to get some shut-eye, I imagined the source of that sound to be much less friendly than the Amtrak wheels rolling on the railroad.
There was one upside to this phase of the quest, and that was the fact that I hadn't spoken to Percy since our little late-night quarrel. Neither of us wanted anything to do with each other. It was always either me and Annabeth or me and Grover, but never me and Percy. I'm also pretty sure Grover and Annabeth made sure to keep us separated.
Towards the end of our last day on the train—June 13th, eight days before our deadline of the summer solstice—we passed through some small hills and over the Mississippi river into St. Louis. I was in a different booth than her, but I imagined Annabeth was eager to see the Gateway Arch. I could almost imagine her grin when we passed through the tunnel and saw it through the windows. (And no, it didn't bother me that Annabeth had sat next to Percy; Grover and I were content with our napping capabilities, and we couldn't stretch out as much if we had the likes of Annabeth and Percy taking up so much space.)
But sure enough, as soon as the Amtrak slowed to a stop and the conductor announced over the intercom that we would have a three-hour layover before we departed for Denver, Annabeth was out of her seat and ready to go sightseeing.
"Sightseeing?" Grover repeated, yawning.
"The Gateway Arch," Annabeth told us. "This may be my only chance to get to the top. Are you two in or not?"
I sighed. "In."
"As long as there's a snack bar without monsters," Grover said, standing.
The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Later in the day, and on such a cloudy afternoon, the lines were virtually nonexistent. We weaved through the underground museum, inspecting covered wagons and other vintage shit from the 1800s. It was crazy boring, but Annabeth kept spouting out cool facts about how the Arch was made, and Grover was sneaking us jelly beans, so I was fine with it.
