❦𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓮❦ - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷

𝒳𝒱𝐼𝐼𝐼. 𝐿𝑜𝓉𝓊𝓈 𝐻𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑜

𝒵𝑜𝑒'𝓈 dream was the same as the last one. She started on the couch with her dad, then the evil voice threatened her dad, and she saw the vision of her dad hurt and her older. She woke without much fanfare when the truck stopped. Her head had still been on Percy's shoulder. Heat rose to her cheeks as she glanced at a sleepy Annabeth and a snoring Grover.

"How'd you sleep?" Zoe whispered, making Annabeth look at her.

Annabeth grimaced and Zoe nodded sympathetically. They shook Grover awake and then made him wake up Percy.

"The truck's stopped," Grover said, shaking Percy. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."

"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.

She slipped on her invisibility hat, and vanished. The other three dove behind feed-sacks, fingers crossed that they weren't noticed.

The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.

"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.

"You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.

The lion roared in indignation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.

Zoe's fist clenched and unclenched, trying not to jump out from her hiding place and deck this guy in the face. Grover tensed beside her.

The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, seemed to look straight at Percy.

Percy froze as there was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer.

The trucker inside with them yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"

A voice outside-it must've been Eddie's-shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

Knock, knock, knock.

Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"

Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.

A second later, Annabeth appeared next to Percy. She must have done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."

"No kidding," Grover said. He paused, listening to the animals. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"

"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He, Annabeth, and Zoe all looked at Percy, waiting for his lead.

Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other. Percy grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.

The zebra burst out. It turned to Percy and bowed.

Grover held up his hands and said a blessing in satyr language.

Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. They rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. They'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.

Oh dear gods

The quartet watched as Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"