DIVINE! | percy jackson

chapter fifteen - the dam burritos

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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THEY WERE lucky enough to find a tow truck at the edge of the dump that worked.

Thalia drove. She wasn't as in shock as everyone else.

"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded them. "We need to keep moving."

She navigated them through the desert. Zoë sat up front with Thalia and helped. Grover, Percy, and Estella sat in the pickup bed.

Estella grasped the figurine that Bianca told them to give to Nico. Her stomach dropped. How would he react to this news?

Percy noticed the figurine in her hands and sighed. "It should've been me," he said. "I should've gone into the giant."

"Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if... Do you think anybody else would be my best friend?"

"And Bianca made that decision on her own. She probably would've strapped you down before letting you into the giant," Estella said. "We have to respect her choice."

Percy looked at his hands. "I guess you're right."

The rest of the ride was silent until the car ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. One of the tires popped. "Great. What now?"

They were still surrounded by desert with occasional mountains. There was a river in the canyon, but it wasn't too big.

"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."

The "path" was a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a goat path," Percy said.

"So?" He asked.

"The rest of us aren't goats."

"We can make it," Grover said. "I think."

Percy glanced at Thalia, who was white. "No. I, uh, think we should go farther upstream."

"But—"

"Come on. A walk won't hurt us," Percy said.

They followed the river about a half mile before coming to a slope that led down to the water. There was a canoe rental located on the shore.

"We need to go upstream," Zoë said. That was the first time she spoke to everyone but Thalia since the junkyard. "The rapids are too swift."

"Leave that to me," Percy said as they put the canoes in the water.

Thalia pulled Percy aside while the rest of them readied the canoes. Estella eyed their conversation for a moment before turning away, not wanting to be invasive.

Eventually, they walked back to the canoes. Percy and Zoë got in one while Thalia, Estella, and Grover got in the other.

Estella was shocked to see a bunch of teenage girls in the water. Percy seemed to have a conversation with them and they pushed the canoes up the river.

Grover and lurched forward. Estella practically fell into Thalia's lap and she laughed sheepishly when she did so.

"Sorry," Estella said.

"It's fine," Thalia said and glanced over at Zoë and Percy.

"Are you okay?" Estella asked, noticing her distance.

"Yeah. I just can't believe Bianca is gone..."

Grover huffed. "Me too."