𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒¹

𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑠

‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊

ASTORIA SLAMMED INTO THE wall as the vehicle came to a stop. Darn it.

"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.

Astoria wasted no time covering herself with the hay, hoping that her hair and clothes didn't stand out. She noticed Percy and Grover dive behind the feed sacks, which was probably a smarter idea than hers.

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

"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes. Astoria saw the dirt in those bowls through the animal feed and scrunched her nose in disgust.

"You hot, big boy?" the man asked the lion, then splashed the bucket water right in the lion's face. The lion roared indignantly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he brushed off. The trucker went around, doing the same insulting act towards the other animals. Astoria knew that Grover was furious and it was about time for karma to hit.

There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer. "What do you want Eddie?"

The said person shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

Knock, knock, knock.

Astoria grinned. Annabeth.

"What banging?" Eddie yelled outside. The Maurice guy cursed as he went out to yell at his coworker. Not long after, Annabeth revealed herself.

"This business can't be legal."

"No kidding," Grover said. He paused. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers! We've got to free them!"

"I agree," Astoria spoke up, coming out of the hay stash. She brushed off the remaining grass on her clothes. The three looked at Percy expectantly. He didn't say anything, almost as if he was in a trance. Astoria didn't care. She knew that the zebra was talking to him right now. Shortly after, the son of Poseidon grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.

The animal burst out and bowed at Percy. Grover held up his hands and blessed the zebra.

Just as the truckers peered into the truck to check out the noise, the striped grazer leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. Quickly, the squad rushed to the doors of the trailer to see the zebra galloping down a boulevard lined with hotels and casinos.

"A zebra in Las Vegas," Astoria muttered. "Just an average day."

Maurice and Eddie ran after the animal, with a few policeman running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"

"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said.

"The other animals first," Grover insisted.

Percy swung Riptide and cut the other locks. Grover raised his hands and gave the other creatures the same blessing the zebra received. "Good luck," Percy told the animals. The antelope and lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets. Even though they weren't human, the sight of their escape to freedom pulled on Astoria's heartstrings. It reminded her of the past and present; an escape that she pulled through herself.

Some tourists screamed, but most just backed off and took pictures. No doubt they thought it was some kind of casino stunt.

"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover once most of the animals were out of sight. "I mean, the desert and all-"