𝙇𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙨 (𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙭 𝙁𝙚𝙢! 𝙊𝘾) 𝙏𝙏𝘾

My Dad is Pretty Cool, I Guess

They were crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter.It was a sleek, black military model just like the one seen at Westover. And it was coming straight toward them.

Sylvia glanced at Fawkes, who seemed to be getting ready to fly at them, despite the window in the vehicle being closed. You and I both know that's pointless. You'll just end up dying. Please stay here. 

Fawkes merely nodded in response.

"They know the van," Percy said. "We gotta ditch it."

Zoe swerved into the fast lane, causing Lux to grasp hold of Sylvia's wrist tighter than they already had been before, something Sylvia previously thought was impossible. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover suggested hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Thalia said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

Sylvia nodded. Clarisse hated that type of thing. In her words, "Why the fuck would you fight for no reason other than money? It makes no sense!"

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" Percy asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoe shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than Zoe was through D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped!" Sylvia protested.

"Trust me," Bianca begged.

Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. They left the van and followed Bianca down some steps, Fawkes quickly shrinking herself and Sylvia's bow.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later, they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

"Mhm," Lux agreed, which was the first thing Sylvia heard them say since they got in the van.

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived there as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

That doesn't seem possible... Sylvia thought.

I agree, said Fawkes.

Bianca nodded.

Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing as Sylvia, because they looked pretty confused.

"Bianca," Zoe started, "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," Sylvia said immediately. "Next station."

Over the next half hour, all anyone thought about was getting away safely (and food, because Percy seemed to be permanently hungry). They changed trains twice. No one really had any idea of where they were going, but after a while they lost the helicopter.

Unfortunately, when they finally got of the train they found themselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It was very cold. Sylvia was starting to regret not leaving Percy behind and stealing his lion's fur coat.

They wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in show, like they hadn't moved in years.

A strangely familiar-looking homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. Sylvia could tell they looked pretty pathetic, because he gave them a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!"

They huddled around his fire, Fawkes sitting on a freight train just out of sight. Sylvia kept on staring at the stranger, trying to figure out how she knew him. Her thoughts were interrupted as Thalia's teeth started chattering loudly. She said, "Well this is g-g-great."

"Y-yeah," Lux agreed, moving closer to Sylvia and shivering.

"My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.

Sylvia side-eyed the homeless person, who must not have heard what Grover said. "Feet," she corrected, just in case he had.

"Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca said. "Chiron--"

"No," Zoe said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

"She's right," Sylvia agreed, staring miserable around the railyard. Somewhere, far to the west, Annabeth was in danger. Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And they were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a weirdly friendly homeless man's fire.

"You know," the unkempt stranger said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly.

That's exactly what Dad said in my dream last month, Sylvia remembered. Huh.

"You kids need a train going west?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Percy said.

"Do you know of any?" Sylvia questioned.

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly Sylvia noticed a freight train that definitely wasn't there before, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's convenient," Thalia said.

"Th-thank y-y-you, uh..."

Lux turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of them was cold and empty, as if the man had taken the flames with them.

Fawkes swooped down and landed gracefully on Sylvia's shoulder. Know who that was? she asked.

I have a couple guessed, Sylvia admitted. Was it Dad?

Fawkes nodded.

Thank you, Dad. Really appreciate it, actually. Sylvia turned and looked at the sun, and, for a moment, it glowed brighter than usual. She grinned to herself and boarded the train.

Sorry, this is kinda low-effort. It's much more fun to write conversation. Most of this was me just copying directly from the book, which I hate. But hey, at least I updated it, yk?

Unedited, as always

Word count: 1k

QOTD: Earth, air, fire, or waterbending?

A: Water. It'd be so freaking fun

Anygays, cyaa

-Aspen