𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩

Chapter 20

15
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Cheeseburger From The Big Unc'

The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, the train rolled into Denver. They hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas. They hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill, and (y/n) was sure that was obvious.

  "Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about Cyrus's talk with the river spirit."

  "We can't use phones, right?"

  "I'm not talking about phones."

  They wandered through downtown for about half an hour, though Cyrus, Percy nor (y/n) were sure what Annabeth was looking for. The air was dry and hot, which felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Everywhere they turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at them, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.

  Finally they found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. They veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping their eyes open for patrol cars. They were five adolescents and a dog hanging out at a car wash without a car; any cop worth his doughnuts would figure they were up to no good.

  "What exactly are we doing?" Cyrus asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.

  "It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

  "Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."

  (y/n) fished out his last bit of change and passed Grover a quarter, which left him two nickels and one drachma from Medusa's place.

  "Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

  "What are you talking about?"

  He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."

  "Instant messaging?"

  "Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

  "You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"

  Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."

  Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.

  Annabeth held her palm out to (y/n). "Drachma, please."

  (y/n) handed it over.

  She raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."

  She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer.

  "Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested.

  For a moment, nothing happened.
Then they were looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. They seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to us at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.

  "Luke!" (y/n) called.

  He turned, eyes wide. (y/n) could swear he was standing three feet in front of him through a screen of mist, except he could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow.