Fated To Fall: PJO

Lions, Zebras and Antelopes Oh My!

Theo awoke to a very strange sight. Grover was conversing seriously with a literal lion that Theo hadn't noticed. He rubbed his eyes and realized he was so tired he hadn't noticed the antelope, lion and zebra next to him.

He glanced around him and blinked hard when he saw Percy speaking to the zebra and Annabeth inhaling the oreos like she was in a desert and this was her only sighting of water.

"So, what did I miss?"

Annabeth merely glanced at him and offered an oreo which he declined.

Grover opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by the sudden stop of the van.

"Hide," Annabeth whispered, shoving Theo behind a cage. He barely stopped himself from letting out a noise of pain.

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.

Next to Theo, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.

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!"

Theo watched as the zebra turned its head and stared at Percy with wide eyes.

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?"

Their guy 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've 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, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"

Theo was now even more confused. Since when could Grover talk to lions.

Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but he knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. He watched Percy flinch slightly before he grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.

The zebra burst out. Theo stared in confusion as the zebra turned to Percy and bowed.

Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like
a blessing.

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.

Theo could feel laughter bubbling up in his throat, they'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.