Child of the Moon

We Ride A Pig To Arizona

It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a wet pink snout and tusks the size of canoes.  Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.  It tore through the skeletons, leaving them in piles of bones, then turned to us.  Thalia raised her spear.

Grover: No!  Don't kill it!

The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

YN: That's the Erymanthian Boar.  I don't think we CAN kill it.

Grover: It's a gift!  A blessing from the Wild!

The boar swung its tusk.  Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way.  Sean had to push Grover to the side so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express.

YN: Yeah, I'm feeling real blessed!  Scatter!

We all ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

Thalia: It wants to kill us!

Grover: Of course, it's wild!

Bianca: So how is that a blessing?

It seemed a fair question to me, but the pig was offended and charged her.  She was faster than I'd realized.  She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast.  It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the town's welcome sign.

Zoe: Keep moving!

She and Bianca ran in opposite directions.  Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him.  But Thalia and I won the prize for bad luck.  When the boar turned on us, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense.  The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage.  Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives.  The boar charged us.  Ahead of us, I saw a covered tunnel.  Past that, an old wooden bridge spanning a gorge.

Percy: Follow me!

Thalia slowed down.  I didn't have time to ask why, but he pulled me along and she reluctantly followed.  Behind us, a ten ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased us.

Thalia, Percy and I ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.

Thalia: WAIT!

She'd turned as white as ice.  We were at the edge of the bridge.  Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.  The boar was right behind us.

Percy: Come on!  It'll hold our weight, probably.

Thalia: I can't!

Her eyes were wild with fear.  The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.  It was almost to us.

YN: Fuck it!

I pushed Percy aside and tackled Thalia out of the way.  The boar went right past me, barely missing, and ran right onto the bridge.  Almost instantly, the wood splintered beneath it, and it fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal.  The boar landed in a snowdrift with a loud poof.  I helped Thalia up.  Percy looked at her.

Percy: You're afraid of heights.

Now that we were walking down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look.

Thalia: Don't be stupid.

YN: Ooh, busted.

Thalia glared at me.  I smirked, knowing he was right.  I basically grew up with her after all.

Percy: That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus.  Why you didn't want to talk about it.

She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair.

Thalia: If you tell anyone, I swear-

Sean: GUYS?

YN: Down here!

A few minutes later, Sean, Zoe, Bianca, and Grover joined us.  We stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

Grover: A blessing of the Wild.

Grover now looked agitated.

Zoe: I agree.  We must use it.

Thalia: Hold up.

Thalia was still brushing pine needles out of her hair.  She looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree.

Thalia: Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing.

Grover looked over, distracted.

Grover: It's our ride west.  Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?  We need to get aboard.  I wish... I wish I had more time to look around.  But it's gone now.

Sean: What's gone?

Grover didn't seem to hear him.  He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back.  Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift.  Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it.  Grover took out his pipes.  He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar.  The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.

Sean: Automatic steering.  Great.

I flew up onto the boar's back, helping the others up.  I sat between Grover and Thalia, which still left plenty of room for the rest of them.  Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.

Percy: Wait a second.  Do you two know what Grover is talking about?  This wild blessing?

Zoe: Of course.  Did you not feel it in the wind?  It was so strong... I never thought I would sense that presence again.

YN: I felt it.

Sean: What presence?

Zoe stared at Sean like he was an idiot.  Which... yeah, kinda.

YN: The Lord of the Wild.  Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, we felt the presence of Pan.