𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒, apollo

𝐱𝐱𝐯𝐢. we released a zebra in vegas

I SHIFTED MY WEIGHT from one foot to the other. I was waiting for my friends in an awkward silence with the god of war. And soon enough the three entered my vision.

"Well, well," The god said. "You didn't get yourself killed."

"You knew it was a trap," Percy sneered. I knitted my brows and turned to Ares, who gave me a wicked grin and shrugged, "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on camera."

I got even more confused as I recalled him pulling out his phone at some point while we were waiting. I thought he was starting another Twitter fight or something.

Cy shoved the shield at him, "You're a jerk." Annabeth and Grover caught their breath. I slightly shook my head at my friend. What was he thinking?

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back. "See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Should take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for my dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: ALIVE WILD ANIMALS.

I scoffed, "You're kidding." Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched, "Free ride west. Stop complaining, princess. And here's a little something for doing the job." He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to Percy.

"I don't want your lousy—" He began to say, but was quickly interrupted by Grover, who gave him his best red-alert warning look, "Thank you, Lord Ares. Thanks a lot."

"You owe me one more thing," Cy spoke up all of a sudden. "You promised me information about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?" Ares made a dramatic pause. "She's not dead." I glanced between the god and my friend. I shook my head, "But I— I felt her leave us."

I could have sworn I saw something soften in his eyes for a split second, before he kick-started his motorcycle and said, "Did you?"

"What are you talking about?" Percy scoffed at the god, but I was too buried in my thoughts to hear the rest of the conversation. Instead, I thought over his words. That night, I remember how I somehow felt her life slowly slipping away, before suddenly it stopped. Did that mean that she was not truly gone?

A shiver ran down my spine. I blocked out the familiar feelings of dread and sorrow, the same feelings that I felt when I watched Sally Jackson die, or so I thought.

Suddenly, I was pulled away by Annabeth in the direction of the truck, the god of war now long gone. The first thing that hit me when we entered was the smell. It was like the world's biggest kitty litter.

The trailer was dark inside until Percy uncapped his pen/sword. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for.

Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!

I clenched my jaw. This was horrendous. "This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?" He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and I would've helped him, but just then the trucks engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down.