𝐃𝐄𝐉𝐀 𝐕𝐔 • Percy Jackson.

III - 07

act III━━━━

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

❝ Dreams aren't great. Guilt is worse.

Nonchalance is fatal. ❞

                PROPHECIES WERE TWISTED WORDS, hiding implications behind their vagueness. Seizing both tragedy and desire. Amani had heard his lines in the prophecy and it didn't sound like he'd bring much good. 'Blood of lavender shall break', lovely. He thought sarcastically. He didn't really understand his lines, but he had a faint notion, and unfortunately it didn't ease his uneasiness. Before he could continue his musings Percy broke the tense silence saying, "they know the van. We have to ditch it." They all slammed into the side as Zoë swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining. "Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully. Amani shook his head, "they'd think it was theirs." He spoke instinctively. Percy nodded before asking, "how can the Generals use mortals anyway?" Zoë clenched the wheel. "Mercenaries," Zoë said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

Percy looked confused. "But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" he asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?" Zoë 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 they were 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. Amani coughed as a way to stifle his laughter, finding such words ridiculous.

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

"We'll be trapped," Zoë said. "Trust me," Bianca said. Zoë 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.

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

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

They bought the tickets and went through the turnstiles, looking back every few moments to see if anyone was pursuing them. 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." Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I remembered that station from when Nico and I came through last summer. I was 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 here as little kids, there was no subway." Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?" She asked, her eyebrows raised, her voice hinting with suspicion. Bianca nodded. Amani furrowed his eyebrows, the subway system was at least a couple decades old...He thought with doubt.

"Bianca," Zoë said. "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again. "We need to change trains," Percy said. "Next station." Over the next half hour, they no longer had the mood to casually chat. They had to change trains twice with no exact destination in mind. Unfortunately, when they finally got off 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.