a story as endless as the ocean . pjo / allie jackson

1.0 dreams by fleetwood mac

1.0 In the Stillness of Remembering What You Had and What You Lost

We were crossing the Potomac when we spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one we'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward us.

"They know the van," I said, leaning forward to see better through the windshield. "We have to ditch it."

I swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was still gaining on us.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover suggested hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," I pointed out pessimistically. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid. Sometimes mortals can be even more horrible than the monsters are."

Well, I couldn't exactly argue with that, especially after my childhood growing up with Gabe. Not that I talked about it, but my scars that couldn't have come from monster claws tended to say enough. For Luke, at least, and he had enough sense to keep from asking me about them and would listen with it bottled up too much inside me.

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic. It kept pace with us easily. Any moment now, we could be attacked, though hopefully not while driving through a crowded street like this.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But of course, he didn't answer. The sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm, and the amount of strength that would be needed to blast the helicopter out of the sky would be way beyond Thalia herself.

"There!" Bianca cried, pointing furiously. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoe protested.

"Trust me," Bianca insisted.

I shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," she explained. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

I bought us tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after us.

Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

I frowned. "New? But that station's really old. Like, much older than me, old. How...?"

"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?"

Bianca nodded.

Now, I was no expert on D.C.'s underground transportation system, but I knew it was older than me, and I was eighteen and a half. Bianca looked like she was maybe twelve and she said she was twelve, so how the hell...? Everyone seemed to be on the same page as I was.

"Bianca," Zoe began. "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," I said tensely. "Next station."