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

1.2 the land without rain

1.2 One is Lost in the Land Without Rain

We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as I could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was. And I had never been a champion rider.

I have no idea how many miles we covered, but eventually the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping across the desert.

As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

"This is as far as he'll go," Grover informed us as he clambered off awkwardly. "We need to get away while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy munching on the cacti. Then we waddled away as fast as we could with our saddle sores.

After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.

"It likes the mountains better," I guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia replied. "Look."

Ahead of us was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoe was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crookedly above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills... but then I noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Does anybody else have a bad feeling about this?" I muttered warily, eyeing the place suspiciously. I didn't know why, but something about it put me on edge.

To my surprise, Zoe gave a nod of agreement.

"I believe that you are correct," she answered, teasing her bow, which had randomly appeared from nowhere again. "There is something in the air that makes me feel wary. We must take care."

"Well, either way, something tells me that we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia sighed. She looked at Grover. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"

Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Grover looked concerned.

"That's us," he said, jabbing a finger at said nuts. "Those five nuts right there."

"And?" I pressed him. "What else?"

"That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."

"A monster?" Thalia asked.

Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge..."

"Let me guess," I huffed. "Over there." I jerked a thumb toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet. To my utter lack of surprise, Grover nodded, an anxious expression on his face as he confirmed my suspicions.

"Great," Thalia mumbled.

After some debate, we decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. It was only logical. After all, monsters are always stronger in the dark, and we were weakened by the lack of proper vision. Going at daylight might delay us, but we'd be better off being slow than being dead. Besides, we had to sleep at some point. Being human was so inconvenient, damn.