𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜 ➵ 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

: ̗̀➛𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 percy jackson is strictly an acquaintance

not edited

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

They rode the boar until sunset and, boy, did Devi's back feel like it was going to break.

She had no idea how far they traveled, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser they were galloping across the desert.

Devi should've realized red flag number one right away which when them riding into a literal desert, a place the group said they'd avoid, but she was too busy thinking about the lines of her own prophecy.

She'll brush with death's cold, yet fate's not set,
An item bestowed keeps life's bet.

That did not sound good. What did it mean that she'll brush with death's cold? Was she going to die?

No one, other than Percy, knew about her knowing her prophecy. There was no one she could go to ask. Chiron would be furious with her for finding out and so will Dionysus, and she wouldn't even want to know how her father would react if he found out.

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

"This is as far as he'll go," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing. One by one, they slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then the group waddled away as best they could with their saddle sores.

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

"It likes the mountains better," Percy guessed.

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

Ahead of them was a two-lane road half blown over 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 Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills...they didn't look like regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that.

"Whoa," Percy exclaimed.

Devi agreed with his surprise.

The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. 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, but Grover looked concerned.

"That's us," he said. "Those six nuts right there."

"Which one is me?" Percy asked.

"The little deformed one," Zoe suggested.

Devi snickered and held up a hand, "That was a good one."

Zoe grinned and returned the high five with a crisp smack.

"Oh, shut up."

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

"A monster?" Thalia asked.