Lord of the Eclipse

15 | Driving Lessons With Zoë

Perseus sat back as he watched the earnest heroes gather around the pile of useful scraps and inventions he retrieved from the junkyard. He had only found out that any immortal that is from the direct bloodline of Hephaestus—such as Hera, the sister and wife of his father, Zeus—can pick up anything without getting trampled by the giant animatronic that the blacksmith god had installed as a form of protection so that stray demigods or mortals wouldn't accidentally pick up anything that can cause widespread havoc amongst the two worlds.

Zoë had picked up a rather small innocent-looking silver hairclip which immediately turned into a celestial bronze bow once she unclips it from her long silky hair , Phoebe got a small necklace that could turn into a shield once she presses the center bead, and Perseus got a pen that can turn into a sword when uncapped. Anaklusmos was engraved on the hilt, and he noticed the lieutenant look at it with disgust. The god felt a small tingle on his hand, where the pen was clutched, and he understood. She was the original owner of the pen, as it seemed, but it was his now—partly because she didn't even want to look at it, partly because it fit his hand perfectly.

Hanging around the satyr's neck was a new set of golden reedpipes, and Annabeth was eyeing an unnaturally thick leather-bound greek book.

The stars were unnaturally bright that night.

"We're staying too long," Perseus grumbled, stuffing the pen into his pocket. "We have to leave now if we want to live."

"And what in Hades are we going to use for transportation?" Annabeth sighed, shutting her book closed.

"Well, what did you use to get here?"

"The Erymanthian Boar," the daughter of Athena replied, her brows arched as a shadow of a smile flashed on her face.

———————

"So," Grover bleated nervously. "How do we get out of here?"

"That way," Zoë said, nodding her head towards the pile of broken items in front of them. "That way is west."

"How can you tell?" the satyr mumbled nervously, fiddling with the set of reedpipes hanging from his neck. Zoë merely rolled her eyes at him.

"Dont question the lieutenant of the hunt, Grover." Perseus chuckled. "But it is, I believe, because of the Ursa Major, which is on the north. So that," he points at a bunch of constellations on the left, "must be west."

"Not bad, for someone who hasnt been here for a considerably long time." Zoë said.

"Gee," the god mumbled jokingly. "Thanks."

"Right," Phoebe cut in. "Let's just focus on our task here and dont pick anything up unless you want to die."

"Yes, ma'am." Grover said rather weakly.

"Guys," Annabeth smiled. "Look!"

They had reached the crest of the junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken spears, bent swords, dented shields, metal legs from human statues, and more modern things that Perseus had never seen before.

"Welcome," the immortal said glumly, "to the junkyard of the gods."

"Junk?" Grover picked up a small golden crown. "You call this junk?"

"They're here for a reason, satyr. Most are either defective," Annabeth scowled at Perseus, "or cursed."

"Do drop the things I scavenged if you feel that you aren't safe with using it," the god said, his tone light.

Everyone reluctantly dropped their newly found weapons, except Annabeth and Perseus. Then they continued picking their way through the hills and valleys of junk. If it hadnt been for the Ursa Major, they would have already gotten lost; all the hills looked pretty much the same.

"There," Phoebe called out from behind them. She was pointing at a silver broken-down and battered van parked at the end of the dump.

"That's at least," Perseus paused, narrowing his eyes. "Fifty feet away, isnt it?"

"Approximately, yes."

"We dont have enough time!" Annabeth grunts.

"Then we run for it," Zoë said, sneering. She adjusts her bow and quiver before taking off, her footsteps silent yet precise. She never made contact with any obstacle on the floor, which is impressive since she leapt more times than he could remember just to reach a clear spot. The others followed in pursuit, a bit more gracefully than what they had expected.

By the time they reached the van, Zoë was already inside of it, reviving the engine.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Annabeth asks, frowning slightly.

"Girl, I have been driving since automobiles were first invented. Dont underestimate me,"

It hummed to life, and the hunter gave them a small smirk.

"Guys," Grover whimpered. "I think now is a great time to leave this place."

"He's right," Perseus says as he slowly heads for the vehicle. "We have to leave now; they're coming."

"Mind giving us a heads-up on who exactly is coming after us?" the blonde demigod grumbled as they all climbed into the car.

Then the world around them suddenly exploded in a blinding white light.

~
This is short af and I havent updated in forever I'm sorry. I went to this camp and it's from 8:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. for two weeks. I only have a week left so I'll try to update faster rip.
-A/L