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—LEAVING the desert was difficult; they all felt as if they were abandoning Bianca in her resting place. Surprisingly, it had been Zoë who whipped them into gear, saying the young di Angelo would be disappointed if they failed their quest in saving the goddess because of her death because, "A Hunter is loyal to Artemis before anything else."
No one argued with her as she left the giant's side, head held high.
When they had reached the highway before, it was completely deserted and quiet. Now though, there was a lonely pickup truck sitting idle on the side of the road. Judith was prepared to try and hot wire it, but the keys were sitting in the front seat with a Cloudcroft keychain — specifically the one Judith had stolen from the tourist shop. She patted down her pockets to realize she didn't have it anymore. They all knew some god out there was looking out for them; it was a small comfort in the somber atmosphere.
The ride was silent, apart from Grover's occasional sniffles. Percy did his best to comfort his friend, but he ultimately made it worse by saying it should have been him to go in the giant instead. Judith had given him the extra silent treatment after that comment. He was willing to risk himself for anyone over anything and Judith hated it. Stupid, loyal hero with no sense of self-preservation.
They arrived at the end of the road just as they ran out of gas, conveniently. They all climbed out of the truck, Thalia kicking the side of her door with her foot with a huff. "Great. What now?"
They all looked around. It was desert for miles in every direction except for the canyon right next to them.
"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."
They all looked over the edge, Thalia taking extra care to hold onto Judith's jacket sleeve with a vice grip as she did so. The canyon was just high enough to make her fear for her life. The path that Grover pointed out was just a sliver, less than a foot wide.
"That's a goat path," Percy said bluntly.
"So?" The satyr asked, not understanding their blank stares.
"The rest of us aren't goats."
"We can make it," Grover said with confidence, though as he noticed Thalia's hold on Judith, he wavered. "I think."
Judith narrowed her eyes. "Only if you carry me." Grover shook his head and refused. "Then we keep walking upstream." Grover didn't argue after that, her words sounding very final and very much not up for debate.
