gnossienne
n. the realisation that you didn't actually know someone as well as you thought you did
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'Look, I never wanted to be a half-blood.
Let's start from the top, shall we?
My name is Cassandra Jackson, but everyone usually calls me Ca...
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True to his word, Ares was waiting for us back at the diner, with a ride heading west. Although, he never mentioned anything about that ride transporting zoo animals. Ares shared the information he had on our mom. She wasn't dead. Instead, Hades was holding her hostage.
Bad news, Percy managed to piss off Ares. I'd like to say I didn't anger him either, but... I most definitely did.
We clambered onto our ride. The smell hit me and I had to swallow the urge to gag. It was like we were standing in the world's biggest kitty litter tray.
It was dark inside the trailer until Percy and I uncapped our swords. The blades casted a faint bronze light. I froze at the sight in front of us. My hand flew up to my mouth, muffling the horrified gasp.
Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals; a zebra, a male albino lion and some antelope I didn't know the name of.
Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and antelope each had a polystyrene tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a silver balloon tied to one of it's horn. And the poor lion was pacing back and forth in it's tiny cage on soiled blankets, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. Flies buzzed round him and you could see his ribs easily.
"How could anyone do this?" My voice came out in a wobbly whisper of disgust and horror.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
Before either of us had the chance to confront the men who had dealt this cruelty to the animals, the truck's engine roared to life. The trailer began shaking as we started moving, and we were forced to take a seat.
Percy found a water jug and refilled the animals empty bowls, keeping a safe distance from the lion as I'm positive we looked tastier than the turnips. Whilst he did that, I used Ripwave to drag out the mismatched food and into their right cages.
Grover helped keep the antelope calm as Annabeth used her dagger to cut the balloon off. She wanted to cut the bubblegum from the zebra's mane, but it was too risky to do whilst the trailer was rocking about.
We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for the night; Grover curled up on a turnip sack. Percy sat against the wall, Annabeth next to him and me next to her. I leaned my head against her shoulder, trying not to think at all. Anymore thinking and I'm sure my mind was going to explode
Annabeth opened up the packet of Double Stuff Oreos, from the backpack Ares gave us, handed me one and began to nibble at hers. I stayed quiet, listening to Annabeth's and Percy's conversation. Grover, who I had thought was asleep, joined in at one point. He came clean about being the satyr that led Annabeth, Luke and Thalia to camp. Annabeth explained how she'd ran away to Percy and with a nod off me, filled him in on meeting me and how I don't remember because Poseidon had taken my memories.
