heavy bones [jason grace]

20. facing (un)certain death

We take a taxi about halfway up the mountain.

The cabbie has no choice but to stop. The ranger's station is closed and the road ahead is chained off. I doubt he could get us much farther anyway. The cab has been making weird noises the whole way up. There's no doubt in my mind that Gaea is fucking with us and our mode of transportation. 

"Far as I can go," the cabbie tells us. "You sure about this? Gonna be a long way back, and my car's acting funny. I can't wait for you."

"We're sure," Leo assures him. He gets out and I'm quick to follow. Claustrophobia and being crammed into the backseat of a cab with three other people are not the greatest combination. I notice Leo is staring at the cab's wheels, which are slowly but surely sinking into the road.

Piper, Jason, and Hedge make their way out of the car while Leo pays the cabbie with the rest of the cash Piper got from Aphrodite. I decide to get some stretching in before we start our hike. I wince at the sound of my joints popping. Leo says something to the driver that I don't quite catch, but whatever it is, it makes him get the hell out of dodge. I watch the car shrink into the distance, fighting the urge to run after it and beg for him to take us back to safety.

"That's Concord," Jason speaks up, pointing to the north and directing my attention to the view. Wow. It's absolutely gorgeous from up here. "Walnut Creek below us. To the south, Danville, past those hills. And that way..."

He points west now, at golden hills and the layer of fog beyond them. "That's the Berkeley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco."

His words send a shiver down my spine. San Francisco. From what I can remember, I've only ever heard horror stories, and yet I have the strangest feeling that it's where I'm supposed to be. Or I was supposed to be. Ugh, all of this is giving me the biggest headache.

Piper walks up next to Jason and lays a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jason? You remember something? You've been here?"

"Yes...no. It just seems important." Jason looks kind of like he's had his heart ripped out of him. I come up on his other side and take his hand. He makes eye contact with me and smiles sadly. "Am I crazy?"

"I think we're all a little insane," I say. "But I feel it too. That tug." I don't say it aloud, but I can practically hear a voice in the back of my mind whispering, Once we hit San Francisco, we're practically home free.

"That's Titan land," Hedge chimes in, gesturing to it with a jerk of his head. "Bad place. Trust me, this is as close to 'Frisco as we want to get."

"Hey guys," Leo calls. "Let's keep moving."

I look down to see our feet are almost completely stuck in the dirt. It's like we're standing in quicksand.

"Gaea is stronger here," Hedge complains. He takes off his shoes and tosses them to Leo. "Keep those for me, Valdez. They're nice."

Leo rolls his eyes and lets out a snort. "Yes, sir, Coach. Would you like them polished?"

"That's varsity thinking, Valdez," Hedge praises. "But first, we'd better hike up this mountain while we still can."

Piper crosses her arms over her chest. "How do we know where the giant is?"

Jason points towards the peak, where a plume of smoke is stretching into the sky. "Smoke equals fire. We'd better hurry."

We start our trek up the mountain, fighting against the earth with every step. It's not an experience I'd ever like to repeat. I'm sweating so badly I have to take off my jacket and put my hair up in a ponytail to keep it off my neck. After what feels like forever, we're finally nearing the crest of the mountain. We're all soaked in sweat and grime and somehow, Leo has gotten grease all over his hands. We must smell awful right now.