The Half-Blood Project

20- The Golden Hills

Frank Zhang 

"Jase, you have to tell us where we are going, not them, us," Hazel complained as they packed everything into the semi-truck, the Stoll's, well, uh, stole. Jason steered us aside, he was our leader until Percy got back, and would be several days until then.

They had been driving along the California coast and Highway 1 for the past three days, fighting off monsters and overcrowding hotel rooms and motels. And Jason still wasn't telling us where we were going to go. 

"San Francisco, The Bay Area, we're close." 

In truth we were close, I knew where we were. A tiny town called Wine was just a few miles off the highway, so we had about three more long hours of driving to go. After I and Hazel got back from our endurance training just outside of LA, we came back to the warehouse completely trashed and with two smoking bronze bulls laying in the middle of the rec room. 

It took us several hours to gather what we needed, our weapons, and keepsakes from a ruined, bruised childhood. I had my mother's medals, the firewood, and my bow on me. All I truly needed, because, with my mom's medals in my pockets, I felt like I had a part of her protecting me along the way. It helped soothed my nerves when they shot up my throat, choking me. 

I sighed and ran a hand along the top of my head, very frustrated at Jason. "Why San Fran? Is there something there that can help us?" 

Jason shook his head. "Not something, someone, a friend I met a while back. Haven't talked to her in almost a year. She has contacts that can help us." 

She? She? For a moment I caught a snippet of jealousy, a strange emotion of Piper, rippling across her smooth, darker features, her dark tanned skin reddish from the hot, summer sun. But I dismissed this. Rule #1 remember? Never Fall In Love With A Teammate. 

But Percy wasn't here and those were his rules. But I still followed them. He was our leader and he knew what to do in times of desperate need. 

It took me a while to realize I aspired to be just like Percy, a leader that everyone admired and respected greatly but treated as an equal, a friend, not someone you feared. I didn't want to be feared but respected. 

I want to lead people into battle and show them how to be themselves, how to make themselves known on the battlefield. 

"Come on, everyone, we're almost there," Jason promised as everyone piled into the vans and semi, I took the second van with Hazel shotgun and the youngest, newest trainee's in the back of the van sleeping, it was three in the morning and Jason never slept. 

I gunned the van and we were off onto the highway in a matter of minutes, wind whipping and the noisy cars around us became a background noise soon. 

"I love road trips." Hazel leaned on her elbow and looked out the window, she looked tired too, her curly hair pulled into a super messy bun, purple circles hanging beneath her eyes, but she kept a warm smile on her face. 

"Yeah? I and my mom used to take them all the time up through British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia, I used to visit her on bases with my grandma and we'd take long trips." I said wistfully, remembering those times.

Hazel snorted. "I forgot you're an illegal immigrant from Canada." 

"That's what you took from that? That I'm an illegal?" I groaned and let my tight grip on the wheel loosen, it's always a treat to talk to Hazel, she has a knack for making me laugh. 

"Yeah, where'd you live in Canada?" 

"By Vancouver. My mom was stationed all over though, I and my gran would go visit her."