OH, CHÉRIE!¹ percy jackson

007

thalia sat forward. "wait a minute. no subway at all?"

bianca nodded.

ivy didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. she guessed everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they looked pretty confused.

"bianca," zoë said. "how long ago..." her voice faltered. the sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"we need to change trains," percy said. "next station."

over the next half hour, all they thought about was getting away safely. they changed trains twice. ivy had no idea where they were going, but after a while they lost the helicopter.

unfortunately, when they finally got off the train they found themselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. and snow. lots of snow. it seemed much colder here. ivy "the-furnace" fitzgerald didn't feel it. her friends huddled close to her for some sort of warmth, she wanted to make a ball of light for warmth but percy insisted that she had restrained enough for the day, that they never knew when a fight was coming and she needed her strength.

they wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years.

a homeless guy was standing at a trashcan fire. they must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "y'all need to get warmed up? come on over!"

they wobbled around his fire. thalia's teeth were chattering. she said, "well this is g-g-g-great."

"my hooves are frozen," grover complained.

"feet," percy corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy.

"maybe we should contact camp," bianca said. "chiron –"

"no," zoë said. "they cannot help us any more. we must finish this quest ourselves."

ivy gazed miserably around the railway yard. somewhere, far to the west, annabeth was in danger. artemis was in chains. a doomsday monster was on the loose. and they were stuck on the outskirts of d.c. sharing a homeless person's fire.

"you know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." his face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "you kids need a train going west?"

"yes, sir," percy said. "you know of any?"

he pointed one greasy hand.

suddenly ivy noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. it was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. the side of the freight train said sun west line.

"that's... convenient," thalia said.

"thank you..." ivy turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone.

the trashcan in front of us was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.

an hour later they were rumbling west. there was no problem about who would drive now, because they all got their own luxury car. zoë and bianca were crashed out in a lexus on the top deck. grover was playing race-car driver behind the wheel of a lamborghini. thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black mercedes slk so she could pick up the alt rock stations from d.c. ivy found herself a range rover evoque towards the back, having common sense in that the biggest cars have the biggest seats

she settled herself in the back seat. grateful for her short stature that allowed her to fit in without cramping. she used her tote bag as a pillow, but no matter how much she tossed and turned, no position felt comfortable.