LUNACY; percy jackson

03.11

"Yes, sir," Percy said. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly they all 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. "Thanks, uh..."

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of them was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.

The Storm twins both grumbled a prayer, having a feeling they knew who was behind the train and fire.

An hour later they were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now,

because they all got our 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, Donnie at his side, occasionally pointing something out or making weird "car" noises. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the altrock stations from D.C. Andromeda was sitting in the backseat, leaning her crossed arms on the back of Thalia's seat, her amethyst eyes scanning the area around them.

"Join you?" Percy asked them.

Thalia shrugged and Andromeda wasn't really paying attention, so he climbed into the shotgun seat.

The radio was playing the White Stripes. Percy knew the song because it was one of the only CDs he owned that his mom liked. She said it reminded her of Led Zeppelin. Thinking about his mom made him sad, because it didn't seem likely he'd be home for Christmas. He might not live that long.

"Nice coat," Thalia told him, Andromeda snorting from behind them, covering it with her hand.

He pulled the brown duster around him, thankful for the warmth, quickly throwing a glare the amethyst eyed girls direction. "Yeah, but the Nemean Lion wasn't the monster we're looking for."

"Not even close. We've got a long way to go."

"Whatever this mystery monster is, the General said it would come for you. They wanted to isolate you from the group, so the monster will appear and battle you one-on-one."

"He said that?"

"Well, something like that. Yeah."

"That's great. I love being used as bait."

Andromeda raised her hand, "I agree. I mean—" She stopped herself, seeing their looks. "What? It can be fun at times."

"No idea what the monster might be?" Percy continued.

Thalia shook her head morosely. "But you know where we're going, don't you? San Francisco. That's where Artemis was heading."

Andromeda perked up at the mention of San Francisco. She remembered how Annabeth's dad was moving there with his wife and sons. She also remembered her own visits to California, flashes of a blonde with eclectic blue eyes and a scar on his lip appearing in her mind, as well as ones of a girl with light toffee colored skin and dark hair with the most green eyes ever.

"Why?" Percy asked. "What's so bad about San Francisco?"

"The Mist is really thick there because the Mountain of Despair is so near. Titan magic— what's left of it—still lingers. Monsters are attracted to that area like you wouldn't believe." Andromeda explained, the other two demigods turning to her.

"What's the Mountain of Despair?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow at him. "You really don't know? Ask stupid Zoë. She's the expert."