Gone Girl.¹

𝟬𝟮𝟰. to love is to sacrifice

"Blackjack, dive!" he yelled.

What? The pegasus asked. No way could he... Holy horse feed!

They were at least a hundred feet up, but the limo came sailing toward them, flipping fender over fender like a two-ton boomerang. Annabeth and Porkpie swerved madly to the left, while Blackjack tucked in his wings and plunged. The limo sailed over his head, missing by maybe two inches. It cleared the suspension lines of the bridge and fell toward the East River. Monsters jeered and shouted, and the Minotaur picked up another car.

"Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo cabin," he told Blackjack. "Stay in earshot but get out of danger!"

I ain't gonna argue, boss! Blackjack swooped down behind an overturned school bus, where a couple of campers were hiding. Annabeth and him leaped off as soon as their pegasi's hooves touched the pavement. Then Blackjack and Porkpie soared into the night sky.

Michael Yew ran up to the two. He was definitely the shortest commando Percy had ever seen. He had a bandaged cut on his arm, his ferrety face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time.

"Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," he said.

"Then we're dead," Michael announced, tilting his head towards Amaryllis' direction. "She's been great, really. But the monsters keep coming and I don't want her to exhaust herself to death."

"You still have your flying chariot?" Annabeth asked.

"Nah," Michael said. "Left it at camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing."

"Least you tried," Percy said.

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. The arrow made a screaming sound as it flew. When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran. Others disintegrated on the spot.

"That was my last sonic arrow," Michael said.

"A gift from your dad?" Percy asked. "God of music?"

Michael grinned wickedly. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill." Sure enough, most monsters were regrouping, shaking off their confusion. "We have to fall back," he said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," Percy said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Michael laughed in disbelief. "How do you plan to do that?"

He drew his sword, Riptide and it was enough of an answer.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "let me come with you."

"Too dangerous," he said. "Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while me and Mar keep them focused on us. If anybody can do all that, you can."