𐌙/𐌍 Ᏽ𐌵𐌀𐌋𐌄 & 𐌕𐋅𐌄 Ᏽ𐌐𐌄𐌀𐌕 𐌌𐌙𐌕𐋅𐌔 ¹

Chapter 11

  Now, I didn't know much about D.C., but I didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. I guess everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they looked pretty confused.

  "Bianca," Zoe said. "How long ago…" Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

  "We need to change trains," I said. "Next station."

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

  Unfortunately, when we finally got off the train we found ourselves 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. Not that I would mind either way, I never did much with cold.

  We 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 trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!'

  We huddled around his fire, Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-g-great."

  "My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.

  "Feet," I corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy.

  "Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca said. "Chiron—"

  "No," Zoe said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

  I gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Annabeth was in danger. My mother was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And we were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless persons 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 and his voice was soft and plump. "You kids need a train going west?"

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

  He pointed one greasy hand.

  Suddenly I 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 us was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.

  An hour later we were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because we all got our own luxury car. Zoe and Bianca were crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Grover was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini with Percy on his passenger seat. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock stations from D.C.

  "May I join you?" I asked her.

  She shrugged, so I climbed into the shotgun seat and kicked my feet into the dashboard.