𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐋¹ || 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐎𝐍

𝐋𝐈

✦ 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 ✦

THEY RODE THE BOAR UNTIL SUNSET, which was about as much as Percy's backside could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was.

He has no idea how many miles they covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping (do boars gallop?) across the desert.

As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

"This is as far as he'll go," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing.

They slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then they waddled away as best they could with their saddle sores. After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled round and galloped back towards the east.

"It likes the mountains better," Percy guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."

Ahead of them was a two-lane road half blown over with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoë Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills... but then Percy noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal.

It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Whoa," Percy said.

Aurora's eyes scanned the endless expanse of the junkyard, a sense of unease settling in her stomach as memories of her vision flooded her mind.

She remembered the towering piles of scrap metal, the ominous presence of the Talos automation prototype, and the feeling of foreboding that had accompanied the scene.

"I don't like it here," Aurora murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, her gaze still fixed on the sprawling landscape of rusted metal and discarded machinery.

Percy sensed her discomfort and without hesitation, he reached out, intertwining his pinky finger with hers in a silent gesture of solidarity and support.

"You and me both, Golden Girl," he said softly, his tone reassuring as he met her gaze with unwavering determination.

Aurora nodded, a small but grateful smile touching her lips as she squeezed Percy's pinky with hers gently. At that moment, the weight of her apprehension lifted ever so slightly, knowing that she wasn't alone in her fears and that Percy would always be there by her side.