Tiffany Hanson, A Percy Jackson Fan Fiction

19, Chapter

"Well, well." said the war god, "You didn't get yourself killed." He was waiting for us outside of the diner.

"You knew it was a trap." Percy said acidly.

Ares grinned wickedly. "Bet that crippled black-smith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You look good on TV."

Percy shoved the shield towards him. "You're a jerk."

I bit my tongue. One should never call a god a jerk. Ares snatched the shield form him and spun it in the air like the Italian pizza guys. it morphed itself into a bulletproof vest and he slung it over his shoulder. "You see that truck over there?" he pointed at an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, black printed on white. I couldn't really read it, but from what I could tell it said: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMAIN ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

"You're kidding." Percy said.

Ares snapped his fingers and I jumped a little when the back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job." He pulled a blue backpack off the handlebars of his motorcycle and tossed it to Percy. He opened it and I looked in. There was some fresh clothes for the four of us, twenty dollars, and a pouch of golden drachmas. At the bottom there was a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

Percy started up, glaring down at the backpack. "I don't want your lousy-"

"Thank you, very much, Lord Ares." I said quickly, and grabbed Percy's arm, steering him away. "Thanks a lot."

Percy looked at the diner and resisted. "You owe me one thing." he said to Ares. Ares walked to his motorcycle, but waved his hand at Percy, a gesture that he was listening. "You promised me information about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?" he kick started the bike. "She's not dead."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

"Kept. Why?"

"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

"Nobody's controlling me." Percy jerked his arm out of my hand.

Ares laughed. "Oh yeah?" He chucked to himself, like Percy was a mildly entertaining television program. "See you around, kid."

Percy balled his fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

The fire behind Ares' sunglasses glowed brighter. I suddenly felt really hot, like it had raised ten degrees. "We'll meet again. Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back." He revved his Harley and turned onto Delancy Street, roaring away from us.

There was a pause, then Annabeth said "That was not smart Percy."

"I don't care." I said moodily. He zipped the backpack up and slung it over his shoulder.

Annabeth started to say something but I walked away. I wanted to take a closer look at the truck. I wasn't a mechanic, but I wanted to see if I could trust it. I walked around the back and opened the doors.

The smell... Oh gods, the smell was awful. I didn't think we had a lot of time, though I couldn't let myself ease into it. "Guys!" I called. The other three were still standing on the other side of the street. They were looking into the diner. All three of them turned in my direction. I waved them over, my face squished up because of the smell. The ran across the street and we climbed in, closing the doors behind us.