Miss Quinn

75 ~ The Hoover Dam

At the edge of the dump, Emma, Percy, Thalia, Grover, and Zoe found a tow truck so old it might've been thrown away itself. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so they decided to borrow it.

Or, keep it.

Thalia drove. She didn't seem as stunned as Zoe, Grover, Emma, or Percy.

"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded the group. "We need to keep moving."

She navigated through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at. Zoe sat up front with Thalia. Grover, Emma, and Percy sat in the pickup bed, leaning against the sides. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like an insult after losing Bianca.

Emma watched Percy's hand close around the little figurine that had cost Bianca's life. Emma could tell Percy thought it was his fault. But Bianca had risked her life for them, knowing she probably wouldn't make it out alive. And she'd done it without a second thought. There was no one to blame, it had been Bianca's choice.

Emma thought about what she would say to Nico. She'd promised him to keep Bianca safe. She'd failed.

"It should've been me," Percy said. "I should've gone into the giant."

"Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if..." He sniffled. "Do you think anybody else would be my best friend?"

"Ah, Grover..."

He wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy, like he had on war paint. "I'm... I'm okay."

But he wasn't okay. Ever since the encounter in New Mexico—whatever had happened when that wild wind blew through—he seemed really fragile, even more emotional than usual. Emma was afraid to talk to him about it, because he might start bawling.

At least Percy seemed to realize he had to focus on the quest.

The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well, because the road dead-ended.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

Emma scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below the group.

"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."

Emma tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a goat path," She said.

"So?" he asked.

"The rest of us aren't goats."

"We can make it," Grover said. "I think."

Emma thought about that. She had climbed cliffs before, but she didn't like them. The last time she cliff-climbed, she had been on Polyphemus's island with Annabeth and Percy. It hadn't gone extremely well.

Emma looked over at Thalia and saw how pale she'd gotten. She looked absolutely terrified.

"No," Percy said. "I, uh, think we should go farther upstream."

Grover said, "But—"

"Come on," Emma said. "A walk won't hurt us."

Emma glanced at Thalia. Her eyes said a quick Thank you.