Fire boy and water girl

Horses can talk?

    By the time we got to Times Square, I felt like we run a marathon. We climbed out a basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and crowds.

    It felt weird being on land for the first time in a long time but I was more wigged out by the fact that the first god I meet died.

   Percy led the way into an alley then whistled.

  A flock of flying horses descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. At this point nothing could surprise me.

  A black horse landed and said "Yo, boss you lived!"

  "Yeah," Percy told him. "I'm lucky that way. Listen, we need a ride to camp quick." My eyes widen and I froze.

  "The horses are talking." I said with wide eyes my voice going up a octave and Percy laughed.

   "It's a kid of Poseidon thing."

"Yeah sure, cause why not." I mumbled.

   "Hey I liked her." said a white horses with patches of brown, trotting over me. "Hey chicka!" It said.

  " Porkpie not now, you need a ride boss? sure that's my specialty! Oh man, you got that Cyclops with you? Yo, Guido! How's your back holding up?"

   The pegasus Guido groaned and complained, but eventually he agreed to carry Tyson.

   Everybody started saddling up, except Rachel.

   "Well, I guess this is it."

   "Thanks, Rachel," Percy said. "We couldn't have done it without you."

   "I wouldn't have missed it. I mean, except for almost dying, and Pan..." Her voice faltered.

   "He said something about your father,"  Percy asked "What did he mean?"

   Rachel twisted the strap on her backpack. "My dad...My dad's job. He's kind of a famous businessman."

  "Woah so you're rich?" I asked from on top of Porkpie.

  "Well, yeah."

  "So that's how you got the chauffeur to help us? You just said your dad's name and—"

    "Yes," Rachel cut Percy off.

    "Percy...my dad's a land developer. He flies all over the world, looking for tracts of undeveloped land." She took a shaky breath.

   "The wild. He—he buys it up. I hate it, but he plows it down and builds ugly subdivisions and shopping centers. And now that I've seen Pan...Pan's death—"

   "Hey, you can't blame yourself for that." Percy said.

"You don't know the worst of it. I—I don't like to talk about my family. I didn't want you to know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." I don't think anything could change my view on Rachel.

   "No," Percy said. "It's cool. Look, Rachel, you did awesome. You led us through the maze. You were so brave. That's the only thing I'm going to judge you on. I don't care what your dad does."Rachel looked at him gratefully.

   "Well...if you ever feel like hanging out with a mortal again...you could call me or something."

   "Uh, yeah. Sure." She knit her eyebrows and I really wanted to smack Percy up the head.

   I glared at him and he quickly said "I mean...I'd like that,"

   "My number's not in the book," she said.

   "I've got it." Was all he said

"Still on your hand? No way."

"No. I kinda...memorized it." Her smile came back slowly, but a lot happier. Really subtle Percy   

   "See you later, Percy Jackson. Go save the world for me, okay?" She walked off down Seventh Avenue and disappeared into the crowds.