ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter ten
━━━━━ THEY HAD ARRIVED on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled into the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.
Even with her lion-skin coat, Violet was freezing by the time they got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. As they walked, she and Percy told Grover about their conversation with Apollo the night before—how he'd told Percy to seek out Nereus in San Francisco.
Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."
Violet tried not to get too depressed about their chances. She didn't want to send Grover into a panic, but she knew they had another huge deadline looming, aside from saving Artemis in time for her council of the gods. The General had said Annabeth would only be kept alive until the winter solstice. That was Friday, only four days away. And the General said something about a sacrifice. Violet didn't like the sound of that at all.
The six of them stopped in the middle of town. Pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafés, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.
"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."
"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.
"Yes," Zoë agreed. "Coffee is good."
"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."
"Hot chocolate," Violet mumbled, rubbing her arms. She sent the café a wistful look.
Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you three go get us some food? Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."
They agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes.
Predictably, the café was empty. Violet didn't expect much else. Besides the two workers behind the granite counter, there was only one other customer. He sat away in the far corner, ducked behind a whirring laptop, looking to be around his early twenties. A college student home for winter break, she figured. And the two workers looked to be high schoolers; one was a boy not-so-discreetly playing on his phone from behind the cash register, and the other was glaring down at an old coffee brewer as if it had personally offended her and called her names.
When the worker noticed the three, he stood taller and tucked away his phone. He gave them a smile, but his tone was incredibly bored; "Welcome, what can I get you today?"
"Could we get a few more minutes?" Violet asked.
The worker shrugged and started clicking through his phone. Zoë sneered at his careless attitude. Before the Hunter could say anything, Violet dragged her over to the sweets placed out in a glass case.
"Oo!" Grover said, peering at the sweets offered. "They have banana bread!"
"And madeleines!" said Violet, pointing at the small, sponge cakes placed inside white wrappings. "I love madeleines!"
Zoë looked down at the desserts the daughter of Eros was pointing at. "You've had madeleines?"
Violet shrugged. "My mom would make them for me all the time as a kid, especially when we lived in France."
Grover looked over. "You lived in France?"
"At one point, yeah."
Once they figured out what they needed to order, Grover volunteered to give the order to the cashier. That left Violet and Zoë to claim one of the many empty tables inside the small café.
It was awkward. As Violet expected it to be.
Zoë had never been cold to her, but still, there was this air of tension between them. The Hunter stared at her as if she saw through Violet's skin and straight into her soul. It was creepy. It was like Zoë was searching her brain for every secret kept from the world.
"I ..." the lieutenant spoke first, "I apologize for what I said in that museum. I realize that I was being too harsh. Thee and that Percy boy was correct."
Violet pulled at the paper wrapper around a straw she stole from the counter. "It's fine," she said. "I know you're just worried about Artemis."
A wave of sadness washed across the Hunter's face. "I am worried about my lady," she admitted. "We are not making enough progress. We have to save Artemis by the winter solstice; four days from today."
"And Annabeth," Violet added.
Zoë looked at her. "Right. Annabeth, thy friend. Are thou sure she is with my goddess?"
The daughter of Eros shifted in her seat. She debated on whether to tell Zoë about her dreams; the dreams about the General, Luke and Annabeth, and Artemis. She glanced at the Hunter, her lips pursed tightly.
"Percy and I ..." She took a breath, stopping at the expression on Zoë's face. "What?"
Zoë curled her lips. "Thee must stay careful of that son of Poseidon."
Violet frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"He shall break thy heart," the Hunter warned. "That is all boys are good for."
The girl blinked. "What? I—Hold on. What are you talking about?"
Zoë sniffed. "Just because I swore to remain a maiden does not mean I do not recognize the expressions of devotion on a naïve girl's face."
"You think I like Percy?" Violet pointed out the window to the café, in the direction the grocery store stood. "No way! I don't like—Percy. That's just ..." She shook her head at the idea. "He likes Annabeth, anyways. And Annabeth likes him."
"Thou did not deny being in love." Zoë leaned forward in her seat, her eyes blazing like molten lava. "Thy feelings shall end with misery. I've seen it with my own eyes."
Violet sat back in her seat, shaking her head. Her face burned. "I don't love anyone."
"Daughter of Eros does not love?" said the Hunter. "I find that impossible."
"There are different kinds of love, Zoë," said Violet. "See—I love Annabeth like a sister. But I don't romantically love anyone. Not yet, anyway."
"If you must fall in love," Zoë spat, as if the idea disgusted her, "do not fall in love with a boy like Percy Jackson. I know boys like him—heroes. Warriors. They are nothing but trouble. All they understand is how to cause pain. They break hearts everywhere they go."
Violet took a sharp breath, crossing her arms. "Maybe I'd like to find that out for myself."
Zoë narrowed her eyes. "Thee must be careful," she insisted. "Love is a dangerous game."
The daughter of Eros scoffed. "I know that, obviously. My dad's God of Love, Zoë."
"Do not ignore my warnings," said the Hunter. "I've seen strong maidens like thee fall to disgrace. They trust too much in their hearts. They rely on love to fix everything." Zoë shook her head, as if shaking away memories. "Maidens must trust themselves. Trust thyself before anything else."
Violet watched her, trying to wrap her mind around the idea of being so closed off from romantic love. It was scary to her. Zoë seemed so certain in her way of thinking. Violet swallowed harshly before asking, "Did—did a hero break your heart?"
Zoë's stare could've melted the strongest of irons. "I joined Artemis's side for a reason."
Before Violet could question further, Grover clopped over, two paper bags in hand. He gave the two a wide smile, sitting beside Violet.
"They're brewing the coffee right now, and they'll going to wait until it's ready to pour the hot chocolate," he reported back. "So—what were you two talking about?"
🌷
It ended up only being five more minutes until their order was ready. Violet, Zoë, and Grover exited the café with brown paper bags filled with pastries and patterned to-go cups for their drinks. They shuffled through the snow towards the grocery store, where Percy and Bianca stood outside, talking together.
When they reached Bianca and Percy ( with Thalia nowhere in sight; Violet might've been worried if the two seemed worried themselves, so she figured the daughter of Zeus was alright ), they passed out the goods. Hot chocolate was passed to Violet, Bianca, and Percy; coffee was for Grover, Thalia, and Zoë. Violet took a gigantic bite of one of the three madeleines ( she would've gotten more, but Grover limited her to three ) from the café.
"We should do the tracking spell," said Zoë. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"
"Um ..." Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to—"
He froze mid-sentence, his eyes wide with confusion.
Violet was about to ask what was wrong when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had got lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.
Zoë gasped. "Grover, thy cup."
The satyr dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a tiny flock of doves. A rubber rat that sat on the railing in front of the grocery store squeaked. It scampered off the railing and into the trees—real fur, real whiskers.
Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. They gathered around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.
"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just ... What's wrong with Grover?"
"I don't know," Percy admitted. "He collapsed."
Grover groaned loudly from his messy snow angel in the muddy snow. Violet cringed at all the dirt coating his clothes now.
"Well, get him up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."
🌷
The six of them made it to the edge of town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped out from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of grey camouflage, they were now wearing New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they still had the same transparent grey skin and yellow eyes.
They drew their handguns, taking aim.
Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't even flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into Percy.
Violet pulled out her bow, unsure of how much good she could do against some guns. Percy unsheathed Riptide. Zoë and Bianca both drew their bows, as well. However, Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept swooning and leaning against her.
"Back up," Thalia said.
They started to—but then Violet heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind them.
They were surrounded.
She wondered where the other skeletons were. She had seen a dozen at the Smithsonian. Then one of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it.
Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering sound, like dry teeth on bone. Suddenly, Violet understood what was going on. The skeletons had split up to look for the questers. These skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon they would have a full party on their hands.
"It's near," Grover moaned.
"It's here," Percy corrected.
"No," the satyr insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."
Violet didn't know what he was talking about, but she was too worried about getting any bullet holes to ask. And to make matters worse, Grover wasn't in good shape; he was in no shape to walk, much less fight.
"We'll have to go one on one," Thalia said. "Five of them. Five of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover that way."
"Agreed," said Zoë.
"The Wild!" Grover moaned.
A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees. Violet smelled the sweetness of spring. She wanted to follow that—where the wind was blowing towards. It reminded her of home. It gave her a sense of belonging. Instead of following the warm wind, Violet kept her eyes on the skeletons.
Percy charged the skeletons first.
One of the skeletons fired. Somehow, Percy deflected the bullet with the blade of his sword and kept charging. Then a second skeleton drew a baton but Percy sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then he swung Riptide through the skeleton's waist and cut him in half.
His bones unknitted and clattered to the tarmac in a heap. Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at the boy and tried to fire, but Percy knocked his gun into the snow. Then Thalia charged the second skeleton.
Violet turned to the three skeletons behind her. They looked just as dangerous as the two Percy had dealt with, equipped with guns and batons. She and the Hunters fired arrows at the three skeletons. Their arrows didn't do any harm as they flew between the ribcages of the skeletons; the only thing the archers managed to accomplish was piss off the warriors even more. Grover stood there and held his hands out to the trees, looking like he wanted to hug them.
There was a crashing sound in the forest to their left, like a bulldozer. Maybe the skeletons' reinforcements were arriving. Violet cursed herself for never keeping any sort of close-range weapon on her. Even if she wasn't good at close-range fighting, it still would've been helpful to block any attacks.
There was no way to stop them. She, Bianca, and Zoë kept firing point-blank, but the arrows kept on whistling through the skeletons. One lunged at Bianca, and Violet thought she was a goner, but the Hunter whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.
The daughter of Eros stared at her. "How d'you do that?" she asked in shock.
"I don't know," Bianca admitted nervously. "Lucky shot?"
"Well, do it again!"
She tried, but the remaining four skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed the questers back, keeping them all at baton's length.
"Plan?" Percy asked as they retreated.
Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were cracking.
"A gift," Grover muttered.
And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig Violet had ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet tall, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.
It squealed and raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. The force was so great they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere. Violet hoped the force of the hits would mean they wouldn't be able to form back together.
Then the pig turned on them.
Thalia raised her spear, ready to gouge it, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it!"
The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.
"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoë said, eyeing the wild animal warily. "I don't think we can kill it."
"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"
"Well, tell the Wild to take back its 'blessing' and give us something more useful!" Violet complained. "Like—oh, I don't know—some guns!"
The boar squealed and swung its tusk. Zoë and Bianca dived out of the way. Violet grabbed Grover by the arm to pull him out of the way so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express.
"Yeah, I feel blessed!" Percy said, backing away from the animal. "Scatter!"
All six ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.
"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.
"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"
"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.
To Violet, that seemed like a fair question, but the pig was offended and charged her. She was faster than Violet had realized. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign.
Violet was pretty sure Hercules had fought this boar once—which wasn't a total shock as Hercules always had to be involved, somehow. However, she couldn't remember how that ancient Greek hero had beaten it. She had a vague memory of the boar plowing down several Greek cities before Hercules managed to subdue it. She sure hoped Cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks.
"Keep moving!" Zoë yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him.
But Violet, Thalia, and Percy won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on them, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives. The boar charged them.
The only way they managed to keep ahead of it was because they ran uphill. The three could dodge and weave between trees, the boar only seemed to be able to plow through them.
On the other side of the hill, Violet found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow.
"This way!" She grabbed Percy's hand and Thalia's arm, and pulled them along towards the rails. The boar roared behind them, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves were just not made for this, thank the gods. Violet couldn't help but notice its overgrown hooves—it really needed a manicure.
Ahead of them, she saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge.
Percy started running ahead of the two girls. He yelled to them, "Follow me!"
Thalia slowed down—Violet didn't have time to ask why—but she pulled the daughter of Zeus along. Behind them, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased them.
Violet, Percy, and Thalia ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.
"No!" the daughter of Zeus screamed.
She had turned as white as ice. They were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.
The boar was right behind them.
"Come on!" Percy said. "It'll hold our weight—probably."
"I can't!" Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear.
"Thalia, what's wrong?" Violet asked, jumping nervously in her feet.
The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.
"Now!" the son of Poseidon yelled at Thalia.
She looked down and swallowed. Violet swore she was turning green. But she didn't have time to ask why.
The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight towards them. Percy tackled Thalia and Violet, and the three were sent sideways off the edge of the bridge, into the side of the mountain. They slid on Aegis like a snowboard, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOF!
The three skidded to a stop, breathing hard. Violet spat out mouthfuls of snow, clamoring something about 'Stupid boys and their undeveloped brains'. Percy was cut up and bleeding. Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to them, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All Violet could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.
Percy looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."
Now that they were safely down the mountain, Thalia's eyes had their usual angry look again. "Don't be stupid."
"That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."
Violet wiped the rest of the snow off her face. She looked at Thalia closer. A fear of heights would explain why the daughter of Zeus got so scared back on that bus. But it was eerily ironic.
Thalia took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If either of you tells anyone, I swear—"
"No, no," Percy said, but a teasing smile was playing on his lips. "That's cool. It's just ... the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?"
Thalia was about to knock Percy into the snow when, above them, Grover's voice called, "Hello?"
Violet stood up quickly, shaking the snow off her clothes. "We're down here!" she called.
A few minutes later, Zoë, Bianca, and Grover joined them. The six stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.
"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.
"I agree," said Zoë. "We must use it."
"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."
Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"
"Not very fast?" Violet guessed. "I mean—boars have stubby legs and all."
"Fun," Percy said, staring at the pig. "Like ... pig cowboys."
Grover nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish ... I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now."
Violet looked at him curiously. "What's gone, Grover?"
The satyr didn't seem to hear her question. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.
"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."
She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of them. Zoë and Bianca walked towards the boar.
"Wait a second," Percy said. "Do you two know what Grover is talking about—this wild blessing?'
"Of course," Zoë said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong ... I never thought I would sense that presence again."
Violet and Percy exchanged confused looks. "Whose presence?" the daughter of Eros asked carefully.
The Hunter stared at her like the girl had sprouted an extra two heads. "The Lord of the Wild, Violet. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."
🌷 APR. 11TH, 2023 / me trying to humanize zoë every chance i get
she deserves more !! (but i say that about every character from TTC - it's my favorite book in the series, okay)
anyways,, it's vi's birthday!! my aries baby
anyways,, thoughts?? opinions??