(Percy's POV)
The war god was in the diner parking lot. "Well, well," he said. "You didn’t get killed."
"You knew it was a trap," I said.
Ares gave me a grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."
I shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."
My friends gasped. Ares grabbed the shield & spun it like pizza dough. It changed to a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.
"See that over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., one stop in Vegas."
It had a sign, which I read only because it was white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: Kindness International: Humane Zoo Transport. Warning: Live Wild Animals.
I said, "You’re kidding."
Ares snapped his fingers. The truck's back door unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Don't complain. And here's something for the job."
He tossed a blue backpack off the handles to me. Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, & a bag of Double Stuff Oreos.
I said, "I don’t want your lousy-"
"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving me his best red-alert warning look.
I grit my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse a god, but I didn’t want anything that Ares had touched.
Reluctantly, I slung it over my shoulder. I knew my anger was caused by the war god's presence, but I was itching to punch him in the nose. He reminded me of every bully I'd ever faced, every jerk who called me stupid in school or laughed when I'd gotten expelled.
I looked back at the diner. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us.
Great. We’ll make the papers again. I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR OUTLAW BEATS DEFENSELESS BIKER.
Ares laughed saying. "See you around, kid."
I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from statues."
Fire glowed in his eyes. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."
He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.
Nora said, "That was not smart, Percy."
"I don’t care."
"You don’t want him as your enemy, seriously."
"Hey, guys," Grover said. "Hate to interrupt you, but..."
He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their back that matched the one on the Kindness International truck.
"If we’re taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."
I didn’t like it, but we had no better option. We ran across the street & climbed in the back of the truck, closing the door behind us. The thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world’s biggest pan of kitty litter.
The trailer was dark inside until Nora summoned her power which cast blue light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three pathetic zoo animals: a zebra, a male albino lion, & some weird antelope thing. Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn’t want. The zebra & the antelope had got a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra’s mane was matted with chewing gum. The antelope had a silver balloon tied to one of his horns that read: Over The Hill!
Apparently, nobody wanted to get close to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing on soiled blankets, in a space too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his eyes & his ribs showed through his fur.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
He probably would've gone right back outside to beat the truckers with his reed pipes, & I would've helped him, but then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer shook, & we were forced to sit or fall down.
We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell, the heat & the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they stared at him sadly.
Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look better to the lion than turnips.
I found a water jug & refilled their bowls, then used Riptide to drag the mismatched food out their cages. I gave the meat to the lion & turnips to the zebra & the antelope.
Grover calmed the antelope, while Nora used her sword to cut the balloon off. We made Grover promise the animals we'd help in the morning, then settled in for night.
Grover & Annabeth curled up on the turnip sacks; Nora opened the bag of Double Stuff Oreos & nibbled one; I tried to cheer myself up by the fact that we were almost to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination.
It was only June fourteenth. The solstice was on the twenty-first. We'd make it in plenty of time.
On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me.
But Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it-he’d put up cameras & advertised us as entertainment.
But even when the cameras weren’t rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched.
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Take care my lovely readers.❤
Alice signing off.
XOXO.