Chapter 49: Chapter 49 You alright?
Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!
Apparently, nobody wanted to get close enough to lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and the others weren't far behind him, but just then the truck engine came to life, the trailer started shaking, and they were forced to sit down or fall down.
The group huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in the series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly.
Annabeth was in favour of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but Andromeda pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, she had a feeling they might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips.
Andromeda found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. She gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.
Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off the horn. Jakob used the horn of the Chimera to cut the mane of the zebra and get the gum out.
They told Grover to promise the animals they'd help them in the morning, then the group settled in for the night.
Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened the bag of Double Stuffed Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly and handed the others one. While eating one also, Andromeda focused on the fact that they were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to their destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. They could make it in plenty of time.
"You alright?" Jakob asked Annabeth, seeing her shivering slightly.
"Yeah, just... saw spiders back at the park." She shivered again.
"Ah, the whole Arachne thing." Jakob nodded.
Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you for just going and getting the shield, rather than us having to get trapped on the ride.
"We're a team, remember?" Andromeda said to Annabeth. "Besides, I bet Grover would do the fancy flying while goes all Superman."
"Superman with lightning." Jakob snorted in amusement.
Annabeth pulled apart an Oreo, handing Andromeda half. "In the Iris message… did Luke really say nothing?"
Andromeda munched on the cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via Iris message seemed to have bothered her, plus jakob's words on how he didn't trust Luke. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would be turned into a pine tree."
In the light of Andromeda's sword, you could see both their sad faces.
Grover let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."
"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, daughter of Zeus." Andromeda stated.
Jakob didn't say anything, already having a good idea as to what happened.
Grover nodded glumly.
"And the two other half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp…" Andromeda looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, right?"
Annabeth put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Andie, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me towards help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were… amazing monster-fighters, even without the training. We travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," the goat boy said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought… I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up to us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker…"
"Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."
"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."
"Then screw them," Jakob told him sharply. He looked towards Grover directly. "Look, Grover. I may not know Thalia, but from what I've heard, she would never blame you for what happened. So you shouldn't do the same. She was willing to sacrifice herself to save you. I respect her decision. If I was in her place, I would do the exact same for those I care about. Remember, you have more guts than any Satyr there is."
Annabeth looked uneasy by his declaration, but Andromeda nodded, agreeing with his brother. "He's right, G-man. Just because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind? That's not fair."
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