GOLDEN | annabeth chase

viii

THANK GOD EVE REALLY ENJOYED TRAIN RIDES, BECAUSE IF SHE DIDN'T, SHE WOULD'VE BEEN BORED OUT OF HER MIND.

they spent two days on the amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.

eve spent most of her time staring outside the window at the views in awe. she didn't go out travelling much with her aunt during winter so this was all new to her.

they weren't attacked once, but no one other than her relaxed as much as they should've. 

percy tried to keep a low profile because his name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several east coast newspapers. the trenton register-news showed a photo taken by a tourist as he got off the greyhound bus. percy had a wild look in his eyes. his sword looked like a metallic blur in his hands. 

thank the gods for the mist.

the picture's caption read that he was wanted for questioning after his mother's disappearance and that he accosted the elderly before blowing up the bus.

"don't worry," annabeth told him. "mortal police could never find us." eve thought she didn't sound so sure.

whilst eating lunch, eve and percy had spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch. the little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught their eye and waved. percy looked around the passenger car, wondering if anyone else was seeing this whilst eve waved happily at the little centaur. 

their reward money for returning gladiola the poodle had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as denver. they couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so they dozed off in their seats. eve's head laid comfortably, since annabeth was sitting right next to her.

after waking up from a very comfortable sleep on annabeth's shoulder, the train had stopped moving.

june 13, eight days before the summer solstice, they passed through some golden hills and over the mississippi river into st louis.

annabeth craned her neck to see the gateway arch, which looked to eve, looked like a huge shopping-bag handle stuck on the city.

"i want to do that," annabeth sighed.

"what?" percy overheard and asked.

"build something like that. you ever see the parthenon, percy?"

"only in pictures."

"someday, i'm going to see it in person. i'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods ever. something that'll last a thousand years."

percy laughed. "you? an architect?"

eve nudged percy in the stomach.

"ow! why'd you do that?" percy grumbled.

"you're laughiing at someones dreams!" eve said angrily.

annabeth's cheeks flushed. "thanks eve- yes percy, an architect. athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes i could mention."

percy looked down sadly at the churning brown water of the mississippi below.

"sorry," annabeth said. "that was mean."

"can't we work together a little?" he pleaded. "i mean, didn't athena and poseidon ever cooperate?"

annabeth had to think about it for a bit. "i guess... the chariot," she said tentatively. "my mom invented it, but poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. so they had to work together to make it complete."