12. PJTC

I Go Snowboarding with a Pig

The Sons of Apollo Love You!!

Transcript

Tempo: 120.0

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Chapter twelve I go snowboarding with a pig.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

We'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in 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 of it 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 my lion skin coat, I was freezing by the time we got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. As we walked, I told Grover about my conversation with Apollo the night before, how he told me to seek out Narius in San Francisco. Grover looked uneasy.

SPEAKER_04 1:21

Uh that's good, I guess, but we've got to get there first.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

I tried not to get too depressed about our chances. I didn't want to send Grover into a panic, but I know we 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 he'd said something about a sacrifice. I didn't like the sound of that at all. We stopped in the middle of town. We could pretty much see everything from there. A school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, 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. Zoe said. Coffee is good. And pastries Gromer said Grover said dreamily.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

And wax paper.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

Tolly aside. Fine. How about you two go get us some food? Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions. We agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with us, but she did. Inside the store, we found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft. There wasn't enough s snow for skiing. The grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car. You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo, the clerk said doubtfully. That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it takes at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars. The clerk looked so lonely. I bought a rubber rat. Then we headed back outside and stood on the porch. Wonderful. Thalia grumped. I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

But the clerk said I know, she told me. I'm checking anyway. I let her go. I knew how it felt to be restless. All half bloods had attention deficit problems because of our inborn battlefield reflexes. We couldn't just stand waiting around. Also, I had a feeling Thalia was still upset over our conversation last night about Luke. Bianca and I stood together awkwardly. I mean, I was never very comfortable talking one on one with girls anyway, and I'd never been alone with Bianca before. I wasn't sure what to say, especially now that she was a hunter and everything. Nice rat, she said at last. I said on I set it on the porch railing. Maybe it would attract more business for the store. So how do you like being a hunter so far? I asked. She pursed her lips. You're not still mad at me for joining, are you? Nah long as, you know, you're happy. I'm not sure happy is the right word with Lady Lady Artemis gone, but being a hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality. I stared at her, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before, more at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cap anymore. She kept her hair tied back and she looked me right in the eyes when she spoke. With a shiver I realized that five hundred or a thousand years from now, Bianca D'Angelo would look exactly the same as she did today. She might be having a conversation like this with some other Halfblood long after I was dead, but Bianca would still look twelve years old. Nico didn't understand my decision, Bianca murmured. She looked at me like she wanted assurance it was okay. He'll be alright, I said. Camp Halfblood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Annabeth. Bianca nodded. I hope we find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friend like you. A lot of good it did her. Don't blame yourself, Percy. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You're a good guy. The compliment took me by surprise. Even though I knocked you down and captured the flag? She laughed. Okay, except for that, you're a good guy. A couple hundred yards away, Grover and Zoe came out of the coffee shop, loaded down with pastry bags and drinks. I kind of didn't want them to come back yet. It was weird, but I realized I liked talking to Bianca. She wasn't so bad. A lot easier to hang out with than Zoe Nightshade anyway. So what's the story with you and Nico? I asked her. Where did you go to school before Westover? She frowned. I think it was a boarding school in DC. It seems like so long ago. You never lived with your parents? I mean your mortal parents.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school. Why? She knit her eyebrows. We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way and we'd stayed in this hotel for a few weeks, and then I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east through DC, then up into Maine, and we started going to Westover. It was a strange story. Then again, Bianca and Nico were half bloods. Nothing would be normal for them. So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life? I asked. Just the two of you? She nodded. That's why I wanted to join the hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish, but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico, don't get me wrong. I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister 24 hours a day. I thought about last summer, the way it felt when I found out I had a cyclops for a baby brother. I could relate to what Bianco was saying. Zoe seems to trust you, I said. What were you guys talking about? Anyway, something dangerous about the quest? When? Yesterday morning on the pavilion, I said, before I could stop myself. Something about the general her face darkened. How did you the invisibility hat? Were you eavesdropping? No, I mean not really. I just I was saved from trying to explain when Zoe and Grover arrived with the drinks and pastries. Hot chocolate for Bianca and me, coffee for them. I got a blueberry muffin, and it was so good I could almost ignore the outraged look Bianca was giving me. We should do the tracking spell, Zoe said. Grover, do you have any acorns left? Um Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a brand muffin wrapper and all. He was chewing on a brand muffin wrapper and all. I I think so. I I just need to he froze. I was about to ask what was wrong when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten 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. Zoe gasped Grover Thy cup Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away. A flock of tiny doves. My rubber rat 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. We 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?

SPEAKER_00 11:59

I don't know, I said. He collapsed. Grover groaned. 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. We made it to the edge of town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the trees they stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of grey camouflage, they were now wearing blue New York state police uniforms, but they had the same transparent grey skin and yellow eyes. They drew their handguns. I'll admit I used to think it'd be kind of cool to learn how to shoot a gun, but I changed my mind as soon as the skeleton warriors pointed theirs at me. Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm. But the warriors didn't flinch. Their glowing eyes bored right into me. I drew riptide. Shough I wasn't sure what good it would do against guns. Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept swooning and leaning against her. Back up, Thalia said. We started to, but then I heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind us. We were surrounded. I wondered where the other skeletons were. I'd 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 was making a chattering, clacking sound like dragged teeth on bone. Suddenly I understood what was going on. The skeletons had split up to look for us. The skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon we'd have a full party on our hands. It's ne it's near Grover moaned. It's here, I said. No he insisted. The gift The gift from the wild. I didn't know what he was talking about, but I was worried about his condition. He was in no shape to walk, much less fight. We'll have to go one on one, Thalia said. Four of them, four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover that way. Agreed, said Zoe.

SPEAKER_05 14:23

The wild Grover moaned.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but I kept my eyes on the skeletons. I remembered the general gloating over Annabeth's fate. I remembered the way Luke had betrayed her, and I charged. The first skeleton fired. Time slowed down. I won't say I could see the bullet, but I could feel its path the same way I felt water currents in the ocean. I deflected it off the edge of my blade and kept charging. The skeleton drew a baton and I sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then I swung riptight through his waist and cut him in half.

SPEAKER_03 15:03

His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in the heap. Almost immediately they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at me and tried to fire, but I knocked his gun into the snow. I thought I was doing pretty well until the other two skeletons shot me in the back. Percy Thalia screamed. I landed face down in the street. Then I realized something. I wasn't dead. The impact of the bullets had been dull, like a push from behind, but they hadn't hurt me. The Nenian lion's fur. My coat was bulletproof. Thalia charged the second skeleton.

SPEAKER_05 15:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Zoe and Bianca started firing arrows at the third and fourth. 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 our left. Like a bulldozer. Maybe the skeleton's reinforcements were arriving. I got to my feet and ducked a police baton. The skeleton I'd cut in half was already fully reformed, coming after me. There was no way to stop them. Zoe and Bianca fired at their heads point blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. One lunged at Bianca and I thought she was a goner, but she 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 bag. How did you do that? Zoe asked. I don't know, Bianca said nervous nervously. Lucky stab Well, do it again. Bianca tried, but the reme remaining three skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed us back, keeping us at baton's length. Plan, I said as we retreated. Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were creaking. Grover muttered. And then with a mighty roar, the largest pig I'd ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar thirty feet high 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. Then the pig turned on us. Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, Don't kill it. The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge. That's the Irrimanthian ball, Zoe said, trying to stay calm. I don't think we can kill it. It's a gift, Grover said.

SPEAKER_04 19:26

A blessing from the wild.

SPEAKER_05 19:31

The boar said and swung its tusks.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. I had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express. Yeah, I feel blessed, I said.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Scatter. We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused. It wants to kill us, Dahlia said. Of course, Gorva said. So how so how is that a blessing? Bianca asked. It seemed a fair question to ask. It seemed a fair question to me, but the pig was offended and charged her. She was faster than I realized. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its test and pulverized the welcome to Cloudcroft sign. I racked my brain, trying to remember the myth of the boar. I was pretty sure Hercules had fought this thing once, but I couldn't remember how he'd beaten it. I had a vague memory of the boar ploughing down several Greek cities before Hercules managed to subdue it. I hope Cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks. Keep moving, Zoe 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 Dahlia and I won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on us, Dahlia 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 us. We only managed to keep ahead of it because we ran uphill and we could dodge in and out of the trees while the boar had to plow through them. On the other side of the hill I found an old stretch of train tracks half buried in the snow. This way, I grabbed Dahlia's arm and we ran along the rails while the boar roared behind us, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves were just not made for this, thank the gods. Ahead of us I saw a covered tunnel. Past that an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. I had a crazy idea. Follow me. Dahlia slowed down. I didn't have asked I didn't have time to ask why, but it pulled her along and she reluctantly followed. Behind us a ten tonne pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased us. Dahlia and I ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side. No, Dahlia screamed. She turned as white as ice. We were at the edge of the bridge. Below the mountain dropped away in a snow filled gorge about seventy feet below us. The boar was right behind us. Come on, I said. It'll hold our weight probably I can't Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear. The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed. Now I yelled at Thalia. She looked down and swallowed. I swear she was turning green. I didn't have time to process why. The boar was charging through the tunnel straight toward us. Plan B. I tackled Thalia and sent us both sideways off the edge of the bridge, into the side of the mountain. We 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 snow drift with a huge Thalia.

SPEAKER_03 23:32

Oh yeah. And I skidded to a stop. We were both breathing hard. I was cut up and bleeding. Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to us, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All I 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. I looked at Thalia. You're afraid of heights. Now that we were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look. Don't be stupid. That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it? She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. If you tell anyone, I swear No, no, no, no, I said, That's cool. It's just the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights. She was about to knock me into the snow when above us Grover's voice called Hello Down here, I shouted. A few minutes later, Zoe, Bianca, and Grover joined us. We stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

SPEAKER_04 25:20

A blessing of the wild, Grover said, though he now looked agitated.

SPEAKER_03 25:29

I agree, Zoe said. We must use it. Hold up, Talia said irritably. She still looked like she 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.

SPEAKER_04 26:03

Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?

SPEAKER_03 26:11

Fun I said like pig cowboys. Grover nodded. We need to get aboard. I I wish I wish I had more time to look around, but it's gone now. What's gone? Grover didn't seem to hear me. He walked over to the board and jumped on 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 little 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, Talia mummered. Great. She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of us. Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar. Wait a second, I said. Do you two know what Grover is talking about this wild blessing? Of course, Zoe said. Do you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong I never thought I would sense that presence again. What presence? She stared at me like I was an idiot. The lords of the wilds of course just for a moment in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan.