As I relaxed my mind wandered, as it often does the moment I have a chance to think. I stared out the window and thought about the craziness of everything that had happened over the past couple of days. Finding out what had happened on the quest, leaving camp, seeing Hades, catching up with my mom, Nico getting hurt, and traveling through hell. I slowly began to realize the pain I was in. Scratches, cuts, bruises, and bug bites littered my body, and my muscles were sore from the strain of carrying Nico, walking, fighting, and riding an exuberant hellhound. I really hadn't had a chance to process it all.

"You're hurt," the boy- Peyton, I reminded myself, said slowly, sensing something wrong. Apparently I wasn't going to get a chance to process it now either. I looked back at him. His eyes were narrowed and he was clenching his teeth and the steering wheel tightly. Something definitely had him on edge. "You know, since you're in my truck.. I feel obligated to know," he continued. I knew what he was referring to and glared at him. He didn't need to know anything. The less, the better. "I'll make you hitchhike if you keep glaring at me like that," he said after a long silence without even looking at me. I scowled slightly, hating that he could predict what I was doing that easily. "I'm offering you hospitality and here you are completely disregarding my existence. I don't know about you but, it's not nice to us mortals.."

I wasn't completely disregarding his existence. I was looking at him, wasn't I? I thought. Then the second sentence registered in my brain and my eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter. He was joking... right?

"Are you saying that I am not human?" I questioned, careful to not hint at my mortality or lack thereof. I saw his lip twitch slightly, almost like a smirk of amusement.

"What am I supposed to say? That you didn't ride in on a demon dog?" I was getting really sick of him calling Mrs. O'Leary that. She may be a hellhound, but she was no demon dog. I had half a mind to correct him, but decided against it, not wanting to admit to the mythological side of my life.

"I'm just pointing out that you're judging a book by its cover," I defended, although it was hypocritical of me, since I have many a time judged a book by just that.

"That cover has the most spoilers ever," he shot back.

Obviously not, I thought, considering you haven't figured anything out yet. But I didn't justify him with a reply. I was too busy thinking how easy it would be to decapitate him with the dracaena spear at my fingertips, but then I realized I would have no way to navigate to the beach, so I quieted those thoughts.

The vitiligo boy rolled his eyes to check the rear view mirror, glancing at Nico. My eyes flashed. For some reason this kid made me feel very protective over the vulnerable Italian in the back seat. Peyton's grip once again tightened on the steering wheel as he let out an annoyed disgruntled sound. "Tell me or you're walking around the outskirts of Seattle," he ordered. Honestly that didn't sound that bad until he continued his sentence, "it's not as pretty as you may think." Was this kid a mind reader or something? If he was one of us, I wouldn't be surprised. Nothing seemed all that surprising anymore, really.

"I can hold my own," I jabbed, pursing my lips. "Sorry," I mumbled a second later, keeping myself in check. Maybe that was a little harsh, and as much as I hated to admit it, I needed Peyton right now. I unconsciously started peeling at the chipped polish on the dracaena blade, turning to glance at Nico. He looked horrible. Maybe if I told Peyton some of the truth, he'd hurry up and get us to the beach. "I'm from New York and I want to go to the sea because of a thing that I can do. I can find help for us. I know it sounds weird!" I blurted out. Peyton looked at me like I was insane, eyebrow raised in disbelief. "Listen to me, I have a friend at the edge and he should help me-"

"You understand that Washington doesn't have that many piers, right? And even if you have a friend, who says that they're going to be there?"  Peyton interrupted, eyes narrowed and lip curled as if he was going to snarl. He resembled a dog about to attack.

"I have a friend," I said truthfully, annoyed that he thought I was lying. It wasn't quite a lie, though friend wasn't really an exact term.

Peyton pulled to the side of the road and parked, chuckling softly all the while. Nico groaned and I glanced nervously at him before glaring at Peyton. Who did he think he was? We had a dying kid in the back seat and we didn't have time to waste with stupid fighting. He leaned against the console casually, an almost sinister smile on his face. "Listen, your friend," he gestured to Nico, "he's going to die if you don't make a clear truth. Do you understand that this lie that you're making up on the spot isn't going to get past me?"

My hand twitched, itching to slap him. How dare he? He was NOT going to hold Nico's life above my head.

"Who says I'm lying?" I really wasn't. It was the general truth.

"Says common sense," he sneered. Zeus's underpants this boy was one step down from conspiracy theorist. Grasping at straws with no reasoning. "So tell me, Mira, if that's even your name," he was snickering now, "I want to know the truth. Why you came in on a demon dog. Where you got that spear. Why this kid is dying." He just wasn't going to let this go. I pursed my lips again, staring at my lap. Should I tell him? I looked back up.

"Where's your remorse, Peyton? Aren't you a nice man?" I almost cringed saying that. He was no man. But that twisting of the questions onto him earned me a snicker and the gear shifted into drive, but his foot remained on the brake. I almost growled in frustration.

"Throughout my life I've lost my sense of remorse after witnessing a woman cannibalize a man," he responded after a moment. My eyes widened in realization. He had to be one of us. He could see through the Mist, and this woman cannibalizing a man certainly sounded like a monster, and he hadn't completely shut down after witnessing two kids ride into his backyard on a hellhound. Might as well tell him now. There was no way I could avoid it after that.

"Fine. Fine fine fine," I sighed. "I..." I hesitated slightly. This was going to sound nuts, "am partly mortal. I am half god. I am the daughter of Poseidon," I tried to say it casually, failing miserably. But he didn't laugh, so I continued. "I wanted to go to the sea to heal myself and ask the water horses for a ride back to New York. I need to get back there to heal Nico. He's all I have left right now," I explained, putting it in simple terms for him, voice softening slightly. It was true. I'd grown attached to the small boy, and I didn't have anyone else I could trust by my side.

Finally, Peyton took his foot off the brake and began to drive once more, seemingly pleased with my insane-sounding, but truthful, response. He floored the gas, racing down the street at a speed that certainly wasn't legal anywhere except Nascar races. I tensed slightly, pressed back in my seat with my eyes glued forward. I may have survived a ride on a hellhound, but at least that hellhound had a brain, unlike the driver of this truck (ooo burned).

The brainless boy glanced at me, still facing the road. "Continue.. this is interesting."

Suddenly my fear of death by vehicle accident was gone as I whipped towards him. "Interesting?" I hissed, pissed off. He simply sneered.

"Whoa, young woman, calm down, calm down," he muttered. I huffed and slouched back into my seat, arms crossed with hatred bubbling in my gut. This kid needed a lesson on how to keep his big mouth shut. I was never one for chatty people, but this kid took it to a whole new level. His mom needed to whoop him harder, apparently.

"And about you?" I suddenly asked, surprising myself. I looked toward him again, "it's unfair if you don't say anything, you know." I couldn't help but be curious about him. All I knew about him was that his name was Peyton and he lived in front of corn fields in Seattle, Washington. Not much to show for, considering we'd been in each other's presence for a while now.

Peyton tilted his head slightly, returning my gaze before sneering. "I haven't seen my brother nor my dad in ten years. Haven't seen my mom in eleven. I am a walking, talking waste of space with no luck whatsoever," he sighed, forcing his gaze back to the road. Okay, so maybe I'd been a bit rough on him. But.. both of his parents?

"You remember your parents?" I asked. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he wasn't a demigod. He looked at me, expressionless, and shrugged. He was starting to shut me out.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I don't really remember my mom or anything because I lived with my great grandparents on my dad's side up until four years ago," he replied coolly.

So who was he living with now? I thought to myself, but decided against asking. He'd already almost shut down on me after sharing just a tidbit of information.

Suddenly his face softened and his body relaxed slightly. The fire that burned brightly in his eyes calmed to smoldering embers. He was fighting a smile, judging by the slight twitch of his lips. "I haven't lived an eventful life, I couldn't even tell you about wha happened last year. Everything's been blurry for me,"  he elaborated, without really explaining much. He had no idea what he was in for. My expression softened to match his own. Maybe he wasn't too bad. Just had his guard up.

"Are we almost there yet?" I asked impatiently, glancing over my seat to gaze once more upon the injured boy in the back seat. He looked like Death, pun not intended. His usually pale, but otherwise healthy looking skin had turned an ugly shade of sickly green. He was trembling, yet sweating profusely, and his breathing had started to become more haggard.

"Bored by my story telling?" Peyton quipped jokingly.

"No, no, it's just.." I trailed off, gesturing to Nico, "he's not doing so hot."

Peyton glanced over his own seat before returning his gaze to the road. "You mean, get the lil kid out of the blankets because he's going to have a heart attack. Go, go, go," he rushed me. It was highly improbable that he was going to have a heart attack, and Peyton's rushing did nothing but piss me off, but nevertheless, I listened, clambering between the front seats to join the Hades child in the back. I unwrapped Nico from the blankets that had managed to stay around him through my earlier rampage, and whispered calming words to Nico, praying to the gods he could hear me. Suddenly the truck was stopped and the backdoor was flying open. Peyton scooped up Nico, which I almost but his head off for, and backed up, allowing me space to get out. I jumped out of the truck and raced in the direction of the sound of waves crashing against rocks, Peyton on my heels. I ran right into the water, instantly sighing in relief as my pain went away and I felt recharged. Peyton, however, seemed somewhat distracted by his pretty face in the water. He looked at it like he had never seen his reflection before. I ushered him into the water, muttering under my breath about not having all day.

Peyton held Nico on the surface of the water, watching as the sweat, blood and dirt was washed away. He was thoroughly distracted, mesmerized even. Has he never seen water before? I rolled my eyes, before turning my attention to the water. I furrowed my brows in concentration, trying to focus on sending a message asking for help, which is rather hard when you have millions of voices in your head freaking out about currents and predator animals and "sea daughters".

Finally, a whirlpool formed around us, and I sighed in relief. Someone had gotten the message. A column of water rose up from the surface with a large splash, hitting Nico and Peyton like a typhoon, but leaving me unfazed. My eyes drifted to the familiar dark-haired man with eyes that matched my own standing atop the column of water.

Peyton, confused as ever, sputtered until Poseidon waved his hand, successfully shutting up the kid. Man, I wish I could do that.

"Father?" I asked, eyebrows raised. I was slightly confused myself. In no way was I expecting him to notice my cry of help. He was busy controlling the seas, for the gods' sakes! I walked through the water how one would normally walk through air, not experiencing any of the drag. Poseidon made me a column of my own to stand above the water with a snap of his fingers. His eyes raked over my face as if he hadn't seen me in years, which was the opposite of true. I could feel Peyton's gaze on me and my father.

"You've brought yourself a child of Nike, you know that?" he asked. My eyes widened in recognition. Nike, the victory goddess. Peyton didn't strike me as the victorious type, but then again, I don't usually strike people as the seaweed brain type. "I am taking your trio to Camp Half Blood, I hope you understand the consequences of your actions." I bowed my head in understanding. Every action came with consequences in this world, but getting Nico back safely was priority. Poseidon nodded his approval, summoning his chariot, and I took that as permission to turn away. I looked at Peyton, who seemed totally zoned out. I glared and slapped the back of his head.

"You're coming with us," I stated, pulling Peyton, and with him, Nico, onto my water column and into the clam shell chariot. My father flicked the reins and the chariot dove underwater. Peyton's eyes were wide with amazement as he took in the underwater world. I smirked, warming with pride. For some reason his fascination felt like some kind of validation. I was part of this world, and by appreciating that, it was like he was appreciating my home.

While Peyton marveled at the world around us, my gaze was trained on Nico. As the healing process began, Peyton switched his gaze to the other boy as well. The gash in his shoulder was cleaned, no longer bleeding or gushing pus. His skin returned to its natural pale state, and his sweating and trembling stopped. He started to enter a more-conscious state and I breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a squeak as we were thrown to the surface, landing on the beach. I managed to stay on my feet, while both Peyton and Nico were left lying on the sand. I held out my hands, each boy taking one and stumbling to their feet. "Long Island Sound. Welcome to Camp Half Blood, Peyton." I turned and started the walk up to camp, Nico by my side as Peyton scrambled behind.

A/N: I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written. Over 2,600 words. All done in the middle of the night while avoiding my English paper. Amazing what you can accomplish while procrastinating.