Reyna's POV

I had another restless night of sleep. My thoughts had been swarming with ideas as to what could've happened to my sister. I was scared for her but there was something else bugging me. Deep down I was scared for Thalia too. If Lycaon and his boss had gotten the Hunters and my Sister how would she make it through on her own? I slipped out of bed when it was still relatively dark and got dressed Aurum and Argentum were out cold still exhausted from Thalia's run. I rubbed my tired eyes when a voice startled me.

"Reyna?" I looked to my left where an Iris Message had popped up. It was Jason. I tried my best to smile but just like his sister he had immediately picked up on my mood. "Are you okay?"

"Just stressed," I replied telling a half truth. At this point in my life, I had gotten too good at telling half truths. Jason frowned but moved on in the conversation.

"Hazel told me Thalia's leaving today," I nodded in agreement. "Look I know it's a lot to ask of you, and you have every right to refuse, but would you look after her? She tends to get in trouble. I just don't think it's safe for her, I mean Lycaon got all of the Hunters, how is she gonna stand up against that?"

I could see the worried expression on Jason's face and new it reflected mine and the feelings I felt about Hylla. "Jason, she doesn't even know what she's up against. I don't either. I mean...I just don't want to start another war."

He nodded solemnly. "I know. Just make sure she has everything she needs."

He sounded sad like I was sending his sister to the grave. When I realized just like Hylla ,Thalia was the only piece of home Jason had left. Real home. My gut twisted with guilt. "I'm not going to lie to you Jason but I'm... I'm not sure about this. About this quest. We're going off of nothing."

"I understand. Look don't worry about it, it's not your fault." He reassured me trying for a smile. Reyna come on, you know exactly how he feels. You'd do the same thing if you were in his shoes. Hylla. Maybe you can find Hylla. If she is in danger you can find her. But what about a war? Not everything ends in a war. No, but wars always start small. All wars start with a fight.

"Jason..." He studied my face intensely as I struggled to push out my words. "I'll go with her. I'll keep her safe...I promise. Just know that you owe me."

A smile stretched across his face so big for a moment it felt like there wasn't a dark cloud looming over my head. Then his expression shifted to one of such pure sincerity it looked like he was going to cry. "Thank you Reyna. If you need me you know what to do. You don't have to do this by yourselves."

"I know." With that Jason dissapeared and I was left with a hole in my chest. What had I just done? A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts and a familiar face appeared. It was Thalia her slight smile melted.

"Reyna, if you're thinking about Hylla..." Thalia started. I shifted my expression quickly swallowing the lump in my throat.

"No. I've made the stupid... stupid decision to come with you." Thalia's jaw dropped and she blinked completely stunned.

"I thought you didn't want to come? To be honest I figured you didn't like me that much, I'm kind of annoying." Thalia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"I'm not really coming for your sake. I'm coming because of my sister and because your friends need help. You can handle it on your own. I'm just tagging along." I was lying out of my teeth. Thalia didn't notice. She simply pushed open the door further an amused expression on her face.
In her hands she held two backpacks.

"I won't lie, I figured you might tag along. I packed everything. We're ready to go whenever." She was impossibly smug. Sighing I  got to my feet.

"If we're really doing this at least let me wear something appropriate other than my pajamas." Thalia nodded leaving me to my own devices. I fastened on my armor wearing almost the exact same outfit I had while traveling with the Parthenos. When I emerged from my room I scribbled quickly on a piece of paper.

All campers attention; I will be gone accompanying Thalia Grace on a search and rescue mission for some friends, and to make sure my sister didn't do something stupid. In the meantime, until I get back Hazel Levesque is in charge. If I return and find you have not followed my orders or treated Hazel as you treat me expect to receive punishment.

Reyna Avilla Ramirez Arellano

I smiled to myself at the first line I had written. Who said a praetor didn't have a sense of humor? Thalia who had dissapeared and now returned back gave me an incredulous look. "Dude you look like a fucking walking set of fancy cutlery."

"Well, when you get impaled for wearing a shirt and a borrowed pair of jeans don't expect me to help you," I quipped in return.

"Fair enough." Thalia shrugged. It was strange seeing her in different clothes. From the two times I had seen her she had worn her leather jacket or punk clothes. However those had been shredded when she was attacked and had been tossed out. The purple shirt actually made her eyes brighter which was strange considering they were already a vibrant color.
With everything settled we made our way to the dining hall early enough so that no one was out and about. I fastened the notice to the first column you saw when walking in. Everyone would see it and by obligation read it due to the notice slip. It was strange setting out on a quest so casually.

"So where is this safe house of yours?" I asked as we made our way to the exit.

"In Oregon." Thalia smiled almost fondly.

"How are we going to get there?" I asked appalled at how far away it was. Thalia pulled something and waved it around lazily.

"Relax. I got a train schedule. If we get to the tracks fast enough we can get a train that's heading right through Oregon." She passed me the slip of paper and sure enough she was right.

"How did you get this?" I knew for a fact we didn't have train schedules just laying around camp.

"How do you think I got here? I didn't run the entire way." Thalia smirked as we stood in front of the exit. I looked over my shoulder at New Rome glinting in the sunlight. I wondered for a brief moment if that would be the last time I saw a sunrise. Thalia must have been thinking the same thing because she breathed deeply before turning and leaving New Rome behind. One would think getting to the tracks would be easy. It wasn't.

We had followed the highway and taken some detours, Thalia had also snagged a map, so we had a general idea of where we were going. Things went great for the first ten minutes until we were stuck waiting at a street light. Thalia stared at the map struggling to decipher the words. Her dyslexia was slowing things down a bit when a familiar smell caught the breeze. It was like sulfer and burned my nostrils terribly. Thalia must have smelled it too because she cringed and looked around her eyes wide and alert. The scent belonged to hellhounds. You could always tell it was them, they had that Underworld scent to them.

The light changed and we did our best to walk casually across the street but due to my armored appearance casual didn't really exist. We made it to the other side and Thalia pointed us in what she assumed was the right direction. The smell came again only this time it was stronger. My fingers inched towards my dagger. We walked on, getting close to the back roads that would lead us to the train tracks, and still the smell lingered. "Why do I have a bad feeling?"

Almost as soon as the words left Thalia's mouth a snarl sounded from behind me. I dropped to the ground landing in a push up position as the monster leapt overhead. The hellhound was big, bigger than most. It's eyes glowed angrily and it snapped in Thalia's direction. "Well this is shit! We've hardly gone ten minutes!"

Despite her cursing her bracelet expanded into her shield. The monster paused for a brief moment in fear before slamming it's head against the shield. Thalia went flying backwards and into the corner of a building. Hopping to my feet I unsheathed my sword. The beast rounded on me. Its muscles coiled before it pounced in my direction. I sidestepped, parrying it's teeth. Thalia had crawled back to her feet this time with a spear in hand. The tip ignited and a bolt of lightning shot from the tip causing the hellhound to shake. It's fur steamed and the hellhound continued to shake violently. It started growing and shifting, it's bones making horrible sounds,  until a Cyclops stood in it's place.

"Im going to say this isn't a hellhound!" Thalia yelled.

"You think?" I shouted. Dodging a fist I slashed at the monster's calf landing a blow but only to stun him. Thalia and I began racing down the street at top speed. The ground shook with the monster's footsteps. Thalia glanced over her shoulder sucked in a breath and let out a large gust of wind in place of an exhale. I turned to see the beast stumble backwards from the force. I darted into a side street and began weaving like a mad man. Monsters that size couldn't turn very well. Apparently the monster knew that too because a terrible screech came from above.  Over head now flew a griffon.

" What the hell is that thing?" Thalia wondered aloud. It dove down towards us and being trapped in a tight alley way there was no where to run. Thalia used her shield to bat off the first attack but I wasn't so lucky. The creature's talons raked against my arm and I fought down a cry of pain. Thalia shot another bolt of electricity clipping the wing. The monster plummeted to the ground behind us with a loud thud though I knew it wouldn't stay down for long.  Panting we pushed on until we stumbled out into a grassy field. Up ahead were the tracks, and the train.

A hiss startled me and I looked down to see a snake like creature getting reading to strike my ankles. I had only heard horror stories about these monsters and fear struck my heart. "A fucking basilisk?"

That was all I needed to say to get us to run faster. We sprinted harder than before ,Thalia's hair flying back was the only thing I could see in front of me. The train's horn blasted the air. We were close we just needed to find an open cart. Thalia pointed at the train. "There!"

We made a beeline towards it and I watched as a patch of grass next to me melted from acid. Thalia approached the train barely managing to match it's speed and very carefully with a small burst of air catapulted us inside. We lay on the wooden planks gasping for air. Thalia was the first to recover peeking out the open cart for any sign of the monster. She sighed in relief flopping backwards. After a moment she turned to me, her eyes alight with excitement. "The journey begins."

I stood getting to my feet shakily and making my way to the open cart door. I watched the city flying by far far away. I felt a strange sadness at leaving my home as I studied the horizon and was almost unaware of Thalia standing next to me observing the landscape as well.

"Goodbye." I whispered. Thalia turned studying my features.

"We'll come back." She reassured me and there was a sincerity to her voice that made it seem like everything was going to be alright. "I promise. And I don't often make promises."

She rested a hand on my shoulder for a moment before sitting down and leaning against the train wall. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Her back pack rested next to her and I noticed a small object she held in her hand that she must have just pulled from her pack. I sat back down against the wall next to her and waited a few minutes. Her breathing evened out and I assumed she was asleep. Carefully, I eased the thin object from her grip. It was a picture. It took me a moment to realize who was in it. It was a very young Thalia, her features were soft, and her eyes were big like most kids. She was sitting down in a chair holding a bundle in her arms. It was a baby whose face was all scrunched up with a shock of blond hair on it's head. Thalia had the biggest smile I had ever seen and her nose was scrunched up as she stared at baby Jason. There were faded words scrawled on the base of the picture.

Little Jase and Me

I laughed lightly flipping the picture over and looking at the back side, there were a few more small lines of writing.

Get ready to have the best big sister ever Jason! I'll make sure you're safe. Im not letting you go little buddy. Never.

"Nice picture isn't it?" Thalia whispered startling me.

"Yeah. You're both so little," I replied awkwardly handing the picture back. Thalia took it carefully examining the words on the back. Her eyes took on a bit of sadness. Her fingers brushed over the writing lightly.

"That was the biggest lie I ever told." Thalia looked on the verge of being angry and sad causing her face to twist up in a wierd way. She slipped the picture away back into her bag and I was left with silence again wondering what she meant.

"I don't have very many pictures of me and Hylla," I stated as if that would help. I wasn't sure how it would but it was worth a shot.  "Sometimes I feel like memories are better."

"Memories can fade. Or they can be taken," Thalia said bitterly. For the first time I realized how sad she was. She always seemed to be the girl that was outspoken, happy in her own way, excited and eager. But there was a lot hidden underneath that facade and ever since her friends had gone missing it was like she didn't have the energy to fight away the bad thoughts. I knew how it felt. So we sat in silence. Besides, nothing needed to be said. We were both absorbed in our thoughts, and it was nice. The silence that is.
Wind whistled though the train and the wheels squealed on the tracks making an oddly comforting sort of music. I sat for hours staring blankly at the sky as it changed colors. Thalia had dosed off multiple times but I didn't feel like sleeping.

"You should rest for a bit. Don't worry about when we're getting off. Oregon is the last stop." Thalia stated having woken up from another nap. I wondered if she had a restless sleep last night like I had. With a sigh I rested against my back pack and closed my eyes.  I focused on evening my breathing and relaxing. In all honesty, I needed sleep but it was hard to stop fighting it. The sound of the wind and the train comforted me when a new pleasant sound filled the empty space. I strained to hear it forcing myself to block out all of the other noises. It was soft, haunting even.

Let my memories go
Leave this restless town behind
Go away from the terrors here
I wish I could fly, far away

I didn't recognize the words to the song or the beat at all, and it dawned on me that Thalia was making it up. It sounded good, and I titled my head slightly so I could hear better.

You had to dissapear
Leave me all alone in fear
Steal my life and my love away
Wish I could fly, but I'm to scared

Thalia's voice cracked and I had the image of her silently crying pop into my head. I realized I had misjudged her early on. I had seen her as a problem, more stress I didn't need, and someone who needed to figure out their own problems. I was wrong. I knew nothing about her. I knew her name, what she did, who her brother was but that was useless. These hunters meant more to her than I thought, and I wondered what other memories were mixing with her fears right now. Jason had gone missing and she never thought she'd see him again. She was reliving that again. People she loved and cared about were gone now. She felt responsible because she was the leader, the big sister. People knew what had happened to Jason, but no one really knew the mental and emotional damage it had done to her. I knew how she felt though. Most people knew I had a bad past, no one knew how it had tortured me for years and that sometimes it still did.

As my thoughts turned to mush and I neared sleep I told myself that I would talk to her. Get to know her. But most importantly I was going to keep Jason's promise. It didn't feel right for her to lose her family all over again. If anything Reyna, at least be there for her when no one was there for you. Hylla or not it doesn't matter. You're going to finish this quest. You're going to bring everyone back. Alive.