We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past large waves of grain. Paying the lady pushing the food trolley with the credit card I still kept for mine and Altria's stomach which resulted to almost emptying half of the train's food supply. Whoops...

I even got a newspaper that brought bad news. I read the back page first and it wrote that a black panther just passed away in a zoo.

Second, Percy's name and picture is in the front page. The Trenton Register News showed a photo taken from a Greyhound bus. Percy had a wild look in his eyes. His sword looking like a metallic blur in his hands. The picture's caption read:

"So that's what happened when I left them..." I mumbled, I always thought that Percy has E ranked luck like Emiya(Archer). Anyways, while I was in the train I usually placed my earphones on as I plugged it to my IPhone(Both I quickly got out from my inventory) to just pass the time. The rest of the nights I explored the length of the train (because Percy mostly did that in the day so I usually had my hood on) or looking out the windows. Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready as they hunted lunch. A little boy centaur, caught my eye and waved making me wave back at him and his family. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. Almost everyone had their faces buried in laptop computers, magazines, talking to each other, sleeping, or eating. Another time, in the evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. It looked like a Nemean Lion since its fur glinted gold in the evening light and was the size of a giant car. Altria saw it too, and gazed at the creature before it leaped through the trees and disappeared.

We decided not to get berths in the sleeper car just in case one of the Gil's found out about us spending their money, so we dozed in our seats. Sometimes I could even hear Grover snoring and bleating which woke me up from time to time even if he was many seats away from me.

How can the other passengers sleep through this?

Deciding now's the right time since I couldn't feel like sleeping anymore. I got out the mysterious card that I got a while back. It depicted a smiling man dressed in light armor, his eyes were covered by his hat that looked like it was for a musketeer, he held a lance and what seems to be a sword's handle. "What do you have there?" I heard Altria asked so I started to explain quietly on how I got it while flipping the card over to see a summoning circle. I gave it to her and she stared at it with narrow eyes, when I asked what's wrong she said "I can feel my other self in this, that lancer version of me. With the many other servants of the Lancer-class for some reason," Which shocked me "I think you should asked one of your other teachers about this. I have a feeling that something strange will happen if you use it." She finished as she gave the card back, I didn't put it back to the gates though, instead I placed it in one of my jacket's pockets.

"Are you okay? You usually don't act like that. Being strange, mysterious and all." I asked but Altria just went to my side and rubbed my head almost roughly with her fist in a playful manner "What did you just say?!" Altria lightly teased while I begged her to stop.

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Toward the end of our second day on the train, we passed through golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. I looked at the Gateway Arch, thinking that when I'm at the top, it would be like being in a Ferris wheel. After pulling into the Amtrak station downtown, we both walked towards the Arch which I saw was about a mile from the train station. "Mika," I looked at Altria and she was staring at something, I looked at the direction and she was staring at Burger King, oh...Well we didn't have lunch yet...

"You can go in by yourself, right?" She asked me and I nodded "I can, just save me a burger when you order please? And I'll scream if I'm in trouble or anything." I said and gave her Gil's credit card, she told me to not go anywhere after I'm done and left to buy food which I know that she'll almost empty the restaurant when I'm done by then.

Late in the day, the lines to get in weren't that long. I threaded my way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other kinds of stuff from the 1800s. While I was in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, I heard someone familiar "You smell anything?" I stood frozen still with widened eyes since I heard another familiar voice.

"Underground, underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything." I slightly turned my head to the side to see Percy, Grover and Annabeth. I quickly looked back to where I was looking and pulled on my hood. "Guys," I heard Percy say. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

"Yeah?" Annabeth had asked.

"Well, Hade—" I heard Grover clear his throat. "We're in a public place.... You mean, our friend downstairs?" While they continued to talk about that, I sneakily got my phone and hooked it to my earbuds(I decided to keep it in my jacket yesterday) to listen to music and tried to not look suspicious as I continued to read.

Finishing, I quickly went to the tiny elevator that would lead me up and inside the Arch. But I unfortunately got shoehorned into the car with Percy and the others, and a lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, but I still kept my hood on in this ride. Don't be suspicious, don't be suspicious...slowly taking off my earphones...totally not being suspicious...!(The song on my phone was literally the 'don't be suspicious' meme song.)

"No parents?" The fat lady asked us. Including me which just made it wirst because I have to speak. The woman had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.

"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings." She said and turned to me, "Erm, my cousin is waiting for me outside, she's buying us lunch." I said, then Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, cute and amgry. When the dog looked like it was about to bark again I glared coldly at it. It lightly whimpered as it decided to clamp its mouth shut making the woman raise an eyebrow at me.

Percy then asked, "Sonny. Is that his name?" Thankfully she turned to look at him to answer. "No," The lady told and smiled, as if that'll clear everything up. Suspicious...

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck, rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. I lifted my hood a little, the view was a little exiting, seeing places at a height with no clouds right by your vision six hundred feet in the air.

I heard Annabeth talk about structural supports, how she would've made the windows bigger(I agreed to that), and designing a see-through floor. Unfortunately, I let out a small giggle as she talked which made her go quiet. "Excuse me, can I ask you something?" Annabeth asked and I turned to them with my hood pulled down under my eyes, I started to try and walk away slowly "Wait a minute..." Grover said and before I could run he pulled my hood off to see my face, "Er...Surprise?" I said, welp. I'm doomed for questioning in 3...2...1...

"M-Mika?!" Percy said and looked flabbergasted while Annabeth and Grover's mouths were agape, I then rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes. It's me, but don't blame me for laughing at how amazing Annabeth's designing ideas are, literally. But what are you guys doing here? I don't remember you'll be staying at Missouri?" I said and Percy explained why and I understood immediately since the children of Athen at camp love architectural designs. We then all heard the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes. So I followed Percy, Grover, and Annabeth toward the exit elevator, Percy was about to get in himself but I realized there's already another tourist inside. No room for Percy, unfor.

The park ranger said, "Next car, sir, ma'am."

"We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."

"Nah, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom." Percy said to them. Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, so I decided to speak "I'll be right with him guys, so you don't need to worry." They nodded and mumbled an okay and let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.

Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, Percy, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.

"So what are you doing here? I thought you'll be at camp?" I looked at him confusingly, "I decided to leave days ago. Now I'm having a road trip with my cousin who's at the ground. She's back down buying food for our lunch." I plainly lied and looked over my phone for any notifications. When I did that, the Lady's Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me. I started glaring at it, (Hessian)Lobo is much better at threatening.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!" His parents pulled him back.

The Chihuahua looked at Percy bared his teeth at him, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the lady sighed. "If you insist."

I started to raise an eyebrow to confusion. "Um, did you just call your dog your son?" I asked and glance at Percy who suddenly looked nervous.

"Chimera, dear," The owner corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green.

When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were side-ways slits, like a reptile's. The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

Uh oh...

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