Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 15: A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers
Written by Katlyn

Summary
Seven days before the solstice Percy, Annabeth, and Grover arrived in Denver. Annabeth suggested they try to contact Chiron. They arrived at a car-wash, and Grover took hold of the ‘fine mist’ hose to contact Iris, she carries messages to the gods. Annabeth threw a Drachma into the rainbow the mist created, and asked for Half-Blood Hill. A vision of the camp and Luke appeared before them. Luke said that Chiron was busy with some trouble at the cabins. Annabeth and Grover let Percy speak to Luke alone. Luke said that the campers heard about the Zeus and Poseidon fight and they were taking sides. Percy updated Luke on their travels thus far. Luke insisted that it must have been Hades that stole the bolt although the gods could not steal magic items directly. The water started to run out and Luke wished Percy luck on the rest of his journey.

The trio went to a local diner for food but were disappointed when the waitress asked if they could pay for it. All conversation at the diner stopped when a large, loud motorcycle pulled up to the curb. A huge man stepped off the bike and offered to pay for the kids food. They figured out that this man was Ares, god of war. He had a proposition for Percy, to find his shield that he left when he was with his girlfriend at the local water park in the Tunnel of Love. Percy refused and Ares told him that he framed Hades for stealing the bolt so that he could start a war. Ares also said that he could get them a ride west and tell him something about Percy’s mother, if they got his shield back for him.

Read the rest of the recap and join us in the discussion on the questions HERE

Characters Involved
Percy
Annabeth
Grover
Luke
Ares

Characters Mentioned

Chiron

Iris

Oracle at Delphi

Aphrodite

Apollo

Poseidon

Athena

Zeus

Clarisse

Hades

Hephaestus

Places Visited
Denver (diner, Waterpark)

Quotes

As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She asked us again, “You kids have money to pay for it?” The biker said, “It’s on me.” He slid into our booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window.He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, “Are you still here?”

“Why don’t I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don’t feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?” He leaned forward. “Or maybe you only fight when there’s a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you.”

The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love’s exit pool. I wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if our ratings had been any good.

Questions for consideration

Why do you think the big, bad God of War Ares was afraid to get his shield on his own?

What do you think the gods saw when were watching the live feed of Percy and Annabeth trying to stay alive?

Do you think Ares will live up to his promise to them?