This was the first time I've ever fought one as big as this. Or the second time, but I was sure that if it was, I didn't win.
"HELEN!!! RUN!!! I'LL HOLD OFF THIS MAN…TICORE!!!" A voice shrieked.
What? Manticore? My thoughts were all jumbled up, tangled but still I ran.
I rushed inside the room. I wasn't really surprised by how dark the room was but I was completely shocked when the girl started picking up chairs, books and other things and hurling it towards the monster. I stood by the doorway, analyzing the battleground before I whipped out my crossbow. I tried staying silent and finding a way to distract the enemy before fleeing with the demigods. The plan was supposed to be perfect and we were all in position. All the two had to do was jump down and be saved. That was it.
So why were there still two kids here?
Percy already reported back to me that the two had already jumped down.
I tried focusing on how to defeat the creature in front of me instead of procrastinating for another hour. If I let go of the arrow right now, it would dodge it right away. The poison would already be injected into the girl… wait, no, that's wrong.
I let go anyway. The arrow flew cleanly through the manticore's thigh. Thick, red blood oozed out. But death wasn't what I was aiming for.
Its head snapped back to face me and the creepy man's face stared back at me. Then, its legs gave out and it crumpled onto the floor. I knew that it was faking it because there was no way that was a lethal blow.
The walls started to crack, the ceiling started disintegrating. I accidentally inhaled some of the powder and trust me, it was not great.
I wheezed, the dust clogging up my nostrils, forcing me to breathe by mouth. I grabbed my shirt by its hem, using the fabric to cover up my nose. Suddenly, there was a thud. I looked in the girl's direction and saw her on the floor unconscious. The other one, however, was out of sight. I figured she'd escaped the building.
By now, the manticore was already up and ready to fight. Though this was my first rescue, I pushed myself even harder than on my last quest. I swept the half-blood off of her feet and dashed towards the balcony. The monster trailed behind me, its sharp teeth bared and its eyes as wide as it could be. The creature violently lashed its tail, curving into a large C, aiming at me as if on my forehead was a big red X marks the spot. With no other option, I was forced to hurl the girl off the balcony and she plummeted down below. It was quite the fall, but the pegasi was unlikely to let me down.
Claws scraped against the floor and I spun around. The monster's claws were going at me with impeccable speed, drawing blood on impact. I furrowed my brows, trying to remember what Percy had told me at practice, however, all I thought of was the stinging pain of the inch deep wound on my forearm.
Wait… My job here is done, right?
I could finally go back to camp. But the monster… I couldn't just let the guy go. I toughened up and did what I thought was best and lunged at the creature. Before the dagger in my hands even scratched a surface, the manticore ducked. I landed once again on my feet with no blood on the blade.
I knew that this wasn't what I was supposed to do. Heck, that mission was already finished. And I knew that if I wanted to kill this beast, I would have to plan out ahead. I just needed to wait for the perfect moment to strike. To land a killing blow with my celestial bronze sword. But there were two problems with that. One, I didn't carry any swords around. Two, manticores are told to be nimble, one that dodges every single hit. They could fly, so it was expected. So let's scrap that and try to brainstorm.
Despite me being absolutely no threat, I can feel its presence just lurking in the shadows of the room. So I had to wing it.
I got a hold of my last arrow and concentrated on my target as my surroundings blurred. The creature seemed to also be a blur in my eyes. Oh, how I hate ADHD.
I charged, godspeed, towards the monster, towards what I call my first kill of the day. But was I planning on facing it head on? Ha. No way.
As I darted, I imagined the basketball court back in the days where the cones were our only enemies. I swerved right, then left, dodging the wild beast before I slowly veered into a stop just by the stairs. Then, with my trusty crossbow in my hands, I aimed high, straight into the manticore's brain.
Whoosh.
If this doesn't work, then I don't know what will.
On impact, the celestial bronze arrow shattered the hideous creature. It howled in pain and glared at me with its remaining eye as it crumbled into a pile of nothing. Back right to the Tartarus, where it belongs.
I smirked in a victory then whirled around, exiting the building before anyone finds out about this. I thought I had won, but I was wrong. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder, burning almost. The expression on my face was pure shock.
Blood gushed out of the wound and I could already guess what hit me. The manticore's tail, still intact in one piece. Then, it vanished into thin air.
I gasped in pain, one hand gripping the wound trying to stop the flowing as the poison seeped into my raw flesh. I was unable to move nor call anyone, even Percy. I started breathing harder, bending down to buy time before the venom reached my heart.
I was alone. And there was no one there to rescue me this time.
Percy had to wonder what's taking me so long, right? He would notice and come in to save me.
Unless I die before he even notices… A small voice in my mind rang. You were always so reckless…
I grunted, trying hopelessly to get back down stairs, where the crew was waiting for me. Tears streamed down my cheeks. And I didn't even notice it. But I couldn't do it. My legs were numb and I was struggling to steady myself.
This was it.
I could feel death approaching me. I just hope Dad would be proud of me. My right hand clutched my necklace, crying out for help as a last effort.
I hope I will be remembered…
"Dad… did I deserve this?" I sobbed. "Dad…"
"EMELIE!!!" A voice called my name. A figure rushed to my aid, gripping my chin and tilting my head upwards. I could feel some kind of liquid slugging down my throat. The taste was pretty nice. It reminded me of Gran's signature bean soup. Not that she was alive anymore.
After a while, I started getting better. My head was no longer pounding and my arm seemed to work again with just a little sting where the flesh had been exposed. I glanced at my savior. As I expected, it was Percy. With that look on his face, I knew that he wasn't happy.
"What were you even thinking, Em?" He scolded, supporting me as I rose to my feet. "You were supposed to follow the plan."
"Sorry," I mumbled.
"You can apologize to the group when you get back to camp."
"Fine…"
He sprinted into the room which by now had stopped its rumbling and settled down. By the balcony was a brown steed, the color of molten dark chocolate. His muzzle had splotches of deep red and gold.
"Hi Blackjack." I murmured, wiping away the remaining wetness of my face. The stallion neighed happily. Though I don't know what he's talking about, I could make out some of their conversation.
Percy hopped onto the pegasus's back, hoisting me up onto the chariot and tightened the reins before taking off.
I caught a glimpse of the figures beside me: young and inexperienced demigods. They all looked like they just peed their pants in public (well, at least the conscious ones. The sleeping ones, not so much).
"Are you okay?" Percy muttered anxiously to me.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I mumbled, chewing on my left cheek. "I'm not dead, aren't I?"
"Um… The Su- Mr. Jackson?" Suddenly, the girl in blue sputtered.
"N-No?" Percy stammered, stumbling over his own words.
"Am I dreaming or are we actually flying?" The girl next to me pressed on, rubbing her eyes as if she didn't believe what her brain was processing. She just looked scared at this point.
"No for the first and yes for the second." I said, keeping a lookout for any venti in the air. I did not wanna fight in this condition. "How far 'till we arrive, Percy?"
"Almost." He replied, then reached for a small, metal flask from within his pocket. "Oh, and can you pass the girls some of this?" He gestured to the flask. "No more than a sip, ladies."
I took the flask from his hand and started giving it out to everybody on the ride but then jerked away.
"What's wrong?" Percy turned away from the reins to meet my eyes.
"Everyone, tell me your names." I demanded. "Now."
The blue shirt girl in front of me was the first to respond. She tilted her head to the side and spoke softly, "I'm Christal and this," She pointed to the girl next to her and continued, "is Nebby."
"I-I'm Helen," The girl beside me whispered. She had to repeat herself a couple of times since I couldn't really hear her. "And… this is Esmé."
She was asleep. I half-expected her to be awake, chatting around with the girls since she didn't seem physically hurt or anything.
"And… what were you going to give us?" A voice snapped me out of it. It was Christal's. I thought she looked quite similar to Percy, with the eyes and the hair. The skin also, maybe, if it was a little tanner.
Oh. I'd forgotten about the flask. I held it out and began sharing the ambrosia. It was all normal until the drink reached Esmé. Helen, who looked somewhat like a mother goose, kept trying to wake her up but was unable to.
"Lemme try." Christal chimed. "ESMÉ YOUR MAKEUP'S GONE!!! Y'KNOW, THE 50₫ RARE BEAUTY BLUSH!?"
Still nothing. Not even a twitch. I suspected she was the daughter of Hypnos, the god of sleep. Or the demigod of Morpheus, the god of dreams.
"Why is she not waking up…?" Helen whimpered, cupping Esmé's cheeks in her hands. "What time is it?"
The sun was rising again, the sky a mix of warm hues blending together.
"Morning already." I said, squinting at the sun above. My eyes were too used to the darkness now.
"Esmé… don't scare me… It's them dang sleeping pills again…" Helen blurted out, grabbing the girl by her shoulders and shaking her wildly. "C'mon, WAKE UP."
"WE HAVE A SITUATION HERE, PERCY!!!" I yelled at him and he instantly whipped his head around. "One of the girls is unconscious. And no, before you say she's tired, she's been sleeping through the whole thing from start to end."
"Did you give her some of the liquid yet?" He shouted back at us and I snatched the flask from Helen's hand, pouring it slowly down the girl's throat. Nothing happened. I pressed my ear to her chest, trying to find a heartbeat.
"Everything's fine with her. I don't know why she's acting like Sleeping Beauty right now."
"So… no CPR?" Helen mumbled, near inaudibly, somehow seeming a bit wistful.
"Any suspects?" Christal asked, leaning into the scene. "More monsters? Spells?"
"A god, perhaps?" Helen had stopped panicking so hard now.
"There's only two options for gods," Another voice said. I turned and saw the girl I had met from before. Nebby. "Morpheus or Hypnos."
"Higher chance with Morpheus since he had once attacked the City of Manhattan before in the Titan War." Percy remarked and all of a sudden, I felt the air pressure slamming on me hard. All of the newbies were screaming. Well, all except for Helen and Esmé. "And also because Hypnos is nicer than most of the oth- I'd be better off not saying that."
"MR. JACKSON!!! WATCH OU-"
We hurtled into the ground with a crash. Just as I thought nothing could get worse than this, the chariot was determined to prove me wrong, burrowing deep into the moist dirt below us.
"Was life always this weird?" Helen scrunched her nose, then answered her own question. "No, it wasn't."
I couldn't really argue with her. Life has never been this weird before. Even at camp, things started getting stranger and stranger by the moment. Almost all the magic had… gone. I heard a grunt and glanced back to the chariot, its beautifully painted frame had gone muddy. Nebby was dragging Esmé by the arm, yanking on it hard enough to make me think that she was trying to rip the girl's poor left side out.
"Hey," Nebby slapped her hard across the face. "Wake up."
"GAH!!!" Esmé gasped, her hands frantically searching for support. Helen rushed over and lent her a hand. Or should I say a whole arm. It didn't really matter since both seemed valid in this situation. Well that was fast. Maybe violence was the answer sometimes. No, for demigods, violence is always an answer.
"WHAT HAPPENED!?"
I rolled my eyes.
"How dare you, Neb?" Esmé kept on complaining, trying to untangle the mess in her hair. "Do you not know how pain works? [Censored], you better say sorry."
"Sorry not sorry," Nebby shrugged. "Also, while you were having your 'beauty sleep', we were busy fighting a MANTICORE!!!"
"Um, I know this seems off topic but… Where are we?" Christal mumbled, rubbing the dirt off of her pajamas.
Percy heaved and gave me an insightful glance. The chariot had broken down and Blackjack was injured. He snorted at Percy, which sounded a lot like a complaint, and the two seemed to have a pretty intense conversation using telekinesis.
"We're almost there, people." I reported back to the team, feeling exhausted and uneasy. The air seemed even denser today. I hope the others were already back at camp. "We should rest for a short while. It's still pretty early."
"But we can't stop here now. What if the monsters attack again?" Esmé had stopped with the fiddling now. I guessed it was time she began realizing how dangerous these situations could be. "Also, WHY ARE THE MONSTERS ATTACKING US?!"
"Who are you anyway?" Helen babbled, her silver eyes gleamed in the sunlight. She seemed much older than her age. And more knowing too.
"I'm Emelie." I tried smiling for once. I used to smile a lot. Mostly when I was still young and naiive. Before any of this happened to me. Since I turned 8, nothing was the way it used to be anymore.
"You're right, Esmé. It's about time we get going." Percy announced. "Emelie, I want you on guard. Got it?"
"Yes sir."
We could see the silhouettes of the cabins, foggy and gray in the distance. It looked almost drained, colorless. The ground was wet. Mud splattered on my boots and I groaned.
I trudged up the pathway, beside me stood Helen. Even though she looked a little bit similar to Annabeth (aka Percy's fiancée), I doubted it. If she was part-Athena, she would've realized it already.
"Can you explain to me all of this?" She mumbled. So I did.
"…so there's Athena. Her children get determined the day they are born. Well, not exactly born, but something like that." I paused to take a breather before continuing. "Above the baby's casket or crib, there would usually be a gray owl symbol just levitating and…why are you staring at me like that?"
"So… I saw someone with a symbol like that today…"
"Really? Who got determined this morning?"
Esmé hopped into the conversation with a look of mock confusion. "Oh, I really wonder who it was. Definitely not among us four. And that person definitely didn't try to blame the mark on an imaginary person they created in their mind, right Hel?"
I hope I didn't outwardly roll my eyes.
"And what did it look like?"
"Gray owl."
"ATHENA!?" I burst out and I heard the footsteps around me stop abruptly.
Percy eyebrows furrowed as he eyed me weirdly. "What's going on?"
"She said she was claimed by Athena!" I repeated and looked at Helen. She looked rather weirded out by my dramatic expression.
I tried to keep my calm but I just couldn't. Maybe she lied? Has the Mist somehow evolved to be able to manipulate how each person sees things? If she was in fact, telling the truth, had Athena ever forget one of hers before? I searched through my recent memories but found nothing. The silence was deafening and not even Esmé dared to say a word. So I walked ahead. It was best not to have another incredibly stupid outburst for this. Better to ask Chiron than try to figure it out myself anyway.
For a while, we made our way through the forest. When we arrived at Camp Half-Blood, the sun was already high in the sky and it was boiling hot. Four of us were nearly at the Big House with Esmé skipping down the path behind us. I still don't know how that girl had so much energy then. Maybe it was the fact that she got a full night's sleep or maybe it was the fact that she was just… jumpy all the time.
I could finally see it. The Big House. The gigantic building that resembled quite a lot of those vintage houses, just more cozy and less… well… life-threatening. Who knows what lurks in the shadows?
"Emelie!" A deep voice called out and I instantly knew who it was. He did appear in most of my childhood, as a teacher, a friendly neighbor and now just a full-on friend. I had no reason whatsoever not to reply, so I did.
"Hey!" I shouted back and as we got closer, we were all greeted by a big smile.