Rue's POV

Chill air howled passed my ears as I sprinted through the trees, weaving in and out of trunks faster than any sprinter, faster than any human. But I was slowing down, and the monster behind me knew that. I was going to be easy prey in a matter of minutes.

Poison ran through my veins, replacing adrenaline with venom. A huge bite in my side, oozing blood and pus, was the source of it. The Hydra had bitten me there, and a few other places, but this wound hurt way worse than the others. Fire seemed to be coursing through my entire body, and each breath seemed more like a desperate gasp for air. I've got to get to the camp, I chanted in my head like a mantra. Hermes don't let it end this way, not now.

The gruesome beast chasing me was catching up. My sword felt heavier and heavier in my filthy hand. Only a hundred more meters until I reach the border…

Seventy five meters… fifty… twenty… ten… With one long scaly head the Hydra snapped onto my ankle, sending me skidding to the ground with a scream. I looked up into the snake demon with my fearful blue eyes. "Oh dear gods please help me," I whispered. I still needed to find Annabeth, daughter of Athena. I had a message… what was the message again? Oh gods please remember! This poison is screwing up my head!

I swung my sword and lopped off the head holding me, but another clamped down onto my shoulder, razor sharp teeth digging into my flesh like a hot knife into butter. A yelp escaped my lips, and my muscles seized up as I began to writhe in pain. No no no! Not like this! My blade whirled through the night, seeming to cut the sky as it sliced through the monster's second neck. It immediately began to sprout two more head, but the monster backed away for a split second. That was all I needed.

I dug my sword tip into the ground and pushed off my handle, giving me the shove I needed to get up to my insanely fast speed again. Racing through the camp border, I didn't look back as I left a roaring monster and my main weapon behind.

Jake's POV

Something was wrong. I knew it from the moment I woke up that something was going to happen today. In the morning I woke up, dressed, and stumbled out to the dining hall, thinking that would shake this strange feeling.

It didn't work. While everyone else crowded around the Apollo cabin's stone table, eating their breakfast like ravenous wolves, I was pushing around my scrambled eggs absent mindedly, not even bothering to take a bite. "Hey, Jake," one of my half brothers said, tapping my shoulder, "you okay?"

"Yeah, Shin," I whispered to my Asian sibling, "just a little out of it today."

"Hey, if you're worried about the Capture the Flag game tonight, don't sweat it. We'll wait for one of the leader cabins to beg us to play for them right? Ha, ha!"

I choked out a pity laugh. "Yeah, you're right." I pushed my plate away and stood up. "I'm going to go fly a few arrows. See you around." Before Shin or anyone else could say a word, I hurried out of the pavilion, stopping by my cabin that shimmered so bright, only kin of the sun god could gaze upon it. My bow was underneath my tidy wooden bunk, painted light yellow, my quiver not far away. Stocked with fresh arrows, I jogged over to the archery fields, spotting Chiron the centaur. He was the camp director of Camp Half Blood, where I was now, and where I have been for three summers. When the half man half horse saw me, he galloped over wearing his bright orange Leave your hoof prints behind, not your tire treads! T-shirt.

"Jake!" he greeted, lifting his bow in the air.

"Good morning Chiron," I said, reaching back for an arrow. "How are you?"

"Very well my lad, very well indeed!" His kind brown eyes glanced me up and down, and his lips slightly turned down at the ends. "Jake, is anything wrong?"

I walked over to a point drawn out on the ground with blue chalk. Seventy meters away was a target, looking like the size of a pinhead held out at arm's length. I notched an arrow and gripped the waxed bowstring, my muscles rippling as my strong arm pulled it back.

"I just feel weird today," I began, concentrating on my aim, adjusting my grip on my arrow. "Something doesn't feel right to me. It's like I'm having a premonition or something."

"Dreams are troublesome for demigods Jake. You must be careful."

"I know, I know, but this isn't a dream Chiron." In one second my arrow was on my bow, the next, thudded into a wooden circle meters away. But my gut feeling was still there, inside me, gnawing at my insides like a tapeworm.

Chiron trotted nervously behind me. His eyes kept gazing at the sky. "I must go Jake. I have an appointment with Zeus. He gets cranky when I'm late. You must listen to yourself Jake. Take an afternoon nap. I know those always clear my head. Feel free to take on in the Big House while I'm away. Dionysus will not disturb you."

With those parting words he galloped away, leaving me to my own fate.