I do not own the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any of it's characters, they belong to Rick Riordan.
Percy
I will admit, I groaned a little when the screams pierced through the air like daggers.
It was a reasonably warm morning, the last of the snow had just melted away a few weeks ago, leaving the streets open to cars and pedestrians alike, with the occasional flock of pigeons dotting the sidewalks and alleys as they pecked at trash in search of food.
My head whipped around in the direction of the screaming before my brain could even identify the terrified sounds.
The street was almost pretty full, people walking around, enjoying the nice weather and a few going on their morning jogs - it was a great Saturday, after all.
My eyes zeroed in on the screamer, a girl sprinting down the street, her young, child-like, face flushes, her dark brown ponytail whipping after her. And boy was she fast. Like, track and field champion, fast. The way she nimbly dodged pedestrians and leaped over trash cans and fire hydrants took still. She could have only been about twelve or thirteen. But more important was the thing that was chasing her.
The monster must have been thirty feet tall, the only thing it wore was a stained loin cloth wrapped around his waist that looked dangerously close to falling off. His chest, legs, and arms were pudgy and hair, like a naked mole rat. His mouth hung open obtusely and the single eye in the center of his forehead stared intently at our favorite little Track Star - who was still running like her life depended on it, which it did. Cyclopes.
Now, normally I don't have anything against cyclopes, I even have a half-brother named Tyson who's a cyclopes. But this cyclopes was, as Tyson would put it, "a big meany." So he gotta go.
Instantly I dropped my shopping bags on the floor, I'd been walking back from the corner store by our apartment with eggs and milk for my mom to make pancakes for breakfast when I'd run into these two. (Being interrupted by a pesky cyclopes before I could even eat breakfast, rude, right?) My hands flew to my pocket, fingers closing around my pen, A.K.A. my sword named Riptide.
Track Star is still running - no, flying is more like it - in my direction. But the cyclopes is rapidly gaining, using his enormous size to his advantage. Every ten steps she took was equivalent to one step of his. Pulling out my pen, I uncap Riptide. Before I know it, a long, double-edged sword has extended out in the space my ballpoint pen had taken up just moments before. The blade glowed dimly with celestial bronze.
Track Star's eyes catch on the sword, she zeroes in on my face and a wave of surprise, confusion, and recognition washes over her. Her eyes widen a little bit and her mouth gapes just a little, like she's met me before and she wasn't expecting to see me here. Then her eyes narrow and her jaw sets in determination. She starts to run even faster, right towards me, instead of my general direction like before.
Track Star halts, standing at my left and turning to face down the cyclopes head on like me. She's out of breath and weaponless, but she looked determined to fight.
"Distract him," I ordered, "Try to get him to turn around so I can stab him from behind. And don't get caught."
Track Star nods, looking calculatively at the cyclopes. The cyclopes is barreling towards us in the middle of the street, but the mortals don't even seem to see him. They can't hear the roaring and growling thanks to the mist. Miraculously, there aren't any cars driving through at the moment, leaving the space clear for our showdown.
"Hey, Dumpster Breath!" Track Star calls tauntingly, waving her arms and jogging towards the monster. They meet in the middle. "I'm over here! Come get me!"
She's right in front of the cyclopes now. It growls and bends over, throwing a large hand at her.
Track Star nimbly jumps out of the way just in time. She laughs tauntingly and blows a raspberry. The cyclopes roars, throwing another hand at her. This time she dives out of the way, sliding in between his legs.
At first, the cyclopes looks down at his empty hands and the space around them with confused a eye. It's obvious he's not a very smart cyclopes. Ten Track Star blew another raspberry. The cyclopes turned, a slow, unsteady movement.
I took my chance while he was unbalanced, running at his ankles and slicing them. Golden dust trickled down his leg instead of blood, a common thing for Greek monsters. There was another roar, it sounded like someone was revving a motorcycle engine. And then I felt myself go weightless.
That damn cyclopes had grabbed me by the T-shirt, pinching the fabric between his thumb and his fore-finger and holding me several feet off the ground so that I was level with his mouth. Rows of twisted feet were all I could see. Track Star hadn't been wrong for calling him Dumpster Breath, the guy had raging halitosis. I wave my sword at his arm, trying to get him to drop me, but it's no use, my sword swings around helplessly. I closed my eyes and held my breath as he lifted my closer and closer to his mouth. His tongue wiggled around greedily, eager for it's next meal. I, Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Slayer of Kronos the Titan King and Gaea the Earth Mother, the demigod who had walked through Tartarus and lived to tell the tale, was about to be eaten by a cyclopes. My mom would be devastated. Annabeth would grieve, then she'd sneak into the Underworld to hunt down my soul. 'Cause that's what girlfriends are for. :)
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three gun shots fill the air. I cringe at the sound, but to my astonishment, I haven't been eaten yet so that's a plus. One by one I open my eyes, first the right, then the left. I'm still level with the cyclopes' mouth, but he's motionless now. His eye is glazed over with pain, there's a three bullet holes coming through his stomach, I can see right through his thick torso.
The monster staggers, he's so consumed in his pain that his grip on my shirt loosens. I throw my sword at the cyclopes' body, dragging it down as I fall to the ground, an explosion of gold following my blade until the entire monster exploded. I land lightly on my feet, gold flakes of monster floating slowly to the ground around me.
Track Star is standing about ten feet away, also in the middle of the street, feet apart, arms extended in front of her, a gun in both hands aimed roughly where the cyclopes had been standing just a few seconds ago. Gods know where she got it.
We just stare at eachother for a moment that seems to stretch on forever. Her eyes are wide and terrified, an expression that I've seen time and time again, and expression that I've worn before. I can almost see the wheels of her brain turning, replaying the cyclopes encounter, trying to believe that it was a trick, or that she'd somehow imagined it all. And then realizing that it had been real and wondering how this was possible. You're mind goes into overload, you realize just how close you came to dying, how unaware of the real world you are. The world where gods and monsters are real.
The gun slips out of her hands, her arms fall to her side, and then her knees buckle and she collapses.
A/N: Okay so this is my first Percy Jackson fanfic, I hope you guys liked it! Just to clarify, when Percy says Track Star, he's referring to the girl who was being chased by that cyclopes in the first place. It's kind of become his nickname for her.
