Kidnapped
Bump in the NightMarshall
It was a warm evening in camp half blood. Me, my best friend Kye and his girlfriend Gwen were walking through the strawberry field heading towards our cabins after a long days training. Chatting, joking around and trying to guess what monster made that last noise from the forest. A usual day at camp. Well at least that's how it started….
"No Gwen I don't think an overfed mouse made that noise." Kye told her jokingly
"You never know, overfed mice are the cause of ones of deaths ever year." she replied with a serious tone while giving him a joking smile. Kye laughed
"You can be so adorable sometimes." he said in his flirting voice.
"Oh be quite you." She said looking away as her cheeks reddened and she tried to suppress a smile. Kye came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and put his head on her shoulder at which point her face lit up and they started giggling uncontrollably. The two of them made an amazing couple, or at least that's what the Aphrodite lot said. They did get along really well the, Kye, my half-brother and son of Ares, was slightly taller than Gwen and with his sculpted blonde hair style and brightly colored fashionable clothes, brown shorts folded up to just above the knees and a white polo shirt on that night, he was a model for what the shallow girls like Drew looked for but he was a genuinely nice guy and a real friend. Gwen on the other hand had long dark hair that hid most of her face and was wearing simple jeans and a grey jumper as normal. She is normally shy around people which is unusual in a daughter of Apollo but when it comes to Kye you just couldn't get her to stop.
"Guys! Guys!" I shouted.
"What is it M?" Gwen asked.
"Do you hear that guys?" I asked panic beginning to creep into my voice.
"I don't hear anything M, what is it?" Kye asked his hand creeping towards his axe.
"Me neither." Gwen said slowly as she unhooked her bow.
"It's the sound of me realizing I'm forever alone." I said my voice filled with mock sadness.
"What! You had me worried there! Oh M what are we ever going to do with you?" Gwen said slipping the bow back over her shoulder.
"You're going to keep me around cause otherwise who else is going to ruin all your moments like that time in…."
"We are never talking about that! Especially with tree that might be listening!'' Kye quickly said giving me a look that said he would not appreciate me embarrassing him, so I did the natural thing.
"Oh gods I forgot about them!" I said before running towards the nearest tree.
"Marshall! I swear if you say anything your dead! You hear me, DEAD!" Kye shouted as he began to chase after me. When I reached the tree I turned and winked at Kye who was still a good 50 meters away before turning back to the tree.
"Well hey there girl," I said in my deepest and most seductive voice "I just wanted to come over here and tell you that I think your smoking ho…." My chat up line was cut short by a vicious slap across the face from a girl about the same age as me with piercing green eyes and wearing an amber dress who was suddenly standing in front of me.
"Listen idiot you never tell a tree she's smoking! How stupid are you? Trees don't like being burned the same way you don't like being burned, understood!? Now beat it!'' and with that the dryad turned into green mist leaving me staring at a tree.
"So I'll call you, yeah?" I asked still dazed from the slap and in reply the trees branches all shook so I took that as the cue to leave, fast.
"Di….did you just get rejected by a tree? I did not see that coming.'' Kye asked when I made it back to him, his face a mask of confusion.
''We are never to speak of this night again.'' I said still humiliated at what had just happened. Gwen was waiting for them arms crossed and she raised an eyebrow when she saw the mystified looks on our faces.
''So what happened?'' she asked eyeing each of them and waiting for an answer.
''nothing.'' I said a little too fast.
''Ok come on then we need to get to our cabins, it's nearly lights out.'' she said and with that turned and started jogging towards them. In 5 minutes they were all standing outside the Apollo cabin saying goodnight to Gwen before turning to go to our cabin. Before we got 10 yards across the central green there was a muffled thump behind us and when we turned around we saw something that haunts me to this day. Gwen was lying unconscious on the floor bleeding from a wound on the back of her head while two men in dark robes, one of them holding a curved white stick that must have delivered the blow, stood over her talking in hushed tones.
''Who are you? What just happened?'' Kye asked obviously not understanding what was happening. The men looked up and without saying a word. The man on the left pulled out something that looked like a walking stick except it had a very intricately decorated handle. He pointed the end towards us and as it smoldered my reflexes took over as I realized this was an act of aggression and the time for talking was over. A ball of fire the size of my head flew at us but we had already rolled clear of the impact area and had our weapons in our hands.
''I got the pyro, you get the one with the stupid goatee!'' I shouted to him as I ran towards him, my sword already swinging towards the pyros neck.
''got it! STAND TO CAMPERS STAND TO!'' he screamed into the night as he swung his now fully deployed battle axe at the goatee guy. Kye's axe is a unique weapon created for him by the Hephaestus cabin, it's a small hatchet that can deploy an extended handle and another blade turning it into a battle axe almost as tall as Kye himself with 2 blades that could easily cleave a man's head off. I turned my attention back to the pyro as he ducked my swing but he didn't see my knee coming. The contact with his chin had him staggering backwards so now I had the still unconscious Gwen behind me. I felt much better knowing that. I thrust at him but he parried using a bent white club identical to his partners' and by using the crook of it to pull my sword away it left me wide open to his walking stick of fiery death. I realized this before him and managed to spin free before he could use his advantage. By now most the campers were up and running out to see what was happening. I didn't have time to observe what was happening because the pyro came at me this time. He swung his club in one hand aimed at my head and blew flames at my chest but I managed to sidestep the flames and stop his club with my sword before using my free hand to punch him full in the face making him stagger. I didn't let up I thrust at his chest again and he blocked with the crook of his club again. However this time as he went for my chest with his fire I drew my second sword from its inverted sheath under my hoody and slashed him across his staff wielding arm. He cried out in pain and scrambled back. He looked at me, his face a mask of rage and panic as he realized he was out matched. He shouted to his comrade in a language I didn't recognize, definitely ancient, and with that he dropped his sparkler of destiny in front of him which didn't surprise me seeing as how much he was bleeding from his wound. What did surprise me was the lion it turned into.
''What the hell!'' I yelled as it pounced on me. I managed to parry its claws with my left sword before stabbing it in the throat with the other and ripping downwards turning it to not dust as I was expecting, but sand. I looked around for the wounded pyro and the one with the goatee.
''MARSHALL!'' Kye yelled as a feeling of cold dread settled over me as I realized that they must have maneuvered past us and gone after Gwen. Kye was moving towards them but it was as if he was being repelled by gale force winds which of course he was. The goatee guy had his twiglet of destruction pointed at Kye and from the tip if the handle I could see the wind speeding in Kye's direction. Behind him the pyro was picking Gwen up over his shoulder. I noticed he had a hastily wrapped bandage around his wounded right arm. I ran towards Mr. Goatee from the flank but he simply swung his bent white club in my direction and a gust of wind hit me so hard it knocked me to the ground. As I looked up I saw other campers charging him but he simply swung one of his sticks at them and they were pushed out of the way like an invisible giant ad tossed them aside. The two men started moving away from the main body of campers and I felt the heaviest sense of dread settle over me before I realized where they were going. They were heading straight towards the Ares cabin. All 30 or so campers formed up in a phalanx, spear tips bristling towards the invaders. My dread turned into relief as I joined the campers moving towards them in a pincer movement. I could see Clarisse on the left side of the line shouting orders to the formation and rallying other campers on her nearby while Lee Fletcher, head counselor of the Apollo cabin and Gwen's half-brother, did the same with the campers pursuing the Hostage takers and I could see the fury in his eyes but that was nothing compared to what Kye was like. He was right at the front offering nothing but an excruciatingly painful death for the men that had hurt and kidnapped his girlfriend. Soon the men were completely surrounded by most of the camp including some nature spirits and satyrs and nobody was happy with the men that had woken them up and dragged them out of bed.
''Lay down your weapons and you will be treated fairly.'' Chiron commanded the men.
''As you wish.'' Said the one with a goatee as he let his wonder stick fall to the ground.
''No Chiron, it's a trap!'' I yelled but it was too late. It hit the ground and turned into a giant vulture so big that when it flapped its wings the force made some of the campers stagger.
''FIRE!'' Lee yelled to his cabin and Apollo's children let loose a hail of arrows but the force of the downdraught from the vulture made most of them miss there marks and the ones that did hit didn't seem to do much besides mildly annoy it.
''Kye! Let's go!'' I yelled and in unison we ran past the ring of campers still staggering around from the vulture towards the men. The pyro was already on the vultures back with the still unconscious Gwen but the goatee guy was still on the ground as we got closer he turned to face us. Quick as a flash he swung the white club horizontal to us and as I guessed a gust of gale force wind lifted Kye up towards me. But I saw it coming. I dived forwards and rolled as Kye sailed over me landing off to my left and as I came up in front of the vulture controlling freak I swung my right sword up towards his gut forcing him to block with his magic war club before swinging down with my left sword and cutting his remaining weapon in half with the world's most badass scissors. As he stumbled away from me he raised his hand towards me in what looked like a gesture of surrender.
''Ha-wi!'' he said and something glowed across his palm. My vision went white and the next thing I see is the giant vulture circling up in to the sky and heading away from camp with three figures clinging on to its back.
''Chiron, let me go after them I can keep up with them in the sea.'' I heard Percy say.
''No the Apollo cabin with get her back, Michael! Help Katie get the Pegasi saddled up! And…'' Lee began.
''NO!'' Chiron Bellowed ''we are not going anywhere until we know what we're up against, understood, I'm not have g you all run towards your deaths. We will bring her back I promise but until then nobody leaves camp. Clarisse, I want the Ares cabin on border patrol. You must are to make sure nobody leaves. We will have a strategy meeting first thing tomorrow so until then get some rest. Understood?'' most of the campers started making their way back to their cabins. Percy, Annabeth, Lee and all of the Apollo cabin stayed and argued with Chiron but there was no changing his mind. Clarisse started assigning posts to the Ares campers but when she got to me and Kye she told us to go back to the cabin and left 2 men to make sure we didn't try to escape.
''We're still going right?'' I whispered to Kye as soon as we were on the other side of the room away from our guards who were standing just outside the door.
''of course we just need to figure out a way to get past…'' He whispered back before he was interrupted by a clattering sound coming from the door. When we looked over we saw our two guards unconscious on the floor and a shadowy figure standing in the door way.
''Who are you?'' I demanded and in response they simply stepped forward and the sight that greeted me shocked me to my very core.