Aight, so this is my first story of all time. My first ooo-rah. If you like it, review. If you don't, yeah still review. I really need some feedback.
Obvious disclaimer is obvious: I don't own any of these peeps. That right goes to Unkle Rick.
Void of a Stranger
The world was as it should be. There was life and there was death. The fates were continuing the endless cycle of cackling, arguing, and always, always snipping away at the threads of life. Just a moment after the fates had snipped the thread that belonged to a starving, frail man, there appeared another thread. It was gold, and written on its thin body were glyphs in a language unknown to even the fates. And the world stopped. For a minute, the cycle of life was halted. Wounded soldiers lived for a minute more of bloodshed and tears. A cornered rabbit survived for a minute more than was natural. Even the insects and bacteria in the ground did not pass into what came after. The fates stood still for a minute as they came to understand that what lay on the stone slab in front of them should not be. It belonged to one from another world and another age.
Percy's bruised rib cage protested as sat back on his arms. He remembered how he'd gotten them like it was only yesterday.
He had gotten stuck guarding the flag, yet again. It seemed like Annabeth was still trying to punish him for a particularly smelly prank himself and a certain pair of blond twins had pulled a few days back. So, he was left alone with only his thoughts and the occasional squirrel. It had been nearly 30 minutes, and not a single demigod had made an appearance. Percy could feel his ADHD practically screaming at him to liven things up, and promptly reassigning himself to border patrol, which probably wasn't the best idea considering the rest of the camp was still locked in a friendly battle of knock each other out for fun. But, he'd been through so many games they all had begun to blur together. Besides, the border was no more than 100 yards from his team's flag, and there was a river nearby. Nobody would dare test Percy at such close range.
A low growl emanating from his right shook him out of his guilty conscious. When he turned he was greeted by the grinning canines of a MONSTER. Only the camp barrier was keeping the beast at bay, and looking back on the incident Percy realized the it was he who had let the MONSTER into the camp. Due to his boredom, he had a brief lapse of common sense, and foolishly challenged the monster to come face him "Like a real MONSTER you half-witted mewling mutt," and had, by some magic unknown to him, invited the monster into the camp.
But that was in the past, and he could not change it, so he focused on the now. And right now, a comfortable silence had settled on 4 of the demigods of prophecy. Only the crackle of a dying fire and a few words of conversation could be heard drifting towards Percy on a warm ocean breeze. Down in the valley below Thalia's tree, Percy could see the culprits of the murmurs as few high-ranking campers milled about the Big House. His eyes crinkled with amusement as he saw the Stoll twins dart towards an unsuspecting couple, followed a cry of alarm. There was a good chance the twins were making good use of the robotic frog they had commandeered from the Hephaestus cave the last night. With a tinge of grief he realized that the aforementioned automaton was a result of his old friends nervous habits, and glanced at the dusty chair of Leo Valdez.
It had been 3 years since the crew had returned to America, and yet, in all that time, never had Leo flown to shore on his dragon of gold. He'd left with one goal in mind, to find Calypso. The same immortal girl Percy had promised to come back for all those years ago. It was his fault the gods had not kept their promise of releasing her. It was his fault Leo was gone, or worse, stuck on the island with her. Seeking comfort, Percy put his arm around the dozing blond nodding off on his shoulder. She opened her eyes and turned to look up at him, trying to discern the motive behind the intimacy. When she began to open her cracked, sun worn lips he cut her off, murmuring quiet words of assurance.
Then, his gaze turned to the stars. Finding the constellation where Zoe Nightshade rested eternal, he told the huntress "Bob says…" Quicker than even the strike of Zeus, a crack opened in the sky. It was as if a giant had decided the sky needed and few irregularities, and given it a few good whacks with a hammer. Even as he registered the crack, he felt the world bend around him. The fracture was both the brightest supernova and the darkest pits of Tartarus. The shadows thrown off by the fire and the moon bent, as if struck by Hades himself. Waves of scorching heat and frigid cold rolled towards him in tandem. When his eyes were finally able to adjust to the insultingly bright light he noticed a shadow falling from where the crack had been. The joints in his neck cracked in protest as he peered at the object hurtling towards the ground from the cruising altitude of a small airliner. With a start, he noticed it was going to land right on him, and that would be a poor way to go out.
So, he hauled his butt out of the chair and backpedaled away from the fire, as did the others. When he was clear of the blast radius he searched for the sky for shadow, and found it no more than 300 feet above the ground, and still plummeting…and , my gods that's a person. Out of instinct, he reached out with his mind, found the nearest water, and pulled. Hundreds of gallons of water from the camp pond obeyed his command and rushed to cushion the fall of the shadow. But he was not quick enough. The shadow hit the ground, but not as it should have. The figure seemed to have righted itself just moments before it reached the surface. He spared a glance at Jason to see if it was he who was responsible to the landing, but Jason appeared as astounded as Percy felt. The shock lasted but a moment, and then Jason and Frank were charging the intruder with their swords drawn, and the remaining 4 not far behind. And yet, the figure was still planted firmly on two feet, making no move to either defend itself or attack. So, when Jason reached the figure, he simply aimed his sword at the invader and assumed a defensive stance. The other 5 shortly followed suit and, in no time at all, the, still motionless, statue of a man was surrounded by 6 of the most powerful demigods to walk the planet. Only Zeus himself could fight his way through the bristling warriors. Of that, Percy was certain.
So, there they stood, and there they waited until the clip clop of hooves was heard approaching from the Big House, accompanied by a small herd of various cabin leaders. And still, the figure did not make a noise. Only the constant movement of its lips gave an indication that it was a living, breathing, man. That it was in fact a man became abundantly obvious upon closer inspection. Beneath a thin green robe lay a well-muscled, lean warrior. His forearms were taunt and lean. His face somehow had both a hard jaw and a graceful, feminine sheen. He held himself as only a king or a god could. Yet, what stood out above everything else, was his ears. Even in the faint light of the moon, Percy could make out the ears of a satyr. Which was strange because he had the legs of a man. Even Annabeth shook her head in confusion when Percy raised an eyebrow and glanced at the satyr-man hybrid. He wondered if Grover would be able to break through to this guy with some of his nature powers.
Out of curiosity he began to concentrate on the bond linking him to his friend. Since Grover was no more than half a mile out Percy was simply able to shout out with his mind to wake the snoring satyr and his befuddled girlfriend. With a few choice words, Percy told Grover to haul his goat butt out of bed. After the brief communication Percy focused again on the man. It was then that the man's sapphire blue eyes shot open from his trance and found contact with Percy. In the same moment, he shouted a foreign word, and in one fluid motion, mirrored Percy's stance, raising his hands into a defensive block. Realizing the man meant to attack, a shot of battle adrenaline flooded into Percy's system. He felt an ancient power rolling off man in waves, and some animal instinct took over and broke down any restrictions Percy held at maiming and killing an unarmed man. So, he took a step forward as he brought Riptide into thrust. In his periphery, Percy saw several others mimic his motion, and the result was a terrifying display of honed gold swords swinging in unison at the foreign warrior. Yet, even with the combined might of 6 of the world's deadliest demigods, not a single blade got more than an inch from the crouched satyr-man. As the weapons bounced harmlessly back towards their wielders the figure sprung 10 feet up and 10 feet over Percy's head to alight on one of the nearby tree branches. The campers, and Chiron, turned in awe to try to figure out how in Gaea's name he managed to jump that far, that quickly.
Even as they were turning, Percy heard words come from the stranger so loud he was certain even Clovis was jarred from his rest down in the valley.
"Eka aí fricai un Shur…!"
He was cut off as Jason summoned a gust of wind to so strong, and so concentrated, it knocked the man from his perch, where Percy intercepted him midair in a bubble of water. He threw the water, with the man still trapped inside, at the nearest tree trunk where he promptly collapsed as he struck his head against a knot in the oak.
Lemme know whatcha think...I'm begging you.