"Over here." The satyr whispered, signaling for his friends to follow him. The young blond haired girl caught up with the satyr first and looked back. Thalia, the girl in the black leather jacket breathed heavily, struggling for a while trying to carry her company.
"You shouldn't jump in like that. I can deal with that monster." She said grumpily, but the boy smiled. His blonde hair reflected the last ray of the sun. He was coughing blood, but his arms and legs seemed worse.
"No you can't. Do you think I can leave you with that creature which was twice as big as you?" He smirked weakly but then winced at his wound.
"Luke." Thalia was deadly serious. She couldn't help but feeling guilty and angry.
"Come on." Grover whispered. That little satyr looked so jumpy when he was in a hurry. "We are almost there, hang on a little bit."
"Let me help you." Annabeth, the blonde girl stepped back to help her two friends.
"It's okay, Beth. Just make sure there aren't any monsters following us." Thalia looked up at the sky. She didn't want anyone to notice she was silently begging for her dad's help. Unfortunately, not only didn't Zeus response, the sky was turning black. No stars could be found on the sky, and everywhere was pitching black.
"I know it's here somewhere." The satyr started to look worried. He looked around for the million times and a grin appeared on his face. They all spotted the camp fire. That had to be the place. A cold ran down Annabeth's spine when the howling began. It was easy to tell the difference from a wolf's howl and a monster's howl. The howls appeared in seconds and echoed across the woods.
"Oh no." Annabeth cried out. This had been the second time they had to defense against a creature. It wasn't such a good idea to travel with three other demigods, but she had no choice. Thalia herself tried not to frozen in her spot and scrambled on her feet faster.
"Beth! Take Luke for me." She waved for Annabeth's attention.
"What do you think you're doing, Thals?" Luke coughed out each word.
"Just saving your ass." She murmured while the blond girl took his arms.
"No." He got out from the embracement. It was hard to balance, but he managed not to fall.
"Luke, please, you are injured." She could hear the claws clenching and they knew there was no time to waste. "I can do it." She lied as she couldn't even believe in herself.
"No, Thalia, we almost make it. We can make a run for it."
"What if the monsters catch all of us? What then?" Thalia bent down and pulled the dagger out of her right boot. Her shield was ready. The thing about Thalia was that nothing can beat her stubbornness. Not Annabeth. Not Luke. The blond girl had no choice but to follow Grover. Being a daughter of the goddess of wisdom, she knew what would happen. Thalia took one look at the brave sister she always loved, and the unconscious Luke. He would be so angry of her. The first ginormous shadow appeared in front of her, and she almost fell down. She told herself to be brave and ran toward it. The first hit was on its arm, but her strength wasn't enough to cut that deep. It only irritated the monster even more. The second monster looked like a cyclop, only bigger and worse with bigger growls and haunting eyes. It was hard to tell what she was feeling inside. Angry because her father didn't care for her? Sad because she didn't have the chance to say goodbye to Luke? Relief knowing her friends would make it to camp? She avoided the first hit, but wasn't fast enough for the second lung. She was hit hard, lying on the ground a few feet away. Before the monsters could reach to her, lightnings stroke down like a heavy silver rain. One cyclop was hit as the rest ran away. They were scrambling on each other, tripping while running and bringing down trees on their way. It woke Luke up. He widened his eyes, feeling the worst headache. He looked at Annabeth who had just gave him Ambrosia and nectar, and froze. He couldn't see the face he was looking for.
"Thalia." He shouted and ran out the protected shield, heading for the smoke. "THALIA." He saw her. Her pale beautiful face was covered with bruises, and her hair was blocking her eyes. Her fingers slightly moved as Luke knelt down next to her. He held her hand, his body shaking.
"Luke. I lo-" She couldn't finish the sentences. The moment her eyes closed, Luke felt her fingers getting harden, and her body transformed.