Ch. 2
12 years ago
Thalia's POV
Thalia couldn't believe that at one point during this mess she actually thought it might not be so bad. Up until a few weeks ago, she had been comfortably running around with Luke and Annabeth. Well, as comfortable as you can get while running from the law and pretty much every monster in the U.S.
Then, Grover had found them, and it was like the Fates had sucker-punched her. There was a camp for demi-gods. A freaking camp! And here she was thinking the only way to survive was by traveling and never staying the same place for too long. LOL NOOB!
So she and her companions had decided to follow Grover. Luke had been suspicious of him at the beginning but had eventually warmed up to him. Thalia would admit, she too had been suspicious of the goat boy when they first met him. But now, she felt that even if the guy did betray them or trick them, she would kick his furry behind with no trouble whatsoever.
Besides, the guy seemed like he was honored to find them and also a bit scared. He said something about this being his first assignment and how he was really lucky to find such a powerful demigod.
Thalia tried to believe that he was talking about how together the trio was really powerful. But she knew he was talking about her. That was the problem. She didn't FEEL powerful. In fact she felt kind of useless. She had led her friends into countless traps and most of the time; they had barely escaped with their lives. Granted, it could be argued that Grover should have smelled the monsters or something like that but Thalia couldn't do that to the poor guy. He was already insecure about leading them to camp and being their guide. She couldn't push this onto him as well.
She had also noticed that the others had started to turn to her for what to do when they were in a situation. And as much as she wanted to deny it, she had silently become the defacto leader of this "mission." Even Luke, who could have asserted his authority as the oldest had turned to her.
That, along with a multitude of other crap had made her feel extremely guilty for letting her friends and Grover down. Heck, they couldn't go two miles without getting maimed, stabbed, or poisoned. It had taken them 3 hours to get across the Delaware Memorial Bridge and they went on with a hell of a lot more clothes on than when they had come out. That had been one of the most painful and embarrassing days of her life.
Anyway, they had eventually managed to make it to a small beach in northern Jersey. There, they had met a kind waitress who had provided them with clothes and food for the night. Her name, which Thalia managed to make out eventually, had been Sally Jackson.
They had spent the night on the beach, relaxing and joking around like normal kids. It had almost made her forget about all her current problems. Almost.
She had been just about to drift off into the realm of Morpheus when a large crash resounded through the cabin. She sat up with a start and hit her head hard against the ceiling.
"Thalia!" a voice screamed from downstairs.
'Grover' she thought. She crept downstairs and peeked into the kitchen. There, three old hags with leathery bat wings were pinning Grover against the refrigerator.
"Where is she?" the one with the whip hissed. "Do not lie."
"I-I don't know," Grover replied shakily, his eyes flitting around the room. They widened comically when they landed on Thalia. The hag who had spoken before cracked her whip and he flinched.
'Hold on' Thalia mouthed and Grover nodded imperceptibly. Thalia closed her eyes and concentrated. Sure enough, a wave of thunder rolled across the sky before a bolt of lightning streaked through the roof and fried the hags, knocking them back into the oven.
"Thanks," Grover gasped, massaging his throat from where the hag had pinned him.
"What were those things?" Thalia asked, eyeing the three limp bodies warily.
"Furies," he replied. He didn't elaborate and Thalia didn't ask him to.
"Are they dead," Thalia asked, already knowing the answer.
He shook his head. "They will wake in a few hours, then they will come after us again. Wake up Luke and Annabeth. We need to get to Camp Half-Blood tonight." Thalia nodded and sprinted upstairs.
"Luke!" she screamed, "Get up! We have to run!" Luke sat upright, already reaching for his sword. Thalia shook her head.
"Not now," she said, "We have to get out." Luke nodded, blowing his blond hair out of his face. "Get Annabeth and be down at the beach in five. We don't have much time." Luke nodded before springing out of bed and into action.
Five minutes later, the three of them, with Grover leading, disappeared into the stormy night.
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Thalia nearly screamed in frustration when she heard the growl's of the first hellhound. They were so close to camp-only 5 miles or so- and the monsters were catching up to them now? Shaking her head clear, she continued pushing through the bracken, ignoring the streaks of pain that shot across her sides, hands, and legs when she pricked a thorn.
Annabeth and Luke were right behind her, using the path that she had made and watching her back at the same time. Grover was a couple feet in front, sniffing for traps and monsters
Suddenly, Thalia heard the growling again, but closer.
"Get down," she hissed and 4 bodies hit the ground with a thump. In the midst of the undergrowth, Thalia heard voices.
"Where is the girl," a voice hissed.
"She must be closer to camp," came the response, "We must intercccept her." Dracanae, Thalia thought grimly. As the two monsters continued on their way, Thalia silently motioned for Luke to get up. He understood her plan and silently drew his sword. One, Two, Three, she mouthed and then she and Luke were up and running, chasing the snake-women. Before the monsters even had a chance to comprehend what was going on, they were decapitated and they're bodies crumbled into dust. Thalia nodded appreciatively. She turned to Luke.
"We need to get moving. Now." Luke nodded and motioned for Annabeth and Grover to follow. Thalia turned in the general direction of the camp.
"We only have a couple miles guys, all we have to do is stay in front of those monsters. The others nodded grimly and they began hacking their way towards camp.
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As it turned out, they didn't even make it a quarter of a mile before the first group of monsters showed up. They weren't particularly difficult to kill, but they wasted valuable minutes and worse monsters were soon on their tail.
Now, Thalia had 3 companions to protect and about 10,000 monsters to protect from. After what seemed like an eternity of slashing, hacking, and fighting, they reached the base of Half-Blood Hill.v She turned desperately towards her friends.
"C'mon," she yelled, "Almost there!" With the last of their strength, the group managed to climb the hill. Suddenly, Thalia heard a sharp cry of pain. She whirled and was shocked to find Annabeth with an arrow through her shoulder. Her face was tight with pain and she was clutching her oversized dagger so hard her veins were popping.
In that split-second of seeing Annabeth's hopeless face, Thalia made her decision.
"Luke! Grover! Get Annabeth to safety. I got this!" she shouted to the two boys in front of her.
"Thalia!" Luke protested and Grover looked like he wanted to agree.
"Just go!" she yelled before turning back to the army, a single tear rolling down her face. Luke gave her a desperate look while Grover just stared mournfully but she refused to look back.
"I need to this guys," she whispered, "I refuse to live being hunted all of my life." With one last fleeting glance, Luke, Grover, and Annabeth straggled over the property line. Thalia faced the army of monsters and smirked.
"BRING IT ON!" she screamed and the monsters roared and charged in response. Thalia stood there, twirling her spear and waiting. When the first Cyclops arrived, she ducked under it's first blow and stabbed it in the heart, her spear crackling with electricity. She then pulled it out and unfurled Aegis. The entire first row of monsters retreated after seeing Medusa's face permanently engraved in metal.
She used this advantage to slam her shield into the nearest telekhine and unleash a wave of electricity upon the first 500 monsters. After that, she didn't really remember what happened. She slashed, hacked, and stabbed at the monsters until every one was destroyed. She was just about to congratulate herself when a new horde of monsters came charging at her.
Oh great she thought. Despite her tiredness, she readied herself once again. What she saw made her pale. The three furies were gliding towards her, cracking their whips with cruel looks on their faces. Stunned by their appearance, she was caught by surprise when the Cyclops's club came crashing down on her. She was thrown backwards from the force and landed in a heap at the top of the hill.
Too weak to move, she could only watch as the cyclops approached, brandishing it's club. She thought about Luke and Annabeth and Grover. At least she could die knowing they were safe. She closed her eyes and waited for the end. What came next was not expected. As cyclops was about to finish her, a bolt of lightning hit her body and threw the monster back. When the smoke cleared, an age old pine tree stood in it's place.
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No One's POV
What the monsters and Zeus himself failed to realize is that the lightning bolt had also done something else. A certain baby was hidden where Thalia had been struck and the lightning bolt had freed him of his millenia old trance.
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Sally POV
Sally Jackson drove along the quiet countryside of Long Island Sound. She had just finished an intriguing and exciting summer that involved meeting the Greek God of the sea. Unfortunately, the child that was sired was a miscarriage and she and Poseidon were heartbroken. However, Poseidon had told her that it was for the best because the child would have faced a life of hardship and turmoil. Either way, it was in the past.
Sally sighed and checked her car's clock.
11:59.
Almost noon, she thought. May as well eat lunch now.
Soon enough, she found a large hill that was dotted with only one pine tree.
Strange, she thought but got out of the car and climbed the hill regardless. As she reached the top of the hill, she thought she heard a baby's crying but shook it off as the wind. Then, when she was about to eat her first bite, she heard it again. It was coming from the tree. She put down her sandwich and walked over to the base of the tree. The crying was coming from under the ground.
Not caring abut her hands getting dirty, she began to dig until she uncovered of all things, a living baby. Sally was shocked, who could do this to a child she asked herself.
"And for that matter," she wondered aloud,"how is he alive?" Then she noticed he had that aura around him, like Poseidon and instantly realized he was a demigod or something even more powerful.
No matter, she thought, I'l take care of him as my own. She cradled the baby gently and picked up the piece of paper that had fallen when she had picked him up.
It read, His name is Perseus.
The baby opened his sea-green eyes and wailed loudly.
"Shh, young Perseus," Sally crooned," you are safe."
A/N: Hey guys, *chuckles nervously*. Long time no see right? *dodges tomatoes and other various projectiles*. Really sorry about the wait guys. I've realized that my schedule is a lot busier than I thought it was so I will have to update every 5 days to a week. But thank you all for the reviews because they really inspired me to write this chapter when I was feeling lazy. So again, please review. I can take it so give me all your feelings.
Praetor out.
