Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except for Theodore Hartwin

He was extremely unsettled.

Theo recounted the day's events in his head as they ran like their lives depended on it. Which they did.

First, noises and screams, Theo ticked off on his fingers. A giant bull man is chasing me, Theo thought, slightly amused at this predicament. Then a random girl with a sword, telling me to run away with her and leave everything behind.

There was a deafening roar behind them, and Theo knew the bull man was coming for them. The girl screamed, "Get back!"

She threw Theo behind her as the huge monster approached them, roaring. He caught a sour, putrid stench like spoiled milk.

"Whatever you do," the girl breathed. "Stay behind me. And don't move."

Theo thought that was rather contrary, but all he said was, "I can help, too!"

"Yeah," the girl snorted quietly as the bull man advanced. "I'm so sure you can fight the Minotaur without any training -"

"The Minotaur?! What the actual heck —"

"— I mean, the only person who can do that is Percy," she continued in a clipped tone.

Theo felt an irrational, fleeting stab of jealousy. "Who's Percy —"

Something huge came flying at them.

"Dive!" the girl yelled, shoving Theo left. "Theodore, just go hide in the bush until I give you the signal —" She was cut off, as the Minotaur (like the one from Greek Mythology), ambled into the clearing.

He spotted her, roaring, and Theo flinched with fear.

The girl, astonishingly, gave no indication of alarm. "Hey, Ground Beef!" she taunted as if she had done this many times before. "Tell me, how do you like Tartarus? Because I'm arranging you a one-way trip down to hell!"

She drew her sword — it looked like ivory, honestly (Theo did a double-take, but at this point he was just completely done), and charged.

The Minotaur bellowed in pain as she drove her weapon into his flesh and swiped at her. She skirted away, slashing and slicing until she was just a blur. The Minotaur growled in frustration, swatting at her.

The girl nimbly dodged, doing a backflip and landing into a crouching position. Then charged again, kicking off of his leg and onto his arm, right up to his shoulder. She raised her sword over her head, ready to strike his exposed neck.

The Minotaur snarled and flung her into the bushes.

Theo's breath came in quick, short pants as he watched the girl's features contort in agony. A trickle of blood was making its way from the corner of her mouth to her chin, and she had a multitude of tiny cuts all over her face. But most concerning was the deep gash oozing free flowing blood in her leg - as well as the odd way her ankle was bent.

She tried to get back up, but screamed in anguish, her leg couldn't take the weight and the girl fell back down, still screaming. Her eyes were screwed up tightly and she seemed to be taking deep breaths to quell the pain.

The Minotaur lumbered over to her and picked her up by the neck. The girl yelled, struggling weakly, but she was in obvious pain.

Theo watched with wide eyes. There was no way she was actually going to die, right?!

The bull-man squeezed, and the girl's face was turning purple as the monster crushed her windpipe.

Theo couldn't stand it anymore, the feeling of helplessness in his chest was threatening to explode. So he defied the only rule the girl had given him and hurtled into the clearing.

"Hey!" Theo shouted, waving his bright blue windbreaker. "Hey, Bull Man! Eat this!"

He picked up a rock off of the ground and chucked it at the Minotaur's eye.

It hit the mark.

The Minotaur roared in agony and dropped the girl headfirst into the prickly bushes, where she lay limp as a rag doll. Theo winced, praying that she was alright.

But now the Minotaur was glaring at him, one eye sewn shut from the rapid swelling. And the bull man was charging, arms spread wide to catch him.

"Oh crap," Theo muttered. He hadn't thought of what would happen.

He had no idea what to do.

He grabbed another rock and backed up slowly. "Nice cow… nice cow…" he said nervously, trying to wipe sweat off his brow discreetly.

Theo stumbled over the girl's arm as he backed away, and in desperation he grabbed her sword and brandished it at the Minotaur.

"Get away!" Theo cried. "I've got amazing powers and… stuff."

The bull man snorted dubiously, so he probably wasn't convinced. Theo didn't blame him.

The Minotaur walked slowly towards Theo, as if he had all the time in the world. Which he probably had, seeing as Theo was utterly helpless against the monster.

Theo knew he was going to die.

He shut his eyes, waiting for the blow, thinking ruefully of all his past mistakes. Then of his dad. Of his friends. Of the mom he never had.

Bye, Dad, Theo sent bade him a silent farewell. Bye, Ashton. His best friend. Bye —

Then he heard a strange whooshing sound, like everything around him was being sucked in a massive pit.

Something flashed, and even through Theo's sewn-shut eyelids he could see the bright, aggressive light flash in front of his face.

"Agh!" Theo exclaimed, shielding his face. He peeled his eyelids open apprehensively.

Theo could almost make out a murky, indistinct form of a woman, but he wasn't sure — it was hard to see through the fog, and for some reason, right now the fog looked more like… mist. White mist clinging to his clothes, his arms, his face —

Then the blurry figure moved, and Theo's attention snapped back to it.

Not yet, Theodore Hartwin, a wispy voice breathed.

Theo jumped approximately five feet. "Wha - what?"

Not yet. Your time has not come…

The words hung ominously in the air, and Theo stood stock-still. He felt the strange, not-quite-malicious presence disappear, and then the mist cleared.

The Minotaur was gone.

Thanks for reading!