Yo :) Bit on the short side this time, but still fun.

Enjoy!

XI
LEO

As it turned out, finding a place to land a gigantic Greek trireme in southern Tennessee was no easy task. The expanse of land below them where Grover insisted they needed to go was covered by miles and miles of mountainous woods, many regions of which were heavily tourist-populated. They ended up settling down far on the southeastern tip of the state, almost into northern Georgia, in a rocky, open field between an endless line of trees and a cavernous cliff side that rose high above the mainmast of the Argo II.

"You said we're in Tennessee, right?" Annabeth said with a frown as they all disembarked and started trekking toward the dark curtain of trees. "I think this might be the Cherokee National Forest. It stretches all along the eastern edge of the state. This must be one of the wilderness regions, though… It doesn't exactly look tourist-friendly."

"Let's just hope it's demigod-friendly," Percy pointed out, sticking a hand in his pocket where his sword probably rested in ballpoint-pen-form (Leo had been meaning to build a weapon like that—like a drinking straw that expanded into a spear or a spoon that became a war hammer—but he hadn't yet gotten around to it). "Alright, Grover. Lead the way."

If the forest looked ominous from the outside, the inside certainly wasn't any better. The trees were so thick that hardly any sunlight broke through their leaves, making it feel like night even though it was still late afternoon. The temperature was cooler in the shade, and a light, airy breeze was blowing. The sound of rustling leaves filled the air, but other than that, the place was silent as the grave—not a good comparison for half-bloods. The whole place gave Leo a strange sort of rebellious feeling, like when you walk on lawns with those 'Keep Off the Grass' signs—you know you're breaking the rules and it feels like any second somebody will pop up and bust you, but that doesn't squash the slight thrill of the act.

"This is weird," Annabeth said absently, leaning her head back to look straight up at the canopy of leaves. "It's so… empty." Now that she mentioned it, Leo realized he hadn't noticed the distinct absence of any other living things. Sure, there was thriving flora everywhere they looked. But no animals of any kind. There weren't even any insects.

"This is just like…" Hazel muttered quietly, frowning down at the earthy forest floor.

Leo understood almost instantly what she meant. "Your dream?" he guessed.

Hazel nodded and looked up at Leo with wide eyes. "What if this is where Nico is?" she said, her voice just above a whisper.

"I might know a way to find out," Grover said with a frown, clearly perturbed by the lack of life in the forest. He stepped up to the nearest tree and placed his palm against the trunk, closing his eyes. Leo was about to ask if Grover had super tree-telepathy when all of a sudden a girl stepped right out of the trunk like it was a door.

She looked to be about sixteen. She was barefoot and dressed in a simple pair of blue jeans and a jade tank top, which complemented her green skin and hair perfectly. It took Leo longer than it should have to realize she was a dryad.

Her eyes scanned the small crowd of visitors, and when they landed on Grover she broke into a huge grin. "Ooh, a satyr!" she squealed, clapping her hands together. "We haven't had a satyr visit in forever! What's it been, Clover—eighty, ninety years?"

Suddenly a second dryad stepped out of the tree directly to the left of the first one, dressed in a similar manner, though her skin was a slightly lighter shade of green and her hair was colored with brown streaks. "Feels like nine hundred," she said dramatically, beaming at Grover and completely ignoring the five demigods around him. "Take a step back, Maggie, I saw him first."

"Excuse me?" the first dryad—Maggie—said sharply. "He called out to me, Clover. Besides, you don't have a chance. Your branches are way too thick, and have you seen the pigmentation on some of those leaves? Talk about tacky."

Grover grimaced, and Leo snickered in amusement. "Uh, actually—"

"Tacky? Me?" Clover retorted, interrupting Grover. "Who's the one leaving her roots uncovered for everyone to see? I mean, do you want people to think you're trashy?"

"Why don't you go chug some fertilizer? It might improve your color a bit."

"Gods, you're such a sapling!"

"Bird-feeder!"

"Drainage spout!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Grover shouted over the two dryads, interrupting what was sure to be a very entertaining tree-fight. Leo tried not to look too disappointed. He would have placed good money on Clover. "Besides, I uh…" Grover continued somewhat awkwardly, "I have a girlfriend."

The two dryads let out a collective groan of disappointment, but recovered almost instantly. "Well, you can't blame a couple trees for trying," the first one said cheerfully. "I'm Magnolia—you can call me Maggie. This is Clover."

"Grover," Grover offered, looking relieved that the fighting had stopped. "I was actually wondering if you guys could help out me and my friends?"

"Anything for a cute satyr," Clover answered with a winning smile.

Leo noticed Percy roll his eyes and Annabeth suppress a giggle as Grover said uncomfortably, "Right. So… why isn't there any wildlife in this forest?"

Instantly the smiles vanished from both the dryads' faces. They exchanged sad glances, before Maggie explained, "That's because of the hunter." She said the last word like it left a foul taste in her mouth.

"The hunter?" Hazel repeated, eyes widening. Leo knew everyone else was thinking the same thing—there was a hunter in Hazel's dream. Could it be the same one?

"Yeah," Maggie continued. "He showed up here a little over a year ago, and he's been killing or capturing every living thing in the forest. He doesn't normally come out this far, but we've seen him a few times. He's big and he's scary, and he loves to hunt. Sometimes he sets his captives free just so he can hunt them down again."

"That's horrible," Annabeth said.

"I know, right?" Clover agreed. "A couple of the trees from up north tried to stop him once, but… But he…" A sob cut her voice short, and Maggie patted her sympathetically on the back.

"He cut them down and used them to build more cages," Maggie finished. "Clover had a good friend in that part of the forest. …She's gone now."

Grover looked positively livid. "We've got to find this guy," he said, his voice low.

"Um…" Hazel began somewhat timidly. "You guys don't happen to know if any other demigods have been here recently, do you?"

Maggie tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "I haven't seen any, but a few days ago we sensed something different enter the forest. Something powerful. Maybe that was who you're looking for?" Hazel's hands tightened into fists, her expression scared.

"Thank you," Grover said to the two dryads, both of whom offered him bright smiles in reply. "We really appreciate your help."

"Our pleasure," Clover said. "And tell some of your satyr friends about us, okay? It sure gets lonely in this forest." They both stepped back into their trees and were gone.

"So now what?" Reyna asked. "Still think this has something to do with the prophecy and my camp?"

"Maybe," Annabeth answered uncertainly. "But whether it does or not, there's a definite chance that Nico's somewhere in this forest. I think we should try to find this 'Hunter'… He may not have the greatest sense of morality, but maybe he'll talk to us."

"Time for the hunter to become the hunted?" Leo said, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Annabeth agreed with a smirk, leading the way through the trees.

The going was actually relatively tough, given the wild, overgrown state of the forest. The gaps between trees were large enough, but the uneven ground was littered with rocks, branches, leaves, and the occasional fallen, decaying tree trunk. Leo hoped this hunter would be willing to help them—he hated to imagine trying to run through this mess.

"So, any ideas on how to track this guy down?" Percy said as they walked.

"Maybe we just have to make a lot of noise and he'll come to us," Leo suggested with a shrug.

Hazel stumbled over a protruding root and almost lost her balance. "I don't think that's going to be a problem…" she pointed out.

Not a minute later, Annabeth came to a sudden stop, throwing her arms out to either side and causing Percy and Hazel to smack into her. "What gives?" Percy asked, grabbing his girlfriend's arm to steady her as she stumbled forward.

"I thought I heard something," Annabeth explained with a frown, eyes scanning the shadowy forest in front of her. Suddenly her gaze snapped onto something just ahead and to the right. "There!" she said, pointing toward whatever it was. Leo stepped beside Hazel to get a closer look, but before he saw anything he heard the growl.

"Wh-What was that?" Grover asked nervously, telling Leo he wasn't imagining things (which he couldn't decide if he was grateful for or not).

Leo swallowed hard. "I don't think human hunters growl like that."

Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide, uncapping it so it grew to full size and shape. He stepped around Annabeth and walked slowly in the direction she was pointing, eyes scanning the shadows.

"I thought there wasn't anything living here?" Reyna said, a slight edge to her voice as she drew her dagger.

Percy stopped a few yards away from them. When silence fell and nothing else happened, he turned back to the others with a bewildered frown. "Maybe there's nothing—"

That instant, his voice was drowned out by a vicious growl much higher in volume than the last one, and in a flash a huge, black shadow the size of a small car leapt from behind a gigantic fallen tree trunk. It tackled Percy from behind before he could turn around, bright red eyes shining through the dim light.

Uh-oh... More excitement coming up... Review for me and I'll update faster (still have the next few chapters already done, just waiting to post 'em).

Later days!

-oMM