Harley's POV

"Grover!" I ran over to the saytr, terrified that I'd unintentionally killed him.

Originally, the three of them had survived the lightning strike, but everything was different now. The positions and plot and me being here. That's the only reason why I had them get out of the car, just in case.

I let out a relieved sigh after feeling a steady pulse. "Food..." he moaned quietly. "He'll be okay," I reassured Percy and Sally.

I lugged Grover's arm around my shoulder, standing us both up. Percy helped me with the other arm after I staggered a bit under the weight. Curse this child's body, I grumbled in my head.

"You three have to run." Sally's voice was hoarse. "You see that big tree over there?" With another flash of lightning, we saw the pine tree she was pointing at. Thalia's tree, my mind echoed. Shut up, I told it. You're not supposed to know that yet.

That's the property line," she said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."

"Mom, you're coming too," Percy insisted. I swallowed. Don't feel guilty. She comes back, after all. And lives happily ever after. I shouldn't feel like this. I glanced back at the shadowy creature, who was still slowly making its way towards us.

Sally's eyes looked like my mom's when she talked about my father. We could all tell what her final decision was. "No!" Percy shouted. "You're coming with us." I sent him a you-know-what-we-have-to-do look. "Percy, I can't cross the border. I'm a mortal," she said sadly.

"There has to be a way."

"There isn't, and we're out of time. Harley-" she met my eyes- "don't let Percy do anything stupid. Please. Protect each other." I gave her a nod.

The Minotaur grew closer.

"He doesn't want me. He wants you two. Please, I'm begging you, leave me. Hurry up and run," she pleaded. Percy and I exchanged looks. "We have to go, Percy. He's practically here."

"But-"

"Go," she said.

With one last glance, he finally nodded, hesitantly turning around. As we began to run, the Minotaur sped up. I briefly wondered if we smelled like chicken nuggets or a good yankee candle to him.

"We'll come back for her," I said, trying to make Percy feel better. He nodded slowly, staring through the stormy, gray scenery.

As the monster got closer, I was able to make out his features. The white Fruit of the Looms underwear would've been funny if not for the ripped and hairy body above it.

The pine tree was still way too far— 50 yards uphill at least. But all of a sudden, the bull-man hunched over the battered car, pausing. Right where Sally was. Percy stilled.

Quickly, we lied Grover down on the grass and headed down the hill. "Mom!" Percy yelled. She attempted to get away, but he grabbed her throat with his meaty hand and lifted her up. She managed to choke out one word to us, one that didn't get lost in the storm.

"Go."

Percy stood there, frozen in fear as the monster raised her into the air. She struggled, kicking and pummeling the air, but it was no use. I ignored the feeling of guilt, knowing she would be fine. Hades would take her at the last moment.

But what if he doesn't? My mind echoed. You've already changed the story so much. Who knows what will really happen at this point?

I gritted my teeth, feeling the cool metal of the twin rings as I clenched my fists. Please, if I'm right, let this work.

All of a sudden, the feeling of the rings were gone, and in my hands there were two short swords, about a foot and a half long each. They were made of some sort of shimmering dark material, but I couldn't quite describe the exact color. A cross between black and bronze, maybe?

Suddenly, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fist around Sally's neck, and she dissolved before our eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply... gone. But not dead.

The light means that Hades took her. I mentally sighed out of relief. Thank goodness. I don't know what I would've done if she'd died because of me.

"NO!" Percy yelled. The Minotaur began to make his way towards the still-unconscious Grover, catching his distinctive scent in the rain.

"Let's go, Percy," I said, gazing angrily at the beast. "We can't let him get Grover too." He paused, choking down a sob. Despite clearly being devastated, he swallowed and nodded, stripping off his red rain jacket.

He only noticed the blades I held after that. "What... what the hell? Where did those come from?"

"Tell you later." I took on a stance. "HEY! Over here!" I yelled. It grunted, glancing our way. Percy held up the bright raincoat, waving it in front of us like a flag. "Hey, ground beef!" His words practically dripped with anger. That's not good. His emotions could blindsight him.

The monster immediately began to head our way, deciding that Grover could wait.

Okay, I thought to myself, gripping the two swords. I don't have a lot of experience with swords, but they're all I've got. "On my mark, jump as high as you can. Get on its neck and distract it for as long as you can and grab the horns. I'll try to attack from below," I said.

Percy did a double take. "What? Are you crazy? Me, ride on the Minotaur's back?" Thunder boomed above.

"You can do it, trust me."

"I've never even done gymnastics before! I barely passed phys ed!"

"Heads up, it's almost here."

He lowered his head to charge us, and my legs felt like jelly. But neither of us moved. "...NOW!"

On instinct, Percy leaped up, using the bull-like head as a springboard before landing on the monster's back. He lashed out, and Percy would've fallen if he hadn't grabbed onto the horns.

I immediately stabbed through the shoulder while he was distracted, though I meant to aim for the chest. The sword cut through the thick skin like butter, and I pulled it out just as easily.

The monster roared so loudly that the grass around us was blown back. I winced. Hopefully that didn't give Percy any hearing disorders.

Blood dripped from the wound, and he began to try bucking Percy off even more aggressively, almost like a rodeo bull. A deadly, ancient Greek rodeo bull.

Then it charged at me. Oh shit, was my last thought before my back suddenly slammed into something hard. A tree, I barely registered. The Minotaur dug its feet into the dirt as I struggled to stay conscious. The air had been knocked out of my lungs. Shit... I can't even breathe right...

"Get out of the way, Harley!" I heard Percy scream. I barely rolled to the side before it charged the tree, knocking it down. I stood up, my vision swimming. The swords had reverted back to rings on my hands.

Oh no. My head pounded, and suddenly there were two Percys and two Minotaurs. No no no, not now! My brain didn't listen, instead making me even more dizzier.

The last thing I saw was Percy's furious face before my body collapsed, against my will, and everything went dark.

Percy's POV

I was beyond angry. First Grover, then my mom, and now Harley. Fate must hate me. It's a good thing the feeling was mutual.

The bull-man turned towards the unconscious Harley, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he'd squeezed the life out of my mother, how he'd almost killed my best friend, and how he would have gotten to Grover too if we hadn't gotten in the way. Rage filled me like high-octane fuel.

I wrapped both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then- snap!

The bull-man roared and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass, narrowly avoiding a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.

Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage and below the wound Harley had given him.

The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate- not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.

The monster was gone.

I fell to my knees and dropped the horn. The adrenaline faded as quickly as it had come. I realized that the storm had subsided, and that I smelled like sweat, blood, and livestock, and my knees were shaking.

My mother was gone and my only friends were injured and unconscious. I wanted to lie down and cry, but Grover and Harley needed medical attention.

I managed to stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farmhouse. I needed to call for help. Only a few more yards away.

I collapsed on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, the blurry and stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl staring down at me. Her blonde hair is curled like a princess's.

"Down the valley," I croaked. "My friends. They're hurt."

I saw the blonde girl reach for me before my eyes closed. After that, I completely blacked out.