Chapter 9: Nighttime Operation
Percy and Reyna met up that night outside of the mansion area. Percy hadn't realized it, but the mansion was pretty remote and isolated from civilization.
By remote, Percy meant that it was in the middle of nowhere. Trees surrounded them from all angles. The only sign of civilization Percy could see was a tarmac path that connected the driveway and led deep into the woods.
"Where even are we?" Percy asked.
"Hidden from the public." Reyna said. "The house was originally owned by Rachel's dad before he gave it to Rachel."
"Wait, this is Rachel's place?" Percy asked. Reyna just put a finger against her lips.
"She doesn't like to talk about it, but yeah." Reyna said. "The place is concealed with magic, thanks to the Hecate demigods and magicians from the Twenty First Nome."
"Carter's place." Percy noted. "So, shall we?"
Reyna nodded as they ventured into the forest.
The night was eerily quiet. Aside from the rustling of leaves against the wind, there were no other noises. It was as if all the animals in here had gone quiet. The only thing he hears is their own footsteps.
"It's unusually quiet." Reyna said, as if reading Percy's thoughts.
"Yeah." Percy said. He had an uneasy feeling resting in his stomach, but he decided to let it be for now. Percy gripped the scabbard of his sword a little tighter. "Let's keep moving."
They were off the tarmac path and were walking through mud and bushes. Percy had packed light. He brought a satchel which contained a few bandages, some ambrosia, a flask of nectar, a water bottle and that's about it.
Reyna was wearing her Hunter uniform, which was still strange in Percy's eyes. The last time he'd seen Reyna, she was a Roman praetor. Now, she's a Hunter of Artemis. She wore a silver parka with combat boots. A silver bow was slung across her shoulder along with a quiver of arrows. Her hunting knife was strapped to her waist.
We trudged in silence for the next few minutes before we saw signs of Crusaders. When Reyna noticed the beam of lights just a few feet in front of them, she immediately ducked behind a bush. "Get down!" She said quietly.
Percy ducked behind a tree. A group of Crusaders, probably patrols, were walking in front of them.
"I thought they'd be further." Reyna grumbled. "They're closer than I expected."
"Good thing we decided to go for the attack, huh?" Percy said as he peeked slightly around the tree.
The darkness of the night made it hard to see, but from their shining flashlight Percy could see about five Crusaders. "I count five."
"Maybe more." Reyna added. "Ready?"
Percy nodded. "Remember, no hesitation. It's either us or them."
Reyna took a deep breath. "I'll go high. You do you." Reyna said as she gracefully climbed up to a tree. The only thing Percy heard was the rustling of leaves before she disappeared out of sight.
Percy assessed the situation again. He needs to be quick and fast if he's to take them down without giving them a chance to act.
He bolted straight towards the group, sword in hand.
"What's that noise?" One of the Crusaders said. They frantically shined their lights to see where the noise was coming from. When one of them shined their flashlight on Percy, it was already too late.
One swift motion, Percy reminded himself.
Percy drew his sword in a deadly upward arc. The Crusader staggered backwards before Percy drove his sword straight into his heart. The Crusader gurgled in pain before he collapsed.
Close your heart to their suffering.
Percy didn't waste any time before moving on to the second Crusader. He ducked under the swing of the second Crusader and slashed sideways at his ribcage. The Crusader howled in pain before Percy swung the scabbard of his sword directly onto the Crusader's chin, effectively knocking him out and shutting him up.
"Ambush!" A Crusader shouted. "Call for-" He never got to finish his sentence as a silver arrow sprouted from his forehead, making him look like a unicorn. The third Crusader dropped dead.
Percy saw one of the last two Crusader reach for his rifle, but another arrow flew straight into his torso. He yelled in pain before Percy stabbed him in the heart. Another Crusader grabbed Percy from behind and tried putting him in a chokehold, but Reyna had his back when she jumped down from the trees and put the Crusader in a chokehold instead.
The pair stumbled to the ground. The remaining Crusader tried squirming and struggling, but Reyna had a firm hold around his neck before she snapped it and the Crusader went limp.
Reyna stood up, glaring at the mess they made. Percy could notice the uneasiness in her eyes. "You okay?" Percy asked.
"I'm fine." She said, but Percy doubted it.
Then, they heard a voice from one of the walkie-talkies that the Crusaders carried. "Team 4, what's your status?"
Percy and Reyna stayed silent as the voice asked again. "Team 4, come in."
"We better go before they send reinforcements." Percy said. Reyna nodded as both of them continued onwards.
Line Break
It wasn't long before Percy and Reyna found their campsite. It looked very military-like, as Percy would describe it. Their campsite was in a clearing with large dome-shaped white tents. Percy could spot seven armored military trucks parked orderly side by side. Barbed metal fences surround the perimeter with patrols roaming the area.
But their biggest problem was the search tower in the middle of their campsite. It stood a few feet taller than the treeline of the forest with a searchlight that was being manned by Crusader. If they were going to be sneaky, they need to avoid that searchlight.
"So you wanna be sneaky or should we just bust in?" Percy asked.
"That's like asking if we want to have a chance of dying or go for a guaranteed death." Reyna rolled her eyes. "We need to take out that searchlight."
"Can't you just shoot it out with your arrows?"
Reyna judged the distance from where they were standing to the searchlight. "I can, but I doubt I could shoot it out. An arrow would be too weak to penetrate any kind of glass."
"We'll just be extra sneaky then."
"I wouldn't risk it. Look closely." Reyna gestured at the tower. "That's also their communication tower. If we're discovered, they're gonna call for reinforcements. We need to take out that tower."
Having to fight more people would be bad.
"I've got a plan." Percy said. "You have any oil on you?"
"Uh . . ." Reyna answered smartly. "Oil?"
"Well, anything flammable." Percy said.
"I have some to make molotov cocktails."
"Okay, here's how-" Percy stopped himself. "Molotov cocktails?"
"It used to be Greek fire molotov, but we ran out like weeks ago." Reyna said, as if it wasn't such a big deal.
"Nevermind." Percy shook his head. "What are you using for fuel?"
"Alcohol." Reyna said. "What are you planning?"
"We're gonna set the tower on fire." Percy said. "You can send a few bottles flying to the top of the tower, right?"
"Yeah, with my bow and arrow." Reyna said with confusion. "How are you going to light it?"
"You'll see." Percy said. "On my signal, splash the tower. Then we'll engage. I'll go to the center of the crowd and I'll assume you'll have my back."
"Bold of you to assume." Reyna mused.
Percy ignored her remark as he helped her get ready. They have four bottles of alcohol in total, which Percy hoped would be enough. Each bottle was tied to an arrow. "Will this even fly?" Percy asked. "These bottles are pretty heavy."
"They'll make it. Trust me." Reyna said.
Percy decided to have faith in Reyna. "Ready?" Reyna nodded. "Fire."
Reyna fired the first arrow higher than Percy expected. It almost looked like the arrow was going to whizz past the tower, but the weight of the bottle made it dip more rapidly and it landed straight on top of the search tower. Percy heard the sound of the glass bottle breaking.
If Percy could hear the glass breaking, then so does the rest of the Crusaders in the campsite.
"We need to be quick before they realize something's up." Percy said.
"I know." Reyna grunted as she pulled the string of her bow and let loose the second one. And then the third one. Then the last bottle doused the search tower. The last arrow had a fine string attached to it that was also doused in alcohol. The other end of the string was held by Percy.
"Ready." Percy said to Reyna. He snapped his fingers and made a spark of flames. It lit up the string and the fire snaked along the string all the way to the top of the search tower.
"What the-" Reyna was interrupted when the top of the search tower burst into flames. Percy heard screaming and yelling from the Crusaders, panicking as their tower was on fire.
"Fire!" Percy heard them shout. "Get the extinguisher!"
"I'm going in." Percy said as he leapt from his cover and entered from the front gate of the campsite.
Almost all of them were focused on putting the fire out, so Percy took advantage of this and stabbed the closest ones on the back. Percy could hear them groan in pain before they dropped dead.
This was a dirty way of fighting, but he had to do it.
He took out five Crusaders from behind when one of them finally noticed him. "Demigod!" He shouted. All of their attention shifted from the flaming tower to Percy.
"Everyone up to arms!" Percy heard another one shouted. Percy wasted no time in rushing towards the closest Crusader he could find and stab him in the gut. The Crusader grunted and tried to push Percy away, but Percy stood firm as he took out his sword out of his enemy's body.
"Fire to kill!" Percy heard another command. Percy's instinct instantly screamed COVER!
He dived behind a bunch of supply crates as the Crusaders let loose a hail of bullets. Percy had never experienced what it felt like being fired on, but he expected he would be more panicked than this.
Percy's senses went into overdrive as his ADHD helped him focus every detail. The sound of rifles emptying their magazines filled the night. So far, none of the bullets had touched Percy though a few had come close. He would like to deflect those bullets with his sword just like they do in movies, but he knew that was stupid and he wasn't too keen on dying because he tried to copy something from a movie.
Then he heard one of the Crusaders collapse onto the ground. "Arrows?" One of them said in confusion. The gunfire ceased momentarily. "He's got friends. Split up! Search for the archers!"
The Crusaders split off into two groups. One of them is looking for Reyna while the other is focused on killing Percy.
Percy took out the bottle of water he brought from his satchel. He threw it into the air and fired an intense ball of fire towards it, creating a smoke/steam bomb. The Crusaders grunted in surprise and Percy took advantage of it. He leapt from his cover and threw his sword like a javelin. It landed straight on the chest of one of the Crusaders.
The others were quick to recover from their confusion as they aimed their guns straight at Percy and opened fire. Percy proved to be faster than their aim as the bullets quickly flew behind Percy, missing him by an inch.
Percy can't hope for Reyna's help now, since another group of Crusaders are looking for her. Percy was on his own for now.
He pulled his sword from the chest of the Crusader as he kept running. He hid behind one of the armored trucks, hoping that they hadn't seen him.
"Anyone have any visuals?" Percy heard one of them shout.
"Negative!" Another one said.
The first voice cursed. "Search the grounds! He won't be far."
Percy heard the group split up to search for him. Before he decided to go out of cover, he heard a conversation between two Crusaders. "God fucking damn it." One of them cursed. "So we can't call for backup?"
"No sir. They destroyed our communication tower." From the way the other voice spoke, it seems like he was speaking to someone of a higher authority. Their leader, maybe.
"Any news on the other one? The one firing arrows." The leader asked.
Reyna, Percy thought mentally.
"No. The other team is still looking. But it's only a matter of time before -"
"We have her!" A voice shouted in the distance. Percy peeked over from behind the armored truck to see them dragging Reyna who was bound and gagged. From her squirming, Percy knew that she was at least conscious.
Percy cursed mentally. He can't face all of them alone and he wasn't going to unleash the powers of his Earthshaker side again. They had gone without telling anyone, so if things went wrong no one was gonna come rescue them.
"Excellent." Percy heard the leader. "Hey demigod!" He shouted. "We have your friend! You wanna show yourself?!"
Percy stayed silent. If the situation allows it, he would've rushed forward without hesitation. But doing so would spell the end for both of them. If they want to make it out of here alive, he has to play this smart. Percy counted how many Crusaders were there.
Fourteen in total. Fully armed and dangerous.
"Come on, don't be nervous!" The leader mocked Percy. "We just wanna have a little chat."
Percy tried thinking about what he could use. There was no water source anywhere, so he couldn't use that. He could try his flames, but he doesn't have much control over it since it's a new power for him. He could barbecue Reyna accidentally, which would not be fun.
"Come out here before I put a hole through your friend's head!" The leader shouted.
Fuck, Percy cursed mentally again. He tried to think of a solution, but everything was coming blank.
Then, he heard a loud creaking sound. The search tower was on the verge of collapsing. One of its legs was already bent, while the other was on fire. With enough force, the thing would collapse forward.
Straight onto the Crusaders.
The question is how.
"I'm gonna give you ten seconds, kid!" The leader shouted.
"Come on, boss." Percy heard one of the Crusaders say. "Let's have some fun with her. I've never tasted a demigod before."
Percy could hear the leader smirking. "You're gonna have to decide faster, kid." Percy glanced over to see the Crusaders chuckling and started to feel Reyna around. Reyna tried fighting and squirming, but they had a tight grip on her. "She's a feisty one," Percy heard the leader said.
Percy got a flash of inspiration. He went to the side of the armored truck and looked under it. He found what he was looking for and stabbed the gas tank with his sword, causing it to leak. Percy then fired a sharp yet controlled blast of fire under the truck. The oil caught fire and caused the truck to explode, sending it flying up in the air.
Straight for the search tower.
It went better than Percy expected when the truck hit the correct leg of the tower. The tower went toppling onto the group of Crusaders.
Percy wasn't going to watch and wait. He rushed forward towards Reyna and grabbed her on the way as he ran to the other side.
"Fall back!" He heard the leader shout, but it was too late. The search tower crashed on top of them killing a bunch of them at one go.
Percy cut Reyna loose from her bonds. "You okay?" Percy asked. Reyna didn't answer. "Come on, we need to go."
As they stood up, Percy heard a gunshot and a searing pain in his left leg. Percy crumpled to his knees.
He turned around to see one of them had managed to escape the crashing tower. "You're not going anywhere. We're gonna -" He didn't manage to finish his sentence because he was yelling in pain as Reyna had shot him with an arrow straight to the leg. "You fucking-"
Reyna fired another arrow to his other leg, causing the Crusader to collapse to his knees. She then ran forward and hit the Crusader on the face with her knee. "Who do you think-" The Crusader was cut off again by Reyna pinning him down and start whalloping the Crusader's face.
"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" Reyna shouted with every punch. Percy managed to get up, even though his leg was in extreme pain. The Crusader was struggling to break free, but Reyna was not letting up.
His struggle turns into twitching. Then the Crusader went limp.
But Reyna wasn't stopping.
"DIE! GO TO HELL! DIE!"
"Reyna." Percy called as he got closer, but Reyna wasn't listening.
"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" Reyna cursed as she continued punching the Crusader with brute force. It was evident that the Crusader was dead at this point. His face no longer resembled a distinguishable face. But it didn't stop her.
"Reyna!" Percy tried pulling her away from the body, but she pushed him away.
"I FUCKING HATE ALL OF YOU! DIE!" Reyna screamed her heart out. Percy had to wrestle Reyna away from the body.
"Reyna! Stop it!" Percy said. As he pulled Reyna away, Reyna squirmed and fought against Percy.
"LET ME GO! LET ME-"
"REYNA!" Percy pulled Reyna away and the two collapsed onto the ground. Percy found himself lying on the ground with Reyna sobbing into his chest.
"I hate them." Reyna cried. "I hate all of them."
Percy understood what Reyna meant. No one liked going through that experience. Of course she was terrified. Her hands were trembling and her whole body was shaking. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. It's okay. You're safe."
Percy didn't notice how bad she was trembling until Percy hugged her. He gently rubbed her back. "You're okay, Reyna."
Her cries turned into light sobs. They lay there for a few minutes as the fire raged all around them. The tents had also caught on fire from the search tower. The whole campsite was going up in flames. If there were any Crusaders here, they weren't going to survive.
"Come," Percy said softly. "We need to get out of here."
Reyna buried her face in his chest, but she nodded. "Okay." She whispered softly. She got up and wiped the tears from her face. She offered her hand to Percy, to which he accepted. "Can you walk?"
"Somewhat." Percy admitted. "I can manage with some ambrosia and nectar. But we need to get out of here first."
Reyna nodded. She slung Percy's arm over her shoulders and helped him leave the area.
Line Break
After the chaotic commotion they have caused, the quietness of the forest was welcoming. Luckily it rained, so hopefully the fire won't spread into a forest fire. Percy was sitting against a tree with his leg straightened while Reyna was treating him.
"This is gonna hurt." Reyna said.
"Yep, tell me something I don't know." Percy said as he braced. Reyna poured the nectar onto his wound which was similar to pouring alcohol onto it. He balled his fist and clenched his body, but eventually the pain subsided and his body relaxed. "Thanks." Percy said.
"Don't mention it." Reyna said. Her face was expressionless. "The bullet went through, so a few stitches will help it heal."
They sat in silence for a few seconds in the rain before Percy asked, "Are you okay?"
Reyna sat down next to him and leaned against the tree. "I thought I was okay with it, Percy." Reyna said sadly. "You're right. Killing mortals leaves a different aftertaste."
Percy exhaled humorlessly. "You could say that again." Percy muttered.
"Sorry for . . . what happened." Reyna said, talking about her mental breakdown.
"I don't blame you." Percy said. "I think anyone would react the same way."
"But I don't like it when I'm like that." Reyna said miserably. "All I saw was red. All I thought about was inflicting as much pain as possible to the people I hate. It's like I've been holding back two years of pent up anger and frustration and that was the one that made me snap."
"To be fair, you didn't destroy cities like I did when I exploded." Percy gave her the benefit of the doubt. Reyna managed a smile, but Percy could tell she wasn't in the mood. "Listen here. You have the strength and bravery for this. I would trust you to have my back out there in battle."
"Thank you, Percy." Reyna sighed. "And thank you for saving me. I'm in your debt."
Percy smiled. "Now, let's head back."