Hi my loyal readers. Thank you for your patience. I know that it's been awhile since my last chapter. A long, long time since my last chapter. But… things have been busy in my life lately, film school is a hell of a time consumer. Plus, I went back to my roadmap for this whole series and reworked it over a bit. Nothing major, just looking a few things over. However, I can confirm that when I get to Heroes of Olympus, whenever that may be, I will be doing BOTH Lost Hero and Son of Neptune, and I think you'll be happy with the paths I take everyone in. And trust me, it's NOT what you're imagining.
Oh, and I would also like to mention that my friends surprised me with an early birthday present: a ticket to The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, which is coming to my town in June. As a hardcore fan of this series, I'm curious to see this show, especially with the reviews I've read. I gotta admit, the thought of Annabeth singing is definitely a weird one. Is the musical really that good? Let me know in the comments.
Anyway, now I'm rambling. Without any further ado, let this chapter begin.
Percy groaned as the world swam around him. His entire body ached in agony. It felt like someone had brutally beat him over every part of his body. Percy let out a moan as he slowly looked up, his vision swimming in and out. All he could hear was a high pitch that completely muted everything else.
Out of his swimming vision appeared Thalia, racing out of the smoke. She reached out, gripping his arm. She seemed to be yelling as she gestured at something, but Percy couldn't hear a word.
Around him, the town seemed to be in pandemonium. People were running down the street as smoke rose into the sky. Percy blinked as he stared at Thalia. Then, she slapped him.
"HEY! SNAP OUT OF IT!" she slapped him again, causing Percy to stumble before looking at her.
"Ow!"
"About time! Come on!" Thalia grabbed Percy's arm and pulled, as the son of Poseidon blinked at her in confusion.
"We need to find the oth-"
Before Thalia could continue, her eyes widened and she slammed into him. They crashed into the ground as something flew over their heads, crashing into the building behind them with a loud, metallic crunch.
Thalia gritted her teeth together as something rose from the snow. A large something.
It turned to face her. Thalia reflexively took a step back, every instinct on high alert. His eyes blazed a dark red, like volcanic fire. His entire body was encased in black Greek armor, from head to toe. The only color variation was his plume, which was red, and a red boar's head across the center of his chest. He looked like…
"You're not Ares." Thalia growled. He didn't respond, simply pulling a pair of large double-sided battle axes from his back. With his body illuminated from the fire, he looked even more terrifying. Like a demon. Did the Underworld even have demons? Percy grunted as he stumbled to his feet, Riptide appearing in his hand.
"You're a child of Ares." Percy stated. The boy cocked his head at that. Then he moved,
Thalia jumped back, barely dodging the first axe swing. It passed so close to her face that she could hear the wind sing. Thalia jumped back as he buried the second axe into the ground an inch from her face. Percy charged, thrusting his sword at his chest. The boy whirled, swinging his other axe out at Percy, slamming him in the stomach with the handle. Percy gasped, doubling over.
Thalia leaped to her feet, her eyes blazing as her spear sparked with electricity in her hands. Before he could pull his axe from the ground, Thalia charged him, unleashing a flurry of thrusts on her opponent. The boy jumped back, gripping a nearby car and swinging it up as a shield. Thalia's spear thrust into the car. The car exploded, sending the boy, Percy, and Thalia flying in different directions.
Thalia crashed into a mailbox, which bent backwards at the impact. The boy crashed into a nearby shop, flying through the windows with a loud crash, glass showering around him like rain.
Thalia groaned as she fell forward, catching herself as she panted on the ground, leaning on her spear. Before the glass had even settled, he grabbed the side of the window and pulled himself back up, turning towards Thalia. His face was darkened in shadow, with the only visible feature being his burning red eyes. There wasn't a scratch on his armor. In fact, the only indication she had attacked him at all was the small plume of smoke rising above his body.
"Hmph. Disappointing." He stepped through the smashed window, the snow and glass crunching beneath his boots. Thalia gritted her teeth as she gripped her staff.
Then, before she could even blink, her stomach exploded in pain. The boy had reappeared in front of her, his knee buried in her stomach. One of his large hands wrapped around her neck and pulled her up. Thalia gasped, her legs flailing as she pounded her hands against his fist, with no effect. He let out a small sigh as he held her closer to his face.
"Hmph. The daughter of Zeus… I expected more from a child of the big three." Thalia let out a horse gasp as she clawed at him, her fingers sliding harmlessly against his metal armor.
"Hmph. You're lucky that they want you alive." He growled.
"HEY!" the boy whirled to see Percy racing towards him. He snarled as he raised his axe with his free hand. But at the last second, Percy leaped into the air on a plume of snow, giving the boy a face full of it. He slashed downwards as he fell, striking his opponent's back and sending up sparks. The boy roared in rage, dropping Thalia as he whirled and slashed back at Percy. Percy was barely able to roll out of the way as snow and dirt flew into the air. Thalia made a loud gasp as she struggled to breathe, rolling out of the way.
The warrior suddenly let out a roar of rage and stumbled forward, turning to reveal that he had been shot in the back with at least a dozen silver arrows, which looked like porcupine quills as they glistened against his black armor.
Percy turned to see Bianca and Zoe standing on a nearby rooftop, their bows ready and arrows notched in their hands. What looked like silver rain erupted from their bows, hitting their target dead on. The warrior howled in rage as he stumbled back, covering his face with one of his hands as he tried to bat away arrows with his other axe.
"MOVE!" Bianco roared. Percy blinked before getting the point.
"Oh!" He raced over to the still gasping Thalia, helping her to her feet.
"Hey, are you okay?" She gave him a venomous look before hoarsely coughing.
"Jackson, I was just punched in in the fucking stomach and nearly choked to death. Do I look okay?" she hissed.
"Sorry."
"S-shut up Percy, I think I'm gonna be… be…" Thalia promptly turned over and vomited on the ground.
"HEY!" Percy turned to see Grover running towards them. He gestured desperately at them. Percy nodded, wrapping his arm around Thalia and helping her forward.
"What in Olympus happened?" Grover sputtered. Thalia promptly vomited again, causing Percy to grimace.
"MOVE!" Grover tackled them as something whizzed over their heads. Bianca and Zoe jumped off the roof just as it exploded beneath them. They rolled on the ground, bouncing back to their feet.
Percy looked up to see the rear bumper of a car sticking out of the demolished building. Just then, another shadow flew over them, missing Bianca and Zoe by inches as it smashed into the ground with a loud metallic crash.
"What the?" Percy turned to see the boy grip the rear bumper of a Cadillac and hoist it over his head like he was lifting weights.
"Oh, come on." The warrior hurled it like a javelin, sending it flying through the air.
"SCATTER!" Percy leaped onto Thalia, covering her as they fell to the ground.
Then, a shadow shot over Percy, followed by a metallic crunch. Percy blinked and looked up to see Gohan standing over him, gripping the front of the Cadillac with his teeth clenched.
"Thanks for the save." Percy breathed. Gohan smirked.
"Here's your return!" Then, he tightened his grip, spun around, and hurled the Cadillac. The warrior barely had enough time to blink before the car smashed into him, sending him bouncing across the ground and right into the town hall with a loud crash.
"Woo! Didn't see that one coming." Gohan clapped his hands with a smile.
"Hey!" he turned to see Bianca and Zoe race up, their arrows notched.
"Can we please leave before we blow the entire town to pieces?" Bianca asked. Gohan frowned as he looked around. That was an understatement. Most of the town was demolished. Entire sections were torn out of buildings, a fire was raging, and cars were sticking out of the ground like sprouts. There didn't seem to be any people left still around, but they could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance.
"Good idea. I don't think that guy's going to stay down for long." Bianca goggled.
"Are you serious? You just smashed him with a car!" Zoe shook her head.
"The boy is right. That is not a normal warrior or a monster. It is something… else."
Before anyone could add to the conversation, Gohan's ears perked up at the sound of something whistling through the air.
"MOVE!" Everyone separated, racing towards the store with the exception of Gohan. He turned, his hand moving like lightning as he snatched something out of the air. It was a celestial bronze knife. In less than a fraction of a second, he whirled and thrust his hand out, firing off a ki blast. The blast slammed into the roof, shattering it into pieces. Silence followed. Gohan's eyes narrowed. Then, he whirled, sidestepping just as a second knife whizzed by his left by inches. Gohan responded with firing a series of ki blasts, slamming into the adjourning buildings, shattering them apart into flames. Silence followed. Gohan stood still as a statue, his eyes closed and ears twitching.
"What is he doing?" Grover whispered as he crouched beneath the counter, his coffee cup crushed between his fingers.
"Waiting." Zoe answered, crouched beneath the window as she clutched her bow in her hands. At that moment, Gohan's eyes shot open. He whirled with his fist out, slamming it into something solid, something that made a loud oomph and flew back, slamming into a Hummer. It was a cloaked figure in black. Before the person could move, Gohan was already on him, a hand on his throat. With his other, he yanked off his hood, causing a long flowing mane of blonde hair to fall out. Gohan's eyes narrowed into slits.
"You…" Abigial looked up and smiled, as if it was a casual day. She looked virtually the same as she did before: only now she had a bandana on her hair decorated with a bright orange sun .
"Hey, Gohan. Long time no se- aaaakkkk!" Gohan's hand tightened on her throat as he slammed her back into the car, causing the metal to groan.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" the scream that erupted from Gohan chilled everyone within earshot. Abigail looked up, licked her lips and smirked.
"That's a rude way to start a conversation. What, no hello, hi, how are you doing?" Gohan slammed her head against the back of the car in response. The glass shattered, showering Abigail in fragments. She let out a groan as a drop of blood slid down her forehead and sighed dramatically.
"WHERE... IS… SHE?" Gohan hissed, his voice dripping with hated and venom. Abigail let out a manic giggle, her eyes dancing in delight.
"Oh, so we're doing the whole Batman thing now? Gotcha. Oh man, wouldn't you like to know? You should hear her screams, they're quite the deli-ghakkkk!"
His grip tightened on her throat, her eyes growing wide. Then, a hand slammed on his shoulder, causing him to whirl to see Percy and Thalia standing behind him, looks of anxiety on their faces. Percy's face paled the look on Gohan's face. It was… almost inhuman. Thalia was the one to speak.
"That's enough! Smashing her head in isn't going to get us any closer to Annabeth! Cool off!" Gohan snarled at Thalia. Percy quickly stepped in, placing a hand on Gohan's shoulder.
"Hey… come on." Gohan looked at Percy. A long minute passed. Gohan let out a deep sigh, letting go of Abigail. They didn't say anything to each other, but the look they shared said enough.
"Awww, how cute." Abigail sneered. Thalia shoved her back against the car.
"Talk." Abigail's eyebrows rose.
"What, you can't buy a girl a drink first? Not that I'm judging, just figured we play for the same team given that whole goth butch look you're going for … AHHHH!" Abigail let out a shriek of pain and doubled over as a silver arrow sprouted out of her left shoulder. The demigods turned in shock to see Zoe and Bianca standing behind them, Zoe's bow in her hand. Grover stood behind them looking like he really didn't want to be there, his coffee cup still clenched in his hand. Percy blinked with a look of both awe and fear on his face.
"Damn." He breathed. Zoe ignored him, stepping up to Thalia as she notched another arrow and pointed it at Abigail's head.
"Answer thy question. Where is Artemis?" She snarled. Thalia nodded before looking at the groaning assassin.
"Tell us where Annabeth is. Right. Now." Abigail looked up at Thalia before glancing down at the arrow sticking out of her shoulder. Then, she let out a dramatic sigh.
"You want the blondie so bad and the silver virgin? Fine." She looked up, her blue eyes blazing.
"You're blonde." Percy pointed out. Thalia glared at him. Abigail rolled her eyes.
"They're where the earth meets the sky." Gohan snarled in frustration.
"What the heck does that mean? Is she screwing with us?" Gohan snaps, turning to look at Thalia.
This time, Zoe spoke.
"No. I know of where she speaks." What unnerved Gohan was the look on her face. Not one of relief at learning where her beloved goddess was, but one of both fear and dread.
Before anyone else could say a thing, the ground started to rumble. Percy looked up, surprised, as Abigail started to giggle.
"You're in trouble…" she hummed in a demented sing-song voice. Then, a roar echoed through the air as the black armored warrior landed on the street behind them, glowing as steam rose off his armor.
"Gods damn it!" Thalia cursed.
"So, I see that you guys already met Pólemos." Abigail smirked.
"Seriously? That's a dumb name." Gohan countered. Abigail groaned as she raised an eyebrow.
"Say that again when he's gouging your eyes out."
But it got even worse when two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the burning trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes. They flanked Pólemos on both sides. Thalia groaned as she raised her spear.
The skeletons drew their handguns while the hulking warrior raised his battle axes.
Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into Percy.
Percy drew Riptide, Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, and Gohan snarled as he stepped into a fighting stance. His hands burst with bright yellow energy as sparks danced across his body.
"Come on!" Gohan roared.
"Hold on, let's back up," Thalia said.
They started to—but then three more skeletons appeared on the road behind them. They were surrounded. Then one of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it. Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone.
"Great. He's calling the rest of his friends." Percy groaned. Abigail giggled.
"You're fuuuuucked." Thalia responded by smacking her in the face with the bottom of her spear.
But then, before either side could attack, a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.
Zoe gasped. "Grover, thy cup."
Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves. Gohan was so stunned that he lowered his hands.
"What the?"
Grover collapsed. The group of demigods gathered around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.
"Uuuuuhhhh," Grover groaned.
"Well, get him up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."
"What about her?" Bianca gestured at Abigail. She responded with a middle finger.
"Leave her." Thalia answered.
"It's near," Grover moaned.
"No, it's here," Percy said.
"No," he insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."
"What is he talking about?" Gohan snapped.
Percy didn't know what he was talking about, but he was worried about Grover's condition. He was in no shape to walk, much less fight.
"I have a plan. I'll blast the guys behind us and keep them distracted. You guys rush for the forest and take out the other two."
"Typical. Always trying to be the hero, huh?" Thalia snorted.
"If being the hero means making sure all of us get out of here, then sure."
"Not the time, guys!" Percy snapped. Pólemos snarled as he slowly turned his axes over. A bright yellow light appeared in both of Gohan's hands.
"The Wild!" Grover moaned.
A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but Gohan kept his eyes on the skeletons. The energy in his hands intensified. He narrowed his eyes. For one second, the world seemed to slow down. No one moved, no one breathed. Then…
"MASENKO HA!" Gohan roared as he thrust his hands up into the air together and fired, a bright yellow blast shooting straight for Pólemos and the skeletons. The warrior roared as he raised his axes. He swung down, catching the blast just before it him and it exploded, showing him and the skeletons in smoke. Pólemos coughed as he waved the smoke away… to find Gohan standing right in front of him.
"Gamo!" he howled before Gohan swung out, catching him in a brutal right hook that sent him flying into the sky.
The first skeleton fired his gun. Time slowed down. In almost slow motion, Gohan turned, reaching out and snatching the bullet from the air. Gohan then opened his hand, letting the bullet fall to the ground.
"He can catch bullets now?" Thalia said with wide eyes.
The skeleton drew a baton while the other raised his gun, but Gohan simply turned and raised his hands, firing a pair of ki blasts that smashed into the skeletons' chests, consuming them in a massive explosion. Gohan smirked as the smoke rose.
"Really guys? You're scared of a bunch of bones…" Gohan trailed off as the smoke faded, revealing the two skeletons standing completely intact. The only apparent damage they had taken was that their uniforms had been scorched off.
"Okay, fine then." Gohan shot towards the left skeleton and punched it in the head, knocking it clean off.
To his surprise, the skeleton didn't collapse. It simply bent down, picked up its head and reattached it.
"Huh. For the record, I've never fought a skeleton before." The skeleton swung his baton at Gohan, which he dodged by side-stepping to the side. The saiyan snatched the baton and hit the skeleton in the shoulder, smashing his arm off.
"Let's try this again." Gohan clenched his fist. A second later, a golden light appeared in it. He thrust it forward, aiming for the skeleton's chest. A loud crack echoed in the air. Gohan and the skeleton both looked down to see Gohan's arm stuck in the skeleton's chest.
"Huh." Gohan blinked. The skeleton looked back up at Gohan made a clattering, clicking sound, like it was laughing. Then, Gohan smirked.
"Gotcha." Then, he opened his clenched fist, revealing a shimmering ki ball. It then exploded, completely bursting the skeleton apart.
"Wooo!" Gohan cheered. Then, a gunshot made him leap sideways, turning to see the other skeleton pointing its gun at him. Before Gohan could attack, Percy charged in and sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then he swung Riptide through his waist and cut him in half.
His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap.
"Thanks!" Gohan grinned, giving Percy a thumbs-up. Percy nodded. Then, his face turned to one of nervousness.
"Ummm…?" Gohan looked down to see the skeleton's ribcage still stuck on.
"Ah!" Gohan swung his arm around, but the ribcage just wouldn't come off.
"Stay still!" Percy grabbed the ribcage and pulled, causing it to pop off of Gohan's arm. Percy quickly tossed the ribcage aside, wiping his hands on his shirt.
"I think I hate skeletons."
"Same." Then, Gohan felt a tickling on his leg, blinking in confusion.
"Hey Percy? I think something's on my leg." Percy frowned, turning to look at Gohan… and froze. His face went pale.
"Gohan… don't move." He slowly raised Riptide. Gohan swallowed, and looked down to see several of the skeletons' severed hands crawling up his legs like ants. All around him, the pieces of the skeletons began to move towards him, reassembling themselves.
"GAHH! GET OFF!" Gohan started dancing around, stomping the pieces like bugs, the bones splintering beneath his feet.
"Stay still! Stay still, damn it!" Percy gestured at Gohan with Riptide, trying to cut off the skeleton pieces. Gohan managed to pull one of the hands off his chest, but then yelped in frustration when, despite his grip, the hand still lunged at him like a snake.
"You try staying still with these things climbing all around you!" Gohan howled as a bright yellow light surrounded his body, and then he shot into the sky.
"Idiots!" Thalia swore before she charged the second skeleton. Zoe and Bianca started firing arrows at the fourth. Grover stood there and held his hands out to the trees, looking like he wanted to hug them.
There was a crashing sound in the forest to their left, like a bulldozer. Maybe the skeletons' reinforcements were arriving. There was no way to stop them. Zoe and Bianca fired at their heads point-blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. One lunged at Bianca, but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.
"How did you do that?" Zoe asked.
"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?" Just then, Pólemos slammed into her, pinning her to the ground beneath one of his large hands.
"Bianca!" Zoe ran towards her trapped sister-in-arms, but suddenly tripped to the ground. She gasped in surprise before turning to see Abigail smirking at her, her foot out. Then, before Zoe could react, Abigail flipped back to her feet and trapped Zoe on the ground with her knee.
"Did you really think that taking me down would be that easy, bitch?" Abigail sneered. Then, she smashed her fist across the Hunter's face, slamming her to the ground and knocking her out cold. Abigail let out a deep breath as she stood, clenched her teeth, and snapped out the arrow.
"I am going to enjoy this." Abigail hissed as she pulled a strange contraption from her cloak. It looked like something from a hospital, a clear plastic tube with a plastic tube attached at the top, that snaked around her arm to a sinister-looking needle. Bianca's eyes widened in horror.
"Get that away from me!" she shrieked, flailing on the ground like a wet fish. Abigail sneered.
"Keep screaming. I love that sound."
The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were cracking. And then, with a mighty roar, a massive pig came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.
"The fuck?" Abigail swore in shock as she took a step back.
"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed, and then raked both Abigail, Pólemos and the skeletons aside with its tusks, somehow missing Bianca by inches. The force was so great, they were flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where the skeletons smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere in a massive plume of snow, causing the mountain to rumble. Then, a bright yellow flash erupted in the sky, almost as bright as a second sun.
Bianca gasped as she sat up, and then rushed over to Zoe.
"Hey, wake up!" She shook the Hunter until her eyes fluttered open, letting out a moan as she sat up and looked at Bianca.
"What… happened?" Then the pig roared again and whirled on the group of demigods.
"Oh." Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it!'"
The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge. Then, it howled as a bright yellow blast slammed into its head, causing to stagger.
"NO!" Grover cried. A bright yellow light shot down from the sky, landing next to them. Percy had to blink several times before recognizing that it was Gohan, transformed to his Super Saiyan form. Percy hated to admit how badass Gohan looked in that form, especially with what looked like golden fire dancing around him. He grunted in surprise as he dusted himself off.
"That's a giant pig."
"Simpleton! This is the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill it. Not even you."
"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"
The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. Gohan leaped back into the air, shooting back with his hands out, ready to attack. Percy had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain.
"You have a weird definition of a blessing, Grover!" Gohan shouted.
"Scatter!" Percy yelled.
They ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused. "It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.
"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"
"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.
"I just said that!" Gohan shouted as he flew overhead. At that moment, the pig charged her. Bianca rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign.
"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him.
"HEY!" Gohan shot towards the boar and thrust his hands out. But instead of blasting it, instead he flashed bright lights at it, causing it to squeal in rage.
"Hey!" Gohan grinned as he crossed his arms. Then, he dematerialized.
"Over here!" the boar turned to see Gohan floating near its left. As quickly as he reappeared, he disappeared again.
"Hi!"
"Over here!"
"Too slow!"
"Here piggy piggy!"
The boar roared in a combination of rage and confusion, thrashing its head in every direction trying to find Gohan. But just then, Thalia made a mistake.
When the boar, dizzy and confused, turned towards her and Percy, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives. The boar charged them.
"Dang it!" Gohan cursed, shooting after them.
They only managed to keep ahead of it because we ran uphill, and they could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plow through them. Gohan followed overhead, trying to get near his friends, but couldn't keep track of them from above the trees.
On the other side of the hill, Percy found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow.
"This way!'" He grabbed Thalia's arm and ran along the rails while the boar roared behind them, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside.
Ahead of us, Percy saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. He had a crazy idea. He looked up just to make sure, nodding as he saw the golden trail above them.
"Follow me!"
Thalia and Percy ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.
"No!" Thalia screamed.
She'd turned as white as ice. They were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.
The boar was right behind them.
"Come on!" Percy said.
"I can't!" Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear. Percy looked up again.
The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed. "Now!" Percy yelled at Thalia.
She looked down and swallowed, even turning green. Percy looked up, and shouted.
"Gohan!" He looked back. The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight toward them. Percy took a deep breath, and tackled Thalia, sending them both sideways off the edge of the bridge. They plunged into the goarge, the wind rushing past them. Thalia let out a howl of pure terror as she clutched Percy for dear life.
"I'm sending you to the Underworld, you asshole!" she howled. Then, Gohan shot down from the sky and snatched the falling demigods out of the sky. They plunged right into the side of the mountain with a loud POOOOOF, blowing snow in every direction. After a long second, Gohan's head popped out of the snow, spitting out a stream of water. Percy popped out a second later, blinking as he wiped snow from his face. Both boys stared at each other before bursting out in laughter.
"Man, you really cut it close, huh?" Percy grinned.
"Maybe warn me the next time you're gonna jump off a cliff." Gohan slowly stood up, careful to keep his balance. He reached into the snow and pulled out a shaking Thalia. She kept her eyes shut, trembling as she tried to stand.
"Shut up, both of you! You're both assholes!" Thalia screamed, her eyes clenched shut. They stared at her.
"Are you okay?" Gohan asked. Percy frowned, and then a look of realization came across his face.
"You're afraid of heights."
Thalia refused to open her eyes. "Don't be stupid."
"That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."
She took a deep, shaking breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell anyone, I swear—"
"No, no," Percy said. "That's cool. It's just... the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?" She snarled, but before she could answer, a roar echoed through the gorge. Above them, all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF! The ground shook as it settled, rumbling throughout the gorge. As Thalia started to stand, the rumbling caused her to lose her footing. She let out a shocked gasp as she fell forward, slamming into Gohan. Not expecting it, the momentum sent them both tumbling down the mountain.
"GUYS!" Percy screamed, his eyes wide as he struggled to stand up. Thinking fast, Gohan wrapped his arms around Thalia and held her close, letting himself take the brunt of the fall. Thalia screamed in his ear, not opening her eyes for a second. Gohan grunted as they tumbled down the mountain, bouncing off the snow and rocks.
Finally, they reached the bottom of the mountain and slid to a stop. Gohan groaned, his body stinging from the fall. They were both breathing hard. Slowly, they opened their eyes and stared at each other. He was slightly cut up and bleeding, and Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Thalia's face flushed red when she realized just how close she was to him. She quickly got to her feet, dusting herself off.
"Thanks." She whispered softly. Gohan nodded, and then took a deep breath as he relaxed, the golden flame vanishing from him as his hair turned black. Thalia watched with wide eyes.
"I'm still not used to that." She shook her head.
Next to them, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All he could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.
"Guys!" Percy's voice echoed, as he stumbled towards them, his face terrified. Gohan grunted as he climbed back to his feet.
"I'm okay. Far from the worst tumble I've ever taken." Percy's face flushed with relief.
Grover's voice called, "Helloooooo?"
"Down here!" Percy shouted.
A few minutes later, Zoe, Bianca, and Grover joined them. They stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.
"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.
"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."
"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."
Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"
"Fast?" Gohan asked
Grover nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish... I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now."
"What's gone?" Gohan asked
Grover didn't seem to hear him. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.
"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."
She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of the,.
Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.
"Wait a second," Percy said. "Do you two know what Grover is talking about—this wild blessing?"
"Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong... I never thought I would sense that presence again."
"What presence are you guys talking about?" Gohan asked
She stared at them like they were idiots. "The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."