The Minotaur would've killed me too, but Grover speared me out of the way.
Grover was beside me on the ground as he yelled my name, but even that close sounded so far. "Percy!" He shouted over the heavy rain. "Get to the property line!"
Grover moved away from me and started waving his hands to draw the monster's attention. He was trying to goad it into rushing him instead of me, which worked by the looks of things. While Grover kept maneuvering around the bull-man, I sat on the ground, staring at my mother's body.
After the monster snapped her neck, the thing dropped her body carelessly on the ground. She stared blankly in my direction still, her body limp forever.
The sound of her body hitting the ground over the rain would never leave my head.
I got back on my feet just after Grover finally got caught. I wasn't conscious enough to see how he evaded for so long, but the Minotaur eventually learned its lesson. The monster swatted Grover back down the hill after finally catching him. Rage swelled in me as the beast slowly stalked its way toward his unmoving figure; fear was nothing but a word to me now.
"Hey!" I screamed at the beast. I wasn't going to lose Grover too. "You want a fight? Is that what you want?!" The monster turned toward me with his former prey long forgotten. I uncapped the pen that I used to kill Mrs. Dodds. "Come on!" I yelled in a challenge, hoping that the creature understood me.
The Minotaur let out a mighty roar in acceptance, bounding at me in anger. He might've caught me again, but I had too much adrenaline to let that happen. Every drop of rain that hit me seemed to fuel my rage, giving me the strength I needed.
When the monster got close enough, I made my move. Sliding under the outstretched arm of the bull-man, I tried to pull the same move I did on Mrs. Dodds. It didn't work how I wanted it to because I got sent flying as I tried to bring my sword. The monster caught me with his shoulder as I went under, and I went straight into a tree at the impact.
My head hit the ground with a thump as I landed, almost knocking me unconscious. I got up quick enough to see the Minotaur bearing down on me again, and I only had time to jump over him before the collision. I turned around in midair and grappled my legs around his beefy neck, wrapping both hands around one of his horns. The monster twisted and turned to shake me off, but I wouldn't let go.
This thing killed my mom; I remembered as I started pulling backward with all the strength I had. The Minotaur tensed as I put more into it, yelling in exertion. I was on the brink of running out of my newfound energy, but then it happened. The horn I gripped onto came off in a clean and audible snap; with my hand-hold gone, I got flung down the hill again.
I landed in a roll, clutching the snapped horn in my dominant hand. I looked to see the man-bull shaking its head in pain, bellowing in hatred at me.
"You want this?" I waved the horn around in the air. "Come get it!" I yelled in another challenge.
The Minotaur hunched over again, but he wasn't thinking clearly this time. When the bull-man bore down toward me, I dodged sideways and came up in a kneel, and before he could stop his momentum, I sent the horn I ripped off deep into the ribcage of the monster.
He tried to claw at his chest in pain, but his arms slowly turned into golden dust, the same as Mrs. Dodds did at the museum. As I gave his disintegrating body one last look of hatred, I slowly started to crawl toward my mother's body, still gripping the horn tightly.
I didn't stare too long before I burst into tears; the pain of seeing her lifeless was too much. The rain only added to my sorrow because I couldn't even let the world hear me cry out in sadness. The sadness quickly turned into anger as I remembered why she had to die.
All because of some stupid Greek god of the seas.
As I felt the same rage that I defeated the Minotaur with swell into me, the ground started to shake as it built up. An earthquake ravaged the hill as I sat on my knees next to my mother's body, and I didn't care that it was probably me causing it.
Let it burn, a voice whispered in my head.
"Percy!" I heard Grover cry out as he stumbled his way up the hill. His interjection cut the earthquake off quickly, and the world returned to normal again. He crouched next to my mother's body with me, taking in the damage the Minotaur caused. "It should've been me."
I didn't respond to him at first because I wasn't sure I could deny it either.
"Help me carry-" I started to say before her body disappeared in a golden light. I shot upright in anger before I heard a voice enter my head.
I will take care of her, my son, a voice in my head spoke. I didn't care about names having power anymore; I wanted blood.
"Poseidon!" I looked up at the sky and roared in anger. Grover looked at me with wide eyes as I started to yell obscenities toward the stars. When I calmed enough to think clearly, I wordlessly walked through the property line of the camp before I could break down.
Grover wisely didn't say anything either, instead choosing to follow me. I looked around the camp, taking in what would've been beautiful sights under different circumstances. All I could think about was that the world should be dark and cold now that my mom was gone.
Nothing deserved to be beautiful anymore.
Grover pointed at the farmhouse in the distance. "We need to talk to Chiron first." I didn't have to mind to connect the name to the myths we learned.
We made our way through the camp, passing the volleyball court. There was nobody around as far as I could, at least outside. The only visible people were standing in the porch light of the farmhouse, conversing while watching us approach. I recognized one of them because I just saw him earlier in the day.
"Mr. Jackson," my former Latin teacher called out. "Glad to see you've made it safe-" He was staring behind me, where I could imagine Grover was telling him to stop talking.
"What are you doing here?" I changed the topic. "Did you quit teaching at Yancy?" Mr. Brunner gave half of a smile as he answered.
"I came to Yancy to teach you, Percy," My eyebrow shot up. "I don't typically make house calls, but your case was special. Now that you're here, Mr. Jackson, you may call me Chiron."
"Chiron," I repeated. I knew who the trainer of heroes was because that was one of the first lessons taught in Latin.
"Excuse my manners," Chiron insisted. "This young lady here is Annabeth, and she'll be giving you a tour first thing in the morning." He gestured to the girl with the princess blonde curls standing next to him this whole time.
It was hard not to notice her staring at me this whole time, but now that I had a reason to look at her, I did. The first thing I noticed about her was how she was staring at me; it was like she was thinking of a thousand ways to take me down in a fight. Her eyes were a startling storm gray, intimidating but alluring. They flicked down to the Minotaur horn that I still held in my hand before looking back up.
She didn't make a move to welcome me, so I just gave her a nod of my head. "Percy," I offered as a pleasantry. I turned back to Chiron.
"Why now; why didn't you bring me to camp before today." Chiron stroked his wispy beard before answering.
"The events that occurred today pushed our timetable forward," He started. "We were to wait for the end of the school year, but we couldn't risk your safety." He leaned forward in his wheelchair. "There are powerful forces that want you dead, . We cannot allow that."
Somebody wants me dead? I thought back to what Mrs. Dodds was accusing me of having.
"Something about me stealing a bolt?" Annabeth shifted in shock, her eyes widening at my words.
"Chiron-" She tried to speak, but the man in question cut her off.
"I believe that's enough for tonight." He turned around in his wheelchair, leading himself inside the house. "Ms. Chase, get some rest so you can give Percy a tour in the morning." Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue, but instead, she pushed past Grover and me in her exit.
I turned to see her walk off down the lawn, heading toward the odd assortment of buildings behind the farmhouse.
"Mr. Underwood," Chiron addressed Grover. "Mr. D will want to see you first thing in the morning." Grover gave his back a nod before he ran off.
Chiron beckoned me into the house with him. "I will allow you to stay in the guest room for the night. We will relocate you to the cabins in the morning."
"Chiron." He kept moving, but I could tell I had his attention. "Does the Underworld exist, as you taught us in your myths?" He came to a stop at that.
"The Underworld is a place no demigod should ever venture, Percy." But it can be, I thought to myself. "I would advise you to get the notion of traveling there out of your mind."
I kept silent as we continued to my temporary room. It wasn't much of a sight to be seen; it was just a simple bed and a few things like a trashcan and desk.
"I'll leave you to it, Percy. Try to get some rest if possible." Chiron made his way down the hall a few paces before he turned his head over his shoulder. "I am sorry, my dear boy."
I figured this must've happened a lot for him to know, so I wasn't surprised when he didn't expect me to answer. I watched my former teacher's retreating form for a few more seconds before I closed the door to my room for the night. I placed the horn on the desk as I made my way sluggishly to the bed.
All attempts to fall asleep were thwarted easily by the events of today. I was cursed to stare at the ceiling for the rest of the night because every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was my mom.
Let it burn, the voice whispered again.
I spent the rest of my night thinking about those flowers on the fire escape.
Author's Note:
Double upload, so I'll post the full author's note in the next chapter.
This fight scene is the first big one I've ever written, so leave a review if possible.
Thanks for reading.
