Leo fumbled to take off his jacket, seeing as it was completely soaked with blood. The difficult part was maneuvering so it wouldn't end up hurting his arm as he slipped out of the sleeve. His legs were Jell-O, shaking from the adrenaline rush.
He glanced around. All the trees looked the same. "Tall, and it hurts if you fall onto them," Leo joked half-heartedly before taking a deep breath and marching forward.
His plan was to pick a direction and keep going straight, so eventually he'd be out of the woods. Of course, if he had really awful luck, he'd have the longest possible trek to find people again. And he couldn't be positive all his crewmates were okay.
"Gah, this is all m-my fault," Leo groaned, pounding his forehead with his fist as he walked, "I'm such an idi-"
He was cut off by an abrupt screaming sound that seemed to echo across the forest floor. He froze, wondering why the scream was cracking so much, as if the person was experiencing excruciating pain. The voice cracked and paused on moments, probably sputtering from whatever torture the person was experiencing. Leo stood still, hugging himself to stop from panicking. The voice sounded exactly like his.
He knew it. He already heard himself screaming earlier when he shattered his arm. But this voice couldn't be him. Leo knew he was standing alone in the forest, and though he could be loud and annoying, there was no way his voice could echo through the entire forest like that.
"It's gotta be a Cyclops," Leo shivered, remembering his previous adventures with those awful monsters.
A thought struck him; If his friends were nearby, they probably heard the probably-Cyclops scream just like Leo. Knowing them, Leo figured they'd all be rushing in to try and rescue him. Maybe Piper or Jason would realize it was a Cyclops!
Leo didn't like to brag about his intelligence, but he was pretty happy with himself for figuring everything out so quickly. Most likely the Cyclops heard him from nearby when he broke his arm and was being a bit of a crybaby. It must've mimicked Leo's voice to try and lure other heroes over. Pretty smart for a Cyclops.
Thanks everybody for sticking around for so many chapters! It means a lot to me! 3
Please don't forget to stay hydrated, and I hope everyone is safe and healthy! -Apollo
