Chapter 4: Pan-demonium

Autor's note: Hello guys, I think I have settled on an update schedule, but I will let you all know next update, when I am going to be 100% sure. Anyway, strap in folks because this chapter is gonna be a long one, remember to review and follow this story if you like what you are reading and let us dive right in.

"Wait a minute, me and Tessa aren't going anywhere if you don't explain everything first." Said Clio.

"Look, we don't have time, okay? If they find us, we all are as good as dead." Said the man placidly.

Clio was tired, hurt, pissed and the man calm and placid tone only made her angrier.

Without thinking, she slammed him against the wall with her right- hand, and muttered, with the most menacing tone she could manage, right into his ear: "Explain, now."

To her surprise, the man just looked her with a sarcastic smile and said: "Really? Juniper can be a lot scarier than you are, you know?"

Before Clio could say or do something she might regret, Tessa arrived, probably to check what the hell was going on and as soon as she saw what Clio was doing, she said calmly: "Let him go, Clio".

Clio let the man go instantly, if there was someone Clio was scared of, that was her sister; she might have been only 12 but she sure knew how to make someone's life hell.

"Sorry. I don't know what came over me" She blurted out to the thin man.

"Ah, its nothing, I had worse done to me. I don't think we have exchanged names, right? Mine is Grover."

"Mine is Clio, and this is my sister Tessa." Clio answered apologetically.

"That's great to know, but we need to leave, like right know." Said Grover, his face getting more panicked by the minute.

Before Clio could even start preparing her belongings, Tessa threw her a backpack: "Its full of all your clothes, if you need ambrosia it's in the front pocket." She told Clio and when she turned Clio noticed that she was already wearing a backpack like hers.

Clio was weirded out, but she decided to not question her sister, Tessa had already experienced these "feelings" that always ended up being true.

As the trio left and headed towards the closest entrance to the subway, Clio started feeling a tickling sensation in her left hand, by the time the small group had arrived at the ticket shop of the subway, the same sensation had turned into a burning pain.

Not wanting to worry her sister, Clio just gritted her teeth and supported the pain, but she was so focused on not showing the suffering she was in, she would have walked in front of the giant had Grover not caught her by her shirt.

"Whoa, do you want to get yourself killed?" He asked worried.

"What the hell is that." Asked Clio, shocked

"I have got no idea, and honestly I don't even want to know." Replied Grover.

The giant was 20 feet tall, had 2 small horns, multiple boar like fangs, a huge club tied to his back and was currently busy trying to figure out how the turnstiles worked.

"I will distract it, you two run." Said Grover in a determined tone.

"No! I won't leave you behind, not with that thing." Objected Clio.

"Oh really? And what are you going to do? Fight with that thing?" Scoffed Grover.

Before Clio could respond, Tessa intervened: "Sis, I know you don't want to… but look at your hand, you need help, and you need it soon."

Clio wanted to object, but she knew her sister was right so she sighed and asked Grover: "Are you sure you can handle this?"

He smirked: "Of course, I have been trough much more worse things. Here take this." He said as he gave Clio a small foldable map: " It will take you to Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place for a demigod. Now go." As Clio and Tessa ran towards the station, they heard shouts, screams and panpipe music? Clio decided not to question it and instead ran until they both were safe in a train headed towards Long Island.

Even though the burning pain in her hand had spread to her entire arm, Clio fell asleep almost instantly and was only woken up by Tessa almost 2 hours later when they reached Montauk.

After an uneventful journey on a taxi, the 2 of them finally reached a couple hills that, if the map were right, once surpassed would have brought them straight to the camp Grover had talked about.

However, camped near the foots of the hill, there were more of the same giants that had attacked them in the subway.

Clio's heart sunk with despair, had they really gone all that way, just to find their way blocked by an impossible obstacle.

Before the giants could notice them, Clio and her sister hid in the bushes, waiting for the right moment.

After not long, the biggest giant, the one that Clio had assumed to be the leader, rose up from his seat, approached the top of the hill and yelled:
" Come out little snacks, we know you are starving in there, and we the Dew are hungry for spicy demigod meat. If you all come out and offer your loyalty to our master, we promise we will eat only half of you."

It was easy to tell the giant was lying, mostly from the way he licked his lips when he talked and it seemed the people in the camp understood this too, because the only answer he received was a storm of arrows, that sadly missed any vital spots of the 30 feet giant.

"Aargh!" Roared the giant when an arrow entered his left nostril.

Clio had hoped the giant would disintegrate from the blow, but sadly he just looked angrier.

"Fine, act as mighty as you like, but we know your magical plates have stopped working and that you are running out of food, soon enough you will have to go out of the borders to look for food and when you do… "The giant smiled and returned to his tent before he could be hit by another group of arrows.

"What do we do now?" Asked Tessa worriedly.

Clio's mind started racing: If the people in the camp hadn't attacked the giants yet, then they weren't sure they could beat them, which meant that a frontal attack wouldn't work and since she didn't know how fast the giants were, making a break for the top of the hill would be too dangerous.

"Damn, if only we had more ambrosia maybe we could… wait that's it!" In response to Tessa's confused look, Clio continued: Remember Mom's stories? If a mortal or a monster eat ambrosia, they get incinerated."

"That's great Clio, but how do we manage to make all those giants eat ambrosia without having them eat us too? Asked Tessa still skeptical.

Clio smirked as she noticed a bunch of barrels, presumably containing wine, lying on the edge of the giant's encampment: "I think I have just found a way."

When the night came, and Clio was sure the giants were sleeping, she quietly made her way to the barrels and started mixing ambrosia with the wine contained inside, after which she resealed the barrels and made her way back to their hiding spot where Tessa was waiting.

"Did you do it?"

"Yeah, I just hope it will work or we have wasted our entire supply of ambrosia."

"It will, Sis, I am sure about it."

"I wish I had your confidence Tessa." Murmured Clio before falling asleep.

Clio was suddenly woken up by the loud voice of the giants arguing, but for a few moments she didn't understand anything they were saying as her upper body felt like it had been set on fire, washed in acid, and then set on fire again.

After a couple minute she managed to get up and realized the two headed snake's venom had spread from her arm to the rest of her upper torso, and quickly deduced, that if she didn't receive any cure, she would be dead by the next day.

After yet another few minutes, she managed to recollect herself enough to listen to the giants' conversation:

"Are you sure we should start drinking so early in the morning, Dad?" Asked a younger voice.

"Of course, Son, we need to celebrate, the little snacks have sent us a message saying they surrender." Replied the voice of the boss of the giants.

Before the younger giant could answer, Clio saw many other giants approaching the barrels and loudly claiming they wanted to throw a party for the good news.

Realizing what was about to happen, Clio quickly woke her sister up and together they braced themselves for the sprint to come.

After a quick brawl, the giants proudly started opening the barrels and drinking wine while the younger giant watched, aloof and irritated by his companions' idiocy.

Realizing this was the perfect moment, Clio shouted: "Let's go." And together they started running up the hill.

As soon as the giant's leader saw them, he screamed:" Demigods! Eat them."

At his orders all the giants started running towards the two sisters, and for a terrifying moment Clio feared that her plan wasn't going to work, but before the giants could catch them, they started screaming in pain and exploded in a shower of dust.

Emboldened by her success, Clio looked back to see the boss of the giants explode into dust in front of his son, the smaller giant, the one that was farther from the other giants, the one who hadn't drunk the wine.

Clio terrorized started running faster, but the giant was catching up quickly, roaring with all his might: "YOU KILLED MY FATHER! NOW I WILL KILL YOU!"

Clio could see the top of the hill now, but knowing the giant was on her heels, she screamed desperately: Tessa, go ahead, I will deal with this one:" Before her sister could object, Clio turned and faced the giant.

Clio, still pumping with adrenaline, extracted her golden sword, jumped on top of the small giant, and in one fell swoop cut off his nose.

However, before she could react, the giant grabbed her with one hand and throwed her to the ground with a strength that Clio didn't know was possible.

The last thing she saw before everything faded to black was the, now orphaned, giant looming over her.