Chapter 3: The Advantage of a Little Distance
POV: Jack
Jack did like the rest of the day though. He and Jessica ate breakfast before Artemis ordered her to "Teach him how to be a hunter". He found this silly as he was already proficient in hunting but it was an excuse to hang out with the pretty girl so he didn't protest.
After about a hour of tracking 101, which he already knew how to do, the climbed into a tree for guard duty. They were to sit there and kill any monsters that approached the camp.
After a while of sitting and talking about various things Jack's hair on his neck stood up.
Show time. He thought as he scanned the environment.
He found what he was looking for. A large hell hound with a boy ridding on it. It was making a bee line for the camp.
He raised his rifle and took aim. He quickly accounted for distance and wind as he adjusted the scope. Then he noticed the T-shirt the boy was wearing. It read Camp Half-Blood.
"I've got a tango ridding on a hell hound." He told Jessica. "Should I take the shot?"
"Ridding ON a hell hound?" She asked.
He nodded in response without pulling his eye away from the scope.
"One male, looks to bee about sixteen or seventeen." He said. "He has dark hair and is in an orange T-shirt."
"Don't shoot!" She cried out suddenly.
Her left hand flew out to lower the barrel of his rifle.
He raised a confused eyebrow at her.
"The orange shirt." She explained. "They usually mean it is a camper from Camp Half-Blood." She shook her head. "While boys aren't allowed in our camp the kids from Camp Half-Blood are our allies."
Jack laughed.
"I hate to break it to you but I was in the camp and I am, in-fact, a boy." Jack said with a sarcastic smile.
Jessica laughed at that.
"No!" She exclaimed in a sarcastic tone. "Are you sure?"
Jack laughed and shook his head. He than aimed down his scope again to line up with the target.
"So I shouldn't take the shot?" He asked.
"No." She replied. "But we will need to stop him before he gets to the camp."
Jack nodded. When the boy was about twenty five feet away he jumped down from the tree and rolled off the momentum when he hit the ground. He came out of the roll into a kneeling firing stance and took aim at the fast moving target. When the boy and his hell hound did not stop he fired one shot at the ground in front of the dog. The familiar feeling of his rifle firing put a grin on his face that he knew must have looked insane to the boy. He then quickly de-chambered the spent casing and locked a new one into place as the dog skidded to a stop with the boy on it's back.
"What the Hades!" The boy shouted in shock.
"Don't move or the next one goes right through your skull!" Jack screamed.
The boy eyed me wearily before slipping his hand into the pocket of his jeans.
"I said don't move!" Jack screamed.
The boy slowly pulled a ball point pen out of his pocket. His thumb rested on the cap the way a gunslinger's hand hovers over the gun holster.
"You wana fucking die or something?!" Jack hollered.
The boy was eyeing Jack from where he sat on the dog.
"Where did you get those cloths?" The boy asked in a calm tone.
Jack thought he saw an underlying anger in the boy's face.
"Why?" Jack asked, still aiming his rifle at the boy.
"I'm friends with a Hunter of Artemis so don't even bother lying." The boy growled. "I know their outfit when I see it." The anger in the boy's face was borderline rage. "Where are they?" He demanded.
"They're safe." Jack assured him while still aiming his rifle at the boy.
The boy seamed to grow mor agitated by the reassurance.
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Demanded the boy.
"Im not saying anymore until I get your name and reason for coming here." Jack said hotly as he aimed his rifle with his right eye and kept an eye on the boy with his left, the same way he had watched Artemis when she surprised him on the mountain.
"And Im not telling you anything until I can see one of the hunters!" Growled the boy.
"Well, then." Jack began with a sarcastic tone. "It's a good thing your looking at one then."
The boy looked confused at first before he looked angry again and flicked the pen cap off. Jack was about to pull the trigger and drop the boy when the he froze in shock as the pen turned into a celestial bronze sword. Jack's grip on his rifle tightened.
"Drop the sword or I'll drop you!" Jack said tensing.
He hated dealing with demi gods. Monsters were but demi gods were erratic and crazy.
The boy just glared at him without making any move to drop the sword.
Well fine. Jack thought. Have it your way.
He was about to pull the trigger when he herd a sound above him.
"Wait!" Jessica screamed as she jumped down.
Jack herd a thump as she landed in back of him.
"He's a friend." She said. "Lower your weapon, Jack."
Jack did as he was told.
"Nice to see you Percy." She said. "What brings you all the way out here?"
The boy on the dog relaxed a little as Jack lowered his rifle but he was still glareing at Jack.
"Camp sent me to retrieve the hunt." Percy said. "It's time for the annual capture the flag game and we thought something was wrong because you were supposed to arrive last night."
Jessica laughed.
"Yeah well." She said. "We got a little side tracked."
A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: I know it's shorter than normal but I hope you guys liked it.