Chapter 19 ~ Trudy
Trudy's little group composed of her, Lysandra and Nethrys left shortly after Elektra, Vytoni and Adrian did, leaving Katerina, Enryx and Rosamynd to go after them. Trudy wondered if everyone else was doing good on their mini-quest. Nethrys had urged them to trudge up a trail towards the Sunflower Mines. Trudy groaned in complaint, as she felt the sun's scorching hot rays on her skin.
"Are we there yet?" Trudy complained. She lusted for the cold, icy water and food. They had been hiking up this trail for about half an hour.
"Nearly there," Nethrys persisted, patting her on the back. The sun was so intense Trudy actually looked at her arm to see if her flesh was crisping and burning under it's relentless rays. Lysandra looked back. She was far ahead of them, but sweat was dripping down her forehead and onto her whiskers.
"C'mon guys, we're almost there!" Lysandra encouraged, hunching over and panting then taking a sip of water.
Trudy gulped in the dry air. Lysandra instantly knew they were going to be taking a break and took out two bottles of water out of her brown weightless bag slung over her shoulder and hung on her waist. Trudy sipped her water, breathing in the warm Arizona air. The sun felt uncomfortably warm on her face and skin. She squinted at the view from where she stood. I have to admit, it's pretty nice up here. She put on her sunglasses as they continued to hike up the dusty mountain trail.
They trekked on for about another half an hour scrambling and falling at the tricky places. Even Nethrys or Lysandra, who was probably pretty good at stuff like this, looked beaten down and worn out. After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the end of the hiking trail and arrived at the Sunflower Mines. The light of the blazing sun was reflected in the grimy windows. The mine was abandoned, brooding and neglected. It was a miracle that the mine wasn't already a mountain of pieces.
"So...we're thinking that Phobos, a greek god, would be hiding out...in there?" Lysandra asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Er, seems unlikely but we could have a look around," Nethrys ventured. Trudy could hear the skepticism in his voice, but didn't point it out.
The Godlings stepped into the old withered mining house with caution, thinking that if they touched anything the place would instantly come crashing down on top of them. The paint was withered and peeling off in spots and the slats in the shutters on the small windows were mostly broken out. They stepped through what seemed like the mine's office and control room. There were log books and laptops placed on office desks.
They found nothing in the mine's office and decided to go through the mine tunnels. They finally found the mine tunnel entrance just a little down the hill, where there were broken carts and wheels. There was a minecart track leading down the tunnel. Trudy felt a sense of dread as she stared at the long winding tunnel, but Lysandra instantly rushed in, so Trudy and Nethys had no choice but to follow her.
"Um...what are we looking for down here?" Trudy whispered, walking behind Lysandra. Trudy held up her dagger, and it emitted a glow exactly how a flashlight would.
"I don't know, just keep your eyes out," Nethrys replied, copying her by drawing out his celestial bronze sword, which glowed dully.
"Anything that would seem not normal, I guess," Lysandra whispered back, also pulling out a small flashlight of some sort. But then Trudy realized she had mumbled a light casting spell. She shone it right in front of her, but it just scattered into the darkness. Shrugging, Lys aimed it at the walls around her instead. They walked along the desolate tunnel, following the cart tracks. Trudy heard their footsteps echoing along the passageway, and she had to suppress a shiver. Their eyes adjusted to the darkness as the walked through the tunnel.
"Where's your shield?" Trudy asked glancing back at Nethrys. He put his sword back into his sheath, which dimmed the brightness then pointed at watch which was strapped with a the thin leather band. It was circular, with some sort of bird on it. Trudy recalled seeing the exact design earlier, on his shield. Oh.
He took out this sword again, which was made of a golden-bronze celestial bronze. The edges were chipped a little on the sides, as though it had been through many battles. Which it probably did. Despite that, It looked really sharp and polished, as if he spent every waking moment sharpening it. Its probably a magical function. Nobody has that time of day.
"Back at Camp Half-Blood the demi-gods said that your shield is more powerful that your sword, is that true?" Lysandra asked.
"Well, this shield was given to me by my mother, Enyo. You know, the battle goddess, companion of Ares, blah blah blah. But I found this sword, lying around in the attic at home. I asked mother about it, but she said it was nothing special, just an ordinary sword that was abandoned. I'm pretty sure she was lying. I don't know, I just have a really strong connection with this. It has never failed me before."
Lysandra looked impressed, but Trudy squinted at his sword, unsure. "Why did you think she was lying?"
"I'm the God of Secrets and Lies," Nethrys rolled his eyes. Trudy could tell he had to restrain himself from adding a duh."I can always tell when someone's lying. Besides, she never keeps her swords just lying around anywhere, she has a whole floor just for her armory. She was obviously hiding it from me. But yeah, my shield is pretty good-"
"So you just took it?" Trudy said, appalled.
"Well, yeah."
"You're the God of Secrets and Lies?" Lysandra asked curiously.
"Yup!"
"So you can tell if I'm lying or not?" Trudy asked.
"Try me," Nethrys challenged.
With a poker face, Trudy said, "I love brussel sprouts."
"True, but shocking," Nethrys wrinkled his nose, making the freckles on his face stand out, "Can't stand brussel sprouts. Or vegetables in particular, actually," He added as an afterthought.
"I hate dogs," Lysandra said wearing the same expressionless mask Trudy had on.
"False, yet you love cats more," Nethrys' eyes -why are they amber? I thought they were gray- widened and pointed at Lys accusingly, "Betrayal! May the cats hate you for eternity!"
They burst out laughing, and suddenly walking down these tunnels weren't so eerie anymore.
"We believe you, Nethrys," Lysandra said, clutched her side and draining her water. Trudy nodded in agreement.
"I wonder how the others are doing," Trudy said quietly. It took practically no brains to figure out who in particular she was talking about.
"Adrian?" Nethrys scoffed. A+ for you, "I'm sure he's fine. I mean, Son of Ares! He can take care of himself."
"Did you guys here that?" Lysandra whispered, her ears twitching. Beside her, Trudy saw Nethrys standing up a little taller, his ears straining for any sign of movement. "No..." He frowned, looking around warily.
"Me neither," Trudy reported as well.
"There it is again," Lysandra said. Trudy heard it this time - scuttling noises coming from ahead of them. She gripped her knife tightly, her knuckles turning white from strain and nervousness.
Peering uncertainly into the darkness, Trudy suddenly jumped back at the sight of a pair of red eyes staring at her. More eyes appeared next to the first one. The glowing eyes multiplied across the floor. Fix, six, ten, twenty. More eyes appeared. She whirled around and saw that soon they were surrounded. She accidentally crashed into Nethrys ,who was standing behind her, then righted herself. The three of them stood back to back, forming a protective circle.
"What is that?" Nethrys whispered to the other two.
"You mean, what are they?" Lysandra corrected.
"Are those..." Trudy began trailing off.
"Rats!" Lysandra exclaimed, "Run!"
"Sure," Nethrys said sarcastically, "Where?"
"Anywhere but here," Trudy was panicking now.
"We can't, we're surrounded," Lysandra sent more sparks of light, illuminating the once dark passageway. Trudy glanced behind her and saw that she was right - they were.
Nethrys tapped the watch and it turned into a gleaming silver shield. Trudy could see why others suspected it was the dominant weapon. It had runes carved along the edges of his shield, and in the center there was some sort of crest - a black raven. Trudy stared at his shield in awe, but she broke out of her trance when Nethys swung his sword at the advancing supernatural rats. Each rat was roughly the size of a piglet, not unlike the mini-Erymanthian boars they encountered early into their quest.
Trudy whacked away a rat that had lunged at her. It snarled back at her, and attacked her again. She raised her knife, ready to stab it when a dagger whistled past her ear and nailed it to the wall. It exploded in a flurry of grime, and Trudy turned to Lysandra in gratitude. Lys flashed her a quick half-smile before slaying another rat-monster.
Nethrys was slashing at the rats, trying to clear a path for them to leave. The rats were gaining on them - as the three of them tried fighting them off, their numbers just multiplying.
"We can't keep this up!" Lysandra yelled over her shoulder. They nodded in agreement, but were out of ideas.
"I have an idea but it's not a good one," Nethrys ventured, killing off three attacking rats with one skillful arc. He was doing alright, almost managing to create an escape path.
"Any idea is good right now," Trudy commented, stabbing another rat in the stomach.
"We've got to go, now!" Lysandra ordered, throwing her dagger again after it had magically appeared back in her hand.
Trudy felt a grip on her arm and tug her away. She looked up to see Nethrys holding onto her arm, protecting them from attacking rats with his shield.
"Get a move on!" Trudy ran behind Nethrys, with Lysandra bringing up the rear. Nethrys cleared a path for them to run through the assailing rats and they sprinted through the tunnels with the rats right behind them. They were trying to find their way through a maze of winding passageways - in other words, they were hopelessly lost.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" Trudy questioned Nethrys, who was leading them in seemingly random directions.
"I have a plan,"Nethrys said vaguely, "Remember that river we passed earlier?"
"You want to go grab a drink?" Lysandra said incredulously.
"No! We'll lead them there, then jump aside at the last moment. They'll drown!"
"Like the Pied Piper," Trudy muttered under her breath.
"Well yeah," Nethrys, who had heard her, shot her a bemused look, "I suppose so."
"Do you think it's gonna work?" Lysandra managed to get out through her deep breaths and pants.
"It's worth a shot," Nethrys led them up the mine tunnels and through the opening that led out of the mine. The warm Arizona air coursed through her lungs and dried her already parched throat. They rushed past, looking for the river they passed. Trudy looked past her shoulder and to her horror, even more rats were coming at them then the last time she looked. She slammed into Nethrys, who had stopped abruptly. They were standing at the edge of the mountain cliff, where a river was roaring below them.
Lysandra skidded to a halt next to her and pocketed her dagger. They were standing at the edge of the mountain cliff with a whole army of red-eyed rats charging towards them.
"When they come near enough," Nethrys called out, deactivating his shield and sliding his sword back into his sheath. "You all have to jump aside on my signal. Got it?"
They nodded in agreement. Trudy gulped at the sight of the stampede of angry rats. There were hundreds coming at once, ready to lunge at her and her friends. Cold sweat was dripping down her forehead and onto the bridge of her nose. She quickly wiped it with the back of her hand. Don't be scared, Trudy, it's nothing to be afraid of.
"Are they near enough yet?" Lysandra asked Nethrys, keeping an eye on the rats.
"No," He growled, "Just wait for my signal, okay?"
"Alrighty then, Mister," The rats were slowly coming closer, and closer, sending chills down the Godling's back, making them shudder in fright. They waited for around thirty seconds before-
"NOW!" Nethrys yelled, as he- and Lysandra -jumped the right. The red-eyed slimy creatures charged along the crumbly earth. Trudy bunched her legs to jump to the side when she felt a searing pain pierce her ankle. Trudy clawed at the earth and grass, but she felt the tide of rats push her over the ledge.
At the last second, Trudy had held on at the edge and managed to hang on.
The rocks crumbled from below her feet as she reached higher. Higher, higher. Trudy's hand grabbed a razor-sharp edge of a rock As she pushed herself up, she gulped. More rocks crumbled dropping down to the very low down ground.
"Trudy!" Lysandra screamed, forgetting about the creatures as she ran towards the end of the cliff, where darkness awaited her. Trudy heard a splash, followed by many splashes. Hearing a panicked scream of her name, she looked up and saw Lysandra and Nethrys rushing over to the ledge, their faces break into relieved smiles.
"Come on," Nethrys helped her up, "Let's go back."
~~~END OF CHAPTER 19~~~