A/N
Hey guys, here's another chapter. Thanks for commenting-
Anastasia Laurels 2.0: Thanks for your comment! I'm exactly the same way! The Morse code scene was one of my favorites too, and I agree, if people were kissing 24/7, that would be just plain awkward. And thanks for the "wordy" review! It made me happyyyy! :)
Horselover067: Emma! Why are you even… never mind…
I am writing this at two in the morning… and sorry it took me so long to post, I had my friend sleeping over Thursday (When I last posted) and on Friday I had stuff to do, which sadly meant shopping, for random things… grrr. On Saturday I had a softball thing at 11 (Now that is EARLY for Me.) and I helped my dad with yard work and vacuumed the pool, I then had a water fight with my brother. I then hardcore practiced softball… and HARDCORE means HARDCORE. For about 2 hours, then swam in the pool and did my laps. Then I was working on this very chapter but I didn't finish. Now today I had church and then a birthday party that was very, very long. (8 hrs.) So here I am now, posting. (And sorry that was completely pointless I just felt the need to explain myself. I know you don't care about my personal life… EMMA [inside joke])
Oh yeah! Me and my best friend (Emma ^ she made a comment *sighs* she's a psychopath…) made another account: Vanillatwilight067. Sadly we cannot post stories for two days :(
Anyway…
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
On with the story :)
Chapter 4:
We all stand frozen, not sure what to do, even though the ship has long since stopped shaking, my hand is still fastened onto Leo's arm. This is probably rather awkward for him right now.
"So… should we go out and explore?" I say uncertainly, unwilling to break to silence that has settled over us.
"We should probably begin to look for the 'powerful item' Hera was talking about." Piper says, thinking.
"Hera? You mean Juno?" I say confused, all these names….
"Oh- yeah, sorry." She responds, but she still seems distant. I shrug, finally releasing my hold on Leo's arm to make my way towards the door, which was flung open during the wrath of Juno. I look back at the rest of them.
"Shouldn't we get going?" I question them, but it's more like an encouragement rather than a question. As I speak, Annabeth rushes into the room, talking quickly.
"Thank the Gods; I had no idea where you guys went. What happened to the ship? Why did we stop?"
"Actually, we were just discussing that, you see, Alexis here was visited by Hera, A.K.A Juno." Jason explains to her.
"She claimed to have the rights to name me." I add, not wanting to confuse her more.
"So…. Hera's the reason for the ship stopping?" Annabeth asks uncertainly. Something clicks in my mind, and I realize that Hera must be the Greek version of Juno. Ohh… this makes a lot more sense now. I quickly explain my 'discussion' with Juno… even though it was mostly her godliness interrupting me.
"So you told her she had no fashion sense?" Annabeth says when I finish, raising an eyebrow and looking amused.
"Yes?" I say uncertainly, but it comes out more as a question.
"Well it's about time someone told that jerk off." Annabeth says, and I laugh, wow, Annabeth must really not like her….
"What do you have a grudge against her or something?" I assumed, looking for an explanation.
"Well she dropped a statue on my friend Thalia's legs, and sent cows after me that left little 'presents' all over the place…" She shudders, and I laugh, so apparently Juno sent cows to… follow her around and 'do their business' wherever Annabeth went…. Well that's just wonderful… wonder what Annabeth did to get that punishment…
"Okay can we stop our little gossip session against Hera and actually get off this ship? We're on a deadline here!" Leo says, annoyed by our antics.
"Alright, alright, jeez, grumpy much?" I say, amused. Leo rolls his eyes in my direction, but he's laughing a bit too.
We finally unboard the ship and all our jaws drop at the large expanse of land in front of us. There are large, thin trees towering over us, their trunks droop from the weight of the branches and leaves at the topmost point. Above the loftiest branches, I could see the very top of a coarse brown volcano. The sky was clear and cloudless, the sun beating down the beach. Coconuts littered the floor beneath the trees and more hung from the branches.
When Leo sees the coconuts, his pupils dilate and he begins to scurry through the soft sand.
"Coconuts!" He yells, picking one up as he reaches the trees, pulling out a kitchen knife –out of nowhere I might add- and looking at the round fruit thoughtfully.
"I've always wanted to taste coconut milk…" He says, staring at it and I know what he is going to do next.
"Hi-yah!" He yells exaggeratedly and hacks at the coconut with his kitchen knife until it cracks perfectly in half. Picking up one half, he uncautiously sips the milk inside. Once he swallows his face twists and his nose scrunches up, making me burst out in laughter.
"Ewww!" He screams, wiping his tongue on the back of his hand.
"Do you even like coconut?" I say, walking towards him.
"No, why?" He asks and I mentally face palm.
"Well if you don't like coconuts why would you want to try coconut milk dumb head?" I say, as if it was obvious, which it was.
"Well I just wanted to try it!" He says stubbornly, and I sigh, giving up. The others begin to approach, kneeling next to Leo.
Suddenly, I realize something,
"I don't have a weapon!" I say, looking at the others, suddenly Leo's face lights up and you can practically see the light bulb go 'ding' over his head.
"Here" He says, pulling a machete out of his belt, that, before now, I didn't notice, and I realized it is probably magical, because one, nothing that big can fit in that small of a tool belt and two… well that's pretty much it. The machete is long; maybe about three and a half feet in length; it has a black blade and a leather handle, which is just barely curved. When he gets questioning glances from the others he starts to explain,
"Well, my dad may or may not have upgraded my tool belt before we sailed." He speaks, and the others nod acceptingly.
As if on an unspoken command, we all stand and turn to the massive expanse of trees and begin walking through the dense undergrowth. I chop through most of the branches with my new machete... yay! I still can't believe that came out of his belt…
Suddenly, from the undergrowth, meters away came some sort of growling sound. Everybody froze, even Leo, the growling sound came closer and closer, and with each growl we back away more and more. But I was pretty sure we were gonna have to fight the thing, but the suspense was killing me.
I look around at the clearing we're in, wondering if it's any good for fighting. We had somehow backed into an open clearing, surrounded by undergrowth; I don't really have time to think because the growling can't possibly get any closer.
From the undergrowth, a sort of lion appears; well the body belongs to a lions, the short red fur on end as it backs us into a corner, snarling at us. A long red mane tumbles down its elegant neck and it shakes its head as it stares at us, hostility clearly gleaming in its cool blue eyes. Strangely enough, the head of the creature is human, a man's head, the red fur morphs into a dark skin color, and behind its bared lips are three rows of sharp teeth (much like a shark's.) There are thick brownish horns growing out of the sides of its head, the tops are rounded and eroded with age. When its full body emerges into the clearing, I can see clearly the tail is one of a scorpion, and I know instantly that the venom must be poisonous. Its face is twisted as it sneers and growls at us, barely still resembling a man's.
"That is what is called a Manticore, it devours its prey whole and leaves no clothes, bones, or belongings of the prey behind." Annabeth informs us matter-a-factly, Leo rolls his eyes.
"Great to know." He murmurs sarcastically, giving her a look.
Leo then draws his weapon of choice –a large hammer- from his trusty tool belt and moves into a fighting position. Piper pulls her gleaming dagger out of its sheath and narrows her eyes at the beast, wearing an expression that says 'bring it'. Jason brings a shiny metal coin out of his pocket and I watch, appalled, as he flips it into the air like a pro and catches it when it comes back down in the form of a sword. I bring my machete out from the sash I had recently made to hold it against my back, and shift into a fighting stance as well, eager to try out my new weapon.
The lion-like creature lunges, only to get sliced by a gold sword delivered by Jason, who is currently in front of all of us. The Manticore roars, clawing the ground and leaning back on its haunches, getting ready to slice again. This time it swipes at me, and instincts take over as I duck and bring my machete down across its anger filled face, creating a long scar that runs from its forehead diagonally down across its face and ending beneath its lip. It roars again, rearing up on its hind legs and bringing its giant paws down to the earth, making it rumble beneath them. This time, it slashes Leo and Piper, who are huddled together behind Jason and I. Piper defends, slashing her knife quickly and making four long slashes across its chest, causing it to bleed heavily.
Suddenly, the creature turns, facing my direction and making me tumble backwards in surprise. Lucky me… I fall on my butt. Who knew I was this clumsy? The Manticore looms over me; I can hear its heartbeat and feel its hot breath on my face, monster drool drips from its mouth, getting all over me in the process. I reach for my machete, which has skirted across the forest floor in my clumsiness. The others are maybe 10 yards away… I have no idea how I got stranded this far from them. The monster raises a paw as my friends rush quickly to my aid, and it brings its long claw down over my face, giving me a cut almost as deep as the one I gave it. The cut is down the side of my face, beginning at the middle of my eyebrow vertically down to my jawline. I wince, ouch, that one hurt. A lot. Blood drips from the wound and runs down the side of my face, getting on my ear. My heart pounds in my ears as I hear my friends get closer to me, and I hear Leo yell.
"Oh no, not in my backyard Manny." He says sassily, giving the Manticore a shortened version of its name- Manny. He then brings his 10 inch diameter wooden hammer, down over its head, bonking it and looking much like a cartoon character in the process. The Manticore springs towards him and off of me, it scorpion tail dragging across my leg, making me shiver. I hear Jason and Piper spring to Leo's assistance, and I jump shakily to my feet, to join them.
The Manticore lets out an ear-piercing howl and attacks us all once more.
N/A
How did you like it? I think I'm happy with that chapter; sorry it took so long to post though… I have ideas for the upcoming chapters… wink wink. Rate and review! :)