Hello everyone,

Thank you all for reading my story. Disclaimer: I don't own any excerpts from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse.

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SharkAttack719

Περσεύς 7

The Haunting Mist

The next morning after breakfast, I told Grover about my dream. We sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.

When I told Grover my nightmare, he started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur.

"A cave ceiling collapsed on her?" he asked.

"Yeah. What the heck does that mean?"

Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoe dreamed—"

"Whoa. What do you mean? Zoe had a dream like that?"

"I…I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."

"Wait, how do you know this?"

Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."

I raised an eyebrow. "And why, might I ask, were you doing that?"

"Just to be, you know, near them," he admitted.

"You're a stalker with hooves."

"I am not! Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got real upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene.

I tried to imagine that. Argus was the head of security for camp—a big blond dude with eyes all over his body. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. I wouldn't want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoe Nightshade.

"What did she say?" I asked.

Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout…I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"

"Whoa, wait. How could Artemis be in trouble?"

"I…well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and—"

"He wears curlers in his tail?"

Grover covered his mouth.

"Sorry," I said. "Go on."

"Well, Zoe said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoe that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said…" Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"

I tried not to swallow the growing lump in my throat. I could visualize the puzzle pieces now. I was pretty sure that Artemis being "lost" and Annabeth being put under the cavern roof was connected in some way or another.

I pursed my lips in thought. "But, who could kidnap Artemis? A Titan escaped...do you recognize the description I told you? Which Titan is that?"

Grover frowned. "Well, from what you told me...he would kind of look like—" He froze for a second. "Zoe." He turned to me with fear in his eyes. "Do you think she's a spy for the Titans? She could be!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I help my hands up to stop his ranting. "Let's not jump to conclusions here, Grover. Do you know what kind of Titan has dark, volcanic eyes, black hair and has a muscular build?"

"Um, well, all of them should have muscular builds," said Grover. "Black hair is kind of a given. All gods, except for Artemis, have black or brown hair. Same with minor gods and Titans and Primidorials. I'm not so sure about his volcanic eyes though." He tapped his chin and looked upwards in a thinking posture.

"Well, we know it can't be Coeus, otherwise there would be bad repercussions on him," I said. "I don't think it's Krios either. I mean, he's not a very strong Titan. That leaves us with Hyperion, Iapetus and Oceanus."

"What about second-generation Titans?" Grover asked. "Like Prometheus, Epimetheus, Pallas, Perses, Astraeus and Atlas."

I thought about all of those options. Prometheus could have devised the plan if he joined back with the Titans, but he would never carry it out. Epimetheus wouldn't be a threat. Pallas was defeated by Pallas Athena, so I wasn't worried about Artemis being taken by him. Perses could have been a possibility. Astraeus is a weak Titan. Atlas...Atlas was the general of the Titan army during the first Titanomachy. He was a high candidate to have kidnapped Artemis, but I couldn't be sure. Iapetus could have escaped from his prison in the Underworld, and the god of morality was much more powerful than his son Atlas. It didn't mean he was stronger, though... Hyperion was the strongest Titan following Atlas and Kronos as the Titan of the East. The east is considered powerful, and the god of light was a strong fighter.

All the possibilities swirled in my head like a whirlpool.

"I don't know," Grover said. "I think somebody would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would be more nervous. But still, it's weird, you having a nightmare the same night as Zoe. It's almost like—"

"They're connected," I told him.

Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran toward her. Pop! She turned into a Scotch pine and he kissed the trunk at top speed,

"Ah, love," Grover said dreamily.

I thought about Zoe's nightmare, which she'd had only a few hours after mine.

"I've got to talk to Zoe," I said.

"I don't know about that, Percy," Grover warned. "The last time I talked with them I ended up with a black eye and multiple slaps to the face. You'd probably get a worse punishment because with pants they can easily tell you're a guy."

"I'll still try," I said and got up. "Thanks, Grover. I'll see you later if I come back even half-dead.

"Get away from me, boy," Zoe hissed.

"I'm just trying to have a freaking civilized conversation," I growled. "But you're making it so gods damned hard! Why the hell won't you listen to me for one second? Just because of my sex?"

"This is exactly what a male is," she snapped. "Incompetent, impatient, a total lack of respect for women—"

"Me? I have a total lack of respect for you?" I started laughing. It only made the lieutenant of Artemis angrier. "I have a total lack of respect for you?" I laughed harder. "You know, for an ass-kissing maniac, you do have a sense of humor."

Zoe pulled out a hunting knife. "Thou will not dare threaten me again, boy, for it will be thy last sensation."

"You sound like Zeus," I grinned. "You know that Zeus is a paranoid freak, right?"

The Hunter growled in sync with the thunder that rumbled in the afternoon sky. "This is thy last chance, Jackson," she threatened.

"Whatever, Nightshade." I waved her aside. "I guess you don't want help to save Lady Artemis."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you know?"

My eyes widened and my mouth formed a perfect O shape. "Di immortales! You actually said you properly! This is a revelation for all of mankind, except for the fact that you aren't the child of a god, at least, I'll assume it is that until you tell me the truth."

"Do not mock me, boy," she snarled.

"Wow," I taunted. "You're not following through with your threats." I shook my head and chided, "Didn't Artemis teach you that all males are bad and that you shouldn't give them pity? Well, you know what? I'm going to play this game nice. I came here for a civilized conversation with you regarding the disappearance of Artemis and my friends, Annabeth and Luke."

She glared at me ferociously but put her knife away. "Carry on."

"Thank you."

We were in the mess hall, the sun already beginning to disappear out of the winter sky. Apollo must have been tired that day as the day still felt new and fresh. The cold, winter breeze blew through my Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and black no-name hoodie. The fresh air mixed with the sea breeze blowing from Long Island Sound from the north and relinquished a wonderful smell to me.

"Now, Grover, being the stalker he is, found out that you went to the Big House late at night to complain about a dream you had," I started.

The Hunter had her eyes narrowed so much it seemed as though she was squinting. "The satyr 'stalked' me? What does 'stalk' mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "It means to stealthily pursuit someone. He's basically trying to watch you without you knowing. It's a weird thing with satyrs. Anyways, he told me that you said Artemis was 'lost,' or what it seemed to mean to us, kidnapped."

Zoe nodded tersely.

"Good. Now my dream was that my friend, who by the way is a female and is still a virgin, was tricked by Ethan Nakamura, a son of Nemesis who joined Kronos two years ago," I explained. "She was trapped under some sort of cavern roof."

"Cavern roof?"

"I don't know exactly, but after, my dream switched and a Titan regarded me. Grover said my description of him makes him look like you." I analyzed the Hunter's face. "Yeah, he does look sort of like you."

Zoe's face paled. "He looks like me?" she asked.

I gave her a suspicious look. "Yes, he does. Grover suspected that you were a spy for Kronos, but if you were you would admit it, right? Your hunting leader has been captured by the Titans. If you are so worried for her, you would not be a spy for Kronos, would you?"

Her eyes flashed dangerously. "I am no traitor, boy."

Then I rolled my eyes. "Would you stop referring to me as boy?" I said agitated. "It's starting to get annoying."

"Then do not ask idiotic questions," she snapped. "If thou are to talk to me about Artemis, get to the point."

"I have a feeling Annabeth is bait, not just for Thalia and I, but for Artemis," I told Zoe.

"What are you talking about?"

"Artemis knows that Annabeth and Luke have disappeared," I explained. "She couldn't care less about Luke, but Annabeth is a maiden who could be used against Artemis' weakness. Unfortunately, the goddess of the moon does have a weakness: maidens. If they lure Artemis to wherever they are, which I assume is Mount Othrys, she will notice Annabeth and try to save her from dying. These two events have to be connected."

Zoe bit her lip worriedly. It was the first time she'd been so open with her feelings. I could tell that she was getting more worried as the conversation continued, but now it was clearly written on her face. "That does not sound good. I told Chiron that he should have given permission to us to leave to find Artemis, but the old horse wouldn't let me."

"Exactly," I said. "Maybe I can get to the oracle to find an answer to our problem."

"No, thy won't," said Zoe sternly. "I know what I need to do, and that does not include you. However..." She stopped for a moment, and her face twisted into one of distaste. "I must...thank you for telling me of the connection." She looked at the table silently before getting up. "Goodbye, Perseus."

"Hey, hey, hey!" I stopped her. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Leaving this dump and saving my lady," she answered. "And do not dare to tell Chiron about this. If thou do, I will personally kill thou during Capture the Flag."

"It doesn't matter if I tell you or not, Argus will still stop you," I told her. "It's the winter. Anyone will be able to notice if you are gone or not. There's only, what, fifteen campers? How can you pull thirteen Hunters out of this place, which is not a dump, without people noticing that you're gone? Even Dionysus, that lazy prick, can tell if you are. Besides, I want to come save Luke and Annabeth and Artemis, too."

Zoe glared at me. "Maybe if thou learns to be more respectful and less arrogant. I once trusted men like thee, a hero. He was the reason why I joined the Hunt. If Artemis sees potential in thou, I—I suppose I should too. After all, she is our patron and leader."

"Wait, what potential."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Dense fool," she said. "Now I will be gone."

Without another word, she left the mess hall despite my best attempts at stopping her. But the only reason why she left was because she left me pondering with a question in my head: what potential did I have? More questions popped in not long after. Why would Artemis suddenly change her mind about me after despising me a couple years back? But Zoe was right, and as much as I hated it, she had a point. I was a little disrespectful and arrogant, but that came with being Poseidon's son. I was disobedient, which made me disrespectful at times. There was no containing me once I was angry or accustomed to something. I was also arrogant. I blame the campers. They were the ones who kept feeding my ego telling me that I was the best sword fighter to live in centuries, possibly even ever. They called me ultra powerful...but I never felt that way.

I would never live up to the intelligence of my quarter-brother Theseus. I would never live up to the title of Huntsman that my half-brother Orion did. I would never be the strongest demigod ever to live like Heracles. I would never be cunning like Odysseus. I would never found a strong military base like my namesake, Perseus.

I felt utterly useless at times, like now. Greek heroes were loners, never able to live their life out happily. I assume I fit under that category. The only hero who did was Perseus. I didn't think I would ever reach there. No matter what people told me, I knew that my actions would be the downfall of my friends. I could only hope to die protecting them rather than them dying to let me live.

I looked morosely at Long Island Sound. The water glittered as the sun poked through the clouds. Apollo seemed to smile down on it, the reflection of his teeth shining in the water. I looked around camp hoping that none of this would go away on me. Hopefully Kronos wouldn't attack this camp...but I wasn't a fool. I knew he would, just as much as I knew Kronos was rising now. Somehow, in some way, he would rise and his essence would be brought up to the surface.

I remembered what Ethan had said: Piece by piece we assemble his body. Every demigod that joins our cause, another piece appears of his existence.

A long time had passed since Ethan said that. I was sure they would be completed soon. War was definitely approaching the horizon, dawn about to occur.

I stood up from my place at the mess hall and walked back down to the cabins. I went and sat by the hearth at the center. Hestia was nowhere to be seen. Angrily (and stupidly), I thrust my hand into the hearth, allowing the flames to lick at my skin. It felt warm at first, but then my hand became searing hot, like I was forging a sword out of my skin. I yanked my hand out.

"Yup, it's on fire," I said before yelping like an idiot.

I closed my eyes and tried focusing on water. My hand felt like it had been held in lava for at least a day. The pain of fire seared up my arm, hopefully not damaging nerves. I focused harder on the water, especially the snow in the air. I tried bending the flakes to my will, melting them into water. I had done it once back in Winnipeg a long time ago, but I hadn't tried it since.

Suddenly, I could feel a change in the air before all of the snow around me melted and was soaked up into my arm. The fire was quickly put out, and I could feel the water trying to mend my wound.

"That was fairly stupid of you," a voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Thalia looking at me.

"Hello, cap'n," I greeted. "What's the plan for Capture the Flag?" I asked, anxious to change the subject. I didn't want to prove to Thalia that I was, in fact, stupid.

She just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You are stupid, Percy. And just saying...I don't like you anymore. I'm totally over you." She said it with so much seriousness I almost believed her. Almost.

"Whatever, Thals," I said. "I know you're just not forgiving me. As long as we can still talk and stay...friends?" I knew she shouldn't forgive me, but I hoped that only meant in terms of our romantic relationship.

"We'll see," she answer after extended silence.

"Anyways, what are you doing here? Did you purposely come here to talk to me or were you just passing by when I idiotically stuck my hand in the fire?"

"Walking by...but that melting the snow...that's freaky. Your father is the god of the sea, but you have powers over fresh water."

"Yeah...I don't get it either."

We both laughed a little.

It felt good to release some pressure off my chest. It was as if I were holding the weight of the sky, my burdens, past and actions coming back to haunt me. I also hoped that time would come quickly. It took me a terrible event to realize that Thalia meant more to me than I thought. I was too stupid and blind to realize that she had turned a blind eye to Luke and focused on me.

A conch shell blew in the distance.

"Looks like it's time for dinner," Thalia sighed. "See you during C.T.F." Quickly, she departed.

"That's if the Hunters get caught trying to sneak out," I answered to no one. After enjoying silence for a second, I said, "Eh. Whatever. Catch them, Mr. D. That way I can beat the crap out of those Hunters.

It turns out Chiron caught them packing.

He apparently used some sort of philosophical trick on them using Artemis' quotes against them. At least, that's what I got from the Stolls messed up explanation. They said he brought out a magic genie which teleported them to a whole new world in which he showed them a short film about what would happen if they went out. Then after two hours in that world, they came back to this one in what was five seconds. Therefore, the Hunters were scared into thinking that saving Artemis was too dangerous.

I knew that was bullshit the moment I heard it. The Hunters would do anything to get their leader back, especially Zoe.

Either way, I was seriously ready to beat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game: only thirteen Hunters, including Bianca di Angelo, and about the same number of campers.

Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. I guess Zoe had told them about her nightmare.

On our team, we had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin (though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around), the Stoll brothers and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard we were fighting the Hunters, they were raring to go.

"I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"

"It's okay, Silena," Beckendorf said, trying to calm her down. "We'll pulverize them, just watch out. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Aww," she cooed. "You're so sweet, Charlie. But you don't have to worry about me. I know what I'm doing." She tried strapping her chest plate on but ended up breaking a nail because she was being too rough. "Ow!" she exclaimed. "Ugh, stupid nails. Charlie, could you help me with this?"

Beckendorf smiled as he helped Silena put on her armor. "No problem, Silena. You don't seem to want to fix your nail this time."

Silena slapped Beckendorf's chest plate playfully. "You know I'm not obsessed with my looks."

He gave her a pointed look. She gave in to the pressure. "Okay, fine. I do! But it's not always a bad thing."

Beckendorf chuckled at her pout. "I never said it was."

"Percy!" Thalia called.

She was just fixing on her armor and was walking towards me. When she reached me, she brought out her spear and Aegis. The shield sprang out and made me jump a little. Just because I faced the actual monster didn't mean I couldn't be scared of the face on the shield. It wasn't that bad, but the face was just sooo ugly.

"I'll take the offense," Thalia volunteered. "You take defense."

"Why don't we work together on offense and let everyone else defend?" I suggested. "That way, they have to get through all of camp except for us and then we'll easily take the flag."

Thalia scowled. "As much as I hate to admit it, Zoe is a very skilled fighter. She could take on all of the campers on her own in her own special way before we could take out the Hunters. It is unfortunate that they are actually skilled to a certain degree. Now, we're going to go with my plan. Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, sure," I lied, my hopes of avoiding defense getting crushed.

"Cool." Thalia turned to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails. Nico di Angelo ran up to me with a big grin on his face.

"Percy, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. I wondered if there was any way I'd looked that ridiculous when I'd first arrived. Unfortunately, I probably had.

Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"

"Unfortunately...no."

"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"

"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides—"

"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and—"

"Nico, this is serious. These are real swords and weapons. Trust me, they can hurt...a lot."

He stared at me, a little disappointed, but I meant what I said. I hated these Hunters as much as Thalia did, which was a lot, but cooperation was the only way. So, I held my head high and respected them for what they believed in.

I patted Nico on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoe's way. We'll have a blast."

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half-Blood—shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis—red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

"Sweet," Nico whispered next to me. "What kind of magic items? Do I get one?"

I was about to break it to him that he didn't, when Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"

They cheered and followed.

"Aren't you going to help lead?" asked Nico.

I shook my head. "I'm going to let Thalia take the reins for this one. I just hope we don't lose. I don't like the Hunters."

"Tell me about it," Nico grumbled.

We set our flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let us call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humor.

Anyway, it was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.

I set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers, figuring he'd be safely out of the way.

"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."

"Got it!"

"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."

Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work.

Thalia looked at me. "Anything to add, Percy?"

"Um, well, I guess I'll take Zoe. If any of you see her, shout and I'll come to your aid. Keep sharp on defense, though. We've got four guards and two scouts. Don't underestimate these Hunters. They are good fighters and very accurate with bows and arrows."

"Pussies," an Ares kid snorted.

"Hey!" I shouted. "They're skilled in long-ranged combat. It doesn't mean they're pussies. Keep your chin up and hold respect for your enemies. If you become overconfident, it will be the end of you."

The son of Ares grumbled under his breath.

Thalia nodded at me reassuringly, which kind of messed up the whole I'm-not-forgiving-you idea. "Now"—she turned to the rest of the crowd—"is everybody clear?

Everybody nodded. We broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.

Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few seconds, then darted off toward the right.

I waited for something to happen. I climbed Zeus' Fist and had a good view over the forest. I remembered how the Hunters had stormed out of the woods when they fought the manticore, and I was prepared for something like that—one huge charge that could overwhelm us. But nothing happened.

I caught a glimpse of Silena and her two scouts. They ran through a clearing, followed by five of the Hunters, leading them deep into the woods and away from Thalia. The plan seemed to be working. Then I spotted another clump of Hunters heading to the right, bows ready. They must've spotted Thalia.

"What's happening?" Nico demanded, trying to climb up next to me.

My mind was racing. Thalia would never get through, but the Hunters were divided. With that many on either flank, their center had to be wide open. I resisted the temptation to rush down the center to attack.

I turned to the Stolls and Beckendorf. "Hold the fort with Nico. I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" asked Beckendorf.

"To get Mark," I said. "He'll be happy to have an attempt at getting the flag."

With that, I jumped off of Zeus' Fist, and shoulder-rolled perfectly. I sprinted into the forest looking for Mark, one of Clarisse's brothers. I heard a distant clashing of metals, then a shout and a girly scream.

I whirled around a tree and burst into a small clearing where Zoe and another Hunter were hanging Mark from the branch of a tree. He was cursing them to Tartarus, but the Hunters couldn't care less. The good thing was that they hadn't noticed me yet.

I pulled out Triametalla, activated it, and threw it at the rope they hung him from. My switchblade sliced through the rope like it was butter and flew at least twenty feet past where Mark was. The son of Ares landed on the ground painfully, but got up and held his sword threateningly at Zoe's companion.

I uncapped Riptide. "Mark, go for the flag! I got these two. But if you don't mind, give me my switchblade."

"Flag time it is," he grinned. He turned and sprinted towards where my switchblade landed. Zoe's companion attempted firing an arrow at him, but I stepped forward and slashed her bow right in half.

She growled, but I quickly turned away from her and blocked an attack from Zoe. She had her hunting knives out, but I wasn't afraid. She pushed on as her friend got her own hunting knives out to double team me.

The problem was that they each had a pair of hunting knives. Since the two blades were smaller than my long sword, Zoe and her companion were much more versatile than I was. Zoe attacked me ruthlessly, but I never gave in. I sensed a presence coming near me, so I back-flipped and grabbed my switchblade out of midair. I landed on the ground heavily, sending out a shockwave of earth from where I landed.

Zoe and her companion stumbled a little and I took that advantage. I easily disarmed Zoe's companion with the hilt of my sword before kicking her backwards with a snap kick.

Zoe growled. "Phoebe! Get the flag! I'll handle the boy."

"Very well," Phoebe replied and burst into the forest.

I gritted my teeth. "Beckendorf!" I screamed. "Hunter incoming!"

I wasn't sure how loud I was, but Zoe seemed a little stunned at my shouts. I swung Riptide at her in a threatening motion. The three-foot-long sword glinted in the growing darkness. A soft, warm glow emanated from it.

We circled around each other for a little while, sizing each other up. I tried to analyze her stance and fighting style. Her fighting with hunting knives was rather similar to the way I had fought on the streets. She would go completely offensive. By the looks of things, she wouldn't tire out easily. She stayed on her toes and made sure that she could move quickly.

Meanwhile, I took up my new fighting stance. I held my ground, my weight on my heels. I held my sword pointed to the ground while I kept my knife in icepick grip.

Zoe made the first move.

She lunged at me, swinging her knives wildly. But they weren't amateur swings. They were wild, but seemed to be planned. It was as though I knew that she always attacked at these positions when fighting in blade combat. She swung at my eyes, my shoulders, my wrists, my stomach area and my "tenders."

Those were all important spots. The eyes are what I use to see. My shoulders help my swings, and so do my wrists. The stomach is just a spot where a cut could be made that do not seem fatal, but is fatal. My "tenders" is something that is only affected because I'm a guy. If I were a female, I wouldn't have that problem. Instead, I'd have to deal with guys trying to rape me just because they were the ones to put it in.

After what seemed like a flurry of a million strikes, Zoe landed a thin cut along the side of my arm. I growled and pushed her back. I did a spinning strike, swiping with Anaklusmos and then following up with a slash with Triametalla. I followed that up with a spinning sweep to trip Zoe up. Almost like a cobra, she leaped over the sweep and landed on top of me. She stabbed down with her knife, but I grabbed her wrist letting go of Anaklusmos. She tried hacking my hand off with her other knife, but I parried it with Triametalla. Then I stuck my knee under her gut and pushed up. She fell over to the side and I attacked her.

With my left foot, I stepped on her right hand, pinning it to the ground. I kicked her left hand hard sending her weapons flying. Wincing, I said, "Sorry, Zoe. It's for the game."

To finish her off, I bent down and knocked her out cold with the butt of my knife.

Panting and catching my breath I grabbed Anaklusmos. I capped the pen and put it back in my pocket. I breathed soothingly to control my ragged breaths. I hadn't gotten a fighter as good as Zoe since I last fought Thalia. And we rarely challenged each other in the arena anymore.

I switched my blade off and put Triametalla back in my pocket. Once I re-caught my breath, I thought about running away and joining Thalia to help retrieve the flag, but I looked down at the Hunter and realized that in our short skirmish I'd wounded her quite a bit. I bit my lip and made choice that would've cost me my life had Artemis been here.

After retrieving her bow and hunting knives, I picked Zoe up and snuck through the forest, making sure I wasn't seen by any of the Hunters. I made my way toward the creek that divided the forest and dipped Zoe into the creek water. I made sure that her face was above water, but I dunked the rest of her body in the water. Then I closed my eyes and concentrated.

I thought about resurging her with new energy so that she didn't feel tired and worn out after the game. She had enough to worry about with Artemis being gone. I doubted she could've gone with a few cuts and bruises no matter how tough she was.

Some might ask why I would do this when I hate the Hunters. Well...I thought doing something nice for others would be kind and I didn't feel like abandoning the girl in the middle of the forest. Then I laid her on the ground next to the river and sat cross-legged, waiting for her to wake up.

As soon as she began stirring, the conch shell blew and the game was marked over. I got up to see who had won and saw that Thalia was being carried by a couple of the Hunters in a net. I assumed that Phoebe had managed to take down the Stolls and Beckendorf before grabbing the flag.

Chiron appeared out of the woods, looking grim. He had the Stoll brothers on his back, and it looked as if both of them had taken some nasty whacks to the head. Connor Stoll had two arrows sticking out of his helmet like antennae.

"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-sixth time in a row."

"What...what happened?" Zoe asked groggily as she woke. Then her senses sharpened and she leaped at me. I swiftly dodged to the side and held my hands up.

"Stop, Zoe. The Hunters won, though I did my job, which was to keep you in check."

A furious looking Thalia was let loose from her net and I turned to see her glaring at me. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. "Perseus Jackson! You knew that the Hunters are skilled yet you still let one of them get the flag."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I said that my job was to handle Zoe. I told you that I would stop her, and only her. I did my job. Zoe didn't get the flag. It was Phoebe who got it. Would you stop being so accusatory?"

"Come here now," she barked. I grudgingly followed her orders. When I got within arm's length, she slapped me and kicked my gut.

With the extra electricity flickering on her armor and all over her body, she sent me flying backwards ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.

"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to—"

I slowly stood up. "It's fine, Thalia."

Thalia gave up trying to be furious and settled with pissed. "I...whatever."

I acknowledged her apology, but turned on the Hunters with as much anger as I felt towards Mr. D, which was a lot. "Laughing at my misery, huh? It wouldn't be so funny if it were you being blasted ten feet backwards."

"We're not stupid males," a Hunter glared indignantly. "We wouldn't be stupid enough to get ourselves in the position you are in now."

Sure, I had forgiven Thalia for calling me stupid, but hearing it from the Hunters made it sound derogatory and de-meaningful. Anger washed over my ears and I doused the Hunter in water from head to toe. Her companions standing next to her got soaked as well. They all growled at me and stepped forward. Before they could do anything, Zoe stepped in and gave me a cold look.

"Thou shall not hurt any of the Hunters," she snarled. "If thou do, Artemis will make sure thou shalt pay for it."

"Then maybe you should stop fucking insulting me and speak modern English," I roared. "I'm getting seriously pissed off with your sexist attitude. Maybe if you knew compromises, then you would know that there are places to meet in between. I understand that many men are selfish bastards, but not every single one of us are. There is a point halfway that we can meet, but so far, we've decided to stay on our opposite sides."

It looked as if the Hunters were about to jump me when Thalia gasped. I noticed she was looking at something in the forest, as if something scary was coming.

Someone…something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around our feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

None of us dared move. Then her voice hissed inside my head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

The Oracle regarded me with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. Approach, Seeker, and ask.

Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

Hey everyone,

Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to those who've put this on their favorites, followed and reviewed.

Disclaimer: I don't own any excerpts taken from Rick Riordan's book Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse.

I also apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719