Chapter 3

"We didn't lose them didn't we?", Nico asked, gasping for breath.
Percy shook his head and looked around worriedly. "They're too fast"
"Dammit"
"We have to hide", Percy said and leaned against a tree. "I can hear them."
"Fine, but where?". Nico looked around frantically.

It was true. The forest was filled with screeches that got louder and louder the longer Nico and Percy stood there.
They were being followed by two ugly and very furious gorgons. Percy and Nico had been packing their things when a gorgon attacked the son of Hades. Percy had been quick, killing it successfully with one slash. Still a little dazed, the two demigods ran into the forest, dodging the deadly claws from the two remaining gorgons.

Now, after fifteen minutes of running they had finally found a moment to rest. They were tired and both knew that they had three choices: keep running until either the monsters or they fall and die; hide or fight them. The second choice was attractive, but where to hide? The gorgons could smell their blood. The third choice, fighting, was also possible. They had both done much worse before, but they were a little out of practice, not having encountered any monsters in six months. So they could only hide and… pray that the gorgons didn't see them.

Nico had an idea. He hit Percy on the arm.

"The lake!", he exclaimed as he started running again. Percy caught his drift and ran behind him. They hadn't run long when they arrived at a small clearing with a dark lake. Nico looked at Percy questioningly.

"Think you can keep us under water until they're gone?"
Percy stared at the lake. His eyes were sad as he observed water. The water seemed to tremble under his gaze. He sighed and nodded. There was no other way; the gorgons were getting closer; they could hear and smell them.

They ran into the lake and dived into the dark water. Nico closed his eyes, holding his breath and waiting for Percy to make an air bubble.

"Nico, you can breathe now". Percy's voice sounded hollow, the way a voice sounds in an empty, large room and the words simply echo from the walls.

Nico opened his eyes. Percy was looking at him amusedly. The son of Hades patted his clothes; they were dry. He nodded impressed.

"Cool", he said.
Percy chuckled. "Thanks"

They fell into silence. They could hear the gorgon's voices and screams from afar.

"They're gone!"
"Impossible!", screeched the other. "They are playing a trick on us! I know him! He's behind this shit!"
"Who?"
"The sea-spawn, you idiot! Remember? He killed us four times!"
The gorgon let out a piercing scream, cursing the damn demigod, who had killed them four times.
"I'll tell you what, we wait here until they come up", snarled the other. "They cannot stay into the water forever. The filthy demigod will get tired and they'll have to come up to breathe". She cackled. The other gorgon said something that the demigods couldn't hear, but they did hear the punch that the other gave her.
"You stupid rat! He's Poseidon's son! He'll come up sooner or later…"

Nico groaned and looked up. The water reflected the sun light, making everything look like a crystal. He had seen crystals and other gems in the Underworld, but they didn't reflect the sunlight.

"Fuck", he groaned and rubbed his forehead. He glanced at Percy, who was looking down. "What do we do now, Percy?"
The son of Poseidon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We wait?"
Nico shook his head. "They're angry. They're going to wait until the world ends."
Percy pressed his lips together and nodded finally. "Okay", he said quietly. "I have an idea" . He swam to the left. Nico backed off a little, knowing that Percy's ideas usually backfired.

Percy closed his eyes in concentration and, taking a deep breath, opened his eyes and raised his open hand. He closed it and his eyes glowed blue for a second. Then the surface of the water exploded taking Nico with it. Nico yelled in shock and swallowed water as the waves washed him to the shore.

The gorgons screamed and fought against the water, but the water formed two arms, grabbed the two screeching monsters and took them down into the darkness of the sea. The water stirred violently for a few moments before it calmed down again. Everything was normal again.

Nico coughed and shook his arms. He was dripping and he had swallowed a lot of water. He ran a hand through his wet hair and face and fell on his back. He groaned loudly.

"I'm not moving. Never again.", he said determinately as he heard his friend coming out of the water. It wasn't necessary; Percy tumbled to Nico and fell next to him. He closed his eyes and Nico saw with wide eyes (and a little horror) how wrinkles formed under his eyes and his hair got a few grey strands.

"Oh shit"

Percy opened his eyes and looked at Nico questioningly. His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed his friend's look. He sat up, running a hand through his face and feeling his skin. His eyes widened and he panted as he too felt the few wrinkles. Percy was shaking. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't do anything. So the son of Poseidon jumped to his feet and walked away.

Nico sat there, staring wide-eyed at the sea. He too had no idea what to do.

- Clarisse -

Clarisse walked with big steps through the musky forest. Just her luck that a hellhound had found her and delayed the whole quest. She killed the monster of course, but it had taken longer than she would have expected (and admitted). Now it was getting darker and Clarisse had just stepped into the forest. She hated forests.

She stopped in her tracks. She had the feeling that someone or something was following her. She gripped the spear her father had given her after the Giant war and prepared to face the enemy. She whirled around, stabbing into a bush. Clarisse pursed her lips and checked her surroundings. Nothing big was following her; she must have heard a rodent or something.

The forest was dark by now. The stars in the sky were of no use to Clarisse. It would be stupid to continue the walk as long as it was dark; she would continue tomorrow. Now she had to find shelter and rest.

She was lucky. She had strayed about for a while when she found a hut. She knocked because her mother had taught her manners and it warned the people in it if someone inhabited this ruin. No one answered the door so she opened it and walked inside, studying the room. It was small. There was an old couch in corner and a cupboard in the other. Otherwise the room had only a table and something that looked like a chair. Clarisse frowned as she stepped on a piece of cloth. She picked it up; she pursed her lips in disgust. It was a t-shirt, a very used and old one. She threw it aside when she heard a rumble and before she knew what was happening, something big and boney attacked her. This boney thing took her down, hitting her everywhere. Clarisse didn't even have time to yell in surprise or anger, but she had good reflexes and hit back. She knew by now that this boney thing was a person. A man with shaggy grey hair and he was screaming incoherently and non-stop. The daughter of Ares eventually managed to grip the attacker's throat. He gurgled and gasped for air, gripping and scratching her to free himself. But Clarisse was strong and experienced. She threw him to the side and sat on him as she held her dagger to his throat. Her heart was beating fast and her body ached where the man had hit her. The attacker was skinny and dirty. He was shaking under her and whimpering like a coward. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy.

She showed her teeth at him, acting braver than she felt.

"A move and I'll rearrange your ugly face", she hissed, pressing the dagger against his cheek. The man whimpered again. He was a wimp Clarisse thought in disgust. She didn't kill bastards like him. Besides he was a mortal and she wasn't allowed to kill mortals as bad as she wanted to.

She spat at him and stood up, gripping the man by his hair and dragging him to the corner where the cupboard was. The man was mumbling and crying about how unfair and bad life was to him, cursing the evil whore who had broken into his home. Clarisse ignored him. She was really too angry to pay attention to anything besides her plan to tie him up well so she could sleep well. She opened the cupboard and grabbed a rope from a box. Then she dragged the whining man to the corner in the opposite side of the couch.

The man was begging to be released, swearing by everything that he would not harm her if she let him go now. But Clarisse wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what the man would do if she let him go. Clarisse wasn't cold, but she mistrusted every person or creature that tried to attack her in any way.

She tied his feet and his hands. Then she grabbed the other end of the rope and tied it to the roof. She checked that the knots were firm and that the rope was dtrong enough to last through the night.

The man began to wriggle, fighting against the rope. He screamed at her, calling her names that even Clarisse had no idea they existed. She huffed and hit the man unconscious with the grip of the dagger. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and turned her back to the wimp. She walked to the couch and lay down, falling asleep soon after.