Luckily for me and mom, Gabe had gone out gambling for the night. And he'd left his car keys on the table, in anticipation of us going to the seaside cabin for a short trip.
Unfortunately for him, the plans had changed. Instead of setting off tomorrow, we had to go. Tonight. And instead of going to a seaside cabin for a short stay, we were going to flee. To a camp that both mother and Grover apparently had knowledge of.
"Cmon, Perce, go!" Grover yelled at me as I fumbled with my suitcase. A lightning bolt flashed so brightly it illuminated the dark apartment as if the lights were on, an ear splitting boom sounding milliseconds later so loud it shook the building.
My mom was already impatiently tapping her foot. "Percy! Just drop the suitcase, I'm sure you'll get some new clothes at camp! The uh…souvenir shops!" When I just mumbled a frustrated reply, she marched back into the apartment and dragged me away from the suitcase. "Come on! We don't have much time, Percy." The urgency in her voice was clear as day, and so I reluctantly stopped struggling against her and ran with her down towards the ground floor. As I looked at mom, it felt like she had aged 10 years in 5 minutes. Lines of worry were etched into her face, and she was muttering to herself. It wasn't the usual calmness mom usually projected over everything.
"Mom? Where are we going?" I asked her as we reached Gabe's yellow Camaro. She seemed to be ina panic as she didn't answer me, and her hands trembled slightly as she tried to insert the key into the door to unlock the car. "Mom?" Incoherent muttering. "MOM!" "Huh- yes, Percy?" "Where are we going?" I asked again, slightly irritated. "Young woman, don't get irritated at me! I'm still mad over why you didn't tell me what happened at school immediately after you came back!" She scolded. "But mom-" I was interrupted by a drawling voice I knew and loathed so well. "Sally, what're you doing with ma'car?" We both turned around to see Slimy Gabe walking up to us, a can of beer in his hand. Mom immediately shifted her look to one of adoration and loving. "Gabe, dear. We're just setting off early, since Percy couldn't sleep." He frowned, looking at me. "Why not just tell her to fuck off back to sleep then?"
"Gabe, dear, you can't say those things in front of her. Besides, it's not nice to do that, yeah? Anyway, we'll go there early and we'll return extra early, isn't that better for you, dear?" Gabe huffed. "I suppose so." He then turned his beady eyes on me, and then onto mom. "Not one scratch. If I find any…" he let the threat hang in the air, as he turned and walked towards the apartment building door. Rage built inside me. How dare this lesser being threaten my mother! Suddenly, I could see raindrops condensing in front of the apartment door, and as Gabe was about halfway in, the rain slammed the door shut. I could faintly hear Gabe howling in pain as his fat arse got spanked hard. Mom seemed to find it funny too, before she turned serious and opened the car door. "Grover and Percy. Both of you, get in the back." We obediently scrambled into the car, as mom slammed the car door shut and turned the engine on. The Camaro roared to life as we buckled in.
"I still can't believe you didn't tell me about Mrs. Dodds and all those shenanigans! Do you realised how worried we could be if you got into trouble, or worse, got hurt?" My mom screeched as we peeled out of the driveway. "Mom, I'm sorry-" "Percy. Next time, don't do that. If anything happens, tell me." I nodded, and mom stepped on the pedal. The Camaro roared onto the wet street at near maximum speeds as mom gripped the steering wheel tight. The air inside the car was tense and silent.
"Uh,,,can anyone tell me what is going on?" I asked, and Grover looked at me with a frightful look. It was mom who spoke up. "Percy…I never thought this would come so soon, but…we're sending you to a camp. A safe place. Your father told me about this, and…I'm sorry." When she refused to speak further, I asked her, "what are you sorry about mom? You haven't done anything wrong!"
She sighed. "Percy…I was selfish. I thought I could keep you by my side forever, by using Gabe as a cover-up for your scent. But I should have known this was coming, that I can't keep you by my side forever." She then locked eves with Grover and said, "the sea doesn't like to be restrained."
"Mom, what are you on about! What do you mean the sea doesn't like to be restrained? Stop talking in riddles!" I grumbled, and both mother and Grover smiled for a fleeting moment before a distant roar was heard. Grover's face turned even paled, and he started tearing off the seat cover to eat. "Grover-what the hell!"
Wait. Grover had said something about "the furniture isn't so tasty" on the school bus, on that fateful day my life began to take the turn for the worse. So…that's why he did it! He was an actual furniture eating person! Or rather…
"Uhh Grover…what exactly are you?" He looked at me, first with confusion and then irritation. "Percy! Did you pay attention during lessons?" I tried to think as my ADHD brain began focusing onto the trees we were buzzing by-when did we even get into a forest? And then, suddenly, it hit me.
"You're…Grover. You're a satyr." He nodded, before the thing behind us roared-much closer this time. Mom floored the gas as we pushed the limit of Gabe's Camaro. Given that he was such a piece of shit, I had to thank him for picking a muscle car for his day to-day transport method. It sure was a life-saver in these situations.
Another bolt of lightning forked across the sky, and the flash lit up everything around us. For a split second, I saw the creature behind us-a dark brooding shape, like an impossibly buff man with a head way too small for his size, running behind us-and gaining on us.
"Almost there!" Mom grunted, as if driving the car at top speed was exhausting her physically. She suddenly braked and turned onto a dirt road, and I could hear the big man behind us run past the car. Great driving mom!
"That should buy us some time. Not much, but enough." Mom said. She then looked at me in the rear view mirror, and told me sternly, "when we reach the camp property line, run for it. Don't wait for me. dYou being safe is all I can ask for. Do you understand?" I watched as a "pick your own strawberries" sign whizzed past us. "Percy! Do you understand?" I snapped out of my stupor. "Yes…yes, mom." She sighs, before looking at me directly. I could see something in the corner of her eye glinting-were those tears? "Listen, Percy. No matter what, run for the camp property line. I'll follow behind you, don't mind me. Just run for it." She then turned back to look at the road. I swear I saw her hand come up to wipe at her cheek.
This was uncomfortable, it felt like mom…it felt like she knew something was gonna happen to her.
"See those trees on top of the hill? 5at's the property line! Once I stop, just-"
BOOM.
My world lit up. Everything turned white, and I could just about make out some very bleached out details. I could hear mom hollering, and Grover screaming. It felt like we were flying in the air, before we smashed into the ground and stopped with a big jolt. The car was on it's side (the ground was to my left, and the door on my side was squished in, so I think it was my side that was on the ground), but thanks to gravity the gar slowly fell onto it's wheels, the ruined chassis letting our creaks and groans.
"Go, Go Go!" I could hear my mother yell, but as I tried to kick the door out, it wouldn't budge. Grover seems to be concussed, a trickle of blood coming from his right temple. He still seemed awake, just very, very sluggish. I shook him as I climbed over to his side, screaming into his face, "GROVER! GROVER, WE GOTTA GO! SNAP OUT OF IT!"
A few more seconds later, he seems to be regaining his bearings, so I shoved the door open, and pushed him out before diving out as well. Another flash turned the world white, as I saw the bolt smash into the roof of the car. When the flash bang form the lightning faded, I could see the top of the car was smouldering, and the interior seemed melted. Mother was already by my side, trying to pull be and a very dazed Grover up the hill. I turned to help, managing to lift grover's legs while mom grabbed his arms, and together we lifted him halfway up the slope.
God, he was fucking heavy.
All the while he was talking about food.
My arms ached and rain stuck by bangs to my face, and my shirt stuck uncomfortably to my skin. That was the least of my concerns now, as my rms felt like they were on fire, about to give out anytime soon.
And as I paused to catch my breath, letting Grover's feet touch the ground for a second, I heard a roar behind me.
The thing chasing us just entered the scene at the worst possible time ever.
Grover, thankfully, was almost back to his senses, and was beginning to stumble around on it's own. As I turned around, another flash of lightning illuminated the area, and I could see the thing that had been chasing us all this time.
It looked like a very, very buff man who skipped leg day. His legs were short and stocky, with muscles out of a cartoon, but his upper body was toned and ripped. His feet ended in hooves like Grover, so I assumed he must be some sort of mythological figure or creature as well. But unlike Grover, he didn't have furry hind legs, not it he have tiny, curly horns atop his head- which looked way too small for a normal human to begin with. It had two big, bull like horns protruding from above where normal human ears should be. And with a shock, I realised it wasn't in fact a human head at all. It was a cow's head, stuck onto a human torso with presumably cow legs.
My legs felt weak as I stared at it.
My mother came over to me and whispered into my ear, "it's slight and hearing is poor, but it's smell is not. Pretty soon, it"s gonna catch onto us, and if you're not in the camp boundaries, try to sidestep it like those bull fighters. It can't easily change direction, and is very clumsy. Also, shout for help once you're inside. Don't mind me."
"Mom…that's the minotaur."
"SHH! Names have powers!"
As if on cue, the half-bull, half-man grabbed the Camaro by its cracked and melted roof, lifted it up, slammed it down and then threw it to the side. Then it turned it's beady red eyes on us.
So much for not getting a scratch on Gabe's Camaro.
"Uh oh…Percy, RUN!" I tried to move, but it felt like my legs were glued together. Grover by now was awake, and he shouted out "HOLY ZEUS! THAT'S MINOS'S SON!" or something like that, before scrambling up the slope, his furry bottom soaked and with bits of dirt and grass stuck to it. Mom was also backing slowly up the slope, shouting at me. The Minotaur seemed to be deciding which prey it should go for, as it's beady red eyes looked at my mother, then Grover, then me, and then back to my mom, before settling on me.
I saw it paw the ground, ripping out chunks of wet dirt and grass. And them it lowered its head and charged.
I screamed, and my instincts made my body roll to the side at the last second. It charged past me, and seemingly ran into an invisible boundary just in front of the pine tree. Grover, thankfully, had ran inside the camp by now, and hopefully was screaming at the top of his lungs for help.
But then I noticed something. It wasn't looking at me now. It was looking directly at my mother.
My gut sank as I saw it paw the ground and lower its head. And then, it charged.
My mom tried the same trick as me. It worked, and the big brute rammed headfirst into a tree, felling it instantly. Her second try wasn't as lucky though, as she tried to scramble up the slope to me, the Minotaur caught her shirt and pulled her a short distance into the air. The brute skidded to a halt, and to my horror, slammed a hand into her throat. She started choking, before squeezing out words between her chokes and gags. "Percy-choke-get to-choke-property-ack-line-krrk!"
But I couldn't. Like an idiot, I instead ran at her, screaming at full volume, "MOM! MOM, NO!" But as I neared, the Minotaur tightened its grip on her throat. Golden particles begun shimmering from their contact points, and then a gold glow flare erupted from it, forcing me to put my arms up to shield me from the glow. When I put my arm back down, nothing remained of my mother. Only gold dust floating in the air told me she'd ever existed.
I screamed.
Horror, disbelief, rage, anger, hate…all my sorrow, all my suffering seemed to be directed into the scream. The Minotaur seems to chuckle at this, judging by the low rumble it let out, before raindrops-which apparently were condensing behind me into a wall of water-charged at full strength towards the Minotaur. It seemed pleasantly surprised, looking to it"s left and right to see what had caused the mild stumble, before it refocused on me. I felt something heavy manifest in my pocket, and stuck a hand to see what it was. The Minotaur cocked its head at this, as if it were a child seeing a party trick unfold.
And then I pulled out…Mr. Brunner's pen?
It looked like the same one he'd tossed to me in the metropolitan museum of art, but it looked somehow more elaborate. I noticed new engravings in it I'd never seen before, and instead of a dull brown casing, it was shining bronze with rose gold details and silver finishes.
But what in hell was I supposed to do with this? I willed it to change into a sword. Nothing. I shook it. Nothing still. I checked it for buttons, clenching and unclenching my hand to see if it would activate the sword. Nothing.
The Minotaur seemed to think the show was over, and I was only calling bluffs and didn't possess anything that could kill it in my pocket, as I heard it snort and looked up to see it already charging towards me.
This time though, I couldn't react in time. I watched as time slowed and I felt his left horn skewer the right side of my stomach, as he ran me through. Intense pain flared out, and I screamed out in pain as I was lifted up into the air when he looked back up. Apparently, he thought I was hanging onto his horn intentionally, and shook his head side to side, trying to get me off, eventually resorting to his firsts. He slammed one into my leg, before one connected with my abdomen and sent me flying off him, blood and some gore trailing from the wound.
I felt only numbness as my back smashed against a tree, and then my body slumped downwards to sit at the base of the tree. The Minotaur looked left and right to see where I'd flown to, but I thankfully was behind him.
I'd unconsciously dropped the pen during the engagement due to the pain I experienced. Now though, I felt the pen once again land in my pocket. Surely if it kept teleporting to me, I must have a use for it. Y side throbbed as I painfully reached into my pocket to pull out the sword, my left hand clamped on the wound to try and stem the bleeding. It didn't work. I saw that my vision was beginning to blur, and with a shaky hand, I released my wound and tried to uncap the pen. The first time, my slick blood only stained the bronze, the second time I couldn't muster enough strength to uncap the pen. Feeling my strength ebb, I mustered all of it into my third attempt, just as the Minotaur turned around to spot me.
The cap popped off smoothly, and then from within extended the bronze blade that saved my life before.
In my hand was no longer a pen. A full sword rested in my hand, and the bronze glow it gave off seemed to boost my fading strength. Shakily, I stood up, and the Minotaur seemed to take a step back in the face of the sword, before it pawed the ground and charged for the fifth time today.
As it thundered towards me, I prepared myself. At the last possible moment, I slashed sideways with the sword before rolling to the side. I heard the bull man howl in pain, but to much disappointment I realised I'd only sliced off the right horn of it, thanks to my poor sword work. My blood glistened on it's left horn as it lowered it head and charged again.
This time, I could feel my strength ebbing, fast. Forced to kneel on one knee, I weakly pointed the sword at it- and the Minotaur ran head-first into my sword.
It exploded into yellow dust, just like Mrs. Dodds.
The horn that I'd sliced off previously was some distance away, but I had no more strength to get up and pick it off the ground. I glanced at the crest of the hill, and saw tens of dozens of teenagers, some younger than me, some older than me, standing there gawking.
I stood up and tried to walk to them with the last reserves of my strength, but as I stood my body finally gave out, and my right leg collapsed, bringing me onto my injured side. My throat felt sticky and clogged, and when I coughed I felt something warm, wet and slightly sticky get regurgitated out of my mouth.
I rolled onto my back as my limbs went limp and a numbing coldness took over, and the last thing I saw was concerned faces crowding around me before my vision went dark.