Chapter 13 - We Awaken A Defective Talos

"Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One whose duty is to protect lost in the land without rain,
The lord of all monsters shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
An immortal shall make a deal,
A chance to unlock a seal,
The Titan's curse one must withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand."

As we rode the boar I had time to try to interpret the prophecy. The first line was obvious, so was the fourth and eighth. The second line meant someone would die in a desert, likely the Satyr as they are protectors. 'The lord of all monsters shows the trail,' if there was a lord of monsters wouldn't the gods know and destroy him? The fifth and sixth lines were either talking about Zoë or I. The last two lines were pretty obvious if we were going to Mount Tam.

I was confused. I pit of dread was in my chest, weighing me down. I had a feeling of foreboding. Something would happen soon, I always trust my instincts; more often than not they are right.

We rode until sunset, by that time we were sore and aching. The boar stopped by a creek bed and started drinking, completely forgetting that we were riding him. I jumped off as soon as possible, preferring to get of the giant boar. My backside ached like Hades. I looked down the road; there were a small cluster of buildings. Past the small town were mounds of old cars and scrap metal.

"A junkyard?" I asked.

"It is the junkyard of the gods. They throw away old items and cursed weapons," Zoë said looking at the junkyard stretched out towards the horizon.

"Our next challenge is in the junkyard." Grover said behind us. He was looking at a cluster of acorns on the ground.

"Is it a monster?" Thalia asked.

"I don't smell anything. But whatever it is, it is in the junkyard."

"Why don't we camp for the night and tackle the junkyard tomorrow morning, when it's light?" Annabeth suggested. She was looking uneasily at the junkyard, in the darkness it looked like something from a mortal film, in which hidden creatures were waiting for someone to pass through. I turned away from the junkyard and quickly agreed with Annabeth. Maybe tomorrow I wouldn't feel such dread when looking at the junkyard.

Zoë took five sleeping bags and mattresses from her backpack. Annabeth and Grover started collecting some old boards as soon as it started turning cold. They piled them up and Thalia shocked them to get the fire going. I would have, but every time I used my powers my leg throbbed. I didn't want to tell them, I could live with it.

"Look at the stars," Zoë said; she was lying on her back.

"It is nice." I looked up. "I don't remember much of my life. But since Hades found me the skies have been more polluted. It's one reason why I don't like mortals; they ruin what they have and realise what they have lost too late."

"This is nothing. In the old days, there were so many more. Whole constellations have completely disappeared. Human pollution is a terrible thing."

"You two speak as if you aren't human." Annabeth stated.

"I have lived hunting and banishing souls and corrupt humans. Many people would consider me a monster for killing mortals like I have." I sighed, thinking of the souls' first reaction to me in the Underworld. Grover gave me a sympathetic look, I waved him off.

"I am a Hunter. We care for the wild and the world. Can the same be said for thee?"

"You, not thee," Thalia rectified.

"But you is used for the beginning of a sentence."

"And the end. No thou or thee. Just use you."

"This language changes too often." Zoë complained.

"If Pan were found, he could put everything right." Grover said sadly, Zoë nodded in agreement. "The coffee! I was drinking it… and the wind came, if I drank more coffee, we could be closer. Pan, he sent us help, I don't know how, or even why he would save us. This is the best lead we have ever had!"

"Seth, how did you destroy the zombies?" Thalia asked suddenly, "There are many more out there."

"I used the powers I got from Hades to break up the bones, and then set them on fire."

"We should get some rest," Annabeth called, "We have a long day tomorrow."

I rolled out my sleeping bag in front of the fire and tried to put my mind at rest as I quickly fell asleep.

We woke up at the crack of dawn. The fire was still burning slightly; I blew on it to get it going again then stuck my hand in the flames and drew it into my body. It felt like I was given an extra shot of caffeine. I packed up the sleeping bag and handed it to Zoë, soon the ashes of the fire were scattered and we were on our way towards the junkyard of the gods.

An hour later we were at the entrance of the junkyard. "Which way out of this is west?" Thalia asked

"Across the other side," I pointed past the mounds of scrap metal.

"Do not take or touch anything," Zoë ordered, "Everything is here for a reason."

Around mid-afternoon we were nearly across the junkyard. There was a small stretch of road left. Between the road and us was a hill much bigger than the others.

"What are they?" Thalia asked, "They look like toes." She squinted. Annabeth, Thalia and Zoë shared a look.

"We should go around." Annabeth said. Zoë quickly agreed.

"The road is there. We can slip past it." I argued.

"We are going around." Thalia said. I sighed and nodded. Grover was looking at the toes like they would suddenly move; I started to be nervous looking at them. Several minutes of walking later, we stepped onto an abandoned stretch of road and relaxed.

"Thank the gods," Zoë sighed, "We made it out."

Behind us the sound of metal falling to the ground and creaking motors echoed around the junkyard. We turned around. Behind us something was rising out of the hill we had gone around. A massive metal giant wearing a complete set of Greek battle armour as tall as a skyscraper looked at us.

"Talos!" Zoë murmured, "This is bad."

"He's a model, too small to be the real thing. A defective model, maybe," Annabeth explained.

The giant reached to his side and pulled out a rusted sword easily thirty metres long.

"Someone took something. Who did it?" Zoë looked at me. I slipped my hand in my pocket and swallowed.

"I did."

"What is it?" Zoë was pale. "Drop it."

I shook my head. "It won't make a difference now."

"We have to run, split up!" Thalia yelled. The giant was focused on me; I turned to the side and ran. Annabeth close behind me.

Results for poll:

Aigeus - 2

Theron - 2

Adonis - 1

Evander - 1

Silas - 1

Xylon - 1

I will remove the 4 with the least votes. I only need one more vote then my poll is finished.

Rachel - thank you for the review, I appreciate your support