Chapter 10 - Hydra-phobic

"A hydra," I repeated, flatly. "You want me to fight... A hydra."

"Indeed," Zoë said, nodding. "Dost thou have concerns?"

'Penny,' my mom's terrified voice echoed in my head, 'come back here! Penny...!'

"Of course I have concerns! I'm not Hercules," I said, forcing the memory away. "I can't just tie it's heads up in a knot and be done with it."

I could swear the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees as a strange look passed over the lieutenant's face, but the moment passed so quickly that I might have imagined it.

"The hydra you are to face today is but a nestling," Lady Artemis spoke up. "One of several that will be taken out as part of today's activity before the mortals come to harm."

"I thought most monsters tended to avoid mortals," I said, reaching for an excuse - any excuse to not do this. "Something about them not smelling good enough to eat?"

"It is true that, with very few exceptions, monsters pose little inherent risk to mortals. Unlike demigods, whose scent is like ringing a dinner bell, most mortals either lack a scent entirely or have a scent so repulsive as to drive the monsters away entirely," Hunter said.

"But there are exceptions," I said, trying - and failing - to not think of that day.

"Some mortals possess a clarity of sight that allows them to glimpse beyond the Mist and see the world of gods and monsters. Nobody is for sure aware how or why this is, but these clear-sighted mortals have enough of a divine scent to confuse and entice lesser monsters. However, even if that weren't the case, the Five Boroughs have become a sort of nesting ground for monsters in the last four years or so."

"Indeed," the goddess said. "And when monsters gather in large enough groups, their energy can become a corrupting influence on the surrounding area. If left unchecked, this miasma would threaten the entire mortal population of New York. Normally the campers of Camp Half Blood would handle this situation, being so close to Long Island, but for today, I have declared this situation a matter for the Hunt.

"Zoë and myself will find the nesting creature and deal with it ourselves while the other girls and yourself handle the nestlings. Fortunately for you, the monsters have spread out across Manhattan, meaning they can be picked off one by one rather than in a large group. Unfortunately, that also means the Hunt will be spread out as well, and will be less likely able to lend aid should the need arise."

"So, wait," Hunter said slowly. "Does that mean it's just the two of us?"

"No," Zoë said. "London has already gone ahead, you shall meet her there."

"London... is that a good idea?" Hunter asked, shooting a glance at me before looking back to Zoë.

"She understands the risk," Zoë said. "Indeed, she volunteered for this task. I would not have asked this of her otherwise."

"Okay, I'm a little confused?" I admitted.

"London is a nymph like Ari," Hunter said. "But instead of a wind spirit, she's a tree spirit. And you throw fire from your hands. Do the math."

I frowned, "I don't appreciate the implication that I could be a danger to someone just because of my powers. Ari's been helping me, and I've got a much better grasp on controlling them."

Hunter began to say something, but seemed to think better of it and let out a sigh. "You're right. Sorry. I'm just worried, is all."

'Yeah, so am I,' I thought to myself.

"Time is wasting, girls," Zoë said, standing. "Let us begin our hunt."

The streets were crowded as Hunter and I made our way across Midtown, and we had narrowly avoided being run over on three separate occasions. After the third time, Hunter had to physically restrain me from burning their rear tires in retaliation. I settled for just flipping them off instead.

"Hunter, over here!" A girl's voice called out, breaking me out of my irritated grumblings about insensitive drivers. I looked up to see a girl waving at us. She was wearing a silver jacket, marking her as one of the Hunt.

"Hey, London," Hunter said when we got near. "This is Penny. Penny, London."

"Hi," I said with a half wave.

London looked to be about my age, though as a nymph (let alone a member of the Hunt) I knew that hardly meant a thing. She was pretty, with deeply tanned skin and thick, green tinted hair that fell in waves around her shoulders.

"So, this is the place, huh?" Hunter asked, looking across the street.

I followed her gaze to a small shop across the street and felt a shiver run down my spine as I read the name on the front of the building. Monster Donut. It looked just like I had remembered it, right down to the cartoon ogre taking a bite out of the O in Monster. Having learned our lesson from the past three vehicular encounters, we diligently looked both ways before crossing the one-way street. As we approached the shop, I noticed the windows were all covered in various advertisements displaying discount deals and daily specials for donuts and other baked goods, blocking the view inside.

I reached to open the door and froze. Staring back at me, reflected in the glass door, was myself at age six superimposed over a fading poster that asked 'Are YOU A Monster Donut™ Kid?'.

"Earth to Penny," Hunter's voice broke me out of my reverie. "You okay? Not gonna pass out on us, are you?"

I blinked, and the vision of my younger self vanished. Giving myself a mental shake, I just nodded, "I'm fine. Let's do this."

An electronic bell chimed two notes that sounded strangely like a warning of 'Get out' to my ears as we stepped inside. Three other customers were sitting at various tables eating. There was one clerk at the counter, a boy who looked to be in his late teens with reddish-brown hair and a bored expression on his face as he read a magazine.

"Welcome to Monster Donut, we'll serve..." The clerk looked up at us from his magazine, his eyes narrowed as he flared his nostrils. "Hunters!"

London, Hunter and I moved into a defensive position while drawing our weapons. Hunter had her bow in hand, an arrow nocked and ready. I pulled out my knife while London had produced a flute from thin air. A strange slurping sound from the dining area caught my attention, and I turned to see what it was. My eyes widened in shock as two of the customer's bodies seemed to dissolve into a thick, fleshy liquid that rushed across the room to merge with the clerk - who let out a long, inhuman groan. The third customer, who was apparently not with them, ran out the door screaming. I couldn't blame him.

With a series of horrible pops and cracks, the clerk's body grew larger, his skin stretching and bubbling as if hundreds of writhing snakes were trying to burrow their way out. In the next moment, the clerk vanished altogether and the mist pulled away to reveal a serpent-like monster with three diamond-shaped heads, each with a mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth, looming in his place. It had mottled green and purple scales and stood barely a head taller than an average adult man. I blinked, realizing it was smaller than I remembered.

'No,' I thought. 'It isn't smaller. I'm bigger.'

I grinned, confidence filling me. I could do this. Faster than I could blink, the monster dashed forward, tooth-filled maws gaping open to devour us in one go, only to be stopped by several thick tree roots suddenly cracking through the tiles and bursting out of the floor from below, wrapping around it's body and pinning the creature in place. I turned and saw London holding the flute to her lips, her eyes closed as she played a frantic melody.

"Penny, eyes front!" Hunter shouted.

I turned to see one of the hydra's writhing necks shooting toward me. I slashed out with my knife on instinct, feeling the blade cut into flesh. The creature's momentum allowing the knife to cut clean and deep - straight through the bone. With a meaty thwack one of the three heads lay on the broken floor at my feet. The other two heads reeled back as they let out a loud shriek of pain. The headless neck thrashed about, spraying a thick, green liquid that hissed and steamed as it dissolved whatever it came into contact with.

'Oh yeah,' I thought, 'of course they spray acid too.'

"Dammit," Hunter cursed as she rushed behind the thrashing beast, easily dodging the acid raining around her as she peppered it's side with arrows. "You just made this even harder!"

For a second I was confused before I remembered the myth of the Hydra. I didn't have time to dwell on my mistake before it became abundantly clear just how badly I had messed up. The headless neck had stopped thrashing now, and was instead swelling up like a balloon. In an instant, the severed neck split in two, each one growing a fully formed head.

"Oops," I said, not intelligently.

"Just move!" Hunter shouted.

Her words spurred me into action, and I ran to the side of the Hydra opposite from Hunter for the flanking position. London's melody changed from a frantic, fast-paced piping to a slower, yet still just as insistent, lullaby. I felt my limbs grow heavy as exhaustion leached my strength. The hydra, sensing my lethargy and seemingly unaffected by the sound, snapped at me with two of it's heads shocking me back to awareness.

Months of training with Hunter paid off as I stopped a hairs-breadth short from toothy defeat, ducking under the snapping jaws and slashing my knife across the nearest throat - careful this time not to cut too deep. The beast roared as golden dust poured out of the wound, but the head stayed firmly attached.

Unfortunately, any celebration on my part was quickly cut off by the other two heads spitting acid on the constricting roots holding it in place. The corrosive liquid made short work of the thick wooden cords, splashing harmlessly off it's scales like water off a duck's back. It only made sense that a hydra would be immune to it's own acid, but seeing it in action just felt unfair.

Hunter shot another quick volley of arrows, each one barely piercing into the monster's side. I dashed forward to press the attack, swinging my knife at it's other side, only to miss my footing due to the broken floor. The blade glanced ineffectively off the tough hide as I stumbled at the same time the hydra lashed out with it's tail in a wide arc that sent both me and Hunter flying. I tucked my knees up to my head in a roll, coming to a stop against the counter.

Hunter, however, didn't fare so well. Her bow snapped from the force of the impact, sending her flying directly into the bullet-resistant window wall. The glass cracked from her impact before she fell limply on top of a table.

As if sensing weakness in its prey, the hydra turned all four heads to the fallen hunter. Time seemed to move in slow motion as I struggled to my feet, desperately trying to put myself between my friend and the monster bearing down on her. Before I could make it two steps, however, London appeared in a flash - throwing herself across the room to tackle Hunter away, only to be caught in the powerful jaws of one of the heads.

She cried out in pain and shock as the acidic saliva burnt its way through her flesh, struggling to get free even as the other three heads moved to pin her in place. Fixing me with a pleading look in her eyes, London mouthed, "Fight on." With one last shriek of pain, the heads pulled harder causing her to vanish in a shower of dry leaves.