I'm back. Sorry this one took so long. Haven't given up on the story, not even close, I was just on vacation and couldn't really find the time to sit down and write. Besides, writing with hangovers isn't effective at all. Enjoy!

Percy

The group stared at the satyr, shocked at what he had just said.

'You're from camp?' managed Luke.

Grover tried giving him a small smile. 'Yeah. Us satyrs go out looking for demigods, and we bring them back safely.'

The demigods seemed to relax at this, if only slightly, but Percy did not lessen his grip. He moved his face closer, and listened carefully. Thud, thud, thud. The satyr's heartbeat was racing, nearly threatening to jump out of his chest. 'I guess that's normal', thought Percy. 'I must be quite intimidating to him.'

'Repeat that', growled Percy. 'Slowly and clearly.'

Grover did, his voice slightly quivering, and Percy listened intently. His heart was beating extremely fast, but it was steady. There was no jump, no skipped beat.

'He's telling the truth', announced Percy, standing up and letting Grover go. 'He's not a monster, or trying to trick us.'

Thalia looked at the satyr with a mixture of interest and distrust in her electric blue eyes. She stood in a guarded stance, clearly still wary of the stranger, but not ready to kill him either. Grover looked away, unable to hold her intense gaze. Finally, she shook her head.

'I don't know.' She looked back at Luke and Annabeth. 'What do you think?'

Luke looked doubtful, but it was Annabeth who spoke up.

'I think we should let him help us. I mean, he hasn't tried to kill us, he didn't lie, and I don't think extra help will do us any harm.'

Luke growled slightly. 'We don't need extra help, Annabeth. We can do just fine.'

'He knows the way to camp', said Percy. 'Probably the surrounding area as well. We should trust him.'

'We don't need him!' protested Luke. 'We can survive perfectly on our own!'

Thalia looked angry. 'What has gotten into you lately? You want to pick a fight with every monster we see! We are trying to survive here, not prove ourselves to anyone! I say we let him guide us.'

She glared at Luke, who returned it ferociously. After a few tense seconds, the blonde boy huffed angrily and conceded. Annabeth looked at the pair with concern, and seemed to want nothing more than to run up to Luke and hug him. 'She must look up to him a great deal', Percy thought. Grover still looked shaky from his questioning, but was starting to lightly tap his hoof on the floor, smelling the air. Percy knew why, and he could smell it too. The prevailing south wind brought with it a disgusting smell, one which Percy was unfortunately too familiar with. A large group of monsters approached them, and they were moving fast, much faster than them. He could smell their hatred and their bloodlust, the smell of hunger overcame the rest. Terrible hunger. Percy looked at Grover, and wondered why he wasn't saying anything. Maybe he wasn't sure of what he smelled? Maybe he feared Luke would try to kill him if he spoke. The latter was more likely, the satyr did not look the brave part.

Percy decided to speak up. 'Guys, sorry to interrupt this cheerful moment we were just having, but we need to move. Now.'

Thalia looked alarmed. 'What do you mean?'

Percy pointed. 'Big group of monsters coming that way, and they're moving fast.' He looked at Grover. 'Can you smell them?'

Grover nodded nervously, sniffing the air and looking skittish. 'I wasn't sure what they were, but yeah. We should get going.'

They gathered their things quickly, and set off into the forest, with Percy leading the way, and Grover close to him. Annabeth and Luke ran behind, and Thalia brought up the rear. They stayed that way for a while, Luke and Annabeth talking in low voices. After a while, Percy gestured to Grover to take the lead.

'You know the way better. Also, if they are going to trust you, they need to see you can lead them well.'

He looked about to protest, but closed his mouth and nodded. Despite murderous looks by Luke, the satyr led the group through the forest, often calling out how far they were and where they needed to get to next. Percy decided to drop back to the end of the group, running as a wolf behind Thalia, who could now put away her spear and rest. He sniffed the air as they ran, scrunching up his nostrils as the pungent smell filled them. The monsters were gaining on them, and would soon find them if they didn't find another form of transport. He concentrated hard, blocking out all other feelings, and he could feel the forest floor trembling slightly as the giants sprinted towards them. He could sense them perfectly. They were around 10 miles from them, directly south. If Percy was travelling on his own, these monsters would be no problem at all. He could easily outrun them, or kill them in the cover of the night. However, ensuring the safety of the demigods left him handicapped, severely so.

Eventually, and much to Percy's disappointment, the forest ended, giving way to a neighbourhood of terraced houses, all clean and orderly. They had freshly mowed lawns, with carefully cropped bushes and trees.

The four exhausted teenagers and a wolf the size of a tank were, undoubtedly, out of place.

It was pretty dark already, so it was easy to sneak around without being spotted. They hadn't done anything to threaten the mortals, but they didn't want anyone informing on them. They jumped over a wall, falling a couple of metres and landing in a small car park. The ground was cracked in many places, with tufts of grass and vines seeping out of them. The wall surrounding it was collapsed in a few places, and large potholes seemed to appear out of nowhere. A few cars were parked, none with any owner in sight.

Annabeth and Thalia sat against the wall, breathless and exhausted. Luke looked pretty tired too, but refused to sit down, instead resting his hands on his knees and panting. Grover looked tired too, but not as much as the demigods.

'Welcome', he said, gesturing around. 'to the charming city of Wilmington. Not too far from Philadelphia.'

Thalia looked up. 'How far is that from Camp Half-Blood?'

'Still pretty far, but we should be able to get a train or something from here to New York, and then not far at all.'

'Awesome', grumbled Luke. 'Only if there are no trains, then we're fucked.'

Grover flinched, but didn't respond. They headed silently out of the car park, Annabeth moaning slightly about her stiff legs. The streets were almost empty, the occasional person walking by with their hood up, avoiding their eyes.

'So, trains', said Thalia. 'Any ideas where we can find one of those?'

Annabeth spoke up. 'We should go ask in one of the cafes. They will know the city. Also, food would be nice.'

'I second that', said Percy.

They stumbled through the door, and the clerk looked at them warily, as if he feared they would steal something. They probably looked the part. Once he relaxed, the man was easy to talk to. He gave them directions, and they bought muffins for everyone, and a couple of coffees, which steamed in the slightly cold night. Suddenly, a gust of wind filled Percy's mind with worry. The scent was much stronger now; their pursuers could not be less than four miles away.

Thalia spoke up. 'The train station is basically on the other side of the city. Do we try to hail a cab, or do we walk?'

'I don't think we can do either of those things', said Percy. 'The monsters are getting closer.'

'So what do we do?'

Percy looked at the street, which had some cars parked along the kerb. He turned to look at Luke. 'I wouldn't normally do this, but we need to.' Percy pointed at a black van on the other side of the street, and then looked at Luke. 'Go steal that.'

Luke's face broke into a genuine grin. 'Thought you'd never ask.'

—

Two minutes later, they were in the van, which had plenty of space for all of them. Luke drove down the empty street, and the smell of the monsters was already getting weaker. After some sharp turns, they left the city, instead going onto a dark country road. They stopped, and Grover took over the driving, with Percy in the shotgun seat. The demigods passed out in the back, with Annabeth using Thalia as a pillow, snoring contently.

'So', asked Percy. 'Where are we going?'

'We'll follow the Delaware River for a while, but I don't want to go into Philadelphia.'

'Why not?'

Grover looked at him in surprise. 'You don't know? That city is infested by monsters. There is a huge underground city, and they come up to the surface a lot. A race of goblin-like things kind of run the place. Dunno what they're called, but they sure are nasty. Green skin, sharp teeth. Thousands of them in the streets. Basically, a deathtrap for demigods.'

Percy whistled. 'Damn. Guess I'll have to do something about that.'

'What do you mean?'

Percy was silent for a few moments, wondering if he should tell him. 'I'm not a demigod', he said finally. 'I work for Olympus, kind of as their monster-hunter. I take down threats before they become a bigger problem for the world.'

'I figured as much. Not the hunter part, but the part about you not being a demigod. You smell strange. Not bad, just… different.'

Percy laughed. 'So I've been told.'

Grover shook his head and grinned. 'How can you turn into a wolf? Is that something the Olympians gave you?'

Percy looked out the window, staring at the racing countryside. He really did miss them sometimes, the pack. His mother. Even the Wolf House and its rotting wooden beams.

'My mom was a wolf goddess. She passed her powers on.'

'Do you know who your dad is?'

Percy paused, choosing his words carefully. 'My dad… is not a mortal. But that's all I can say. The gods might just blast me to pieces if I tell you any more.'

Grover looked at the sky nervously, and kept driving in silence. They merged onto a highway, and sped up. In the distance, Percy would see a column of smoke rising form somewhere behind the trees, and wondered if it was a forest fire. However, the trees thinned, and Percy could see an enormous factory, with three massive chimneys, all billowing black smoke. Huge metal containers could be seen, with many tubes and walkways connecting them. Even now, workers bustled about, checking and directing machines as they moved tons of materials around.

Grover looked at the scene sadly. 'It's terrible, what mortals do to the planet. Wild places are decreasing, and are now reaching a low point. So many animals and dryads killed. It is really awful.'

'From what I've heard, satyrs are supposed to care for the wild, right?' asked Percy.

Grover nodded. 'When we aren't helping demigods, we try our best to preserve the wild places of the world. A small group of us keep the search going.'

Percy looked puzzled. 'The search?'

Grover stayed silent for a few moments, staring at the road sadly. 'Millennia ago, Pan, the god of the wild, dissapeared. Most people think he faded, but we satyrs have refused to believe that. We dedicate our lives to look for him, hopping to bring him back so he can restore the wild. I want to join the search someday.'

Percy looked at his new friend, thoroughly impressed. When he had first met him, he had seemed like a weak coward, but as he got to know him, he could see the brave, willing satyr underneath. He was completely different to the fauns he saw at Camp Jupiter, who would just beg people for money, never offering any help to anyone. In contrast, this guy saved demigods, helped to preserve the wild and in his spare time looked for his lost god.

Thinking of Camp Jupiter brought his thoughts inevitably to a certain daughter of Ceres. He hadn't talked to Leila much in the last few months, and it was killing him. Talking and opening up to someone was something that Percy wasn't good at. Of course, he was very protective towards the pack, and thought of them as family, but there were still things he could not tell them. The only people he had ever really trusted with anything were his parents, but with Leila he felt completely at ease, and he could relax and enjoy himself. He would see her again soon, but now he had to focus on the task at hand, which was getting his friends to safety.

Percy's eyelids started to close, and he sat up with a start and looked around nervously. Grover chuckled.

'Dude, get some sleep. We need you kicking ass tomorrow.'

'Right', Percy grumbled. 'Night, G-man.'

—

They normally would have stopped to sleep, but with the monster pack still surely chasing them, they decided to put some distance between them and Grover drove through the night. Percy woke up as the sun was coming up, yawning and stretching.

'Welcome back', said Grover with a tired voice.

Percy looked around. They weren't on the highway anymore, but bouncing along a dirt track, trees on either side of them. Water flew up on both sides of the van as they crossed a shallow river and kept going, the path now slightly uphill. The forest was vibrant with colours, and small shrubs adorned the trees. The first rays of sunlight had begun to break through the canopy and illuminated the forest floor. Percy could hear birds chirping, and he could sense all kinds of small animals around them.

'We're pretty close to New York', said Grover. 'I'll admit, I got lost a few times, but I blame sleep depravation. Anyway, I took a bit of a detour through the forest to hopefully shake off the last of the monsters chasing us-'

A nauseous smell filled Percy's nostrils. That was bad. Very bad.

'Grover get out the forest. Get us back on the highway, now.'

The satyr looked worried. 'Why? You smell something?'

Percy ignored him, and turned to the back. 'Guys!' he shouted. 'Get up. We're got a group of monsters on our tail!'

They started awake with annoyed groans, but their expressions turned serious when they saw the look on Percy's face. He was slightly pale, looking extremely worried. Grover floored the accelerator, and the demigods bounced around in the back seat as they hurried to arm and prepare themselves. Percy opened the window slightly and sniffed the air. The pack was alarmingly close, but it was a different one that the one at Wilmington. This one contained a monster that Percy was not excited to meet again.

Suddenly, Percy saw movement in the corner of his eye, and something hit the back tyre of the car. It careened sideways, skidding off the road as it started to spin uncontrollably. It landed with a thud, and flipped over itself, smashing into a nearby tree, leaving it a crumpled heap. Percy shook his head, slightly dazed but unharmed. Looking at the back seat, he saw that Thalia was bleeding from a cut of her head, and Luke seemed to be cradling his arm, but they were alive. The car was turned on its side, with Percy's door facing the ground. He reared back and smashed the cracked windshield, climbing out of the van. Trusting the rest to be able to get out by themselves, he morphed into a wolf, growing in size to a towering three metres. The smell of the incoming monsters invaded his nostrils, much stronger now. He sent out strong feelings of fear towards them, hoping to stall them enough to escape. Luke was dragging Thalia out of the ruined mess that had been the van, while Grover and Annabeth looked prepared to fight, their faces set with grim determination as they looked off into the trees.

Percy kept projecting his strongest feelings of terror towards the incoming pack, and they had slowed down, but they would still undoubtedly catch up with them. If they did, the demigods would die.

'Get out of here', growled Percy. 'Grab your packs and run. I'll hold them off.'

Thalia looked horrified. 'You're kidding me? We'll fight them with you.'

'No! These are too dangerous. You need to go, now. I'll catch up.'

Percy met Grover's eyes, and a feeling of mutual understanding passed through them. He gave him a slight nod, and he nodded back.

'He's right', said the satyr. 'We have to go.'

The demigods didn't look happy at all, but prepared themselves to set off. Annabeth even hugged him, which surprised Percy. Luke just looked sad and angry, like he wanted to be the one staying behind to fight the monsters. As the first monsters started appearing through the woods, they set off, running low and stealthily.

—

Percy didn't allow them to start forming groups. As soon as stray dracaenae started to appear from behind the trees, he leapt forward with a snarl and attacked. He flattened one of them, and whirled around to cut two in half with a rapid slash. He ripped a head off one and sent another flying towards a tree. As monster dust started to rise around him, he became worried of the pack wanting to encircle him, so he backed up, retreating a few metres. More monsters had arrived, huge tattooed laistrygonian giants and snarling hellhounds as big as tanks.

Percy had never tried this with a group this big, but it was worth a shot. With a deep breath, he entered the mind of every single monster he could see. They were disorganised and jumbled, addled with anger and ferocity, but he found the string for confusion and fear. Not terror, but genuine fear. He pulled as hard as he could, and the pack stopped advancing. Whimpers and shuffling feet could be heard as they huddled together.

Percy flanked them, and darted in, quick as lightning, taking out two giants before disappearing into the woods again. He repeated this again and again, thinning the terrified monster group. However, more and more seemed to pour out of the woods. Percy jumped into the middle of the creatures' ranks, spinning and whirling, taking out dozens of monsters with each strike. He felt a couple of laistrygonian cannonballs hit his side, but he ignored the pain and kept pushing forwards, slicing through the mass of monsters.

Suddenly, they parted, and Percy's heart filled with dread as he saw his opponent. The beast was the size of an elephant, covered in pitch black fur. Huge curved claws sprouted from its paws, leaving deep trenches in the ground with each step it took. Its head was long and thin, much like a horses', with a mouth full of jagged teeth. Three horns protruded from its forehead, the points gleaming sharp. He had seen his mother fight one of these in a hunt, and knew what they were capable of. It was an odontotryannos, an extremely rare and deadly foe.

It regarded Percy with cold yellow eyes, and Percy let out a savage snarl, tensing all his muscles in a show of intimidation. However, the beast seemed unfazed, and it surged forward with surprising speed. It charged with its horns, and Percy darted to the side, looking to flank it, but it whirled around faster than he anticipated, forcing him back with a slash from its sharp claws.

They stared each other down after that quick encounter, and Percy decided to take the offensive. He tried to feint to the left and strike to the right, but the beast simply used his size to barge into him and sent him flying. Percy instinctively rolled as he hit the ground, and evaded the monster's horns by a millimetre. He tried to retreat, but it slashed across Percy's chest, leaving an array of gaping wounds. Percy swallowed his scream as pain tore through him, instead channelling it into feelings of extreme fear towards the beast, making it freeze. He took this chance to slash across its ankles, relishing as his claws ripped through the tendons. Before he could go for the throat, one of the giants watching launched a bronze cannonball, smashing him in the face.

Percy neck snapped sideways, and he felt blood pour down the side of his face. He was pretty sure it had broken some of the bones on his face. Dazed, he didn't see the odontotryannos recover. Although crippled, it managed to lauch itself towards Percy.

—

Annabeth

They had been running for hours, with Grover leading the way, often calling out how far away they were from camp. They were supposedly not far now, even with Grover taking some wrong turns. They had had a few nasty run-ins with monsters, and some especially nasty cyclopses in Brooklyn. However, they were all alive, and currently running from a large group of monsters, which included the furies.

'Hurry!' called Grover, some distance ahead. 'Not far now.'

Annabeth ran next to Luke, who was almost half carrying her as he dragged her, and Thalia brought up the rear, her spear and shield out and ready. The growls of snarls of the monsters could be heard louder and louder, and the ground started to become steeper. Annabeth looked at the grassy hill Grover was leading them up, and didn't like the prospect of climbing it. Just when they were about to start, monsters burst out of the woods, more hellhounds than Annabeth had ever seen. The three furies circled overhead, cracking their whips menacingly.

Thalia looked at Luke with a grim expression. 'Follow Grover. I'll hold them off.'

'No way', said Annabeth. 'That's the same thing Percy said. We fight with you.'

'Annabeth, if you stay you will die. I have a chance at beating them.' She looked at Luke again. 'GO!'

Annabeth felt herself get scooped up as Luke carried her up the hill. She screamed and protested, but there was nothing she could do. She heard Thalia yelling, her spear whistling through the air, but Annabeth knew it wouldn't be enough. They reached the top of the hill, and Luke set her down, tears streaming silently down his face. Grover looked relieved for a second, then his face filled with a horrid realisation.

'She stayed behind? We have to go get-'

The night sky was illuminated, and a massive bolt of lightning struck the point where Thalia had been fighting. The monsters were gone, as well as Thalia. A massive pine tree now stood in her place.

—

Percy couldn't move fast enough. He saw it coming, but could do nothing as the three horns impaled his side, breaking though his fur easily. They punched all the way through, nailing him to a tree trunk. The monsters cheered, and Percy felt his strength being sapped away from him. He felt a torrent of blood seeping from the wounds, and numbness started to creep up his legs. He slumped, no longer strong enough to resist the monster.

He thought of Luke, Annabeth and Thalia. He hoped they had made it to camp safely. He thought of his mother and the pack. Of Jason and Leila. Leila. He couldn't die while he still had to see her. These monsters were the only thing stopping him from seeing her again. A fire filled his chest, and he felt rejuvenated, filled with a strength he didn't think he had. His eyes glowed red, and he reached out with his mind, paralysing every single monster in the forest. With a massive swipe, he slashed at the odontotyranos' neck, opening a massive wound. It yelped and he slipped off its horns. He let loose a growl that made the trees shake, and attacked. After that, Percy's vision went red, and he wasn't very sure what happened, but a few moments later he was ankle-deep in monster dust, with only the severely wounded odontotyrannos left.

Percy morphed into a human, summoning his knife as he did so. The black monster was gurgling slightly, but his eyes still burned with hatred. It tried to swipe at him with his horns, but Percy sidestepped and used his momentum to vault on the beast's head. He drove the curved blade into its neck with both hands, giving it a twist as he felt it go limp.

Percy slipped off as it started to dissolve, and checked his injuries. His left side was slick with blood, but for some reason he didn't feel any pain or hinderance. He felt unnatural strength course through him, and he had to put it to good use. Dropping his knife he morphed back, sniffing the air. He set off, following Thalia's trail. It really was strong. He ran as fast as his legs allowed him to, hoping to reach them in time. The world blurred, and he was out of the forest in a matter of seconds. He smelled monsters nearby, but tried to influence their minds to turn away. He was in no state to fight. After maybe five minutes, he was sprinting down a narrow road, already out of New York. He guessed this was Long Island. Percy knew how dangerous this was, but he had no other choice. If he didn't do it, he would die. He just hoped Zeus would be understanding.

He reached the bottom of a hill, where Thalia's trail stopped. It was strange, but Percy ignored it, following Luke's trail instead. As he ran up the grassy slope, a feeling of dread started to fill his chest.

'My Lord Zeus', he thought. 'Forgive me.'

Percy ran over the top of the hill, racing down towards a large house that had light coming from the windows. He felt extremely tired, his legs barely responding. Pain had started to course through him again, but he pushed through it, seeing safety so close. With one last effort, he ran up the stairs of the house, collapsing on the porch with a huge thud.

—

Percy slowly opened his eyes. He took a second to adjust, but he noticed he was laying on a bed, looking up at a wooden ceiling. The air was filled with chatter and activity, and as he looked around he could see people bustling about, and lines of beds just like one he was in, all containing young men and women, boasting a variety of injuries. He tried to sit up noticing he was a human as he grasped the edge of the bed. There was a dull ache along his side, but no searing pain.

'Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. Don't sit up too fast.'

Percy looked up to see an older boy, maybe sixteen, with sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

'Where am I?' asked Percy. 'I don't really remember how I got here.'

'Camp Half-Blood. The infirmary, to be exact. You were in a pretty bad state when you came in. Pretty deep wounds in your chest, seven broken ribs, a broken eye socket and cheekbone… It also looked like you got yourself impaled three times. That you even got yourself down the hill is a miracle. My name is Matt, by the way. Son of Apollo.'

'Percy.'

'I know. Luke and Annabeth came to see you immediately, told us all about you.'

Percy filled with relief. They had made it. He sat up fully, Matt looking at him with concerned. Percy ignored him, dropping his head into his hands. He was starting to remember the monsters in the forest, and he had stayed behind. The odontotyrannos. Then he was running, then he was on a porch…

'How long was I out?'

The older boy's lips pursed. 'Almost two days. You came in half dead, dude. Even with nectar and ambrosia, its amazing that you're still alive.'

Suddenly, somebody yelled his name from the other side of the room. He saw Annabeth running towards him, a huge grin on her face. She enveloped him in a hug, burying her face into his bare shoulder. His ribs screamed in protest, but he didn't care.

'Had a good nap?', she said as they separated.

Percy laughed. 'Good to see you too.' Percy looked around. 'Are the others here?'

Annabeth looked down, her grey eyes stormy. 'Luke and Grover are fine.'

'What about Thalia?', asked Percy, his eyes narrowing in concern. 'Is she okay?'

'Thalia's..' Annabeth choked, closing her eyes and shuddering slightly. Percy feared the worst.

'Annabeth! Where is she?'

Matt put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, looking at Percy with a serious expression.

'She stayed behind to save them. She's dead.'

So yeah, Thalia still gets turned into a tree. Sorry to all of you that wanted her as the child of the prophecy, but it just didn't feel right somehow. She may come back later, though. Who knows. Anyway, hoped you liked it. Will be looking to upload again soon.