Act I Chapter XX: The Demigods Will Take the Food to Go
Percy stared at the creature outside of the window. His jaw had dropped, and his entire body felt frozen. All of his lessons told him that he was going to have to fight monsters like this. It was drilled in his head every single day. Luke didn't let him go a hour without reminding him of the fact.
Annabeth showed him all kinds of pictures of monsters from mortal textbooks but since mortals just used their imagination for those pictures, they weren't accurate. That was why Chiron also had a sketchbook of what monsters actually looked like. Annabeth forced Percy to study it anytime they had lessons.
In this moment, none of the lessons helped. Percy's brain was not working. He just stared at the creature and could not identify it. The creature was about seven feet tall, and the arms on the creature looked to be bigger than the size of Percy's head. This thing could have been on the cover of a bodybuilder or fitness magazine.
In fact, it looked like he had escaped from a photo shoot of it. He only wore this bright white pair of underwear that looked like it had come straight from the package. It would have been so humorous if the thing didn't rip a car door off with the ease that Percy would tear a paper in half.
This creature's top half was covered in fur, and it gave Percy a good idea of what the monster was. The name still escaped him. The creature had a large heard with a long snout as long as an arm, and his nose had a brass ring pierced into it.
Beady black eyes shot around the restaurant as its nostril twitched. It had black and white horns that looked sharp enough to cut through skin. Percy had seen kitchen knives that were not as sharp.
"What... is... that?" Percy whispered. His gaze moved to the side. Annabeth was still sitting in the booth, and her eyes were shooting around as if she was taking in everything around them. Reyna still sat in the booth like them, but unlike them, her body was tense. She looked like a coil ready to spring.
"The Minotaur. Don't move too fast. He may not have identified us yet," Luke whispered. He slowly started to stand from the booth. The Minotaur lifted its snot and sniffed the air. Then, it picked up the car.
Percy's eyes widened. The Minotaur suddenly turned and flung the car directly at the window. Percy almost yelped as he was shoved sideways and fell out of the booth. He hit the ground and immediately covered his head as he heard glass shatter.
Screams filled the restaurant, but Percy barely heard them over the beating of his heart. He laid there for a moment, trying to calm his breathing. Percy knew that he would be attacked by monsters. He knew that they would try to kill him. That had happened with the hellhounds.
This felt different. There had been more than a handful of them to fight off the hellhounds. Now, there was four of them for one monster, but it didn't feel like enough. Not when the monster could just fling a car at them like it was skipping a rock along water.
Percy slowly moved his arms to look around. He could see the mortals that had been in the restaurant had either evacuated or were standing frozen in shock. Percy looked at his arms and saw glass was covering the arm that had been closest to the window.
"Guys?" Percy asked in a weak voice. It was more from shock and fear than anything. He looked back at the window and felt his heart skip a couple of beats. Thankfully, the car hadn't gone into the building, but it did destroy the window of the restaurant plus any glass on the car. It seemed to be jammed against the wall.
Even though the car hadn't gone through the window and instead got caught by it, he would probably have had his throat sliced open by the glass. Not to mention the rest of his face. Percy's eyes shot around for his friends.
Reyna was curled up in the booth seat that they had been sitting in. Her arms covered her head as well. Thankfully, her hoodie seemed to have protected her from the worse of it. Luke had thrown himself over Annabeth and protected her from the glass.
Percy heard a grinding noise, and he tensed. He watched the Minotaur pull the car from the window. Luke slowly stood and pulled Annabeth from the booth. He dragged her back a few feet before Annabeth pulled away. There was a look on her face that was a mixture of annoyance, fear, and a little pain.
Luke grabbed his sword with one hand and helped Percy stand with the other. Reyna pushed herself off of the booth and then slowly made it to her feet. Luke moved to help her. Percy reached into his pocket and grabbed his pen. He uncapped it.
Annabeth stood next to him and grabbed her knife. Luke looked back at them and spoke, "You two, go!"
"We're not going anywhere," Annabeth argued. Luke looked back ahead. The Minotaur used his hands to pry open the wall and allow himself to step inside. The four of them took a step back. Percy felt his heart racing even more. He held his sword in front of him.
"We're not," Percy agreed, even though his voice shook.
"Don't be idiots," Reyna said. She moved her hand to her sword. "This building is too confined to fight him in and has too many-"
Reyna was cut off as the booth was flung at them. She ducked underneath the projectile and attacked the Minotaur. Luke attacked from the other side. Percy felt a hand grab his arm, and he looked at Annabeth.
"We can't leave," Percy argued.
"We need to take the fight outside," Annabeth said. She pulled Percy backward and led him towards the door. "We all can't go outside at once. It will be too dangerous."
Percy nodded, and the two made their way outside. His eyes widened at the pandemonium. The mortals from the restaurant had gathered across the street. Some were comforting each other, and a few were on their phones. It sounded like one or two were calling the police while the rest were recording the scene.
Along the road, cars had stopped, not willing to drive past the Minotaur. They had their own personal battle zone. Percy gripped his sword and glanced at Annabeth. She had her dagger held up slightly, but he wasn't quite sure how that was going to help. A dagger against a Minotaur? It looked like a death sentence.
Reyna jumped out of the window a few moments later. She turned and threw her spear back into the building. The Minotaur howled in pain. Luke busted through the door a moment later and made it to their side.
"We have to finish this before the police get here," Luke said. Blood trickled from his head and down his face, welling in his scar. Luke gripped his sword, and Percy swallowed painfully as he watched the Minotaur step out of the building. The spear was stuck firmly in it's shoulder, but it wasn't enough to destroy it.
"Annabeth, try to attack him from the back. I'll take the front. Percy, help me," Luke said. Percy wanted to ask how he was supposed to help Luke, but the demigod rushed towards the monster. Percy let out a deep breath and then followed.
Luke swung forward towards the Minotaur, and the monster turned, swinging its big club like hand. Luke ducked underneath, and Percy tried to swing down at the Minotaur's arm. The monster flung its hand up. It slammed into Percy's sword and caused it to go flying away.
Percy gasped as Luke shoved him backward. Luke attacked the Minotaur keeping its sole focus on him. Percy was pulled to his feet a moment later. He glanced at Reyna. If there was anyone who looked calm, it was Reyna. She looked like she was in her element.
Percy reached into his pocket and felt his pen. He grabbed it quickly and uncapped it. As the sword appeared in his hands, he took a deep breath and attacked the Minotaur. His slash almost made contact, and the monster tried to swipe at him.
Without thinking, Percy ducked underneath. At the same time, he stabbed down at the Minotaur's feet. The monster howled, and Percy looked up. The Minotaur was mere inches from clubbing Percy's head off, but it stopped as a knife appeared out of its neck. Luke stabbed the Minotaur in the chest.
Reyna grabbed her spear and drove it further in. Percy pulled his sword out and spun it in his hands. He yelled out a war cry and stabbed upwards, hitting the Minotaur in its monstrous heart. There was a moment of silence. Then, the beast exploded into a shower of golden dust. It trickled down to the ground, blanketing a single horn.
Luke quietly picked it up and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. He spoke, "We'll all share that trophy later."
"We should get going," Annabeth agreed. She cleaned off her knife, but there was a smile on her face. Percy found himself having the same smile. Adrenaline was still coursing through his veins, and it occurred to him that they had destroyed the Minotaur. The four of them had worked together almost seamlessly to fight this creature of legend.
Reyna picked up her spear, or javelin as she always corrected Percy, and flipped it back into a sword. She sheathed it onto her belt and seemed to look over all of them for injuries. Luke motioned for them to follow, and he led them away.
Percy examined himself for injuries. There was the cuts all over his arm, and that was because his jacket was tied around his waist. It had been hot in the restaurant. He quickly examined his friends. Annabeth looked like she escaped unharmed and untouched.
"Let me take care of your head," Annabeth insisted as she looked at Luke. She was short enough that even standing on her tippy toes didn't allow her to touch the top of his head. Luke shook his head, shooting small droplets of blood everywhere. "You're hurt."
"It's not that bad," Luke insisted. "You can take care of it after we are somewhere safe. I don't need the cops stopping us and asking what happened."
"We could just use the Mist," Annabeth began.
"It's too much of a scene," Reyna said. Percy glanced at her. "It would take hours for them to go through all of the witnesses and on top of that, it's not going to be easy to fool that many people. Especially with the cameras."
Annabeth didn't look happy about it, but she nodded. They walked for another few minutes in silence. The only time they did talk was when Luke hissed for them to hide in an alley as cop cars flew by. They then continued their journey.
They finally stopped at a small park that didn't have anyone playing in it. There was only a few benches watching over a small playground that had only two slides and a sad looking swing set. Luke slowly sat down and pulled off his bag. He dug through it for medical supplies.
Annabeth grabbed a canteen and opened it. She poured a small amount on Luke's head and then wiped the blood from his face and hair. Annabeth picked through his hair to make sure he had no cuts and cleaned the glass away.
Reyna sat down on an empty bench and focused on the ground. She kept her arms resting on her knees and leaned forward. Percy noticed the blood trickling from Reyna's hand, falling onto her legs.
"Annabeth," Percy began as he looked at her. Annabeth looked at him. "Towel?"
Annabeth handed the towel to Percy, and he used it to wipe the blood away from Reyna's hand and arm. She had a cut on her arm where it looked like glass had gashed it. Reyna looked down at the wound and didn't seem too concerned. Annabeth poured nectar on it.
"Are you hurt?" Annabeth questioned as she looked at Percy.
"Just my arm," Percy replied. Annabeth gently grabbed his arm and forced it straight. She began to pick out the small bits of glass, and when she was done, nectar was poured on his arm. Percy watched as the small cuts closed before his eyes.
Percy still found it so wild that medicine could just heal someone like that. Seeing was believing, but this still felt unbelievable. Chiron warned him that it wouldn't heal grievous wounds, but the fact that it could heal any wounds was amazing.
When Annabeth was done, she sat on the bench next to Luke. Percy took a seat next to Reyna. It was quiet for a few minutes. Each demigod seemed to be finally catching their breath and allowing their adrenaline to calm down.
Percy was the one who broke the silence, "We didn't pay for our food."
A laugh escaped Luke, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. A small smile appeared on Reyna's face. Percy felt a blush come to his face. Luke spoke, "We just got attacked, and you're worried about the fact that we didn't pay."
"The restaurant is going to need all of the money it can get. We kind of destroyed it," Percy began.
"That's what insurance is for," Annabeth stated.
"I don't think insurance is going to cover whatever the mortals saw," Reyna commented. She glanced at Luke. "What now?"
"We'll have to go back, take the car, and... that was the car it threw at us, wasn't it?" Luke questioned. Reyna nodded her confirmation. "Alright. I don't want to take a bus, but we might have to. Or borrow another car."
"I think there was a bus stop not too far from here," Annabeth said as she stood. Luke started to stand, but Annabeth turned on him with the expression of a concerned mother hen. "You need to rest. I'll go with someone else."
"I'll go with," Reyna volunteered. She stood and glanced at Percy. "Will you two be okay?"
"We will," Percy promised. He tried to relax back into the bench. Reyna looked at Annabeth who nodded. The two girls walks away. Percy glanced over at Luke.
"You did good, Percy," Luke complimented. "But, don't question me next time. I know you didn't want to run, but I was telling you that for a reason. We can't afford to argue while fighting."
"I know," Percy said. He looked down. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to start anything."
Luke placed a hand to his shoulder, "Don't be too down on yourself. You did amazing. Not many demigods can say they fought the Minotaur and won. On top of that, you didn't panic too much. With some more practice, you're going to be a great fighter."
A blush came to Percy's face. Luke stood, "I have to run to the bathroom."
Percy was about to comment that there wasn't a bathroom around, but he quickly understood what Luke was saying. A nod left him, and Luke walked away. Percy sat back on the bench and kept one hand to his pocket in case he needed it. He tried to relax.
A woman sat down on the bench next to him. Percy quickly looked at her and gripped his pen. He hadn't even see her approach him. The woman didn't seem like a monster. In fact, she was quite beautiful. Her hair was hanging loosely from her shoulders, and the golden hue shined in the sun. Her eyes were a kind gray.
The dress she wore was a plain white one and there was a content smile as she looked at Percy, "Perseus Jackson."
Okay. Maybe this was a monster after all. Because strangers shouldn't know his full name, and no one who was friendly used it. Unless he was in trouble.
Yeah. He was probably in trouble.
"Um, do I know you?" Percy questioned.
"Maybe," the woman said. Her gaze moved forward. She didn't look threatening, but at the same time, she kept rolling something back and forth between her fingers. Percy slowly looked down and studied the item in her fingers. It seemed to be a miniature clay jar.
"You have a long journey ahead, Perseus. The gods and more will test you in ways that you cannot imagine. You must be prepared and hold onto something important," the woman whispered. She held her hand out, and Percy slowly looked down at the jar. It hung from a small chain, so someone could wear it around their neck.
"Who are you?" Percy asked. The woman just smiled at him and grabbed his hand. She placed the small necklace in his palm and closed his fist. "What is this?"
"A reminder," the woman said. She stood. "When all else fails, hold onto this. Never give it up. Never release it."
"What is it?" Percy wondered as he studied the jar.
"A small bit of something that every mortal should have," the woman said. She started to fade from existence, and Percy's eyes widened. Before the woman disappeared, she answered his question. "Hope."