And we're back!

Thanks to everyone who read those first 5 chapters. Like I said, it'll be singular chapter releases from now on.

This one's a little longer than the others and that might be the case for next few chapters.

Well, there's not really much else to do other then to get started.

Hope you guys enjoy chapter 6.

CHAPTER 6: OUR DESTINATION

'Just remember that I'm here. We all are.'

That's what Mom said about the stone pendant she gave me.

What did she mean? Especially the 'we' part? Also, what did Officer Birch mean when he said that mom would understand? And since when did Hellhounds exist? Or satyrs? They're from Greek mythology right? Or was it Roman? I told you those history textbooks were hard to read– except some of the Greek stuff though, which surprisingly, I understood better than most.

I sat still as the sound of cars drifted past us. As for my arm, Birch managed to bandage it up once the bleeding subsided. It was my favorite shirt and now it's ruined. Can't say I'm happy about that. And my head was still full of questions, and things that just didn't make any sense.

Where's Birch taking me? Does he have a hideout somewhere?

"Arthur." Birch's voice broke my train of thought. "You hanging in there okay?"

"Yeah… just confused."

I looked at my surroundings and still saw the image of passing cars and buildings way in the distance. I wasn't familiar with where we were but we were somewhere on the highway. I'm assuming the 495.

"I get it, kid," Birch said. "It's a lot to take in."

"You still haven't told me where we were going," I said. "You owe me that much after throwing away my phone."

There was a momentary pause, like Birch piecing his next words carefully. "I told you that I was going to explain everything but to be honest, I'm not the right person for that kinda job."

Great, another not-answer.

"So who is?"

"That's where I'm taking you," he said, "you'll see."

"Well, what about your goat legs? You said you were a… satyr?"

Birch took a deep breath. For the first time he took off his shades and rubbed his eyes, adjusting them to the road. "I am."

I looked at the burly cop and for the first time noticed something I had never seen before. Two stubby little horns, protruding from his nearly bald head and ears with tips that ended to a small point. They kind of looked odd on a man his size.

He must have noticed my bewildered expression as he allowed himself a little chuckle. "Yeah, big surprise. We got horns and cute little ears."

"How has nobody noticed before?" I stared at them intently.

"We've got our ways," he replied. I blinked as he put his shades back on and the horns were no longer present.

Woah.

"We? So there's more of you."

"Plenty. And it's our job to protect kids like you."

"Kids like me?"

I was, yet again, met with silence.

The further I asked questions, the more he avoided them. He kept telling me the same thing, that 'everything will be explained'. To be fair Birch was being extremely patient with me, almost like he was used to this. I clearly wasn't.

The drive progressed.

The chatter died down as the sun slowly began to set, painting the sky a reddish purple. My eyes started to get heavy as I stared longer and longer at the pendant clutched tightly in my palms. When I thought about it, all the stuff Mom said about our family with the spartans, the hellhounds and Birch's goat legs, felt strangely connected. It wasn't enough for an answer though, but it was enough to make me sleepy. Soon, I began to drift off as everything went dark.

It was peaceful at first but quickly transformed into an array of intense visions. My perspective felt warped and unnatural as these visions played in my head like dreams.

Well, they were less like dreams and more like nightmares.

It was New York but everything felt and looked strange. The sky was an unnatural color. Everything felt slow and out of place apart from the island of Manhattan, as if there was a bubble surrounding the city. The spray of water hit my face as I found myself standing in a speedboat, fast approaching the city. I was surrounded by many others all clad in orange and gold armours. All manner of spears, swords and shields clasped in each hand. I was able to catch the faces of those not wearing helmets only to be surprised that many of these warriors were of various ages, many were probably no older than me. My eyes darted around to see many other speedboats with more of the same.

Flash

Our boats were nearing the rivers of manhattan but this time the water surrounding us was fierce and unrelenting. The river was almost moving like a sentient being. It capsized us as I heard the screams of those with me. Water quickly flooded into my lungs.

The pain was excruciating.

Flash

Next I was placed in a tunnel, jam-packed with lines and lines of immobile traffic. Around me were strange figures and creatures I have never seen the likes of; some were large enough that when they stood they grazed the ceiling of the massive tunnel, some looked at me with a singular gazing eye and there were a few that even had wings.

Flash

The next vision was much more violent. This time I was in the heat of battle along the streets of the city, fighting others that wore the same bronze armor but there was a uniform to them. Whilst the one's I was with previously had a more rough, haphazard look, these ones all wore the same orange colors underneath.

It wasn't long before one of them rushed towards me, spear at the ready, screaming, "For Olympus!", as they impaled me through the stomach.

A dreadful, cold sensation took over my body.

Flash

I then warped to another part of the city, we were on a bridge in what looked to be another battle still raging. We fought the same bronze armored opponents but this time we had the upper hand.

"Malcolm!" a voice cried in the midst of the clash, "it's not looking good!"

Another voice called in response, "I don't think help's coming!"

Then a third voice, "keep fighting! Jackson told us to hold this bridge, so we hold it!"

Just at that moment, almost answering their prayers, a stone lion comes crashing through our ranks. It came down on me with one of it's heavy paws, crushing my chest as I felt the life being squeezed out of me.

Triumph came from our enemies. "Annabeth did it!"

The sounds of those cheers haunted my ears.

Out of nowhere, a low voice spoke among the visions. 'Arthur, come to your senses'.

It was that same stern voice that I hadn't recognised before, but my mind ignored it.

Flash

My perspective was half obscured. A person stood in front of me, his most noticeable features were his fierce sea-green eyes as he quickly struck with his swift sword. He looked indestructible. I watched as I thrust forward with a knife aiming directly at his back but was interrupted. Instead the knife found itself deep in the shoulder of a blonde-haired girl, protecting him from the blow. The last thing I saw was the vengeful visage of those green eyes, fiercer than before.

It terrified me.

'These memories are not your own'.

There it is again, that voice.

Flash

These next final visions happened in the blink of an eye.

I saw a girl consumed with a rage, similar to mine but far more furious. She stood atop a giant serpent-like being with a spear rammed into its center. She then turned in my direction, a red glow engulfing her.

Fear overtook me.

Suddenly I was running. All around me, people… comrades, were being cut down one by one as chariots swerved around us.

I felt hopeless.

Finally, I lay on the ground as a boy knelt over me. He looked around my age, his brown hair ruffled in a sweaty mess. His green eyes were different from the ones before, they were tired and desperate.

"Come on, get up!" he said. "We can't give up!"

He then reacted as if I had said something, but not a single word escaped my mouth.

"Don't say that!" he pleaded. "Remember what the gods did to us, to our families. We have to keep fighting!"

The boy turned around at a voice calling out to him.

"We have to go, Alabaster! If they find us we're dead!"

"I'm not leaving them!" the boy cried.

Anger fills my heart.

The mysterious voice appeared again, bolder and stronger this time, 'Arthur, wake up!'

"Kid, wake up!"

My eyes flash open to the sound of officer Birch's voice. I got up so quickly that I banged my head on the car ceiling. I rubbed my forehead, groaning in pain. I grabbed at my chest trying to grasp at the necklace around my neck. Pendant was still there. I let out a sigh of relief. My right arm still ached but I could move it easily enough.

What the hell was that all about?

As I started to come back from a fairly loopy sleep, my eyes had to adjust to the sudden darkness. Birch stood just outside the car door. He tucked his shades in one of the chest-pockets on officer uniform, revealing his horns.

"There you are," the officer sighed. "You had me worried for a moment there."

"How long was I out?" I asked Birch.

"Quite a while," he replied. "You conked out just after sunset. You didn't move a muscle for the rest of the trip."

"The rest of the trip…" I mutter to myself, my senses slowly coming back to me.

I looked at my surroundings. I realized we were well away from the hustle and bustle of the city, or the car-filled roads of the highway. We had parked along what seemed to have been a farm road, quite literally in the middle of nowhere. Only noticeable landmarks were the white picket fences and a massive sign that screamed in bold red letters 'DELPHI STRAWBERRY SERVICE'. Beyond was a cluster of trees that spread vast from one side to the other almost as if it were a wall. It was hard to see past any of that, especially during the night.

In a rather cliché manner, I asked Birch where we were.

He very flippantly replied, "our destination."

Thanks, Birch. Real helpful.

He walked over to the rear of his car, still dented from the hellhound attacks, and pulled out what looked to be a sling bag and swung it over his shoulder. He gestured to me to follow him as he jumped over the fence and began walking towards the treeline. Hesitant at first, I realized staying with Birch was the best thing to do right now. Without question, I quickly fell-in behind him as we made our way into the darkness of the forest.

As we walked, I couldn't seem to stop myself from constantly sneaking a glance at the two new features on Birch's head.

"You know… I think you look better with the horns."

The satyr lightly laughed, "me too, kid."

I expected the trek through the trees to be more spooky, but it was just quiet. I tried to focus on what was going on around me but my mind was occupied, still trying to wrap my head around what exactly I saw in those dreams. Birch was still in his usual 'guard' mode but it seemed that every step we made, the more and more he grew comfortable. Gradually he gave more hints about where exactly we were heading. He told me it was a safe place for kids like me.

There it was again; 'kids like me'.

The thought perplexed me. Then he started providing more details.

"So it's like a boot camp?" I said.

"Sorta."

Even though he was telling me these things, it still didn't answer any of the big questions. Honestly, it just added more. It wasn't long until I could see a slight clearing in the trees ahead of us. In seeing this, Birch seemed to pick up the pace a little bit. The closer we got the more I noticed that the clearing made way for a large hill, a singular pine tree settled at the peak. Then Birch came to a sudden halt, stopping me as well. I followed his eye-line, wondering what had startled him, to see a group of figures gathered near the clearing line just at the base of the hill. I could sense Birch talking to himself.

I tapped his arm. "Birch. What is it? Is it bad?"

"I don't know, kid," he whispered. "Let's get a closer look. Stay close."

Inching forward we started to get a better look at the figures. They were just people, three of them, all dressed in casual clothes, nothing out of the ordinary. They were either waiting, talking to each other or hiding. It was hard to tell.

"That's weird," Birch mumbled. "They look like campers but… what are they doing outside the borders?"

He squinted his eyes further. "Wait a minute… is that-"

Right before he could finish his sentence, I felt a cold steel on my back as a voice behind us spoke.

"Don't move."

I looked at Birch.

"It's alright kid, just do as they say-"

The mysterious person hits Birch on the back of the head with the butt of their weapon.

"Hey!" I argue.

"Quiet you two!" the voice barked.

I managed to catch a glimpse of our attacker. She wore a harsh expression as she stared down at the both of us. In one hand, she held what looked to be a hand-crossbow aimed directly at Birch while in the other, a sword was pointed directly at me. She sounded young but with experience and weariness in her tone.

"Yo, we got one!" She called the others. "Looks like he was taking another half-blood to camp!"

Half-blood?

She ordered us to move as we were escorted towards the rest of the group. I tried to get Birch's attention, hoping he had a way out of this but he just looked at me with a serious frown. When we reached the rest of the group, we were placed on our knees. They each were armed with various swords and daggers. It was still rather dark, so it was still difficult for me to make out any of their faces.

"I can't see shit," the silhouette on the left says.

Then, as if right on cue, a faint glow starts to illuminate from one of the other's hands. It grows until it appropriately lights our surroundings.

"Thanks Nate," the left one says again.

"No problem."

Now I could get a better look at them. Four figures stood in front of us and to my surprise, they looked… my age. Some even younger. The girl who had ambushed us stood in the middle, her weapon still pointed at us. She had a permanent scowl and long hair that split into two messy braids. The one called Nate had a focused expression. His beanie fit loosely on his head whilst the trench coat wrapped around him seemed to have kept him warm. I gawked in awe and confusion as light somehow emanated seamlessly from no source other than his hand. The guy who complained about not being able to see anything yawned, his droopy eyes struggling to stay focused as he stuffed his hands in his hoodie pocket. The fourth one in the back just stayed silent, keeping his eyes just below his baseball cap.

"No way." Nate stared wide-eyed at Birch. "That you, Birch? How you doing man?"

Birch let out a mean scoff. "I thought it was you, Nathaniel Phorran. Got quite the balls showing your face around here."

Nate looked away for a second until turning back. "You know I thought you'd react better to seeing an old camper, especially one that you took in."

Birch glared at him. "For the record, I would have left you to those karpoi if I had known you'd just betray us."

That seemed to silence Nate, if I hadn't known any better I would say he looked genuinely hurt by those words.

Also… what's a karpoi?

Just as though Nate looked like he was about to come up with a response, the quiet one in the cap spoke from behind. I could tell he somewhat held the position as leader of the group.

"Guys, enough," he said. "We have what we came for, let's just go."

"What about the other one?"

They all glanced at me with a quizzical look in their eyes.

"We have a satyr," remarked the leader, "just leave him."

Then the girl cut in. "I say we kill him, he's seen us. He'll just tell Chiron and everyone else at camp."

I started to panic, this wasn't looking good. I looked over at Birch who remained silent, just staring at the four kidnappers with a murderous intent. The four started to make their move as I held my breath, bracing for the inevitable. My mind felt like it was going at 100mph.

"Wait," the yawning one said. (Thank you). "That doesn't seem right. I mean he's one of us and he probably doesn't have any idea what's going on, just like we did."

"Well okay then, Clarence," the leader sighed. "What do you suppose we do then?"

Clarence didn't respond. Actually, I think he began to snore.

"Gods." Nate rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. "Pay attention!"

"Oh right!" Clarence jumped up before taking a moment to think.

I could hear Nate mutter something under his breath

"We could take him with us?" said Clarence.

To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of that considering the first interaction I've had with them has involved the discussion of my death. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of them killing me either.

"No!" the girl said, turning her head away from Birch and I. "If we're not killing him, then we drop him somewhere he can't find Camp. One more camper for them is one more enemy to us."

"Hold on a second, Trish," Nate cut in. "Knowing Birch, he probably hasn't told him anything about who he really is."

Birch scoffed again.

Nate continued. "Clarence has a point. Why don't we take him? That's the whole idea right? Maybe we could save him from what we had to go through."

There was a beat of stillness and they all shared the same feeling. In that moment I saw their hardened expressions wash away, lowering their guard and in that split second they all looked like kids who were lost or abandoned. Simultaneously, that's when Birch decided to make his move.

"I'm too old for this shit." He gritted his teeth as he lunged towards Trish at an unnatural speed.

The satyr towered over her as he knocked her to the ground, disarming her of her weapons. The other three stepped back in shock, allowing a moment for our escape.

"Arthur!" Birch shouted at me. "To the hill! Go!"

"What about you?" I replied.

"I'll be right behind ya kid."

Somehow, I doubted that. I wanted to stay with him. I wanted to fight. I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for him but I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't just ordering me to go… he was begging me. I stared at that jolly tough face as he held back all four assailants.

I ran.

Just like he told me, I bolted straight for the clearing and up the hill. I felt one of the captors grab my arm but they were quickly shoved off followed by a loud grunt of frustration. I kept running, forcing my legs to charge up the hill. Halfway up, I gazed towards the top to see the tip of a pine tree looming over the rest of the forest.

I'm almost there.

Then I look back down, to the sounds of a clash. I could still see the dimly lit area as Birch stood against four attackers all trying their best to hold him down but Birch wouldn't yield. However, I knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.

Birch risked his life for me. He stood up for me. He protected me. Now, I'm… I'm- I'm just going to run?

I firmly gripped the pendant around my neck. Mom's words ring through my head one more time:

'In war, all that matters is that we look out for the man on our left, and we look out for the man on our right.'

I stopped moving. My heart's racing as my whole body started to feel tense.

"Sorry Birch." I take one deep breath. "I ain't listening to you this time."

I sprint back down the hill.

My adrenaline starts spiking, my breathing is heavy but focused. I have no idea how I hope to fend off four people at once, all I know is that I'm not going to leave a man behind. It's what a true Pride would do. It's what my Mom would do.

Most people would probably feel uneasy running towards a fight, but for some reason I didn't. I wasn't scared. The only thing in my mind was getting Birch out of there. Weirdly a part of me felt excited, like a rush had taken over me as I charged towards the enemy. The spartan pendant started to hum and that rush of excitement suddenly felt like a suit of armor that vibrated from my chest and throughout my whole body. Any strain or soreness I felt before had disappeared.

To my shock, the gruff mysterious voice that spoke in my visions spoke again. It uttered my name.

'Arthur'

I kept running. As I got closer to the battle, I could see Birch starting to give in. The voice grew louder.

'Arthur. The shield.'

My eyes darted to one of the trees nearby where we first saw the group waiting for us. At the base of the tree was an assortment of bags and camping materials. They probably had to stake out here for a while. Among the supplies was a circular bronze shield.

'The shield,' the voice said again, 'pick it up.'

I had no idea who or what this voice was, but I wasn't about to stop and question it. As I ran past, I grabbed the shield and managed to strap it tightly on my left arm whilst still moving. The shield was fairly wide, almost covering two thirds of my body. To my surprise, the weight quickly felt natural in my arms, like I had been using shields my whole life.

With my newfound protection, I charged back towards the fighting. At this point Birch was practically on his knees as the others began to surround him. I milked every ounce of energy I could. Using the run-up, I slammed the shield with all my strength into the one closest to Birch which was the leader. It was a solid hit as the unsuspecting opponent landed on the ground, drifting through the rough dirt. I swung around, pivoting my feet, placing myself in between them and Birch.

"Hey, that's my shield!" one of the four cried out.

"Kid, I told you to run!"

"I'm not leaving you Birch." I looked back at him. "We ride together, we die together."

The officer at first looked furious but couldn't resist letting out a massive grin. "Heh, not bad."

"What? You do Bad Boys and then I do Bad Boys."

"Actually, I did Lethal Weapon just before."

"Did you?"

"Yo!" one of them yelled again, this time I think it was Nate. "Are we fighting or what?"

"Oh right." I replied, slightly embarrassed. "You know you could have attacked at anyti–"

Instantly, a crossbow bolt made a loud thump into my shield.

"-nevermind."

Birch stood back up. "Well we're clearly outnumbered."

Birch was right, this wasn't going to be an easy fight. This ain't no lunchtime brawl. Just as I started to try and form some kind of plan to get out of this alive, the unknown voice spoke into my mind again; 'A spartan alone is no different than any one individual; but together, they surpass all foes.'

All of a sudden, something clicked into my head like two lego pieces.

"We got this Birch." I stood by his side, firm and unwavering. "Shoulder to shoulder. Stick together."

Birch took his defensive stance as the both of us stared down the four in front of us. The one I had knocked down with my shield wiped the dirt from his eyes, it was the first time I saw them as they were no longer shrouded by the cap. They glared at me with malice. There was an intense stand-off. Each side waited for the first move, like a game of chess. The ceasefire was cut short as all four charged straight at us. It was four against two, and yet we held our own. My body moved like as fast as it could, just barely covering every angle they attacked from. Whilst I used my shield to block the incoming blows, Birch found the opportunity to return with a mean counter.

'To your right,' the voice in my head warned.

I shifted in that direction as one of them struck down hard with their sword. With precision timing, I managed to deflect the blow then follow up with a shield bash, knocking them off balance

'Nicely done.'

Birch and I fought in tandem, this new feeling of combat made me steady and balanced. It was the similar feeling I had when I would be cooking or running an obstacle course. It felt raw and instinctive. A natural state of flow. The, gradually, the adrenaline started to build. Everythign around me started to feel smaller. The surge of battle took over me. Blow after blow, block after block, I started to advance. I got more aggressive with each strike, using the shield more as a battering ram. I started losing focus on Birch as this brute force energy guided me. The sounds of his cries started to fade as my tunnel-vision grew more severe. My concentration was solely on defeating the opponent in front of me. My swings got more violent. The enemy lunged at me with his dagger but I parried it to the side with my shield with so much force that it disarmed them. I then swiftly struck my adversary with a blow from my shield straight to the chest, bringing them to the ground.

As I stared down at him, I realized it was Nate. He looked more irritated rather than intimidated. Then his eyes grew wide, and what he said next might have been the strangest thing I had heard all day…

"You gotta be kidding me." His eyes drifted to something above me. "...you're a child of Ares?"

Before I could come up with any form of response to the bizarre statement, the voice in my head interrupted me.

'Arthur!' it heeded. 'A warrior must not lose focus! The recklessness of one is the undoing of all!"'

I came back to my senses but it was already too late. I looked back to where I last remember Birch and watched as three of the attackers surrounded his limp body. My heart sank and for the first time since running down that hill, I was afraid. I turned away from my opponent, calling out towards Birch. That was a huge mistake as I felt a sharp pain burst from my lower back causing me to fall forwards. I lay there helpless as I watched Birch get tied up and dragged away.

More pain shot from my back as I felt something being pulled from my flesh. The pain was intense as I was turned over. I looked up towards Nate, a bloody dagger in his hand. He hastily walked over me as he went to meet up with the rest of his groups. I heard his footsteps grow fainter as I lay there in the dirt. Then he seemed to have stopped as his footsteps started to return. It wasn't long before I found him standing right over me, looking down at me with his dagger. I pushed as hard as I could to move any muscle I could but my body was tapped out. I heard him cursing to himself. He looked into the far distance, and then back at me.

"I'm sorry about this," Nate said kneeling beside me. I could see the aggression suddenly fade from his face.

He put his dagger away as his hand began to glow once more, placing it over the wound in my back. The pain slowly began to subside.

"It's not fully healed but you won't bleed out," he said.

Words struggled to escape my mouth. The adrenaline started to diminish as pain and shock slowly overcame my body.

"Nate!" a distant voice cried.

"Listen," he said to me, ignoring the voices, "I don't know who you are or what led you here but we're not your enemy."

The distant voices sounded more hurried. "Hurry up! They're coming!"

Nate looked down at me one last time. "Whatever happens, whatever they tell you, you only look out for yourself. Never trust the gods."

After those final words he retreated to whoever was calling to him, leaving me in the cold dark ground of the forest. Soon rushing footsteps and nearby galloping echoed through the ground below me, it was coming from the direction of the hill.

I couldn't move. I lay still as my vision began to fade. The voice in my head was quiet, along with the rest of the world around me. My body lay still, almost lifeless as the pain from my wound still lingered. I looked up towards the sky and the last thing I saw before my vision went dark was a glowing, red spear, stained with blood, floating above me. Darkness was all that came after.

I'm sorry… Birch.