Chapter 19:

God Bless You

Above the demigod the sky turned dark as a large shape blocked all the lights that shone down on Fort Whitefall. And from the heavens she came. All eyes were on her. All the weapons present and all the attention available had been given to her like a holy sacrifice.

Kampê descended from the sky, her wings filtering the rays of the sun through the tears in her wings. Blinding everything below her and casting her entire figure in a dark shadow.

The mortal soldiers around the demigod scattered like a wave. Spreading outwards while shouting in blind panic. Each one was looking for someone who knew what was going on, what the protocol was, how to act when a monster from the depths of Tartarus came down from the sky.

In the distance Percy saw people trying to run away, to scamper and hide between the ruins of his battle. Others froze on the spot, too caught up in the monster's appearance to act.

Weapons were aimed at Kampé after few of the soldiers managed to regain his calm. But they didn't deter her descent. Orders were shouted but none were answered. The soldiers dared her to come closer, or else they would shoot.

Percy still felt dazed. His mind lost in the present, swimming through his senses and trying to connect the dots between each point of data. The air, it was drowning his thoughts. The sound of excessive gunfire still rang in his ear.

He was standing on red stained sand. Kampê dropped in front of him, using her large body as a cover. The corpse of the Lamia lay in front of the Kampê, filled to the brim with bullets and holes. Guns were pointed. People were screaming. Kampê held her two scimitars in front of her. The lion head on her middle roared defiantly.

"Don't think your mortal weaponry will harm me," Kampê threatened the soldiers who were trying to close in. Her voice was low and husky. A mixture between a growl and a deep desire to kill. "Unlike Spellspeaker there," Kampê pointed at Lamia's ghastly expression. "I won't waste time playing with my prey."

From the distance of Fort Whitefall, on top of the main building, Percy could see advanced weaponry being booted up. A whole lot more mean looking than the automated weapons pointed at Kampê right now.

"Get some Thaumiel spears right now," one of the soldiers ordered, waving at his comrades.

Slowly Percy was catching up to the world. Around him he saw soldiers fanning out, using a similar formation they used against Lamia. To some capacity they managed to overcome their fear of the giant monster, although each step they had taken was a hesitant one. "We need to get rid of it, before it attracts others!"

Kampê didn't outright attack the soldiers but she made wide arcs around herself with her sword. Creating a zone around her no man dared to step.

"Stop!" Percy walked past the dragon's tail and into sight, ducking underneath the wings of Kampê. He became immediately aware of the guns pointed at him, and how exposed he was in front of the monster from hell. How small.

"Don't shoot us," Percy tried again, his voice hoarse and broken. He raised his hands, showing he had no ill intentions or weapons. "We are here on a mission."

"Don't listen to him!" One of the soldiers yelled frantically, "he might be charmspeaking us!"

Percy frowned. So these mortals knew about Charm speak? How much had changed since he last was amongst them?

"They are afraid," Kampê hissed behind his back. "These people are already dead. There's no point in arguing with them."

"I am not a child of Aphrodite," Percy tried, ignoring Kampê's remark.

"Monster!" Another soldier cried, "he might be a monster. Using the veil to hide his appearance!"

Veil? Did he mean the Mist?
"Permission to shoot?!" Another one asked, his cry echoed by his companion.

Behind him Kampê raised her scimitars. Acid dripped down on the blade and poisoned the red soil underneath her.

"Look, I am human. A demigod," Percy slowly lowered his left arm. Slowly he continued talking, making sure not a single move he made could be interpreted as threatening. "I am one of us. We can talk this out."

Murmurs spread amongst the crowd, the thoughts multiplied and carried itself to everyone around him. He saw refugees who had previously hidden themselves in whatever corner they could find crawl out from their spots. Tentatively looking at him.

"Prove it!" He heard someone say.

Slowly, Percy took out his pen from his pocket, nervously clenching the cheap metal object in his hand. "Look," Percy removed the cap and Riptide unsheathed itself. The dull colored blade reflected the light as it grew in full length.

The soldiers moved back in fear.

WIth a slow move Percy dug the blade of Riptide into his exposed arm. Holding it out in the open.

The blade cleanly cut into his flesh, disappearing into it and splitting cells in two until a thick red substance began to leak from the tear. Disgustingly dark blood began to seep from his arm and fell down on the ground where it mixed with the blood of all the others.

"My name is Percy Jackson." He announced. "See my red blood? It's just like yours. Now, please everyone drop your weapons so we can stop the violence."

He turned around, "you too."

Kampê studied his gaze for a moment before shrugging and with a nonchalance dropping her two scimitars to the ground. As if she needed those poisonous weapons to strike.

The soldiers, however counter intuitive his proposal was, lowered their weapons as well. Hesitantly, be it. And not daring to take their eyes off him. As if blinking the wrong way could escalate things.

"Thanks," Percy sighed, his figure slumping in the slightest.

"Perseus Jackson?" A voice called out. A soldier came into the clearing, hurrying her way towards the main event. Where she had been before, Percy could not tell.

The soldier approaching them was a woman, maybe about Percy's age. Maybe a little older. Her hair was long and braided, although Percy could see the filth stuck in her hair from a mile away. Probably didn't even comply with military regulations, how long it was. But besides her hair, her appearance was rather unremarkable. She wore the same gear as the other soldiers. Nothing that made her stand out from her colleagues.

However, as she spoke the other soldiers visibly tensed, lowering their weapons altogether and breaking formation to allow her to pass through. She was accompanied by two other mortals.

Percy looked at the woman. She had said his name as if she'd recognized him but he had no idea who or what she was. However, hearing his full name never forbade good fortune.

"You are the Perseus Jackson?" The woman stopped a safe distance from the pair. Not bothered by the blood, the chaos and the ruins of battle around her. Kampê hissed, clearly not at all pleased with the presence of this new soldier. Although what exactly bothered her, Percy couldn't tell. "Yes. That's me."

The woman turned to the nearest soldier. The one who had suggested he was a monster in disguise mere moments ago. The woman spoke to the man. "Contact Elysium immediately, tell them to get an extraction asap."

"You sure madam?" He hesitated. "Might be one of those sleepers?"

"He's the real deal." Her eyes fell on Percy. "Look at him, he looks nearly dead. Fits all the descriptions."

The guy nodded before heading back.

"What?" Percy asked.

"The rest of you," The woman expertly started ordering her people around. Giving them the task of getting rid of Lamia's body, cleaning up the bodies or aiding the survivors. Soon, none of the mortals had an eye for either him or the half-dragoness behind him. As if they'd really forgotten them.

Only once everyone had moved on did the woman focus her attention on him again.

She approached the pair, there was a careful rhythm to her steps. A combination of caution and courage. It made Percy feel nervous.

The woman stopped a few feet away from the demigod.

Percy could make out more details. Rough and dirtied face. Stark blue eyes that were a sharp contrast with the dusty surroundings. She was not yet towering over him but she was definitely taller than him.

"My name is Lana Evanholly. Just call me Evanholly. I am the commander of Whitefall." She made a short bow. "You are the demigod Perseus Jackson. Welcome to Fort Whitefall."

Evanholly guided the pair through Fort Whitefall. Allowing both the demigod and the monster to pass through the iron fence that separated the refugees from the ones in charge.

The ground had changed underneath his feet. Going from trampled grass and dirt to reinforced concrete that could support Kampé weight without shattering or trembling every step.

The area behind the gates was bigger than Percy initially had thought. Multiple big hangars and warehouses were placed around the main square. There was also more military equipment stored here. Tanks, fighter jets and missiles. Not all of it was in a similar condition. Some of it looked brand new while one of the jets he saw looked like it belonged to the first world war. The end result was a rather chaotic picture. With mismatching equipment thrown together on a pile.

"Don't mind the smell," Evenholly said as she passed the corner of a hanger. Percy followed. An unholy wind carrying a stench he'd grown familiar with slammed in his face. His eyes teared up and his stomach churned. A disgusting growl came from his stomach as it recognized the smell and immediately yearned for substance. To be fed.

"Yeah," Evanholly said apologetically, she raised the scarf that was wrapped around her shoulder to cover her nose and face.

To the right of the main campus, near the iron fence, was a large pit of bodies, unceremoniously put on top of each other. A big pile of rotting flesh left out in the open.

Faces looked at him from the pile. Some of the eyes leering at him belonged to humans, others were of nymphs, satyrs and monsters. All of them shared the same lost look.

"Gods," Percy muttered.

"I imagine there's a better way of getting rid of the bodies," Kampé said when she saw the pile.

"Yes," Evanholly answered coldly. Her voice was flat. "But this way the bodies will rot faster and we begin to process them."

"Process?" Percy asked.

He saw a couple of men standing near the bodies. Their faces were covered with masks and glasses. To protect themselves from the smell probably. One of them carried something large on his back. A gas tank. He pointed the nozzle of the gas tank at the pile and pulled the trigger. Flames exploded from the pile of flesh and lit it on fire. The hungry flames began to consume the flesh and grew in size, spreading over the pile until the air shimmered in above from the heat.
"Once we burned their flesh away," Evanholly stopped to watch the ritual. "We can easily take out their bones."

"Bones?" Percy asked. He recalled how Hestia had fed bones to the fire to keep the hearth alive during their short talk. "What do you need those for?"

Evanholly slapped the weapon on her back. "We grind the bones and use it as fuel. Turn it into bullets and weapons. Whatever we need to do to keep the fight going."

Percy recognized several dead soldiers lying on the pile, wearing the same attire as the woman.

"Their last contribution to humanity's survival," Evanholly turned her eyes away. "It's not pretty. But it works."

"You can harm monsters with these, 'bone' weapons?" Kampê asked, and she got closer to Evanholly to study her attire.

She didn't flinch. Instead Evanholly nodded and took out a knife from her back and held it up so Kampê could see it.

"Monsters can be harmed by most things we learned, they just have a high endurance for damage." Evanholly flipped the knife. "However this is Bone Steel, far more deadlier to magical creatures than normal bullets. On par with Celestial Bronze." Evanholly explained.

Percy felt slightly awed. "It took a while for us to learn what exactly puts down monsters. At least we were provided with enough samples to experiment on."

She put away the knife and continued on. She led them away from the arcane ritual and into a warehouse that was marked with a big 9. From the outside it looked like a regular storage room but Percy found it to be much more interesting on the inside. The insides of it reminded him of something he'd seen before; the atmosphere inside Cabin 9, or the Amazon hideout.

People were everywhere. Not just soldiers but also people without uniforms. Still, the area was heavily guarded by soldiers. Most of them had spears attached to their guns. Percy didn't doubt they knew how to use them. Aisles of metal shelves stretched out in a maze-like pattern. Catwalks hung suspended in the air. At the back a forge was being worked on. Made from seemingly scraps and bricks.

In the middle of the warehouse stood a long range missile. A white elongated spear with wings at the end. Loaded into a big contraption that held it firmly in place. At the side of the weapon was written in red paint: God Killer. People were still working on it, power cables and terminals were hooked up on it.

Percy had seen weapons like these in films before. But he'd never seen one in real life. Looking at it felt unreal. The spear, he could feel it resonate within him. It was definitely not a normal mortal missile. Not anymore at least. It was brimming with power.

Evanholly didn't comment on it and instead led the pair deeper into the warehouse. They got stares. A lot of them, but no one acted hostile towards them.

All the way at the back, there was another room. Separated by an iron gate from the main area.

On the other side it was much smaller.

"So, we can finally talk." Evanholly sat down behind the desk. The desk itself was as outlandish as everything else in the world. A perfectly normal desk with the usual litter you'd find in an office space, placed in the middle of what looked like a war room. The room, if you could call it that, was barely lit and sheltered from the rest of the base. On the wall were bookshelves, books on myths and cults, posters with weapons shown on them and papers with tiny written texts on them. Blueprints were put on the wall, maps and symbols. The office was a chaotic mess.

However, when the woman sat down behind the desk and rested herself on the cheap looking chair she visibly relaxed. She leaned back and closed her eyes for a second.

Percy and Kampê weren't offered a place to sit. Kampê barely managed to fit herself inside the doorway.

"I imagine you have a lot of questions," Evanholly opened her eyes to look at the demigod. "However, please wait until the extraction team arrives. They'll be able to explain things a bit better than I can."

"Where are you taking me?" Percy asked uncomfortably.

"Elysium," Evanholly answered as if that answer made sense. Percy and Kampê shared a glance.

"Who are you mortals?" Kampê asked.

Evanholly opened her mouth-

"Don't bother lying," Kampê warned. "I can tell if you do so."

The woman contemplated her answer before shrugging. "What are we not, is a better question. She spread her arms around. "This is a defunct military base. Some survivors from different factions took it over and turned it into what it is now. We have a few who claim to be Amazons. A few squadrons of the military that are still active, some paratroopers from Japan and Russia and a few volunteers. And I think we got cyclops somewhere as well. We do that we can to survive and try to keep as many others alive as well."

"Other demigods?" Percy asked warily.

"No," Evanholly said slowly. "You are the first we have seen so far."

"Yet you know my name," Percy said. "How'd you know my name?"

"Everyone at this point does," Evanholly answered immediately. "I don't know where or what you've gone through the past few months but you are world famous. Everyone, God or human, is looking for you. The savior of Olympus." She chuckled. "A fucking hero."

Percy didn't know what to say to that.

"Okay my turn for a question," Kampê said. "How did you avoid the attention of the Olympians?"
"I feel this question might be better answered later," Evanholly looked at the clock that hung on the wall. "I am not really equipped to answer those questions. We just survive."

"I want to know as well," Percy said. "Who's to say you are not working with the gods?"

"Because we are humans," Evanholly narrowed her eyes. "Unlike you demigods we stay low. Avoid stirring up too much trouble and make sure not to mention them by names."

"No, something else, you are keeping something from us," Kampê murmured. She sniffed the air. "I can sense something in the air. The Spellspeaker created a monster shaped hole."

"...a what?" Evanholly asked warily.

"The air here is filled with magic…but it's off," Kampê spoke. Evanholly stirred in her seat, nervously tapping on the desk. "It's messing with my senses."

"...yes," Evanholly softly said. "There's indeed magic in the atmosphere, super charged if I am correct. We managed to hide this base partially with magic and spells."

"Not just magic, this is a different kind of magic," Kampê said. Her eyes lit up as she gasped. "Oh I see."

"You see what?" Percy asked but Kampê didn't heed his mind.

"Interesting," Kampê said. "Dangerous even. Mixing magic like that, I can see why the Spellspeaker took a while to get into the base."

"Lamia?" Percy spoke. Whatever Evanholly and Kampê were talking about, he didn't understand the meaning behind the lines. It was like they were speaking an entirely different language. His head started hurting. A sharp pain tore into his scalpel. As if a hot knife was splitting his head in two, cutting it with a serrated edge.

"What do you mean by that?" Evanholly got up.

"The…" Kampê coughed. "Spells and Wards that hide this place. They've been weakened by the Spellspeaker. I advise you to patch that hole up."

Percy tried to open his mouth but he found that he couldn't open his mouth. His body wasn't responding to his commands. Or was it the pain that was overwhelming it.

A word came into his mind. Danger.

Evanholly grasped for one of the radios lying on the desk. It looked old and dusty. But it was working apparently. Evanholly took the mic. "Alpha 1 and 2, Lamia might have ruined our defenses. Activate the Code Black protocol and get that damn mage."

"You okay?" Kampê asked Percy as she finally noticed Percy clutching his head.

Percy opened his mouth.

A series of explosions erupted from around him. The ground shook violently. Sirens started blasting throughout the base. A deep wailing noise that announces imminent danger.

"What's going on there, did someone set off the mines? Respond immediately!" Evanholly shouted into the radio. Clutching the device as if her life depended on it.

From the speakers came a gargled noise, a mix between white static and someone trying to speak.

Another series of explosions rocked the building. Percy clutched his head as the pain continued. A chorus of gunfire came from outside alongside a constant cacophony of screams.

Evanholly took the rifle from her back and walked towards the door, running past Kampê and leaving the two alone. "Not now not now," she muttered. "We're almost done."

They followed after the commander. The other side of the warehouse was in a state of utter chaos. But not the same kind as before. Back then everyone was still at work. Now, Percy saw people shouting and relaying orders. But no one listened. People were panicking and were looking for answers. None came.

Evanholly stopped in front of the spear for a brief moment before heading towards the exit. Kampê and Percy followed her all the way to the part of the refugees. Where the people were.

As they came closer the gunshots became louder. Infrequent bursts of the noise would erupt from somewhere at the camp before being snuffed out.

Percy passed the threshold between camp and the base. The two soldiers that had been guarding the fence were now lying on the floor like a lifeless ragdoll. One unceremoniously with his back against the gate while the other was lying face down on the concrete. A red pool gathered underneath them, collecting blood that seeped out of the wounds.

Both soldiers only had one wound but it had been an instant kill. A silver arrow was buried deep into their heads.

Evanholly cursed but didn't stop to watch. She tried contacting people but got no coherent response. She knelt down next to a fallen soldier, checked his vitals before getting up and moving on. A dark expression was on her face as she passed several soldiers, each one struck down by a silver arrow.

As they came closer they felt a wave of heat crashing through the air. A sea of green flames was spreading throughout the camp in front of them, like a headless snake it spread, engulfing and capturing everything within its glow. Buildings, tents and people were being burned alive. Percy saw people trying to put out the fire, to quench it. But they only fueled the Greek fire even more.

Above them hung a helicopter in the air.

Percy thought it was there to put out the fire, until two massive barrels attached to the side of the helicopter released a series of flares.

He didn't see what it was aiming for but a big fireball erupted from the ground. More shots followed. One block of the camp after the other was blown sky high by the helicopter. Shredding metal, skin and everything caught below it.

But whatever it was trying to, it failed as an arrow suddenly penetrated the rear window and the helicopter began to spiral towards the ground.

The familiar sound of screams and gunfire continued.

"You two need to go!" Evanholly turned to Percy. "We'll try to stall her!"

"We can fight," Percy shouted as he took out Riptide. "I killed enough monsters-"

"No, this is something else." Kampê grimaced, baring a set of fangs.

At the end of the block a trio of soldiers appeared. One of them was dragging his leg over the floor while the other two tried to carry him. They were limping towards them, towards the main base.

Before he could think about his actions Percy hurried forward.

zip suddenly all three soldiers found themselves lying dead on the floor. A silver arrow buried into their foreheads.

Percy took a step back.

"No way-" Percy mumbled as he staggered.

A hand grasped around his shoulder. Shocked, he turned around, only to find Evanholly standing there. Her eyes wide in a panic. She was breathing her lungs out. But she managed to form words with what little breath she still had.

"You need to go now," she hissed. "Go to Elysium if you can. I heard you can still save the world, so you better fucking do it."

"W-what?" Percy gasped. Not understanding any of it. It was like she was speaking in code again.

Behind him a fighter jet was shot out of the air. The ground shook as the pieces rained down.

"We'll distract her." Evanholly took the gun from her back and slid a clip into the magazine. Simultaneously she took out her radio and said. "Activate the God killer, blow this place to hell."

"You can't do that!" Percy felt another sharp twist of the knife that was lodged within his mind. Still, he continued. "There are still people out there!"

A sad smile formed on Evanholly's face. "We bought you time to escape. Go!"

Percy felt something tugging at him and before he could scream he was already high up in the air. Wind rushed past him as Kampês huge wings tried to go up as fast as they could. Percy thought he screamed for her to let him go but he couldn't exactly tell anymore. His senses were fuzzy. The sudden change in air pressure was making his head hurt.

He looked down, seeing Fort Whitefall from above. He saw a girl dot that was Evanholly running towards a woman with a big silver bow. Before she could come close she fell down on the ground. Her killer didn't even spare her a second glance. Even from up there, Percy could see her silver eyes. They shone like the pale moon. She looked up and for a second, their eyes locked.

The woman raised her bow upwards and notched an arrow between her fingers.

A moment later she would have released it, but she never got the chance to. Only a few meters away from her. Hidden inside a warehouse, the Spear detonated itself.

Immediately, the desert was consumed by a white void. Within seconds Evanholly, the Hunter and Fort Whitefall had been completely consumed by the pure white light that radiated from below them.

Percy blacked out.

A/N I am participating in the SCP-7000 contest. The article in question is called Out of Luck, by Moonhorse96. We wrote this together. Feel free to vote. It's easy to find by googling "Out of luck Moonhorse96"and the wikidot link.

Thanks!

Also, I am glad this story is still updating. I love reading it.

-CaptainMoonShine-