The Vanishing Hero

chapter 4

P.s : Would you like me to post a chapter every day or would you like me to wait a few days and then post two chapters.

Chapter 4: Under New Management

THEO/PERCY POV

I was on a rescue mission for Hera and Hestia near Denver. They had informed me that this poor girl had been sent to live with her abusive uncle after her mother died in a car accident when she was 4. They told me the details of what he did to her. Amongst the obvious beatings and shouting, this sick bastard stripped her down and left her in the basement with a single thin bed sheet. I located the house and put on an emotionless mask, before pulling my hood and half-mask up.

As I was about to vapor travel in, I heard a loud crash and a thud. Anger boiled up in me and I kicked down the door instead. What I found made my blood boil tenfold. The uncle, presumably drunk as beer bottles littered the floors of the house, had his belt raised in his hand and a knife at his waist. I could barely see the little girl cowering in fear behind him. 'Gods damned it, just like Smelly Gabe.' I thought as he turned around to see me. "Who the fuck are you?!" he bellowed in his drunken rage. "Your judgement." as I pulled out my katana.

I used the water in his body to freeze his hands at the wrist. Frostbite (not my sword) set in rapidly and I quickly sliced them off. He screamed in pain, as the little girl ran to hide from the gruesome act I was to commit. "Listen here you sick fuck," I spat. "I have been sent by the Gods to correct your mistakes. Don't bother begging for mercy. I have none left to give." His face was frozen in fear as his head was separated from his shoulders and I quickly burned the body until not even the ashes remained.

I sighed, dusted myself off, and went to find the girl. She was hiding in the closet in the other room. Trying to ease her panic, I sat down a couple meters in front of the closet and spoke in a soothing voice, infusing it with hope, "Hey there. I'm not gonna hurt you. I was sent here to save you from that man." She slowly opened the door and poked her head out. I smiled at this and noticed she had sandy blonde hair and a hint of mischief in her eyes. 'You better have a good excuse for this one Hermes' I thought before speaking again.

"What's your name little one?" trying my best to sound gentle. "L-Lora," she said so softly I almost missed it. "That's a beautiful name Lora." "Who are you? What did you do to my uncle?" I took a deep breath and began explaining who I was and what I was doing there. I was quickly rushed into a hug from the little girl as she sobbed into my chest. I rubbed her back until the crying stopped. "Lora? Do you know about the Greek gods?" She looked at me puzzled, but nodded her head slowly. "Well, they're real and alive here in America. I believe your dad is one of them."

I spent the next hour explaining the greek world and even summoned her favorite food. She wolfed down two full plates of lasagna and thanked me again. "Now Lora, there are 2 places you can go. One is Camp Half-Blood where you will train along with other boys and girls like you and have a lot of fun." She flinched when I said boys. 'I thought as much. Can't say I blame her.' "The other place is the Hunters of Artemis. It's only girls around and you will have a bunch of sisters to take care of you as you learn to hunt as an immortal maiden. All you have to do is swear off romantic love with men." She couldn't have said yes fast enough which made me chuckle.

"Lora, I'm going to do something weird, but I promise it won't hurt." She looked at me apprehensively before nodding slowly. My hands glowed orange and I touched it to her wounds. After the light died down, she felt her face and arms in disbelief before crushing me in another hug saying "thank you thank you thank you." I smiled at that and told her it was time to go.

I fire traveled Lora and myself near the Hunters camp and sensed the monsters immediately. "Lora. I need you to stay here and stay hidden. There are monsters attacking the hunt. A lot of them. I promise I will come grab you once they're gone. She looked scared, but nodded as I drew Nightshade and sprinted toward the hunters' auras. What I found wasn't a pretty sight.