Chapter 3
Mythologically speaking, if there's anything I hate worse than trios of old ladies, it's bulls. Last summer, I fought the Minotaur on top of Half-Blood Hill. This time what I saw up there was even worse: two bulls. And not just regular bulls, bronze ones the size of elephants. And even that wasn't bad enough. Naturally, they had to breathe fire, too.
As soon as we exited the taxi, the Gray Sisters peeled out, heading back to New York, where life was safer. They didn't even wait for their extra three-drachma payment. They just left us on the side of the road, Annabeth with nothing but her backpack and knife, Tyson and me still in our tie-dyed gym clothes.
"Oh, man," said Annabeth, looking at the battle raging on the hill.
What worried me wasn’t the bulls themselves. It was that the bulls were ranging all over the hill, even around the back side of the pine tree. That shouldn't have been possible. The camp's magic boundaries didn't allow monsters to cross past Thalia's tree. But the metal bulls were doing it anyway.
"Border patrol, to me!" Clarise yelled.
"It's Clarisse," Annabeth said.
"She’s in trouble, we have to help her," I said interrupted in panic watching them getting utterly demolished.
They were scattered, running in panic while the bulls charged them. The grass was burning in huge swathes around the pine tree. One guy screamed and waved his arms as he ran in circles, the horse-hair plume on his helmet blazing like a fiery Mohawk. Clarisse's own armor was
charred. She was fighting with a broken spear shaft, the other end embedded uselessly in the metal joint of one bull's shoulder.
I pulled out my swords εξουσία and παλίρροια, which stood for power and tide in greek, and held them in my hands.
“We need to go, c'mon Annabeth.”
"Percy, do you know what those are up there? The Colchis bulls were made by Hephaestus himself. We can't fight them without Medea's Sunscreen SPF 50,000. We'll get burned to a crisp."
Annabeth rummaged through her backpack and cursed. "I had a jar of tropical coconut scent sitting on my nightstand at home. Why didn't I bring it?"
“Annabeth they need our help.”
"Percy—"
"Tyson, try to help the campers." I raised my sword. "I'm going to Clarrise."
Annabeth tried to protest, but I was already running up the hill toward Clarisse, who was yelling at her patrol, trying to get them into phalanx formation. It was a good idea. The few who were listening lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, locking their shields to form an ox-hide and-bronze wall, their spears bristling over the top like porcupine quills.
Unfortunately, Clarisse could only muster six campers. The other four were still running around with their helmets on fire. Annabeth ran toward them, trying to help. She taunted one of the bulls into chasing her, then turned invisible, completely confusing the monster. The other bull charged Clarisse's line.
I was halfway up the hill, not close enough to help. Clarisse hadn't even seen me yet.
The bull moved deadly fast for something so big. Its metal hide gleamed in the sun. It had fist-sized rubies for eyes, and horns of polished silver. When it opened its hinged mouth, a column of white-hot flame blasted out.
"Hold the line!" Clarisse ordered her warriors.
Whatever else you could say about Clarisse, she was brave. She was a big girl with cruel eyes like her father's. She looked like she was born to wear Greek battle armor, but I didn't see how even she could stand against that bull's charge.
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Fanfiction(Book 2) During the battle of Manhatten an accident occurred. It caused Percy Jackson to travel back into the past. He woke up in his old bed in Yancy Academy and found out that he traveled back in time. He figured that this was his chance to save...
