Lightning Child - Percy Jackson

* 002

CHAPTER TWO - LITERALLY SLAYING MY DEMONS

Waring : Detailed violence and death

I felt grass brush my hands and the earthy smell of mud assaulting my face. This is not Brooklyn. Looking up ahead of me, I saw forest, forest everywhere. Where am I?

Grrroooarrrr..

A familiar snarl reminded me again that I, Eve Carter, am completely alone. Amidst the heavy rain, the beast's face flickered behind the trees growing ever closer. I darted away, zig-zagging through the forest. I grabbed handfuls of mud and threw them back at it, trying to hit its eyes, but I was never much of a softball player. It got angrier and ducked down with its horned head to slam me sideways into a tree.

"Errukk!" I gasped the wind knocked out of me. It was ready to bash me once more. I flailed to get on my feet and began sprinting again. Oddly enough, I saw large wooden doors in the distance. I banged on them, screeching "Help me! Someone!"

But alas, I am once again by myself in this matter. I turned my head as a boom rang from far away. and watched as the beast began trucking it through the tree line towards the noise. Is someone else there? Not sure if I wanna find out but they could be hurt or dead if the Minotaur reaches them. Hold on Minotaur? How do I know what that word is, is the beast a Minotaur?

Before I could confuse myself even more I followed in the apparent, Minotaur's, footsteps. There was a white Camaro on the side of the street, it was all scrunched up like a crushed soda can. The Minotaur charged at it, I held my breath expecting a scream of agony or something but instead. Three figures slid out of the car and made a break for the forest. One of them, a woman was dragging behind holding a boy in her arms. As she laid him down in the grass I understood what was happening.

She was sacrificing herself. I came closer to the scene before me still creeping behind the thick trees. The Minotaur charged the woman, she tried to sidestep, but the monster had shot out his hand and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.

"Mom!" The blonde boy screamed in agony as his mother writhed. Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around her neck, and she dissolved melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone. "No!"

The minotaur faced to boy unconscious in the grass, he was about to take hold of him too, the sandy haired boy stripped off his red jacket and taunted the bull. What a stupid plan, but it gave me a chance to grab the kid in the grass and hide him better, I propped him up against a tree and ran back to the idiot who was now being strangled by the monster, his foot was pushed under the bulls knuckles.

"Jump!" I yelled out at him, "Jump now!" His eyes closed as he pushed all the strength he had into his legs he leapt straight up and using the creature's as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on its neck.

How did he do that?

The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keepfrom being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes.

Seconds later, the Minotaur threw its head into a tree and the boy flew off of it his own head smashing against a rock.

CRAKKCCKK!!

I watched as the Minotaur horn spun off towards the ground, skidding right next to the blonde kid; the bull took a minute, sniffing hard and flicking its head around, and finally, it saw me.

"Wake up!" I cried out, I wasn't sure to who though, everyone was unconcious. It was me and my nightmares now.. The bull scrapped its hooves in the mud, as I turned to run I slipped and dove head first into the sludge. The creature charged me I rolled over catching onto its undies and shimmying up to the top of its head. I saw the blonde boy looking around confused and then locking eyes with the Minotaur, in his hand he held the broken horn.

Without thinking, I put all my weight onto the Minotaurs remaining horn, its head whipped backwards revealing the soft fleshy neck that was now vuerable to i don't know.. a ragged bone? The boy lunged toward it, slicing the horn against the creature's neck.

The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate-not likethe woman, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind

The monster was gone

I collapsed down the exsaughtion setting in, I remember the boy catching me and wiping the mud out of my face but eventually his eyes fluttered shut and he fell back into the rain.