The Reluctant Hero

Run, Rabbit, Run!

Percy didn't appreciate the shorts.

"Alright team! Today we're doing a fitness assessment to see how you lot are doing since last time we had a test." The class groaned. "Yeah, yeah, but it'll just be worse if you argue so get to!" He blew his whistle. Loud. The class cringed. "Start with 5 laps, 30 push ups then 15 pull-ups on the bar! Got it?!" There was mumbled assent. "Then go!" He blew the whistle again and the class started running as the shrill noise echoed through the gym.

Percy gave a small smile as he thought of Coach Hedge and laps with the Ares Cabin, falling back into the easy rhythm of training as footfalls thudded through the room.

"Faster! We're running, not strolling!" Percy all out grinned as he increased his pace. The other boys had fallen behind, but Percy barely even noticed as he lapped them: he'd fallen completely into the comfortable rhythm he'd spent more than the last half decade of his life in.

Percy let himself switch off as he ran, not even noticing as he got steadily faster. Only noticing when a foot wearing a reflective blue trainer was shoved into his path. Cursing himself for zoning out, he jumped over it falling into a roll and standing smoothly back up without missing a step. Still running, he didn't notice the angry glare of the jock who'd tried to trip him or the stare and raised eyebrow of the coach, who hadn't seen skill even close to that since he was a professional, and even then it was only hinted at.

It was after someone came a bit too close to knocking him over that Percy switched from the relaxed countenance he'd worked so hard to regain after the wars and back to the fully alert paranoia of a hunter soldier. Three jocks, normally easy, not even worth the thought, but he couldn't do anything to them and he wanted to lay low. He cursed in Greek under his breath, then Latin as he adjusted his pace.

Percy ran, being chased by three high school jocks, they weren't a threat, but they reminded him too much of being chased by something else entirely.

Your heart was pounding in time with your feet, which impacted hard on the mossy ground of the forest. Trees and branches whipped at your mud-caked face as he ran. Riptide hadn't returned to your pocket yet. You could hear the monsters chasing you, getting closer and closer and closer. They roared and hollered as they chased you. You were panting, the wound in your side making it harder and harder to breath as you ran for your life.

They were right behind you. You could feel their rancid breath burning you from behind as they reached out the razor sharp claws and lunged for you, they grabbed the back of your shirt as-

You gasped as you fell through the camp boarders, friendly hands pulling you to safety as the monsters crashed and riled against the shield. You blacked out, the monsters you'd narrowly escaped your last vision as the black took you.

As Percy resurfaced, regaining awareness of his environment, he crossed the finish line and transitioned smoothly to the next area where he executed a practice drop into flawless push ups and began counting. The jocks ground their teeth as they strained to finish their remaining two laps while Percy was rapidly progressing through his assigned work.

There were three jocks, the obvious leader; yellow hair with hints of brown with so much jell you could smell it; an unnatural tan and teeth that had been kicked in so many times they were beyond dental work, he obviously fancied himself a regular Narcissus and, Percy would later find out, was captain of the school's Rugby and Football teams. Then there was the next one, Erik Boats, 5'11 with arms like tree trunks, he was a quarterback on the Rugby team and a striker on the Football and he, along with Klyde More, did anything and everything Donny said. Klyde More, 5'10, dark green eyes and brown skin. He had shoulders like Captain America and a nose which had obviously been broken, a lot. He was also on both of Donny's teams.