The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 37: The Enemy Strikes

Percy left up from his position on the floor, as a dracaena burst into his tent. He reached for Riptide, but before he even had a chance to uncap his sword the tip of a gleaming spear appeared from the monster's chest. The creature exploded into golden dust, revealing Thalia with a frantic look in her eyes. "Come on, Kelp Head!" she ordered before running back out of the tent.

Uncapping Riptide, Percy ran out after her. The sight he saw terrified him to the core. Monsters were running through the camp, causing mass panic. Looking in the direction the monsters seemed to be streaming from Percy could see a huge host of monsters streaming towards them with the assistance of the moonlight. This was serious, the monster army seemed only slightly smaller than the one the Legion had faced at the Battle for New Rome only a few years earlier. "How did they sneak up on us?" Percy frantically asked Thalia as he cut down a cyclops.

"I don't know!" Thalia shouted as she impaled a hellhound. "The camp sentries gave no warning, and Atalanta is out with a few girls and the wolves!"

"Get everyone to New Rome, they'll be safe behind the Pomeranian Line!" Percy ordered.

"I won't leave you behind!" Thalia shouted while moving to regroup with the main group of Hunters.

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you!" Percy tossed over his shoulder as he ran towards three of the youngest girls who were trying to hide, but had been spotted by a group of monsters.

Cursing under her breath Thalia then ran around and started ordering a retreat. It only took moments to herd the Hunters into a group, at which point Thalia risked a glance at Percy. Between the tents she could so him standing as a human shield in front of the girls, slaying any monster that dared come close. It both relieved and worried Thalia to see Percy in this position. Relieved her because these three girls were among the youngest, only around ages seven and eight physically. Worried her because she didn't want Percy to get hurt.

The monsters were going to overwhelm the Hunt, anyone could see that. There were just too many monsters. Luckily, there had been no major injuries or deaths thus far, but with so many monsters roving about that would quickly change. Slowly, Percy started inching his new wards back to the safety of the group, but it was slow going. It was getting especially hard because the more monsters Percy slew, the more came to challenge him. He wasn't slowing down, but Thalia could tell that he was tiring. She wanted to help so badly, but the group was depending on her and she knew Percy wouldn't want her to leave them. A few more moments passed, and Thalia heard a small cry from one of the girls as she tripped on a tent and fell, Annalise Thalia believed it was. "No!" Percy yelled as a cyclops tried to take advantage of the situation and brain the small girl. Reacting to his emotions, the water in the air surrounding Percy gathered around his hands before he sent it in a wave towards the cyclops. The monster disintegrated on impact, which allowed Percy to call the water back and form the signature hurricane under his feet as desperation fuel his powers.

Emboldened by the display Percy was giving, the Hunter's gave a mighty war-cry and fought with renewed vigor. Bit by bit, they were able to cut down the monsters between themselves and Percy to rally around him. Thalia moved next to Percy, and a knowing look passed between them. Percy let his personal hurricane dissipate, which caused him to drop to the ground. Percy looked slightly tired and wavered on his feet slightly, but he still look more than well enough to fight. Then, working completely in sync as if they could read one another's minds, the two powerful demigods started conjuring a storm. Clouds quickly began to fill the sky as wind started howling and lightning flashed, before long rain began pouring down. Both demigods seemed to glow with power as they commanded the storm, causing the monsters around them to retreat as lightning started disintegrating them and wind threw them about one by one. However, the withdrawal did not last for long. Once the straggling monsters reunited with the main force, ranks were formed and they once again started advancing on the small group of Hunters. The girls responded by loosing a volley of arrows, which did well in destroying a rather large group of cyclops. A group of Hellhounds then charged forward, only to be suddenly bathed in fire from above.