Falling Forest | pjo

The time I fell off a cliff

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            The girl Thalia, he heard Percy gasp in earlier, jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for her shield, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet. Charlie took this chance to jump in and swipe at the manticore.

Percy had never seen anything like what he was currently seeing. Even Thalia was surprised at the boy's ability with a spear. Charlie was deadly as he gracefully jumped to and fro, dodging each of Dr. Thorn's attacks and deflecting any that came at him. Percy watched as he used his spear to vault over the monster, grabbing his spear as he did so and stabbing downwards into the enraged manticore. He fought with such elegance that Percy thought seemed like a dance. He seemed even more immersed at fighting than the Ares cabin.

"Are you just going to stand and stare or are you going to help, seaweed brain!"

"Right." His face flushed before he moved out of the way of the missiles that the ash-brown haired boy deflected. After a minute, Dr. Thorn grew tired of the nuisance on his back and grabbed at his back. Noticing this, Charlie quickly detached himself and jumped off, landing next to Thalia.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at the two, and this time Percy could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpion-like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Grover then sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorns legs, entangling him. With Charlie's help, weeds wrapped around the man's tail as well, making it impossible to shoot more needles as it was tied to the ground.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible.

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

Percy didn't know what he was talking about, but he didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward them with a snarl.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, Percy remembered his own shield. He quickly hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from his brother, was badly damaged. Percy wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

He heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to him with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the beast, Charlie preparing to follow behind.

But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets.

'The helicopter has to be manned by humans. But, why the heck is it working with a monster?' Charlie thought, frantically.

The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction. After her, Charlie appeared and swung his spear in an arc, one that would've hit if the tail didn't intercept. The manticore threw the spear, the boy along with it, to the side.

Charlie landed with a grunt next to Thalia. How was fighting this damn manticore harder than fighting a drakon? He didn't know the answer to that.

"No!" Percy ran to help them. He parried a strike just before the needle could hit Thalia in the chest. He stood over them, shield raised, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. Percy gritted his teeth. It was noble, Charlie admitted but everything seemed so hopeless. He noticed Bianca and Nico huddling to the side with a blonde girl. He sighed in relief.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes. "

They were trapped between a manticore and an armed helicopter. Neither was a good option, but he wouldn't go down without a fight.

Then they heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past Percy like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorns shoulder. Charlie held his breath at the sight.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but Percy's eyes must've been playing tricks on him. No one, not even Apollos kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with him sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. The creature dodged the attack and slammed his tail into the boy's shield, knocking him aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

Charlie was absolutely speechless.