The Blood of Olympus (Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 44: Frank

(listen to the song on the side during the chapter!)

Chapter 44: Frank

 

            THE SILENCE WAS KILLING FRANK.

            Why didn’t Gaea scream at them? Why didn’t she continue to ridicule and threaten them? Instead, she just stood there. Her eyes were closed, but Frank knew that she saw everything. This was the first time he had seen her in human form. For someone who wanted to overthrow the world, she was beautiful. She reminded him of a Disney princess, like Snow White or something.

            Everyone had whipped out their weapons. It wouldn’t do anything much good. Gaea was the most powerful being, even more powerful than Tartarus. If weapons didn’t affect Tartarus, it surely wouldn’t hurt Gaea.

            “Young heroes of Olympus,” Gaea said. Her voice was much more powerful now that she was in human form. Even though she sounded mad, there was still lightness in her tone. “You are the strongest demigods on the earth. You should feel… accomplished for staying alive this long.”

            Nobody moved a muscle. Percy’s jaw was set and it didn’t even look like he was breathing. Annabeth’s face was flushed in anger. Jason was breathing heavily, a look of pure rage set on his face. Piper’s hands were trembling. Leo’s whole body shook, steam rising from his curly hair. Hazel was chewing on her bottom lip, looking terrified. As for Frank, he kept his arrow pointed at Gaea. He didn’t dare to even blink.

            “Even some immortals would fall if they had to do what you did.” Gaea had a ghostly smile flickering on her lips. “Being killed by me will be somewhat of an honor. No demigod has been killed by me before. It was quite an impressive run, and now it’s time for this ride to come to an end.”

            She took a small step forward. Percy had an arm reaching towards Annabeth, as she did to him, as if protecting each other was an automatic thing. Jason sidestepped so he was shielding Piper, although she still had her hand clenched around her knife. Leo’s hands flickered with flames. Hazel didn’t move a muscle. Frank could feel his heart race even faster.

            “It’s time for the sacrifice,” Gaea hummed. Even though her eyes were closed, her head moved along the flank of demigods as if she were assessing them. “Surprisingly there are no major injuries… Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are my preferred choice, but they’ve barely got a scratch…”

            Percy’s face betrayed him. He looked down at Annabeth with the most painful look Frank had ever seen. Annabeth looked back at him, her bottom lip trembling.

            “Jason Grace, defying the odds again,” Gaea laughed. “Piper McLean and Leo Valdez… I see that Porphyrion and Tartarus gave you two quite a beating, hmm?”

            Jason’s lips pulled back in a scowl. Piper’s hand reached up, touching a cut on her forehead where the blood had matted into her hair. Leo just shook his head.

            “Hazel Levesque,” Gaea continued. “Still alive even after what has happened. It would be almost a blessing if I killed you compared to going back to Asphodel. Frank Zhang, I see you’ve put too much trust in that firewood… interesting.”

            Hazel’s mouth had opened in shock. Frank consciously touched his pocket, feeling the firewood through his clothes and fireproof bag.

            Gaea held out her hand. From the lifted base where she was intending to kill two of the seven, the knife suddenly flew from the base. It flew across the air and Gaea closed her hand around the hilt of the knife. Now that it was closer, Frank could see how long and sharp the knife truly was.