Do-over (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

3. I hate cows

The sound of lumbering footsteps shook the ground. I turned around to see the seven-foot-tall figure of the Minotaur charging up the hill. Grover and my mum saw him too.

'Run!' I shouted as I pushed my legs to go faster. Grover was ahead of us and he was nearly at the border before he turned around. I couldn't see his face but he stood there for a while before running back towards me.

I wanted to shout at him to stop but the Minotaur was just behind me. I dived to the left just as he came barrelling past me, his lowered head running into the ground. The rain energised me but I couldn't do anything. I had no weapon and I couldn't use my powers now. Not with Grover and my mother here with me.

The bull-man pulled his horns out of the dirt and turned to his closest target. Unfortunately, that was Grover. I watched helplessly as the Minotaur charge Grover, his horns aimed at my friend's chest. Grover yelped and tried to dodge out of the way but he was too slow. Fortunately, the horns missed him, but the monster still hit him with his large forehead. I felt anger bubbling up inside me as Grover flew backwards and hit a tree before slumping to the ground motionless.

The Minotaur bellowed in anger before he charged me again. I stood my ground before I stepped out of the way at the last second. I was just about to jump on his back when I was suddenly propelled backwards. My head hit the ground and my vision went blurry. There was a sharp pain in my chest, like one of my ribs were broken but it was slowly fading due to the rain.

My vision cleared and I looked up to see the Minotaur charging me again. I was about to roll out of the way when he stopped abruptly. I watched confused as he turned around. That confusion was quickly replaced by fear when I saw my mum standing before the Minotaur holding a tree branch.

'Mum!' I yelled as the Minotaur reached out at the speed of sound and wrapped his meaty fingers around her neck. I shot up from the ground and started running towards them. I was too slow. With one last squeeze, my mum disappeared with a golden flash.

I froze. My mum was gone again. Even though I knew she was okay, that she was just in the possession of Hades, it still didn't soften the impact of losing her again, even if it was just for a little while.

I raised my hands as water rose all around me. The rain falling from the sky joining the mass of swirling water, adding to its size. My mum was gone. Grover was unconscious. Nobody would see me use my powers now.

The Minotaur paused. Even in the darkness, I could see the hesitance in his beady eyes. Before he even had the chance to attack me, I yelled and thrust my hands towards him. The water flew at him at speeds that shouldn't even be possible. The Minotaur staggered backwards at the force of the blast and tripped on the wet grass. The tug in my gut slowly growing as I willed the water to drown the monster. As he thrashed on the ground, I willed the water to stay encased around him, stopping all chances of escape. It wasn't long until the bull-man stopped moving and dissolved into dust.

I stood there breathing heavily as the water splashed onto the ground at once, taking the monster dust with it. I was about to go check on Grover when something on the ground caught my eye.

'No way...' I muttered as I walked up to the minotaur horn on the ground. It looked exactly like the one I had but the base of it wasn't broken. The place where the horn would have broken off was smooth, not jagged like it was. I picked it up and stuffed it into my pocket before I made my way to Grover.

I picked him up in a fireman carry but almost instantly, my legs gave way and I fell to the ground. I twisted in midair to make sure Grover wouldn't get hurt. I cursed and tried again but it was as if Grover was heavier, or at least heavier than I remembered.