The Wind's Solemn Requiem - Percy Jackson

Chapter V

Chapter V

A forest lay untouched, barren of any sentient life, filled to the brim with wildlife. The sun was still nowhere to be seen. The whole forest laid dormant and unmoving aside from the nocturnal animals.

Yet with the wind gathering at the middle of the forest, the animals scurried off in fear, unaware of why the wind was suddenly picking up at the middle of it all.

Percy landed on the ground with a thud, his two feet planting themselves firmly onto the ground. He could feel a small sigh escape his lips as he took in his surroundings. His expression showed tiredness, his eyes blank and devoid of any emotion. He readjusted his collar which was now messed up, due to the fast wind.

He rolled up the sleeves of his blazer, readjusting it back to place, rolling it up to his elbows. 

He was really tired.

The first few hours of being conscious for the first time in centuries, was spent trying to save the Olympians' asses and cussing them out for failing the very simple ritual to summon him.

He shook his head, clearing all his thoughts for the moment. There was no use dwelling on the topic now. He was stuck in his current predicament, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"When are we going to move out?" a rough voice asked, causing Percy to stiffen in his place. He could feel his breath hitch as he crouched into a low, hiding behind a bush, making sure his presence wasn't detected.

He did not, for the life of him, want to create a fight. He was still, for a lack of a better word, on cooldown. He couldn't summon his signature gale blades, he'd have to rely on his bow if things went south. His archery skills were not something he was all too confident with.

"Sir! We're just waiting on the preparations of our siege weapons." another one answered, causing Percy to curse silently.

"Quickly you useless brats!" he practically shouted. "We don't want our mistress to toss us to the curb!"

He could feel the curiosity building up in him as he chided himself. He could feel himself peek through the bush and paling at the sight. 

A massive army of monsters stretched as far as the eye can see. He could feel his breath hitch as he ducked right behind the bush. There was no way the demigods could handle that amount of monsters. He could feel another low and silent curse escaping his lips as he thought of a plan.

The monsters were varied. Some monsters had wings, some were simple humanoid monsters clad in armour, some were giants, some monsters manned siege weapons of insurmountable destruction. 

Yet one thing was common between all of them. They had scales of midnight black, mirroring the respective colour of the person they were working for.

"Hurry up!"

"Another second wasted and I'll shove this hammer down all of your throats!" the monster who he assumed was the general shouted out in annoyance. The monsters quickened their pace, prepping up the catapults that would be used to lay siege to Camp Half-Blood.

Percy's mind raced as his heartbeat skyrocketed. He needed to think of something, and fast.

"They're all ready boss!" someone called out, making Percy scold himself.

"Good, let's move out!" the monster commanded. He could hear the wheels on the catapults squeak forward, being dragged by multiple monsters with questionable strength.

He could hear the monsters march forward, their synchronized footsteps echoing throughout the whole forest, causing the local wildlife to scurry off for fear of the unknown. It was like a doomsday counter. The closer you'd hear the footsteps, the more dread would've been pushed onto you as the army approached closer and closer.