In which the daughter of Hephaestus risks it all to try and save her best friend...
JOAN JACKSON is the daughter of Hephaestus. She has spent her entire life on the run, but never alone. With her friends Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth she makes it to C...
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Chapter One I Become A Tree Hugger
"Faster! Come on, we have to go!" a voice shouted. My head was pounding and my legs were carrying me as fast as possible. It was damn near impossible to see anything in this forest, especially in the dead of night. Still, I kept my eyes trained on Luke and Annabeth's back. As long as I didn't lose sight of them I wouldn't get lost.
Thalia took up the rear, holding her long thin spear and her shield, Aegis. For the past two years, we had become not only inseparable, but also weapon collectors. Luke had a new sword named Backbiter and even young Annabeth had received a small dagger. If you're asking why I'm rambling about weapons right now, I have a six hundred pound reason behind us.
The minotaur was terrifying. By the time our new satyr protector, Grover, had found us, the minotaur had been in pursuit. The minotaur was also pretty laid back for this specific murder mission, only wearing underpants and a mean glare. Seriously, if you're going to kill me at least dress for the occasion.
We didn't want to say it, but we all knew why the minotaur was chasing us so intently through the forest. Thalia was the daughter of Zeus, a child of the Big Three. A forbidden child. A child that everyone wanted to kill. The gods were mature level headed adults like that.
Grover was in front of us, yelling at us to run faster. If it didn't exhaust my breath as much, I would have shouted something back along the lines of, "Sure man! Just give me those goat legs and we'll race!" His hooves were moving with ease above the forest greenery. My sneakers weren't having the same luck.
Luke had Annabeth on his back, per usual. Ever since we had found Annabeth last year, Luke, Thalia, and I made some unspoken pact to keep her safe. Annabeth was only seven. We felt some sort of responsibility to her. Whenever we had to start running or fighting, we always made sure that Annabeth was behind one of us. I squinted my eyes as I stared at Luke's back, Annabeth holding onto his shoulders.
The minotaur was closing in. We still had a good distance between us and the camp border. I could see the archway, but I couldn't see all of us making it there. If anyone was going to make it to safety, it had to be Annabeth.
Thalia seemed to catch on to my thoughts as we both stopped running at the same time. I unsheathed my sword as it glinted under the dim moonlight, a deadly silver gleam. I was a good swordsman, but not many people could take down a minotaur.
"What are you doing?" Grover yelled. Thalia raised her spear and pointed it at the minotaur. I cleared my throat and called out, "Get Annabeth to camp! We'll hold it off!"
I saw Luke hesitate. He had Annabeth on his back but part of him looked torn. He wanted to run back and help us, but he had a responsibility. I mouthed to Luke "It's okay."
Have you ever seen professional bull riders? How they jump on the bull's back, last about five seconds, and get flung off and land in a pile of mud? That's basically how the fight went.
