The Nature of a Demigod

Bone Chilling Cold

"But so what! Percy, Chiron, Annabeth. Me. We want to get involved because we care. You're my friend too, Y/N. I'm tired of losing friends."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Thalia." I replied. "It's not just sentiment. You're a good person. You deserve to be treated like it."

"Maybe. So what? In this life, you can't worry about other people more than yourself if you want to live. And I want my friends to live, okay?"

Her face screwed up in annoyance. I couldn't help but chuckle softly. She glared at me, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

I replied, simply with, "You're cute when you're mad." The anger melted off her face like snow in the sun. Instead, she started stammering.

"Stop distracting me!" She yelled. "You have the same issues that you said the others have. You worry about everyone more than you worry about yourself. And it's frustrating."

'Well let it be frustrating.' I wanted to say. Instead: "Because maybe I don't want to stay alive, Thalia." I said, probably snapping a bit too much. "Look, in my life so far, everything has ended in pain and suffering. If I lose my life saving someone I care about, then that's a life well lived. Whether it ended early or not."

Thalia slugged me in the chest. "You might not think it, Y/N. But your friends want you to live. Just like you want them to." I held my tongue. "People care about you. We want you here. Okay? Try and stay alive. That's all I ask. I'd say you owe me that much for saving your life."

I took half of a deep breath, nodding my head in frustration, trying to come up with a reply, before I froze.

A warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of spring weather had gotten lost in the middle of a blizzard. Like the air was fresher than the day the earth was formed. Crisp and clean, flowers and pollen.

It felt like something was speaking to me. Trying to tell me something. Trying to warn me. I shivered like someone stuck ice in my underwear. "What the hell was that?" I asked, searching our surroundings, trying to place whatever had just happened.

Before I could even process that, I heard a clattering sound. Thalia's eyes widened and she drew her spear. From the edges of the town, I could see them coming after me. The skeleton warriors.

"We gotta warn the others." I hurried her. She nodded and we sprinted down the street.

"Hey!" Thalia said, as the others came into our line of sight. "I just..." That's when we noticed Grover out cold on the ground with the others surrounding him.

"What's wrong with Grover?"

"He just dropped." Percy said, manic, picking the satyr up from the ground, and sitting him up. "Uuuuuhhhh," Grover groaned. "Well, get him up!" I said. Suddenly, Thalia had her spear in her hand. "We have to get out of here." she informed the others. Percy beckoned for me to help him with Grover.

After I put one of Grover's arms on my shoulder, and Percy hoisted the other, we made a break for it, but only got to the edge of town. That's when the first couple of skeleton warriors approached.

They poked themselves from out of the treeline, standing on either side of the road, basically telling us that we had nowhere to really run, since we were getting flanked on two sides. They weren't wearing camouflage anymore. Now it was blue New Mexico state police officer outfits. But their skin was still that unsettling gray skin and those piercing yellow eyes.

The warriors drew their guns. One black nine millimeter for each, pointed right at us. I drew my sword as Thalia tapped on her bracelet and pulled out her shield Aegis. The skeletons stood, staring at us, unflinchingly. Their dull, yellow eyes were glaring holes straight through me.