A Half-Bloods Nightmare ~ Percy Jackson Fanfiction

A Series Of Unfortunate Chapters by Cara Greene ~ Ch13

She turns and holds up her arms, "Then Apollo must be your dad-"
But her words are cut as she trips into the ground. She slips in the wet mud and her leg bends awkwardly, tripping me with her as it grabs onto my left foot. I gasp as I lose my balance and fall face first onto the mud, a huge smack of it flies into my hair.

The girl grunts and looks up, turning her head to get a view of the metal birds. "Oh no! No no no no no no! Get up!" She orders, slightly shoving me. I pull my fist out of the mud and am about to run ahead, until she howls in pain. I instantly turn, leaning on my elbow as I lay on the ground. She howls in pain, circling her fingers around the spot that an arrow has shot her.

Panic seizes me as I view the golden object in her abdomen. A frustrated expression grows upon her, "Son of a...this freaking hurts!" She growls. I narrow my eyes at the sky, blinking away the rain that pours into my eyes. The birds are deathly close, I could practically touch them. They shriek in sharp vibrations, an obnoxious fluttering sounds from the air.

I get a good look at them, and wonder how great my options are. Their feathers are a mix of gold and silver, each one its own color and made out of a strong metal. Their beaks were triangular and bronze, a long line of triangles and spikes made up their teeth. They zoomed at us in creative patterns, but they were meant for deadly use.

I sit down correctly and grab onto the girls arm, she grunts in aggravation at her pain. "Okay...okay I can handle this! Just, move! Cmon, just slowly slide away!" I dumbly offer. But she can't move. The arrow may be only half a foot long, but it hit her in a sore spot. She would have to decide if she wanted to move or not.

An arrow whizzed past a tree and hit only two inches from my leg, into the ground. I pull back, resting on one knee, I felt calm. They were just birds, what could they possibly do? The girl looks up in pain at the coming creatures, "Stymphalian birds can tear the flesh off of a mere human. They will chew and peck at every corner, and they will definitely not hold back! They will strip you to bones if you don't go!" She explains.

I stare angrily at her, that doesn't help. She shakes her head and slightly winces at the gesture, "I-it's fine...you can go just...just get away from them," she requests. Holding onto her stomach in pain she pulls the arrow out, only to be followed with a whimper and cry. "Bad idea" she whispers, her eyes tilting in different directions.

I look back at the birds, feeling helpless. The sun wasn't out, and I had nothing to defend ourselves with. Why did I think I was so...so -so special!? Like this was a privilege?! Being chased by metallic monsters and being shot at with arrows. I dodged another that almost hit my side. I may have been a demigod, but I was useless. I could have run if I wanted to, but I was too scared. Too scared to fight.

"You better run!" She shouts in pain, struggling to move. "From their measurements in feet and height I suspect they'll be here in only-"
Once again she's interrupted as one bird flies past her head and sticks into the mud. Our horrifying stares watch the monster chew and bite rapidly at the ground, biting with all its power. The only way that the bird could have missed, was on purpose...a warning.

The girl screams at the birds that are aimed directly at us. I felt my fear increase, the image of my death...my body being torn to pieces and ripped off by not one, but a thousand birds. The girl kept screaming as they come only ten feet from our faces. I watched in fear at the bird heading towards me, glaring with black beady eyes.

I could have been thinking of a lot of things, but the only thought that crosses my mind is, "This is it." I shut my eyes and sob in the rain, wondering if the girls screams are from being torn to bits. A loud screech emits closely and I hold out my hands to cover my face. Shivering in the rain.