𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 ✦ JACKSON

𝐱. 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Zoe gasped. "Grover, thy cup."

Grover dropped his coffee cup. A few birds swooped down low then flew past us.

Grover collapsed next to his coffee. We gathered around him trying to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.

"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just... what's wrong with Grover?"

"No idea," I said. "He just collapsed."

"Uuuuuhhhh," Grover groaned.

"Well, get him up!" She had her spear in her hand like she'd been followed. "We have to get out of here."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Percy°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

We made it to the edge of town before two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road.

They drew their handguns. I'll admit I've always wanted to know how to shoot a gun, but now that a skeleton warrior was pointing one at me, I changed my mind.

Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiralled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch.

Rayn and I drew our swords but I wasn't sure what good they would do against guns.

Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca had trouble because Grover was leaning against her.

"Back up," Thalia said.

We started to but then three more skeletons appeared on the road behind us. We had been surrounded.

I wondered where the rest of them were. I had seen a dozen back at the Smithsonian. Then one of the warriors spoke into a cellphone but it just sounded like clattering and clicking.

"He's calling for help," Rayn said. "I think..."

"It's near," Grover moaned.

"It is here right now." I said.

"No," he insisted. "The gift from the Wild."

I wasn't sure what was going on with the team, Rayn had heard stuff than nobody else did and Grover was talking about a gift. Maybe this quest was cursed since I came along.

"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia said. "Five of us, five of them. They'll ignore Grover that way."

"Agreed," Zoe said.

"The Wild!" Grover moaned.

A warm wind blew blew through the canyon but I kept my eyes on the skeleton.

"Please say you heard that, or am I going crazy?" Rayn asked me.

"I can't hear anything." I looked at her. Did she whack her head?

We all charged the skeletons at the same time. The skeleton fired at me but I could feel its path. I deflected it off the edge of my blade and kept charging.

The skeleton drew a baton and I sliced off his arms at the elbows, then I sliced him in half.

Almost immediately the bones started to reassemble themselves.