The Sun in the Shadow

Chapter 12

Annabeth and Hazel soon realized their mistake when they begun attacking the skeletons. While planning out the attack, they had forgotten that the attack wouldn't do much if they weren't twice as strong.

"Just die already!" Hazel shouted as she slashed down another mid-1800's soldier. Its clothes tore and bones knocked out of place, but it didn't seem to concerned.

Annabeth kicked a more recent looking skeleton in the chest and then caught its firearm, unloaded it, and threw it at three oncoming attackers. "If only someone here was, I don't know, the daughter of Hades and could make them all obey her! That's what we need!" Annabeth yelled over the crunch of bones and swords clashing.

Hazel hacked of a skeleton head, crushed it under her foot, and proceeded to hack off the skeletons limbs until it could do no more than feebly hurl its chest towards her. With a kick that would impress World Cup players, the chest flew into the castle wall and shattered.

"This isn't the greatest time to remind me, Annabeth!" Hazel replied as she took another step back from the wall of oncoming bones and bad fashion choices. The ones with firearms tried to shoot them but found the recoil to do more damage to them than to their targets and they had terrible aim anyway.

Annabeth too took a step back and the girls jumped when their backs collided. "We've got to get through this, Hazel. Will is stuck in there. Nico is stuck in there. We have to save our friends no matter how hard the obstacles are." Annabeth spoke in a low tone as she waited for another attacker to advance from the mass.

Hazel nodded and said, "Give me a minute or so. I think I can take down enough to get us back in even." She crouched down and tried to clear out all the sound as Annabeth clashed with multiple opponents. Underneath her was tons of some type of precious jewel, more than any she had ever felt before. Gritting her teeth, Hazel pulled on the rock with all her strength, standing up as it emerged and soon towered over them. With a final push she tipped it away and it fell, hard, on top of all the skeletons advancing towards her.

Annabeth continued fighting, her back turned, but she asked, "You just did a super awesome thing with your Hades powers, didn't you?"

Hazel shrugged, cut down a soldier and said, "Yeah, pretty awesome," in a nonchalant tone. But they both could see that it had drained her and there was still more skeletons to be crushed.

"What should we do know?" Hazel asked, breathless as they fought nonstop.

"Just try cut down as many as possible and then crack through the wall," Annabeth replied in an exhausted whisper. A skeleton jumped towards her and she slashed it down to the ground and then stomped on all the vital parts. It hurt her feet, but it was the only way to keep them from standing up and attacking again.

Hazel slashed down another and nearly collapsed as its hand knocked her shoulder before going down. " I don't think I can last much longer," she breathed and tried to right herself.

"Me neither," Annabeth admitted. Her arms felt weak and the complete lack of moisture in the air made it seem like her lungs were burning. A skeleton landed a hit on her back and she cried out, falling to her knees. A second later Hazel was hit on the side and she dropped next to her.

Annabeth cursed, grabbed a hold of Hazel, and tried to protect her using her own body as a shield. She could hear the skeletons advancing and there was an almost haunted laughing in the air, like they knew they would win. But no hit made it on them, for right then two people screamed a battle cry like no other ever uttered before.

"BOYFRIEEENNNNDDDSSS TO THE RESCUE!"

Though it was more like one enthusiastic idiot yelling it and a less enthusiastic growl from the dragon carrying it.