The New Avenger

Power

Alarm bells ring in my brain. I spin, a sight straight out of nightmares greeting me. Her hair is snakes. She isn't Medusa though. Its way worse than that. The monsters body is half human and half what appears to be dragon. But her skin is boiled and almost warty. Huge, razor sharp talons protrude from her disfigured hands. Oh, and then there the giant whip she's carrying. Which is slightly problematic. Its on fire, for one thing. Also, its about three times longer than me, which means I'll never get near her. Did I mention that I recognize her. You won't forget her face, for sure. Long ago I'd met her with Annabeth, in the labyrinth.

Kampe, the jailer of the cyclops, a nightmare among nightmares. She'd almost bested us last time. We'd only survived by running. This time there is no where to run. So I fall back on my good ol' fail proof plan of insulting her.

"Hey! Snake hair! Remember me?" I yell, trying to distract her from my friends.

"Perseus Jackson." She hisses. Something like a smirk makes its way onto her hideous face.

"Wow, you aren't looking so good. Tartarus not treating you good? Having daddy problems?" I taunt. I'm not dead yet but if she comes after me with that whip I am. And she will come.

So I do the only reasonable thing. I run. Right at her.

Before I move two steps her whip is there, curling around my arm in fiery tendrils. Pain erupts, searing through my body. Spots dance in front of my eyes. I battle to stay upright.

"Young hero, I see your skills are still lacking." Kampe roars. The pain is blinding, all-consuming. Riptide falls onto the grass. I'm entirely defenseless. "It would be doing all a favor to kill you." Her whip raises above me and I'm powerless to move away. There is just enough time for me to wonder if Charon will cut me in some slack about payment before it falls.

"Leave him alone!" A voice yells. But there is no one here who can help me. "Lady, what are you doing?!?" Then I recognize the voice.

"Radi, no!" I struggle to rise but my legs won't cooperate. Its to late. The whip cracks down. Everything slows as I pull myself forward. Trying to save her. Unable to. Radi's dark hair floats about her face, which is masked in pure agony. The burning weapon entangles her completely. Her mouth opens as if to scream, to plea for mercy but Kampe's choking her. She can't make a sound. There is no mercy.

Kampe cracks her whip and Radi is flung through the air. She hits the path to the underworld with a dull thunk and I need not even look to know she's dead. Rage burns inside me.

"Hiding behind a shield of mortals, are we Jackson? How heroic." Kampe sneers. I can't respond. I'm frozen in horror. "They're easy enough to take care of."

DJ is bending over Radi's broken body, eyes full of dread, "You, you killed Radi. How could you, you monster!" He stands, eyes now filling with hatred. His whole body is vibrating with it. And then DJ charges Kampe.

It's the dumbest, least thought out, bravest thing I've ever seen. But for all I know he could be seeing an old lady with a baseball bat.

The whip curls around DJ's chest, his whole body spasms in pain. He reaches for it, trying to pull it off himself. But he only succeeds in making the beast angrier. The whip tightens around him. A scream of agony rips from DJ's throat. Josiah rushes forward as if to help but I still can't move. The monster extends her talons, swiping away Josiah's life without a second glance. Three huge wounds bleed a river from his ruined chest.

DJ too falls to the ground, a huge red incision circling his chest. Kampe hisses in pleasure. I can't let her kill any more of the mortals. But she's to fast, to strong. Her whip is to long. There is nothing I can do. But then I remember. The body is 60% water. And I can control water. I reach my senses out, feeling for the liquid which flows through her veins. My body tingles with pent up energy, concealed power, hidden strength. A dark, twisted strength that is the only thing that could save us now.

Now she is the one screaming in pain. Her lungs are collapsing on themselves. Blood is boiling in her veins. Her skull is almost bursting with ever mounting pressure.

"Percy," Joy calls, he voice cracking, "Percy please..." But its not Joy who's speaking. Its Annabeth.

She standing in front of me, her feature pale and corpse like. "Percy, please don't ever..."Her voice breaks in a sob, "Some things aren't meant to be controlled. Please." The air is sulfurous and tinted with red. I can hardly breathe. I stare into Annabeth's dead eyes. They're so alive, so scared, that I have to let go of Kampe. Her screams still echo.

She lunges for Joy and Matt, the only one beside myself who are still alive. Her claws slice through them as in they're nothing at all. And then she's gone. From dust she rose and to dust she returned. But to late. To late for them and to late for me. 

A/N

Yes, I did just kill five people who were based on me and four of my friends. Whoops. Oh well. They're dead now. Also, you're welcome, I basically spend my entire Saturday working on this (I kept changing the monster...). I started on Thursday! But I wanted everyone's death to be perfect. Hope you liked it!