The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 16: Heroes' Last Stand

Supporting each other, they stumbled into the trees. The sun was setting, giving the woods a spooky feeling, "I hate the dark," Jacob grumbled. "Can't see anything."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Hannah replied. "Darkness holds possibilities and magic."

"Whatever," Jacob said as they reached a break in the trees.

Another howl pierced the air, and both pulled out weapons. Jacob used his ring and watch to bring a Roman shield and a spear to bear, while Hannah drew a sword from the sheath at her side. They took up a position back-to-back, circling and examining the trees around them. As they did, the horde that had been chasing them emerged from the forest, they were surrounded. It was a last stand, and both knew it.

"Whatever happens, just know that I love you. Always have, always will," Jacob said sadly.

"I love you too," she replied. "I have since we were together in Elementary School. See you in Elysium, my Light."

With a roar, the monsters charged.

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The Hunt was running through Pennsylvania, looking for any sign of the two demigods. They were exhausted, but pushed on. Two lives hung in the balance, and Percy was determined to save the friends that had saved him. "Come on," Percy urged from the front. "They're close, I can feel it!" A few moments later, a faint howl could be heard to the southeast of the group.

"Hellhound, three miles out!" Atalanta called.

"Head towards the 'hound," Artemis ordered.

The Hunt changed course and headed towards the sound, and Percy prayed that it was his friends, and that they could get there in time if it was. As they got closer they could see a forest by the side of a road.

Once they neared the edge the Hunters slowed. "Must advance cautiously," Artemis warned. "There are many places to be ambushed in the forest." Just then another howl sounded from deep within the trees.

"Percy, wait!" Thalia cried as he dashed in after the noise.

"I won't let them get hurt!" they heard him call back.

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The fighting had only been going on a few minutes, but it was vicious. Both Jacob and Hannah were covered in cuts, and bruises were starting to form. Piles of dust lay around them, but more monsters kept coming. A Hellhound pounced towards Jacob, who dropped and thrust his spear upwards. As the monster exploded into shadow a cyclops hit him in the side with a massive club, making him go flying. Landing a few feet away, Jacob tried to stand while the world was still spinning. Hearing a scream of pain from Hannah's direction, he felt instantly renewed as the sight before him pumped his veins full of adrenaline and anger. She was on a knee, clutching her right wrist where a hand used to be. A dracaena stood over her, sword dripping with blood and prepared to strike. Before she could do so the same cyclops that had hit him lumbered over and hit Hannah over the head, causing her to crumple to the ground.

"No!" Jacob roared as he launched himself towards the monster. Crossing the distance in fractions of a second he impaled the cyclops with his spear. Jacob crouched in a defensive position over her body he spun his spear around like a madman, whacking, stabbing, and slashing at anything that dared come within his reach. Monsters closed in all around them, and Jacob drew on his last reserves of energy. "Get away from her!" he screamed as his eyes glowed a bright golden yellow as the remaining light from the setting sun seemed to gather around his body before exploding outward in a wave.

The monsters closest to him were returned to Tartarus the hard way, while the rest were flown backward. The light faded, revealing a barely standing Jacob. His spear hung limply from his hand and he couldn't even hold his shield up to defend himself. As he dropped to his knees a Hellhound seized the opportunity to pounce. Jacob tried to raise his shield in defense, but he was too weak. With a massive paw the monster took a swipe at him, and pain exploded down the left side of his face as he was thrown backward on top of Hannah.

Jacob heard someone yell "No!", and the last thing he saw through the blood and encroaching darkness was a silver blur jumping on top of the Hellhound, and then more rushing by.

#      #      #

Percy ran through the trees, hoping to find his friends. He paused a high-pitched scream of pain ripped through the air somewhere to his right. He skidded to a stop, pulling out Riptide as he did so. "It came from over there," Thalia said as she came up beside him, pointing with her spear.

"Injured female, 1000 yards!" Atalanta called. "Tracks suggest another was with her, likely male!"

The group then heard a male voice scream "No!", before a flash of light momentarily blinded them.

"Atalanta, take some girls and flank around to the right," Artemis ordered. "Elizabeth, take some and flank left. Thalia, you and Percy take everyone else through the center. I will follow, but will be unable to interact with the demigods if they are there."

A chorus of "Yes, M'Lady" followed before the groups broke off.

As they ran trees started to thin slightly, and the scene he saw in the clearing made his blood boil. Hannah lay on the ground, a pool of blood around her coming from where her hand used to be. Standing over her, with his back to them, was a man limply holding a shield and spear. Percy noticed that he could barely stand, and everything seemed to move in slow-motion as a Hellhound came from the shadows across the clearing. He knew that he wouldn't reach him in time, and could only watch as the Hellhound bounded forward, taking a swipe with one massive paw.

"No!" Percy yelled as Jacob was thrown backwards on top of Hannah, blood covering the left side of his face and a pair of glasses were askew, barely even on his face anymore.

Launching himself onto the back of the Hellhound Percy started stabbing like a madman as the Hunters rushed in from all sides, cleaning up what remained of the horde with hails of arrows and the blurs of knives. Thalia stood over the bodies on the ground, stabbing killing anything that dared challenge her. The fight was over in just under a minute, the element of surprise allowing the Hunters to kill most of the monsters before they could react.

A Daughter of Apollo by the name of Gracey rushed over to help the two demigods, Clara close behind. Percy stood anxiously by as Gracey felt for a pulse on both bodies. "Alive, but barely, they need extreme medical attention now," she said before turning to another Huntress. "Get the medical tent up now!" she shouted before turning her attention to stemming the bleeding from Hannah's wrist.

Percy then turned his attention to young Clara, who was standing over the body of Jacob. She had a look of extreme concentration on her face, as if trying to figure something out. Then, a look of surprise and recognition came over her face. Gasping she stumbled backwards, a hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"That's- That's my brother,: she said shakily. 

A/N: Anyone else getting major Deja Vu with this situation. It's almost like a hero we know has had to commit a last stand when being pursued by a horde of monsters. . . . . Eh, I'm sure it's nothing. Percy found his friends, but will he lose them just as quickly as he found them? Hannah's lost a lot of blood, and Jacob used up a lot of energy defending her. Also, will the campers that helped them avoid Annabeth's suspicion, or will they be caught? Guess we'll just have to find out.

Have a great day!