Chapter 18

Monica…

I rise up from my bed slowly and fatigued. Artemis had me training yesterday with my water powers and I have never been this tired in my life. Not even when I had to run that half marathon with my mom when I was younger. Artemis, however had held back something. Something that had seemed to bother her, something that seemed to make her sad and depressed.

I get out of bed and I immediately regret it as I feel a wave of pain coming over my body which makes me stumble to the floor for a second. My legs felt as if they were cut off and stitched on without care. I slowly walk to my dresser and get dressed in boy running shorts and a t-shirt. She explained that this would happen and decided to give me the day off.

I walk off to the Morning Breakfast where there is hunters sitting with each other talking boisterously and jovially. I don't know where to sit so I sit at the one empty space with the exception of the one at the end of the wooden picnic table which I had learned was her seat.

My first training session of the next day is a survival hunt in the woods. Artemis gave us temporary paralysis. It was a titanium arm and a curved arrowhead. On the bow, there was a trident on it as there was on the arrow. It was one of my father's, Poseidon. The thing starts off with an arrow that whizzes past my face, nearly just nicking me. The thing is, one nick and that paralysis spreads like wild-fire.

Running, I jump and grip the closest tree jumping over a few hidden traps that are showing. I climb up to the top of the tree with the sack of arrows on my back and my arrow slung over my shoulder. I scale up the tree and crouch on one of the top branches. Notching my arrow, I look for one of the hunters, the arrow is pointed at the ground. I see a quick moving shadow and I stay as still as possible not trying to make a sound. I breathe like Artemis taught me to and released. The arrow whizzed past the tree and into the running silhouette. The person drops to the ground.

Notching the arrow again, I peer into the darkness of the forest and look for someone else when suddenly I hear a sound. Out of reflex, I create a barrier of ice between me and the arrow with only a bit of the arrowhead sticking out. I breathe steadily and shakily. I drop down to the dirt ground and look at the direction it came from. I run past the trees quickly and swiftly.

Whizz goes one of the arrows as it passes me by into the trunk of a tree a centimeter away from my hand. I crouch down and I see Thalia. With the least amount of sound, knowing her trained ears and everything, I release the arrow. Cringing, I see the arrow hit the tree a few feet off. I cuss under my breath, seeing her turn her face I notch another arrow and aim for her again but next thing I know my bow is hit with a brute force making a clang sound and it falls to the ground while my hand is numb from the vibrations. I drop to the ground, sprawled out as more arrows get closer to me. It was a few feet away but I couldn't reach it.

Suddenly a silhouette appears before me with a celestial bronze dagger. He swings the dagger at me but I roll to my left, flip backwards onto my feet and slash his throat with the sharp and jagged ice, causing blood to spray out rapidly and as he looks at me with a surprised face as he slumps to the floor into a heap. I stand there surprised with my hands slumped to my side as I just stare at the dead non-breathing body.

"Monica?" I hear Thalia scream, "Monica! Oh my god, are you okay?" I don't answer, all I do is point at the dead body. She looks over at the still-bleeding corpse. "Oh. OH." She says surprised, "I guess that training paid off."

"Haha," I laughed nervously, "Yah."

Leaves began swirling around us and Thalia and I prepare our weapons. The slumped body was lifted by a black fog, "NO!" Thalia screamed.

The body snapped in half with a crack of his spine leaving him slumped to the ground again where the earth consumed it in a massive heap, and then everything was normal again, except the body was now gone.

"Oh, shit," Thalia muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Now we don't have any evidence on who the big boss is," she said, making air quotes around 'big boss.'

"Oh," I said a bit disappointed.

"But that won't be a problem," Thalia smirks, "Well, for you anyways."

And that's where everything gets fuzzy. I remember Thalia launching at me with fangs in her mouth and daggers sizzling from the poison she dipped it in. I try to dodge, but she tackles me to the ground. I try to push her off but she digs the dagger into my neck. I do a failed attempt to kick her and I blackout with the last thing I see is a black aura around Thalia with her eyes pleading and shocked.