Searching For Serenity

Chapter 4

Artemis
Kluane national park
We've been tracking the manticore for the last two days and so far we haven't had much luck. All I know is that he has probably reached the border by now and we still have another day of hiking before we get there. It's going to be dangerous, a lot more dangerous than father made it sound, especially for me. I'm going to be stepping into the 'land beyond the gods,' and I don't know if he's noticed or not but I'm a fucking god. The implications don't sound too great, but I just have to nod and agree to the king of the gods delusions. I'm not going to put my hunters in any more danger than I have to.
We pushed far later into the night than we usually would before setting camp. We have roughly fifteen miles to the border as far as I can tell from the map. Distance is hard as there aren't many landmarks in this massive forest.
"Alright girls, rest up, tomorrow we will arrive in Alaska. We don't know what's waiting on us. I want three of you to keep watch throughout the night, switch shifts every couple hours or so," I said looking at around at the young faces of my nodding hunters.
"Alright off to bed with you," and with that I turned into my own tent.
Sneaking out shouldn't be too hard..., I thought. While my hunters have abilities far greater than almost any mortal I still worry about their safety, especially in a situation where I'm not at hundred percent. Lucky for me their skills are nothing compared to a god's.
I laid in my tent for an hour or so, never having switched out of my uniform. I got up and slowly crept to the flap of my tent, slowly pulling the enchanted zipper down and looking out.
If I know my girls they probably have two sentries watching the West side of camp, toward Alaska and one watching the East side, back the way we came.
I hopped out of the tent and made my way to the South side of camp after taking one more look to make sure no one has seen me I made a beeline straight into the woods, traveling a mile or so before swinging around back to the West.
The manticore didn't leave much in the way of physical tracks, but what I was following was his smell. The more powerful monsters leave a lingering smell wherever they go. Not a good smell, but one I've become well acquainted with throughout my years of the Hunt.
I pushed through the forest. I checked my map to see that I had crossed the border and I immediately felt it. I felt slow. I felt weak.
Maybe this isn't such a great idea..., I thought debating if I should turn tail and head back to New York with the Hunt.
I kelt walking while having an extensive internal debate when I suddenly came to an open barren landscape. About a mile ahead of me sat a large frozen river in the valley of two sets of mountains.
Whoa. This is beautiful.

Percy

Kluane national park
After a week of strolling through the park of mountainous terrain, with giant sections of forested land with frozen lakes cutting the landscape. I hadn't been this far East into the reserve. Many times I was taken aback by how beautiful this place is. But the valley I stood before was different. It was breathtaking.
Two sets of mountain ranges mirrored each other a mile apart. In the middle ran a jagged frozen river, which is flanked on both sides by boreal forests. Both sets of trees were were about half a mile wide and followed the mountain ranges as far as the eye could see.
To walk along the frozen river would be to expose yourself completely from every direction to everyone and everything within the valley. So I did the the smart thing and set off into the woods on the northern side of the river and resumed my stroll, waiting for fate to take action.

Artemis
Walking through the forest on the southern side of the river, I started getting a funny feeling. I'm not sure if it's the ominous tone of the freezing wind blowing through the branches of the frozen trees echoing off the face of the mountains on either side or something else. It felt like I was walking into something that was meant for me. This was meant to happen, that I was sure of, and I could only imagine that nothing good was going to come of this.
I kept on keeping on, the monster scent growing more and more intense. I was gaining on him. I walked for an hour through the seemingly endless valley before I thought I decided to switch to the other side to look for tracks seeing as the manticore definitely passed through here, but there were no indicators on this side of the river.
I stepped to the edge and double checked both ways like I was crossing a busy road, before sprinting out into the open trying to make up the ground as quickly as possible.
I was halfway across when I when I heard it. THWIPP, THWIPP, THWIPP.
I immediately dove to the right, not before having something impale me in the back of my left shoulder, sliding as I hit the ice. I immediately knew what had happened.
Ambush.
I jumped off and spun to find a cat like silhouette staring back at me with luminous eyes. One brown, one blue. The eyes of a predator. The manticore. He stalked out of the forest on all fours seventy odd yards away.
I cursed myself. He was waiting for me to try to cross. He knew I had been following him. I played right into his trap, in the land beyond the gods.
I reached over my shoulder with my right hand, trying to pull the spike out, "Ahhh," I gasped in pain.
Yep, definitely barbed. Not getting that out.
My godly pain tolerance seemingly wearing thin as I started to feel faint from the venom seeping into my ichor. I did the only thing I could. I willed a hunting knife to appear in my right hand. I couldn't lift my left arm to hold my bow if I wanted to. I felt I was already fighting a losing a battle, a funny feeling for me. I was desperate.
I charged the beast who chuckled at my recklessness.
THWIPP, THWIPP
Faster than I could blink two more barbed spikes were headed directly for my head. Luckily, I expected it and ducked to the left, still in full sprint.
"You so eagerly run to your death?" The manticore asked with a smile devoid of any humor.