Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 50: Infiltration And Looming War

Selina Beauregard

"Their camp must be close," Xandra says as we start creeping our way through the thick forest. "Why say that?" I ask, looking around for any signs of life.

"Traps. A lot of them are placed around in the area. I can feel them," she explains. A sigh leaves me. Of course, there are traps.

"Can you avoid them or dismantle them? Aileen is still in the camp, I think. The arrow still points to the same direction," I say to my... girlfriend? Something to ask later.

"Eh, eh, it's me you're talking to! Of course, I can. Just give me a few seconds," she says as she drops to a crouched position. Xandra takes out several bronze machine parts out of her backpack along with her tools.

Her hands start to work in a speedy and skilled manner on the different parts. It is always a marvel to see her work. Sure, her siblings are equally skilled, call me biased, I think she is better than them. Along with her brother, I suppose.

In a few seconds, she holds up five bronze spheres. On the outside, you can see thin threads moving in a rhythmic and beautiful pattern. Although, something tells me they are not to be admired. They look strong and sharp. I bet they can cut through all kinds of metals and materials.

"This will disable them. I can't make a lot, unfortunately. It should be enough to make a safe passage to their camp, though," she explains.

"You're amazing as always, Xandra! Come, we better get going. Who knows what they're doing to Aileen," I say. Xandra nods and leads the way.

Our path was indeed sprinkled with traps. Xandra skillfully avoided them, or she used a sphere to disable it. The sphere created a whirlwind of metal strings that destroyed anything in its path, the traps included. We soon approached a camp where several fires are burning with many tents around it to give the camp its form.

They are preparing for war. Luke must think he can march on Camp Half-Blood when the barrier is down. By the looks of it, more are bound to join them. The open space is barely half filled with tents. From what I can see, the camp is split into two. One part looks to be more occupied with mainly Demigods, while the other with giants and hellhounds.

I swallow thickly as I see it. We are fools. My siblings and I are fools. There is no escaping this. Even us love children must answer the call. It's time we prepare and train for battle. My gaze briefly goes to the compass, and it points to the large tent in the middle. I exhale deeply as I turn to Xandra.

"Do you have any toys left, Xandra? We can't storm the camp. And sneaking through the camp will be difficult when we need to get to the middle of it," I say in a whisper tone. Xandra sighs as she looks in her backpack. "I am kind of running out of materials, Selina..."

I pinch the bridge of my nose to think. We need a distraction. The bigger, the better. What to do? My gaze travel to Xandra again as the perfect distraction pops into my head. "You!" I exclaim softly. Xandra raises an eyebrow in surprise. "I can fight, but even for me, fighting more than sixty enemies is beyond me."

"No, no, your fire! How big can you make it? A fireball would do the trick! Or something that will create a large distraction!" I explain to her. Xandra nods as a wide grin forms on her lips. "Oh, you bet your pretty butt I can! Watch and admire!" she says, rubbing her hands together as small flames flicker alive and disappear with each motion.

"Xandra! You're almost as bad as your brother," I say with reddening cheeks. She merely shrugs with a soft grin as she extends her hands towards the camp. A soft sigh leaves me as I turn my attention to the camp.

The fire that are spread around the camp were becoming slowly more intense. Each of the fiery curls inching closer and closer to the fabrics of the tents. The giants walk among them, unassuming or not caring. They seem to be more occupied by petty squabbles among them. Some are even hitting each other at times. Unorganized by the looks of it. It's still early in this conflict, and time will mend these issues.