𝕚𝕧𝕪; annabeth chase

vii.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

and what an odd situation they were in indeed.

maddie dodged yet again as the skeleton swung at her hips with it's baton. it seemed to like that place best, as that was the third time it had gone for her middle. 

they had guns, which made maddie nervous. one had already fired at percy, but luckily, the lion's fur coat had saved him. unluckily, the rest of them didn't have a jacket, so they were completely vulnerable.

using the dagger that currently sat in her hand, maddie swung it at the skeleton's right arm. it came clean off, and fell onto the ground. the skeleton halted for a second, giving maddie the opportunity to raise her leg and kick it as had as she could in the stomach.

her foot met solid material, and the skeleton stumbled backwards. but, it quickly regained it's balance, not giving maddie enough time to catch a breath.

in a split second, it picked the fallen arm off the floor, reattached it to it's body, and began to swing at maddie yet again. 

just as maddie was beginning to feel a little tired, a small bang! caught her attention. whirling around, she saw bianca standing over what looked like a pile of ashes and a . . . police badge? the girl in question was holding a dagger, and looked twice as confused as maddie felt.

"how did you do that?" zoe asked. 

"i don't know," bianca said nervously. "lucky stab?" 

"well, do it again!"

she tried, but the other four remaining skeletons were wary of her now. the skeleton that maddie had been fighting stepped away from her. still, they pressed them back, keeping the demigods at arm's length.

"plan?" percy asked nervously as they retreated. 

"a gift," grover mumbled, still in a daze.

"okay, they're still outnumbered," maddie muttered. "maybe if we—"

her sentence was interrupted when the largest pig she had ever seen burst out of the bushes, crashing into the road. it was at least thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. it's back bristled with brown hair, and it's eyes were wild and angry.

"reeeet!" it squealed, and raked the four skeletons with it's tusks. the force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere. the boar then turned to the group of cowering teenagers.

thalia raised her spear, and maddie reached for another dagger, but grover yelled, "don't kill it!"

 the boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge. 

"that's the erymanthian boar," zoe said, trying to stay calm. "i don't think we can kill it." 

"it's a gift," grover said. "a blessing from the wild!"

"couldn't they have sent something a little less . . . murderous?" maddie hissed.

the boar squealed again and charged at them with it's tusks. zoe and bianca dived out of the way. maddie dodged the attack, lunging to the side.

"yeah, i feel blessed!" her brother yelled from the other side. "scatter!"

maddie backed away from the boar. everyone else scattered around in different directions, confusing the beast.

"it wants to kill us!" thalia said. 

"of course," grover said. "it's wild!" 

"so how is that a blessing?" bianca asked.