The Ancient Prophecy

28 : Cerberus - Phedora / Petros

     Phedora

"Is that..Cerberus ?" Phedora pointed in the distance to a big sillhouette .
    The three demigods were still walking through the crimson forest . The road they walked on seemed to divide in three different paths , leading in three different directions .
    Right before the splitting stood a dog , the size of ten . It had black fur and three heads . It was sleeping , blocking the road with its enourmous body . Its tail moved slowly .
     Phedora observed the end of its tail was a serpent head .
    The three demigods could not dare to walk closer .
"Yes , I'm pretty sure that's Cerberus ." Charis whispered , loud enough for her friends to hear .
"Do we... wake him up ?" Phedora looked with confusion at the giant three-headed dog .
"Well.." Sot started "We can do that ... if you want to play fetch as a distraction with a three-headed dog of the Underworld that can eat you anytime ."
"So we don't wake him up then ." Phedora decided .
"Then how do we pass him ?" Charis asked .
     Sot put a hand on his chin , faintly squinting his eyes "As I recall what that Hades child said , I suppose we need to walk besides him ."
"So we walk out of our path and through the trees ?" Charis concluded .
Sot nodded .
"Doesn't sound too hard ." Phedora nodded to herself .
      Sot smirked "Not so fast . This is Cerberus we are talking about . He can sense every presence of everything , even asleep . It will not be that easy . Also , walking out of our path is risky and could lead to us losing the path and getting lost in the forest ."
"...great ." Charis sighed .
Yeah , very great .

      Petros

Hm.. this will be interesting , Petros thought as he looked from behind a tree . The tree was not too far from the main road , so it was not a risk that he could lose it . At least he hoped .

     Phedora

      And here they were . Trying to walk as silently as they could through the forest . Trying to focus on not walking on any fallen and dry leaf . Trying to melt any sound they made into the wind that could beat from time to time and made everyone shiver slightly .
Totally not easy , Phedora thought with a frown .
      And then it hissed . Cerberus's tail hissed at them . It had two long and sharp white teeth . A single drop of -Phedora thought- venom fell from one of its fangs .
     All three demigods froze on spot .
     Then it hissed again . One of the three heads' eyes opened slowly . Then the other . Then the second head's eyes opened too . Then the eyes of the last head opened .
     Now Cerberus stood up , looking at the three demigods as they still stood frozen . The giant dog fixed its eyes on each . They were crimson red , the same as the leaves of the trees they've been passing besides .
"RUN !" , Phedora heard Sot yell .

   Petros

      Petros ran behind the chasing scene , trying to get closer to the giant dog . Cerberus was chasing the three demigods around the road .
Seems like they did not bring anything to play fetch with, Petros sighed as he ran .
      He made his sword visible , which hung on his back , right behind his backpack . It had enough space to be pulled out of its sheath . Petros pulled it out as he ran .
      He concentrated his last bit of stamina and ran as fast as he could until he was just some steps away from Cerberus . Then he poked one of his black-furred legs with his sword . Petros knew it could not even pierce it , but he only wanted to shift the hound's attention on him . And it worked .
      The giant dog stopped for a moment and started to turn into Petros's direction .
      Petros quickly ran around the hound in the opposite direction it was turning .
      When the hound saw no one was behind him , he stood there looking around hopelessly for some seconds .
     
     Phedora

       The three demigods were still running on the road . They were getting closer to the point where the road split in three . Sot ran in the front , leading them all to where he knew they should go . Charis was behind him , meaning that Phedora was running last .
      Then the sounds of Cerberus' running was replaced by the sound of some light steps . Phedora looked back to see Cerberus far back , looking in the opposite direction of them running . Then she saw a sillhouette running in their direction . It held a long bronze sword . Phedora could not distinguish much of the figure's features given the dark outfit they wore and the pulled hood on their head .
     Phedora quickly turned her head back with alarm on her face "Guys ! Look at our back !" she said , loud enough for her friends to hear in their running chaos .
     They turned their heads in a sync . Sot's eyes widened in shock "That's the sillhouette I saw some time ago ! I told you there was one !"
"Let's run faster , maybe it will lose us !" Charis suggested .
     The figure's pace started to slow down .
"Wait !" said Phedora , as she stopped from running .
"What are you doing ?!"  Charis yelled from behind her as she slowed her pace .
"The sillhouette seems to slow down !" Phedora yelled back .
     Then both Charis and Sot stopped from running and walked next to Phedora .
     The dark figure ran closer -still slowing its pace- and Phedora could distinguish the shape of a human . Tall and a slim built .
     And then it fell on the ground , luckly -or not ??- not impalling itself with the sword they carried .
"Should we.. check ?" Phedora asked , looking with confusion at the other two .
"Maybe we should just walk away , we're better off without a moving sillhouette chasing us ." Charis said as she frowned in the distance at the figure .
"I think we should check ." Sot said "I am curious to see who or what it is."
"And I want to know why did it help us escape Cerberus ." Phedora added .
"Did it really help us ?" Charis said , eyebrow raised .
"Maybe ." Sot said "Let's find out ."
     Phedora was the first to reach the figure . She made sure to take the sword from their hand before turning the human to stay with their face up . The hood fell from their head , revealing messy and wavy dark brown hair and a familiar face .
"Petros ?" Sot said as he knelt down besides Phedora .
"What is he doing here ?" Charis asked .
"We will find out when he's awake ." Phedora said "Maybe we should carry him with us to a safer place . We anyways need to rest a little before continuing our path ."
"Agreed ." Sot nodded .