Icarus - Annabeth Chase

chapter ten.

The first skeleton fired. She didn't have the time to play games so she just let it hit her, the pain being ignored as she continued to charge. She deflected the second one but got hit with the third. She ignored the pain, ignored the way Bianca called out for her when she saw the impact and kept charging. 

She slid on to the ground and knocked the skeleton onto it's feet before stabbing the sword right into where it's heart was supposed to be. They watched as it erupted into flames and disintegrated leaving a police badge on the ground. She was to distracted to see the other skeletons aiming their guns at her only to feel three more bullets pierce her body, she groaned in anger and charged at them as well, slicing one through the head, spinning and doing the same to the other one. They erupted into flames as well. The fourth one tried to charge at her but she ripped it's head from it's body and stabbed it right in the chest.

The last one instead of going at Akira, charged at Bianca and she thought the girl was gone but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.

"How did you do that?" Zoe asked.

"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?"

"Doesn't matter. The rest are on their way." Akira spoke, her shirt was so full of blood she just decided to take it off, bullet wounds bleeding but she didn't seem to care. 

"Plan?" Percy said as they retreated.

Nobody answered. The trees behind them were shivering. Branches were cracking.

"A gift," Grover muttered.

And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig they'd ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.

"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed, and raked the trees aside with its tusks. The force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces. 

Then the pig turned on them.

Thalia raised her spear, 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!"

The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. Percy had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express, unluckily for her, Akira was tossed into a tree, back groaning in protest.

"Akira!" Bianca yelled but she just waved them off.

"Run! I'll be right behind you!"

"Yeah, I feel blessed!" Percy said. "Scatter!"

They ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused. Akira stood shakily for a second then bolted, running as fast as she could through the trees.

"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.

"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"

"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.

"Shut it and keep fucking running!" She sounded winded but of course she would, she just got shot like a bajillion times and sent flying by a huge pig and yet she kept running like she was perfectly fine, Percy aspired to be that nonchalant.