The Fleece of the Gods || The Riordanverse

Chapter II: McKay

McKay walked in darkness.

The moon hovered above him, casting a dim light on the camp. It was Apollo cabin's night to watch the border. For this amount of campers, it usually only needed to be one person, but with the rise of Kronos' army, Chiron thought having 3+ campers to watch the camp would be the better idea.

He retired the sword for his bow and arrow, which he much preferred. The bow fit comfortably in his right hand, while his quiver was slung on his back. His eyes scanned over his surroundings. He had chugged 3 cans of Dr Pepper, so he was wide awake and kind of had to pee, but he tried to ignore that feeling to the best of his ability.

He was near the front of the camp, where Thalia's tree stood tall. He could see it off in the distance, where the fleece glittered in the moonlight, and the dragon who protected, wrapped around its trunk.

His mind went somewhere else. He wondered how wonderful it would be, if he could climb to the very top, and look at the valley below. Thanks to his dad being the god of the Sun and all, he's always found heights fascinating. His dream in life is to ride Apollo's chariot and watch the world below fly by. He heard about what had happened last Winter with Percy Jackson and his friends, how Apollo gave them a ride to camp. He would've done anything to be there, and meet his father. He's seen him before and maybe said a few things to him, but he knew Apollo didn't truly know him, not like most fathers knew their son. Opal always tried to reassure McKay, saying that Apollo probably knows him, but like most gods he just acts... "too cool for school." Her exact words.

He snapped back into reality when Peleus let out a panicked bellow. McKay shot his head in the direction of the dragon, and noticed him unwrapping his tail from the tree. Then he saw two shadows, moving around in the dark.

McKay was taken aback for a moment, trying to figure out what was happening. Then he heard Peleus cry out in pain, and in that moment, he realized what the shadows were doing. They were hurting the dragon.

He charged forward, questioning whether or not to blow his horn to warn the camp of the attack, or help the dragon on his own, but once he heard another cry, he knew his answer.

He grabbed an arrow from his quiver and lined it perfectly with his bow. He pulled the drawstring back, then released. The arrow whistled through the air, and even in the dark, even with the target in movement, the arrow hit one of the shadowy figures in the shoulder.

He advanced forward. After getting closer, he noticed more shadowy figures. He set up another arrow, and prepared to shoot, but then he heard a sound behind him. He turned to place the noise, but he never could, because the world around him suddenly went black.

****

All demigods dream. Most aren't really dreams, more like nightmares. This one was no exception.

He was in some sort of tunnel, and in an instant, he knew he wasn't himself. His hands, large and hairy, the rest of his body covered with fur, and the only thing he was wearing was a pair of underwear. He could smell himself, anyone for miles could. Like a meat locker that's been forgotten since the 1800s. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a grunt came out. He decided to start moving forward.

The tunnel was dark, but his eyes had adjusted at this point. While he walked, the tunnel changed. From dirt to marble stone. He couldn't really put together where he was. He decided that his ignorance was bliss at this moment, because if he did know where he was, he'd crawl up in a bawl, and cry.

Suddenly, from down the corridor. He heard a noise. A call, a familiar voice. It was... his name. He started running towards it, no, bolting towards it. But then he wasn't running. The ground below him gave out, and he began to fall into a forever darkness.

****

"McKay!"

His eyes shot open.

The first thing he felt was a headache, and not one you get from lack of sleep, no, this one was more like a brick over the head sort of headache. At first the figures in front of him were blurry, and unrecognizable, but slowly, his eyes focused, and he realized who they were.

"O- Opal?" McKay managed.

She smiled, her dimples popping on her cheeks. Opal and one of his siblings reached down and pulled him off the ground. He reached up to the area of damage on the back of his head. The noise, it had been a person trying to ambush him. Although his headache was killing him, it was better than being dead. He wondered why he wasn't. This was clearly the act of a Kronos follower, yet he was still alive.

"What happened?" He asked, but at this point he already got a good look at the scene.

Chiron, Cora, and a few other campers were gathered around Thalia's trees, but they weren't too worried about the tree.

Peleus was on the ground, one of his wings had been damaged greatly, and there was a large gash on the side of his body. His breathing was slow. A few of McKay's siblings were trying to treat the wounds, but healing a dragon was different than healing a human.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't have to look to see that it was Opal's. "Come on, let's go get you an ice pack. You have a bit of a bump but nothing too bad."

But he didn't want to go. He wanted to help, he wanted to do something. Peleus was hurt because of him. If only he had blown the horn, the camp would've known they were being attacked. It was another one of those moments where he wasn't thinking. He had a lot of those.

"I can't leave Peleus." He said.

Opal removed her hand. "Okay... but Micky, there's something you should know."

He turned to look down at her, but she didn't meet his eyes. They were already on the tree, full of worry.

He followed them, and realized what she was looking at. Well, more like what she wasn't looking at.

"The Golden Fleece..." she began.

McKay swallowed. "It's missing."