Cross My Heart | Jason Grace x Male OC

Chapter 15: This (Boy) Is on Fire

Amias was in desperate need of a shower. The first thing he would do when he got to back to Camp Jupiter is hit the spa. 

He was trudging through the snow around the abandoned factory he was sure the others had landed in. Festus had broken Amias's fall, so he wasn't injured, but he didn't know what state his quest mates would be in when he found them. 

Also, he had a feeling there were monsters lurking nearby. The Monocle Motors logo on the side of the building was most likely referring to Cyclopes, and Amias scowled at the thought. He hated cyclopes. They were huge, smelly, ugly, and really hard to kill. Just like his stepfather.

Somewhere inside the factory, he heard Piper's voice cry out: "Leo, help!"

Amias almost ran inside, then stopped himself. He knew cyclopes were capable of mimicking any voice after just hearing it once. But if that were the case, Piper could still be in trouble. Had she screamed like that before it caught her? He decided to proceed with caution.

Sneaking around the side of the warehouse, Amias found a staircase that led to a door the second level. He entered, drawing an arrow just in case.

Piper's voice called out again: "Leo?" It came from somewhere down below.

Why was she only calling Leo's name? Something might have happened to Jason. And what about Amias, did his comrades think he was dead? Maybe Piper just forgot his name.

Or they don't trust you, said the annoying voice in the back of Amias's head. Why would they? You're a monster.

Shut up, he told it.

Amias peeked around the corner of a stack of boxes and got a clear view of the dimly lit ground floor. Hanging directly above the assembly line, suspended by a chain from a crane on the opposite side, was a massive truck engine—just dangling thirty feet up, as if it had been left there when the factory was abandoned. Below it on the conveyor belt sat a truck chassis, and clustered around it were three dark shapes the size of forklifts. Nearby, dangling from chains on two other robotic arms, were two smaller shapes—maybe more engines, but one of them was twisting around as if it were alive.

Then one of the forklift shapes rose, and Amias realized it was a humanoid of massive size. "Told you it was nothing," the thing rumbled. Its voice was too deep and feral to be human.

One of the other forklift-sized lumps shifted, and called out in Piper's voice: "Leo, help me! Help—" Then the voice changed, becoming a masculine snarl. "Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quiet, eh?"

Yup, he called it. Definitely a cyclops. He wasn't expecting there to be more than one though. They're a pretty territorial species; the mothers don't even raise their young.

The first monster chuckled. "Probably ran away, if he knows what's good for him. Or the girl was lying about there being a third demigod. Let's get cooking."

So the monsters had no idea Amias was there. Great. That would make it way easier to slay them.

A bright orange fire flickered to life and Amias was temporarily blinded. He activated the built-in shield in his left arm to protect his eyes. When it was safe, he peeked over the top and became aware of just how dire the situation was.

The two smaller things dangling from crane arms weren't engines. They were Jason and Piper. Both hung upside down, tied by their ankles and cocooned with chains up to their necks. Piper was flailing around, trying to free herself. Her mouth was gagged, but at least she was alive. Jason didn't look so good. He hung limply, his eyes rolled up in his head. A red welt the size of an apple had swollen over his left eyebrow.