𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐌 • Heroes of Olympus

D. A VERY LOUSY CHRISTMAS

Andy

THE REASON Andy left bunker 9 was to get away from all the anxiety of building an entire goddamn ship in six months. So when the scorpion first appeared at the subway station, it would be apt to say that she was mildly infuriated.

She had nothing against scorpions, of course, but this specimen was over 10 feet long and stood nearly 4 feet tall. Its glistening tail curved well above Andy, and its blood red eyes gleamed with too much intelligence. The sound of metal clinking released as it scuttled after her, a few paces behind.

As soon as she exited the station, Andy dived into the crowd, eager to lose the scorpion. But the beast followed without trouble, people parting before it as if it were a stray dog. Andy slipped behind a block, then took two lefts and came out on another street. The monster was nowhere to be seen. She jogged down another street, just to be safe, then crossed the road to a candy store.

Andy heard the attack before she saw it. A sharp, metallic swish, like a sword being swung. She managed to jump aside a millisecond before getting skewered by the scorpion's tail.

The annoyed monster turned around, pincers clicking. Andy drew her sword. She had neither any idea about how it managed to track her down within seconds, nor the time to think about it.

The scorpion struck again, this time with its pincers. Andy dodged the first one. She deflected the second one with her sword, the force of it knocking her to the ground. She rolled away just as its tail came crashing down, leaving a gutter in the asphalt.

Before the scorpion could turn on her, Andy sent a rope of light to bind its legs. The scorpion emitted a gravelly screech as it tripped over itself. 

But it wasn't enough. Andy barely got to her feet before the scorpion tore through the ropes like they were rubber bands. Muttering profanities, she ran down the nearest alley. The scorpion followed. The alley was a dead end, with only an overflowing dumpster at the end. Andy grabbed the biggest bag of garbage she could find and threw it at the scorpion.

Apparently, the scorpion wasn't a fan of garbage. It tore through the bag within seconds, sending its contents flying everywhere, and charged at Andy with a new vigor.

Chiron will make an example of me if I die here, Andy thought as she watched the scorpion approach, stinger raised.

Twenty feet.

Fifteen feet.

Ten feet.

Eight feet.

Five feet.

Four feet.

The scorpion's tail came shooting. Andy jumped aside. The stinger went right through the dumpster, spilling garbage out of the newly made hole.

All of a sudden, the scorpion unleashed a newfound aggression onto the dumpster. It stabbed at the dumpster with its pincers, screeching and scuttling. For a moment, it seemed to have lost its senses. Then, it hit Andy. The scorpion's tail was stuck.

It wouldn't be stuck for long though. The scorpion was already tearing the dumpster apart. Sending a prayer to whatever god resided over dumpsters, Andy ran to the scorpion's backside.

A scorpion's strength was its tail. Take it off, and you might as well have killed it.

It took her two tries to find the joint between tail and body armor. When she did, Andy drove her sword down with all her strength. The scorpion howled as its tail detached from its body. The tail twitched once, then went limp.

The scorpion whirled around. Its attempts to snap Andy in half turned more desperate, more angry. Despite her quick reflexes, a pincer tore Andy's calf. She hissed in pain and stepped back. The amputated scorpion charged. But this time, it made the mistake of screeching.