Forgotten memories

A human shaped Ballistic missile

"Christine!" I yelled, my voice bouncing off the walls of the forge.

Percy let out a scream, calling for Annabeth, and then, out of nowhere, he was slammed to the ground.

"Shhh!" An invisible hand clamped over my mouth, and I felt myself being wrestled down behind a massive bronze cauldron beside Percy. "You guys want to get us killed?"

I found Christine's head in the dim glow, and she removed her hair tie. For a moment, she shimmered into existence, her form solidifying in front of me. Her face was streaked with ash and grime, scowling fiercely. I glanced over at Percy, who had lifted Annabeth's cap from the floor, looking half-dazed.

"Orion, what is your problem?" Christine hissed, eyes darting nervously.

"We're going to have company!" I whispered, quickly explaining the monster orientation class we'd stumbled into. Her eyes went wide with realization.

"So that's what they are," she breathed, her voice low and tight. "Telekhines. I should've known. And they're making...well, look."

We peeked cautiously over the edge of the cauldron. In the center of the massive platform, four sea demons worked with terrifying precision. Fully grown and at least eight feet tall, their black, slick skin glistened in the firelight as sparks flew from their hammers striking a long piece of glowing-hot metal.

"The blade is almost complete," one of the demons said, voice a guttural rumble. "It needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals."

"Aye," a second growled, eyes gleaming. "It shall be even sharper than before."

I whispered to Annabeth, "What is that...?"

She shook her head, tense. "They keep talking about fusing metals. I wonder—"

"They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon," Percy interrupted, voice low. "And they...they said they made my father's trident."

Annabeth's expression darkened. "The telekhines betrayed the gods," she said. "They were practicing dark magic—some kind of forbidden technique. Zeus didn't take it lightly. He banished them to Tartarus."

"With Kronos," I added, shivering.

Annabeth nodded grimly. "We have to get out of here—"

No sooner had she said it than the door to the classroom exploded inward. Young telekhines came pouring out, stumbling over one another, snarling and trying to figure out which direction to charge.

"Put your cap back on, and you, with your hair tie—get out!" I ordered.

"What?" Annabeth and Christine shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving you two!" Annabeth yelled.

"We've got a plan," Percy said firmly. "We'll distract them. You two use the metal spider to get out. Maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You'll have to tell him what's happening."

"But you'll be killed!" Annabeth screamed, fury and worry in her eyes.

"I'll be fine," Percy said coolly, though I could see the tension in his jaw. "Besides, we don't have a choice."

Annabeth's glare could have melted steel, and then, surprisingly, she leaned in and kissed him. I and Christine exchanged stunned glances. Christine's cheeks flushed bright red. Annabeth pulled back, smirking slightly. "Be careful, Seaweed Brain," she said, slipping on her cap and vanishing.

I picked up the hair tie from the ground and handed it to Christine. She hesitated, unsure, but I gently held her hand.

"We'll be fine. We've faced worse. Now go," I urged.

"But—" she started, but I cut her off.

"As the son of Lady Artemis," I said, letting my voice firm but comforting, "I order you to get out and let us handle this...please."

After a long, tense second, she nodded, looking me in the eyes before vanishing into thin air. I turned to Percy, who was staring at me in utter shock. I chuckled lightly, teasing. "I ain't kissing you, just so you know."

Percy probably would have sat there for the rest of the day staring at the lava, lost in thought, if the sea demons hadn't snapped him back to reality.

"There!" one bellowed. The entire class of telekhines charged across the bridge toward us. We bolted for the center of the platform, startling the four elder sea demons so badly they dropped the red-hot blade. It was about six feet long, curved like a crescent moon, and glowing with deadly intensity. I'd seen terrifying things before—but this...this was something else entirely.

The elder demons recovered quickly. Four ramps led off the platform, and before I could pick a direction, each demon had blocked a different exit.

The tallest one snarled, voice a rolling growl. "What do we have here? A son of Poseidon?"

"Yes," another growled. "I can smell the sea in his blood."

"And what is this?" a third snapped. "A scent I've never encountered?"

Percy raised Riptide, my gold sword sparking to life in my grip. My heart was hammering so hard I thought it might burst.

"Strike one of us down, demigods," the third elder hissed, "and the rest of us will tear you to shreds. Your father stole from us, took our gift, and said nothing as we were cast into Tartarus. We will see him and all the Olympians ripped to pieces!"

I wished desperately for a plan. I wished we hadn't left Annabeth and Christine behind, for their safety—and yet, now it looked like this might be the place we'd die. No prophecies would save me. Just molten rock, roaring flames, and a pack of dog-faced, sea-lion hybrid monsters. Behind them, the young telekhines had arrived, snarling and snapping, waiting to see how their elders would handle us.

The tallest telekhine smirked cruelly. "Let's see how strong he is. Let's see how long it takes him to burn."

He scooped molten lava out of the nearest furnace. His fingers ignited, but he didn't flinch. One by one, the other elder telekhines did the same. The first hurled a blob of molten rock at me, and my pants ignited instantly. Two more splashed across my chest. I dropped my sword, flailing at the fire as the heat seared through every inch of me.

Percy was hit too, but compared to me, he was barely sizzling.

"Your father's nature protects you," one elder growled, "makes you resistant to burning—but not immune, youngling. Not impossible."

More lava flew, the air around us crackling with fire. My whole body was engulfed in flame. Screaming, I crumpled to the metal floor as the young telekhines howled in delight.

Then Percy let out a single, bone-rattling scream—a raw, guttural sound that seemed to shake the very mountain.

What happened next defies description. It was chaos incarnate—an explosion, a tidal wave, a roaring whirlwind of energy. One moment I was lifted high into the air, the next slammed down toward the molten lava below. Fire and water collided in a violent, almost apocalyptic clash. Steam hissed in blinding sheets, and thunderous blasts ripped through the cavern. It felt as if the mountain itself had decided to expel me, hurling me like a helpless, human-shaped projectile under unimaginable force.

And in that split second, just before I was certain I would be consumed, I remembered something—my talisman. Apollo had given it to me last winter, a gift meant to heal most wounds. For a sickening moment, I thought it wouldn't matter. But I had nothing left to lose.

With trembling hands, I clutched the talisman to my chest. And then—there is truly no better way to put it—I was launched. Shot clean out of Mount St. Helens like some deranged, human-shaped ballistic missile.