Return of the Titans

[OLD] CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It took 0.005 seconds for everyone to absolutely lose their minds.

The gardens were wrought with hysteria, with students and teachers alike fleeing in all different directions. Dryads poofed into blankets of flowers, one even turning into a baby redwood from right where she stood (she was still tall, even in plant form). Satyrs frantically chewed at their clothes as they ran for the only exit, wailing about the end of the world just as another explosion tore through the North Wing.

"What's going on?" I shouted over the cries.

"I don't know. Miss Parks!" Doc called up to one of the few teachers who were trying to direct the flood of frightened kids. She was indicating the exit to the racetrack, and when Doc called for her, she left her perch on top of a statue's head to fly over. "What's going on?" Doc demanded.

"We're being attacked, sir," Miss Parks answered hurriedly. She landed awkwardly at Doc's feet, but her wings never stopped moving. By how hard she was waving them, it looked like that was the reason why she spoke with so little breath and not because of the situation at hand. She had to have been the biggest harpy I've seen all day. Standing no taller than three feet off of the ground, she could only be described as a feathery potato with toothpicks supporting her, and that was putting it nicely.

"Attacked?" Doc repeated. "How can that even be possible? The walls are supposed to keep this from happening."

I heard a faraway whistle and looked up in time to see a boulder the size of a Suburban sail through the air like a ball of crumpled paper. It looked like a tiny dot until it crashed through the roof of the North Wing. It imploded in on itself, dust climbing out of the gash that it created, and I saw terror-stricken SST's fly out to escape it.

My heart sank lower than my ankles. "Somebody forgot to tell them that."

"Frankie!" I spun around to see a familiar kid rushing toward me. Jay slid to a stop and I could tell that he was as confused about all of this as I was. His hair couldn't stop sparking and he nearly electrocuted a bolting centaur when he loped past. The boy needed help.

I caught him before he could crash into somebody. "Dude, slow down. What's the problem?" Besides, you know, getting freaking attacked.

"Lions! Big, ginormous lions, with loin clothes!"

"Did you say lions?" Doc butted in. "Are you sure?"

Jay nodded. "Yes, sir. Huge guys with lots of fur and claws. And weapons! Lots and lots of weapons!"

Doc looked away. "Something's wrong. Miss Parks, are our defensive maneuvers being run?"

"Yes, sir," the harpy replied. "They've just left their rooms and are making way toward the area right now."

"Then we'll meet them there." Doc turned to me. "Frankie, Mister Hun, follow me."

When Doc mentioned security, the first thing that popped into my mind were hulking men dressed in bullet-proof vests and vicious guard dogs. Fortunately, I was correct when it came to the dressage. Unfortunately, everything else was shot down short.

The land between the olive groves and the walls was heavy in battle. Students wearing leather armor maneuvered their way through the trees, the glint of their weapons shining off of the shrinking sun. Through the trees, I could see bloodshot eyes and feel the Lion-men's booming voices as they were cut down.

But there wasn't any organization. It was everyone for themselves, each fighting the same person but in different styles. Centaurs shoved dryads out of their way as they swung war hammers bigger than me. Arrows either flew prematurely or at the wrong person, which more than not ended with someone having a stick literally up their butt. It was like witnessing a dodgeball game where the only rules were "try not to die too badly".