The Pirate of Greece

Chapter XXII (Percy)

He didn't mean to provoke the scary looking girl standing guard beside his post. If anything, all Percy intended to do was engage in civil conversation. But for some reason, his 'Where's-Annabeth' statement turned into a 'Yes-please-hit-me' invitation. 

Percy spat out the blood flowing into his mouth from his newly required cut lip. His head still hurt from being knocked out, and the girl's consistent jabs at him didn't help the matter. If only his hands weren't bound by rope, he could've reached into his pocket and drawn out Riptide. He could've slashed the length of rope securing him to the post, and he could've disarmed the girl and started searching for Annabeth. Yet there was still a slight possibility that the whole girl powered camp would be on his tail within seconds, aiming there polished bows his way. The only thing going for him was the quality of restraint he had. His hands were bound securely, but it didn't prevent him from spinning around the pole. Whether that advantage was going to come in handy or not, he hadn't decided on that yet.

He sighed as the guard turned away, her sneer still present. 

Percy regretted not allowing Connor and Travis to tag along when they asked to. They surely would've figured out a way to sneak away. Or maybe even Silena. Surely she would've been able to convince the rest of her female species to back the hell off. But now he was damned to stand defenceless at the mercy of females who had a vendetta against the male kind.

He had to escape. And fast. 

"The monster pack past town yesterday looking for you," he called over the red-headed guard, "they want their wench back."

It wasn't his smoothest insults, but it still had the desired effect. 

She whipped her head around, her hand whitening around the spear she clutched in a death grip. With her eyes set on him in a deadening stare, she started approaching.

"I admit, males are good for one thing," she seethed. "Killing." 

Percy mentally cursed himself. Here we go.

With a final curse she swung her weapon at his stomach. Just as quickly, Percy spun and jumped, completely guessing where the tip of the weapon was. It was a stupid move. One that would've definitely left him handless if it went wrong. Yet thankfully his judgement wasn't too off the mark. 

Before the red-head could contemplate what was happening, her spear cut the bonds tying him together, falling to the ground. But he didn't get away completely unscathed. A shallow cut appeared across his forearm, but Percy didn't dwell too much on this as he took the guard's stunned surprise as an opportunity to flee. He took off towards the tree line, planning to lose them within the foliage, maybe even beside a creek bed of sorts. He'd have to devise a plan to come back for the General. He wasn't any use as a captive, so the sooner he could gather his thoughts the better.

In his haste he nearly ran headlong into a tent. He quickly scooted around it and knocked over a pail of water, startling a few campers perched on a log. Shouts of outrage rang out behind him, and soon all the attention was focused on him as he made his mad dash towards the edge of the clearing. Percy avoided everything ranging from arrows, campfires and other thrown objects rather efficiently, but nothing prepared him for what came next. 

A deep, throaty growl emitted beside him, and in no time a large mass of bodily fur crashed into his side. Percy went down with a heavy thud! and an unflattering yelp on his behalf. Colliding with the dirt and rocks wasn't fun, especially when they dug into his skin and tore his clothing. But what scared him most was the immense, white, fluffy thing pinning him down. It didn't take him long to discover what took him down.