The Rising Darkness {Currently under editing}

Chapter Four-This quest is gonna be legend, wait for it, dairy

I woke up to an annoying buzzing sound. For a second I couldn't quite remember what it was. Then I realised it was my alarm clock and I was about to go on a deadly quest. I glanced at the clock. I had fifteen minutes to get up to the base of Thalia's pine. Fortunatly I had packed everything the day before and put it by the foot of my bed. I quickly dressed and slung my bag over my shoulder. Then, after a quick look back at my stuff I was off. I tried to push all negative thoughts to the back of my brain. I was going to come back alive. When I reached the top of the hill I was amazed at the crowd that had come to see me off. By the time I reached the front of the crowd and stood by my two companions I had been slapped on the back at least a dozen times and wished good luck more times than I could count. I guessed that people did care whether or not I died. Then Nico came up to me.

"Don't worry you'll do great on this quest." He smiled at me more like he was trying to reassure himself than wish me luck. "For you it'll be legend, wait for it..."

"Dairy" Percy shouted over from next to Ebony. Nico laughed at the bemused look on my face.

"How I met your mother" He said as if to awnser my unspoken question. "I have all the episodes except the last one recorded. When you come back I'll watch them with you" Chiron stamped his hoof. I walked over to him.

"Head into the city" He instructed. "From there you're on your own. I suggest catching a bus or train south" Then he pointed at the camp van which was waiting on the road...

As it turned out the first step was easy. All we had to do was sit in a car and let Argus, the camps director of security, drive us to the greyhound station. The problem was me. When we got to the station I didn't have a clue how to read the time table. I usually walked everywhere so the bus timetable was completly new to me. Therefore after staring at it for about an age I asked Ebony help me decphiper it. The trouble was there was no direct link to Houston so we had to head west to Vegas, from there we could catch the train to Texas. Once there we would have to walk or get a taxi. We could probably be in Houston by Thursday. Of course that wasn't likely.

When the bus arrived we got on it, unaware of the danger we were about to face. For the first 7 hours I almost enjoyed myself however there was a road closure so the bus driver was forced to take a short cut down some back road. As we went over a cross roads an 18 wheel Juggernaut slammed into the side of the bus. The zone where it hit crumpled and we were sent careening across onto a railway line. Just as a train was coming. The bus was ripped apart and the three of us were sent roling across the tracks.

All that Ebony could see was fire. She was surrounded by the shredded remains of the bus and train. Then a figure stepped into her line of sight. He looked like a walkimg statue made out of marble. But that was impossible. The creature was holding a spear very similar in design to Gunmere. She stretched as far as she could but she was pinned down by a piece of shrapnel. He fingers stroked the handle of her own spear but was unable to bring it to bear upon her foe. It raised the spear, ready to strike her with it. Then a glowing shard of light sliced upwards, cleaving through the creature from right hip to left shoulder.

I saw the figure about to impale Ebony and so I saved her. I swung Dawnbringer in an erratic arc. Cleaving the creature in half from hip to shoulder. Instead of collapsing the figure exploded into marble dust. Which rained down over us both. I pulled the bus seat off of Ebony and bent down to check her pulse, she was still alive but unconcious. With my worries put aside I went to find Alice. I found her lying under one of the bus doors. I quickly freed her and checked her pulse, faint but there. I reckon that if she had been awake then she would have gone into shock. As it was her being unconcious had probably saved her life. If I had been a child of Zues it would have been easy to wake her up but I needed try a different aproach. I pulled my bag off of my back and opened it. There was something in here that Leo had given me for just this eventuality. There it was, underneath a battered plastic lunchbox. A defibrilator. I pulled it out and examined it. Like most of the things that Leo designed this was no normal defibrilator, it had three settings spark, jolt and electrify. All over the top titles. I clicked the button and pressed both paddles to Alice's chest. When the timer bar reached green I pulled the trigger. Alice jolted awake, coughing. I detatched the machine from her and shoved it back into my bag.