Camp Half-Blood/Camp Jupiter

The Monsters Test My Patience

    After ten minutes of convincing Leo to call a cab, he finally agrees. Supposedly it's not a good idea for half-bloods to go in cabs, but I refuse to walk all the way to Long Island; that would be a really long walk. I'd probably die halfway through the journey.
    The cab is kind of cold, but I don't complain. I'm just happy to be alive. I could've died earlier, and it's still hard to believe. I really thought those girls were just cheerleaders, but I guess not. Supposedly, they were flaming monsters that wanted to suck my blood.
    Leo fidgets with some objects he pulled out of his tool belt. He's obviously nervous about our situation, but at least we're not walking all the way to camp. He should be thanking me, but he doesn't. I guess he'd rather walk.
    The cab driver is silent. I kind of wish someone would start a conversation. The only sound in the car is the radio playing on a low volume setting. How long have we been driving? I haven't been keeping track, and this silence is going to drive me insane.
    "We should get out," Leo says, speaking for the first time since we got in the cab. He leans forward to tell the cab driver to pull over, but I grab his shoulder.
    "It's a long drive from here to Long Island," I say, pushing him back into his seat. "We're more likely to run into monsters on our own than if we're driving."
    Leo shakes his head. "You can't trust the driver."
    Great. So, I can't trust anyone. "Listen to me. Our chances are better here, and it won't take nearly as long to get to camp. You want to see your friends, right?" I raise an eyebrow, and he sighs.
    "Fine."
    Leo returns to whatever he was tinkering with, and we lapse back into silence. I look out the window, watching everything pass by. I'm leaving my home. It's finally starting to sink in. I left my mother without saying goodbye or explaining anything. I didn't pack any clothes; I guess I'll be wearing the same clothes for the rest of my life. Great.
    I don't know how long we drive for, but Leo tells the cabbie to pull over. We're in a strange clearing with a hill in the distance. The car stops. I'm not sure why we're stopping here, since we're in the middle of the woods, but I'll just go with it. We get out of the cab, and Leo pays the driver with some kind of golden coin. I decide not to ask what they are.
    "Thank you," Leo says, and the cab driver smiles, showing a bit too much teeth.
    I glance over at Leo, as if asking if he noticed that as well. He nods, but before he has the chance to reach into his tool belt, the driver slams the door into his side. Leo sails through the air, crashing against a tree with a sickening crunch.
    I scream his name, but he doesn't get up. The cab driver steps out of the car, and I realize that he's not human. It's like an illusion is peeling away, leaving behind the truth: the driver has one eye, and seems to be growing by the second. Soon enough, he's towering over me. His shoulders are the width of multiple yard sticks. Wow. How did I ever think this thing was human?
    The creature lets out an earth-shaking roar, pounding its chest with its fists. I take a few steps back toward Leo, but the monster could easily catch me if it wanted to.
    "Demigod snacks," the creature says, its voice low, like a rumble.
    I make it over to Leo without the cyclops noticing, and almost sigh with relief. Leo is starting to wake up, mumbling something under his breath. I help him up into a sitting position, leaning him against a tree.
    "Where are we?" he asks, looking around. His gaze lands on the cyclops, and his eyes widen. "Of course. A cyclops."
    "A cyclops?"
    He nods. "That's what that thing is."
    "I'm pretty sure it wants to eat us," I say.
    "That sounds about right."
    The cyclops turns its attention to us, grinning. It's teeth are all rotted, and I can smell its bad breath from here. I really don't want it to get any closer.
    "Do you happen to have a plan?" I whisper, so that the cyclops won't hear me.
    Leo shakes his head. "We can't fight this thing, especially since I'm not in the best condition."
    "So, what should we do? I'd rather not die."
    Leo slowly pushes himself up to his feet, wobbling like crazy. He's definitely not going to be much help. "We need to run."
    I grab Leo's arm, and wrap it around my shoulder. We take a step forward, moving towards the hill. I carry most of Leo's weight, but at least he's not very heavy. If he were, I'm sure we wouldn't make it. Honestly, we probably won't make it anyway. There's a giant monster standing a few yards away from us. He just hasn't done anything yet, but if he wants to kill us, I'm sure he can.
    We take a few more steps. The hill keeps getting closer, and I'm starting to think that maybe we will make it. I'm not sure where I'm going, but my goal is to get to the top of this hill. I can do this. I have to. If I don't get to camp, Leo will most likely die.
    The cyclops bounds towards us, and I fight back a scream. I want to at least seem a little brave. "Where do you think you're going?"
    His voice echoes through the forest. I shiver. He knows we're leaving. We're dead.
    I turn towards the cyclops. I hope I don't look as terrified as I am. My legs tremble beneath me; I could collapse at any second, but I have to hold Leo up. Giving up isn't an option. I need a plan. I search the back of my mind for any ideas, literally any ideas. I don't care if it's crazy, I just need something.
    "We were just going to the top of this hill to find you something better to eat!" I say, realizing how stupid this plan is. The cyclops will probably kill me before I say another word.
"What could be better than demigod?" the cyclops asks.
"Uh, how about more demigods?"
The cyclops grins. "More demigods? Yum!"
    I resist the urge to be sick, and force myself to smile. "I know, right? Very tasty!" I point at myself and Leo. "We are not tasty. We are very poisonous."
    "Oh," the cyclops says, and I almost feel bad for him. "That won't make much of a difference. I'll eat you anyway!"
    "No!" I shout, putting out my hands to stop him (although, I'm not sure what a tiny demigod could do against a cyclops). "Don't you want the other demigods? I can bring them here for you!"
    The cyclops nods. "Thank you, tiny human."
    "No problem." I turn to Leo, hoping that I bought him enough time to form a plan. Leo just shakes his head, watching me with panic in his eyes. Clearly, he thinks we're both goners. "Do you happen to have a weapon I can borrow?"
    Leo reaches into his tool belt and pulls out a bronze sword. I take it, and try my best to keep it hidden from the cyclops.
    "Before I go to get you some demigods, I need to tell you something," I say.
    The cyclops tilts its head to the side. "What do you want to tell me?"
    I shake my head. "It's a secret. Lift me up so I can whisper in your ear."
    "Okay."
    I had no idea that this would work, but thank God it did. The cyclops lowers his giant hand to the ground so that I can climb onto it. I carefully help Leo down to the ground before stepping onto the cyclops' hand. He could easily crush me, but he doesn't. He brings me up to his ear, which also happens to be huge.
    "Tell me now, demigod," the cyclops says.
    "My secret is..." I say, lifting my sword above my head. "My secret is that I don't know where to find more demigods." I bring the sword down on his head, and the cyclops lets out a roar of pain.
    "You betrayed me!" he yells, and I feel a pang of guilt. Sure, he's trying to kill me, but I still feel bad for the guy.
    The cyclops slowly begins to close his hand into a fist, and I scramble up onto his shoulder before I get crushed. That would be quite unfortunate. I pull my sword out, and stab him again, harder this time. He whimpers.
    "Can't you just die already?" I shout. I stab him again and again, hoping that it'll be the final blow. I raise my sword again, raising it way above my head. Something tells me that this'll be that killing blow. I bring the sword down one last time. The cyclops roars. He sounds so defeated; I know it should be only a matter of seconds before he vaporizes.
    I look down at the ground, realizing how high up I am. Shoot. I slide down the cyclops' arm to his hand. I don't know how to get down. I search for a way, but before I have the chance to do anything, the cyclops vaporizes. I fall through the air, screaming. My stomach drops, and I think I'm going to be sick.
    The ground comes closer and closer, a lot faster than I thought it would. Is this the end? I save Leo from a cyclops and this is the thanks I get? I close my eyes once I get nearer to the ground. I never asked for any of this. I never asked to be the daughter of some god, and live a life full of monsters and myths. I wish I were back in my mom's apartment, watching movies. I wish I had a normal life. Well, I guess I'm just not that lucky.
    I let out one last scream before everything goes black.