The Half-Blood Project

41- Fire and Flame

Percy Jackson

Before I tell you the recounts of the mission(which ended terribly), I need to tell you something else. And it's much more important. 

The end of the world started when a giant flying horse tried to kill me. 

I was minding my business like the good half-blood I was(I was actually about to prank the twins but that's a different matter) when this giant winged thing came out of nowhere and trampled me to the ground. 

"What is the name of- uhh!" I groaned and rolled over, pain throbbing in my chest and legs, I opened my eyes to be staring at the black underbelly of some large horse. Scrambling from out underneath I uncapped Riptide, the sword springing to life. 

It was a flying horse. I'd seen them around camp because Silena Bearugaurd managed to get her hands on about seven of them, but none of them were this large and this color, midnight black. 

You're the water kid, aren't you? A chipper voice, the horse I assumed, echoed in my head. 

"Oh yeah?" 

Well, my boss sent me here to pick you up. Name's Black-Jack. 

"Who's your boss?" It felt a little odd talking to this pegasus, who had a really weird accent(could horses have accents?) and was looking right at me with his beady little eyes. 

Big fancy goddess. Hera I think. His voice echoed in my head again. 

"Why did she send you here? I'm supposed to go on a mission to a cruise ship and destroy it." 

The horse nodded. I'm your ride. All this Hera lady said was to go pick up the water kid and his friend and take him to the cruise ship. And I require payment, this horse doesn't do anything for free, it's hard to live in this climate. 

I think I need to lie down because I know a flying horse didn't just tell me that I was supposed to pay him and that it's difficult to 'life' in whatever climate he is in. 

And I think I can trust him because no time titan would let this horse try and pick me up. 

"What kind of payment." 

Donuts, hay, whatever. Better get that friend of yours because we gotta leave soon. The horse trotted around the picnic bench. 

Do horses eat donuts? 

I walk off to find Beckendorf and absorb the weirdness I just witnessed because BlackJack seemed to be both equally strange and funny. I've only ridden one of the pegasuses here at camp and he only liked me because I was a water kid. 

"Hey, Percy, ready to go." Beckendorf hiked his bag over his shoulder. Beckendorf was this tall black kid with huge muscles and a wide grin on his easy-going face. He recently starting dating Silena Beauregard, a pretty Aphrodite girl. 

"Oh yeah and our ride kind of just arrived." 

I pointed to Black-Jack who was eating something off a picnic table. Beckendorf laughed and nearly tripped over me, he was a giant compared to me. 

"They answered my prayers. I asked for a ride to the ship." He cried out gleefully and nearly ran to the horse. I blinked but then accepted that this mission was odd the way it was starting right now. 

---

I did not like flying, even if it was safely secured on a giant horse and my hands wrapped around Beckendorf's backpack and eyes squeezed shut, wind whipping in my hair and somewhat warm against my skin as we soared over the salty expanse of blues and greens.