Legend of Perseus 2: Mission: Bermuda (Completed)

~Chapter 12~

Almost immediately, I heard a loud, nasty crack! I turned back just in time to witness the Apollo chariot flipping over. The Hermes chariot had rammed into it—maybe by mistake, maybe not. The riders were thrown free, but their panicked horses dragged the golden chariot diagonally across the track.

The Hermes team, Travis and Connor Stoll were laughing at their good luck, but not for long. The Apollo horses crashed into theirs, and the Hermes chariot flipped, leaving a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust—two chariots down in the first twenty feet. Gods I loved this sport.

I turned my attention back to the front. We were making good time, pulling ahead of Ares, but
Annabeth's chariot was way ahead of us. She was already making her turn around the first post, her
javelin man grinning and waving at us, shouting: "See ya!"

The Hephaestus chariot was also gaining on us. Beckendorf, their driver, pressed a button, and a panel on the side of his chariot opened up.

"Sorry, Percy!" he yelled, and suddenly, three sets of balls and chains shot straight toward our wheels. They would have wreaked havoc on our chariot if Taylor hadn't acted quickly, grabbing a spear and hurling it between the chains, causing them to spin out of control.

"Nice work, Taylor!" I yelled in appreciation.

"We have a big problem incoming!" she cried out, pointing toward the woods. I followed her gaze and saw what was causing her concern—the ravens had risen from the trees. They were swirling in the sky like a massive tornado, heading straight for the racetrack.

I clenched my teeth; the Stymphalian Birds were finally attacking. The smile had vanished from Annabeth's fighter's face. He reached for a javelin from his arsenal and prepared to throw it at them. Just as he was about to release it, we heard the screams. The pigeons were swarming, thousands of them dive-bombing the spectators in the stands, attacking the other chariots. Beckendorf's team was engulfed. His fighter struggled to fend off the birds but couldn't see anything clearly. The chariot veered off course and plowed through the strawberry fields, the mechanical horses emitting steam.

In the Ares chariot, Clarisse barked orders to her fighter, who quickly threw a camouflage netting over their basket. The birds swarmed around it, pecking and clawing at the fighter's hands as he tried to hold up the net. Clarisse gritted her teeth and kept driving, seemingly impervious to the distraction. Her skeletal horses remained unfazed, with the pigeons futilely pecking at their empty eye sockets and flying through their rib cages, but the stallions continued to run.

The spectators weren't as fortunate. The birds relentlessly attacked, slashing at any exposed flesh, sending everyone into a panicked frenzy. With so many campers mixed in with the pigeons, it was too dangerous for Apollo's archers to shoot.

Surprisingly the birds avoided Lucifer as he ran through the track. I summoned Morningstar and slashed at any that got close, Taylor unlike the apollo cabin used her bow and started shooting at any bird that got to close. The shadows shot around our chariot spearing many birds at once killing them and adding them into my army. What sue me! Who wouldn't want an army of metal ravens.

"Too many!" I shouted to Annabeth, struggling to keep our chariot steady.

"How do we get rid of them?" she yelled back.

She stabbed a raven with her knife. "Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could—"

Her eyes widened. "Percy ... Chiron's collection!"

I furrowed my brow as I turned the carriage around. "I have a better idea. Cover your ears. Taylor! Scream as loudly as you can, wait for my signal!"

Clarisse had just crossed the finish line without any opposition and finally noticed the severity of the bird problem. Seeing us driving away, she shouted, "You're running? The fight is here, cowards!" Drawing her sword, she charged toward the stands.

I urged Lucifer to run faster as our chariot thundering through the strawberry fields and across the volleyball pit. Finally, we came to a stop in front of the Big House. I pulled the chariot to a halt, and Taylor hopped out, taking a deep breath before releasing an ear-piercing scream that echoed throughout the camp—a scream known as the female ogre banshee scream, a sound that exploded from their lungs during combat to scare their enemies.

The demon ravens went berserk. They started flying in chaotic circles, colliding with each other as if trying to bash their brains in. Then, as one collective entity, they abandoned the racetrack and ascended into the sky in a massive dark swarm.

I stepped closer to Taylor, raising my hand and bringing it down with force onto the ground. Thunder roared, and a massive bolt of lightning struck down, causing the pigeons to plummet from the sky.

"Now!" Annabeth shouted. "Archers!"

With clear targets, Apollo's archers took aim. Most of them could nock five or six arrows at once. Within minutes, the ground was littered with the lifeless bronze-beaked ravens. The camp had been saved, but the aftermath was far from pretty. Most of the chariots had been reduced to ruins, and nearly everyone had suffered multiple bird pecks. The campers from Aphrodite's cabin were in a frenzy, their hairdos ruined and their clothes soiled.

"Bravo!" Tantalus exclaimed, but his attention was not on Taylor, Annabeth, or I. "We have our first winner!" He made his way to the finish line and awarded the golden laurels to a surprised Clarisse.

Then he turned and smiled at me. "And now, time to deal with the troublemakers who disrupted this race."

In Tantalus's view, the Stymphalian birds had been peacefully minding their own business in the woods until Annabeth, Taylor, and I had disturbed them with our chariot driving. I could feel rage build up in my chest and I tried to calm down as I started walking toward Tantalus who was grinning planning our punishments. Though his face turned to one of surprise when my fist landed right across his face sending him to the floor.

"You are a fucking disgrace of a Director, and you do not diserve to be here." I growled.

Clarrise growled in annoyance. "Percy is correct; why are you here, you murderer? Who says you won't kill and eat us if given a chance?"

The campers turned to one another before each yelling accusations at Tantalus.

I called out. "This calls for a vote. Does Tantalus deserve to stay Camp Director after all he has done?"

"Nay!" Roared the campers.

"Wow, now hold on!" Tantalus replied. "I am the director of this camp, and I will have respect!"

"Well, we have a winning vote, so goodbye, murder," I responed as I grabbed a dagger and slit my balm the blood dripped to the ground as I chanted in ancient greek and the floor rumbled as stygian chains shot out and wrapped around Tantalus. "the underworld is to good for you... enjoy Tartarus."

Tantalus had fear in his eyes as the chains tightened around him and started draggin him through the ground. His form turning ghostly. Taylor handed me a cloth and I cleaned the blood from my hands and walked to my cabin. "I am going to my room."

Zeus was probably pisseed, but I didn't have the time to care, it was that bastards fault for choosing someone so bad. Maybe if I ask Father he can send someone better.