ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter two

━━━━━ A TELLTALE SIGN for a demigod was a kid with ADHD, and Violet seemed to have a severe case. It was a required daily activity at Camp Half-Blood to have a 'class' about monsters and the best ways to kill them, but she struggled in any kind of class environment. It was like her brain focused on anything but what the teacher ( or in the case of Camp Half-Blood's monster class, the teacher was a centaur thousands of years old ) was saying.

What Violet was saying was because of her inability to pay attention to monster class, she had no idea what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was.

Sometimes it was pretty obvious what kind of monster had reared its ugly head, but in the case of Dr. Thorn, it wasn't. All Violet knew about the monster was that he was super ugly, enjoyed throwing projectile thorns at innocent half-bloods, and that he was a ridiculously fast walker.

Violet tried to think of a plan. They didn't have very good odds, even with only one monster and two demigods that could fight. Percy and Violet also had to keep the di Angelo siblings alive besides just getting themselves out alive, too. And she was pretty sure Dr. Thorn, no matter what kind of monster he was, wasn't a monster she could simply underestimate.

"What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"

Violet glanced over her shoulder, seeing Percy standing still with his eyes closed. He was holding onto his shoulder, where the thorn had grazed his skin.

"It's my shoulder," he said, cracking his eyes open and shuffling forward. "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

Thorn herded the four outside, and Violet hugged her jacket tighter around her. The di Angelo siblings looked petrified, and Bianca looked back at Violet, and the terror in the older sister's eyes made Violet's heart sink. The daughter of Eros remembered that kind of fear, she remembered when that had once been her—a kid unaware of the divine world that existed, that her parent was one of the gods, and that wherever she went, monsters were sure to follow.

She wanted to promise Bianca that she and Percy would manage to get them out alive and safely to camp, just as things were supposed to happen, but she knew making untrue promises would only make everything worse.

Dr. Thorn marched them into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. Violet could've tried her luck and notched an arrow at the back of the monster's head but he surely would hear her and kill her on the spot.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way!" Nico said. His voice quivered, but Violet was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs on Violet's arms stand on end. The siblings looked back at her and the only thing Violet could do was swallow thickly, hoping she didn't look as scared as she truly was.

"Halt," Thorn ordered.

The woods had opened up. They had reached a cliff overlooking the sea, that is the sound of churning waves and the smell of a cold, salty sea was anything to go off of. However, despite Violet thinking there was the sea below them, all she could actually see was mist and darkness.

Dr. Thorn pushed them toward the edge. Percy stumbled, and Bianca caught him.

"Thanks," the boy murmured.

"What is he?" the sister whispered. "How do we fight him?"

Percy met Violet's eyes. "We're ... We're working on it."

"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something—a little metal toy soldier of some kind; a figurine from the game he was always trying to get people to play with him.

"It's okay, Nico," Violet promised. "We're going to be okay."

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

The four turned.

Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first Violet thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package—it is ready to deliver."

There was a garbled reply, and Violet realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. That seemed way too modern and creepy—a monster using a cell phone.

Dr. Thorn laughed suddenly. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself."

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered to Percy.

"I'll explain later," the son of the sea said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

Percy didn't answer.

Bianca looked at Violet. "Do you have one?"

"Uh ... getting out alive."

The daughter of Eros said it more like a question than an answer.

Percy looked over his shoulder, at the churning sea below them. Violet's eyes widened; there was no way that boy was getting all four of them down into that sea without any of them turning into some nasty-looking pancakes. She knows the son of the sea had been able to land into the water from a great height before but he was by himself, but with no one else to jump into the sea with.

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled by. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible ... almost like a tail.

"Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise, you would already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I ..." Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aw," Dr. Thorn cooed with mock pity. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Luke," Percy realized. "You work for Luke."

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when the son of Poseidon said the name of Camp Half-Blood's biggest threat. Percy was talking about Luke Castellan, Son of Hermes, a liar, and a piece of shit. The son of thieves had been the one to welcome Violet to Camp with open arms but he wasn't as nice as he lead on; Luke Castellan had joined forces with Kronos ( yes, that Kronos who had swallowed the kids he was so paranoid about being overthrown ) to try and overthrow the gods.

"You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson," said Dr. Thorn. "I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" Percy asked. He flinched when Violet elbowed him for repeating the monster, French accent, and all. "I mean ... who's the General?"

Thorn looked towards the horizon. "Ah—here we are. Your transportation."

Violet turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then she heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should feel honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"

Violet slammed a cold hand over Nico's mouth, cutting off the rest of his sentence. As much as she would've enjoyed seeing a ten-year-old cuss out a monster, the monster wouldn't like that and probably would try and kill them even faster.

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And, if you do not, well ... there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

Violet's eyebrows furrowed. "The Great Stirring?" she repeated.

"The stirring of monsters, Daughter of Eros." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to Percy and Violet. "He's completely nuts."

Violet nodded. "He's really channeling mad scientist, right now. It's not a good look on him."

Percy craned his neck, peering at the ocean below them. "We have to jump off the cliff. Into the sea."

"Oh, super idea," Bianca hissed. "You're completely nuts, too."

Percy never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into them.

🌷

Like most things Annabeth did, her move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, a gift from Athena, she plowed into Violet, Percy, and the di Angelos, knocking them to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

The people who've seen the daughter of Zeus charge into battle are always happy to have her on their side, knowing they would be scared shitless if they were her enemy. Thalia uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled on one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon, Medusa, molded into bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone it's so horrible most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

Violet thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind the daughter of Eros, but she didn't dare look. Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time Violet could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpionlike tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face was still human, but his body was that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into the people still on the ground.

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

Violet figured it had to do with that game he always played, but that didn't mean use understood what Nico was saying. Besides, she didn't have time to worry about what he was saying. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned towards them with a snarl.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, Percy deployed a shield kept hidden inside the wristwatch on his wrist. Metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield, Violet had no idea where he had gotten something like that. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal.

Violet heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover nearly landed on top of her with a thud. She pulled the satyr behind her by the collar of his shirt.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field.

She charged the monster and, for a second, Violet thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind the daughter of Eros. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" Percy ran out to help her. He parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. He raised the shield over the two of them, but Violet knew it wouldn't be enough.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

Percy and Thalia were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. They had no chance.

Then Violet heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past Percy like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in mid-air and sliced them in two. Violet's eyes widened, she only knew of so many archers who could do something like that.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with my sword, but the manticore wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged the boy's attack and slammed his tail into Percy's shield, knocking him aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like Violet. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Violet cried, grinning. She had always admired them—not for their rejection of love, no Violet didn't like that, but she admired them for their skills in archery.

Next to Percy, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

Violet didn't have a chance to ask what the daughter of Zeus had against them.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery-colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess.

"Permission to kill, my lady?" she asked.

Violet couldn't tell who she was talking to because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than Violet, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made Violet catch her breath, but the auburn-haired girl's expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia and Percy, knowing they were the most weak and dazed.

"No!" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoë ordered.

"No!" Violet screamed.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" Violet yelled.

She got up from the ground to try and run after the blonde but their enemies weren't done with them. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter. A Hunter grabbed Violet by the arm to pull her into the safety of the woods.

"Mortals," the auburn-haired girl announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on them, dragging Violet out of her shock.

The one called Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoë Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoë scanned the rest of them. "Five half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

Violet shook off the hold the Hunter beside her had. "Annabeth!" she said. "You have to let us save her!"

The Hunter grabbed her by the arm again. "Be more respectful," she chided the daughter of Eros.

Violet gave the Hunter a look, a look that clearly read Shut the hell up.

The auburn-haired girl turned towards Violet, her eyes softening as she saw how worried the demigod was. "I'm sorry, Violet Beaumont, but your friend is beyond help."

"What do you mean?" Violet demanded. "There's something we can do. There has to be!"

Percy tried to struggle to his feet, but a couple of the girls held him down. He looked ready to fight the girl for what he said.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl told him.

"Let me go!" he demanded. "Who do you think you are?"

Zoë stepped forward as if to slap the boy.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoë. They are simply distraught. He does not understand."

The young girl looked at Percy, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."

🌷 JAN. 19TH, 2023 / this is also not edited so if there are a lot of typos that's why

kinda short & very plot-heavy so not my favorite thing

vi is also the biggest supporter of girlbosses like the hunters

she may not agree w/ the no-love rule but she is their biggest hype-man anyway

anyways,, thoughts?? opinions??