Races are fun. But I think I traumatized half the camp.
"Competitors!" came from the conch shell, which seemed to broadcast Tantalus' voice across the entire camp.
He was standing in what looked like a VIP stand. There, Mr. D was sitting on a large sofa, for some reason surrounded by all kinds of snacks and drinks, clearly enjoying the show. He watched with amusement as Tantalus kept trying to stab a piece of fruit with his fork to take a bite, but it seemed to move every time, dodging him, which only made him more and more irritated.
Eventually, he ended up shouting:
"To your positions!"
The campers moved toward their chariots and began climbing onto them.
All the chariots were Greek chariots, built for speed and not for safety. Especially because the modifications some had added made them even more dangerous for everyone else. The most striking one was the golden chariot, probably made of real gold, belonging to Apollo's children. Then there was the blood-red chariot, covered in spikes all over, belonging to Ares' children, which Clarisse rode proudly while two horrible skeletal horses kicked the ground, steam pouring from their mouths.
Hephaestus' children's chariot looked like it was made out of every kind of steam machinery imaginable, including the horses. Hermes' chariot, on the other hand, looked genuinely old and worn, but with the Stoll brothers riding it, it was already terrifying to think about what kind of tricks they might have hidden in there.
Then there was Annabeth's chariot, which basically represented Athena. And finally, Percy's, representing Poseidon.
The race field, or rather, the battlefield, considering that everyone had their weapons ready while moving, was a circular arena. There was not much to say about it, except that it was decorated with small flags everywhere and surrounded by stands full of campers shouting excitedly, as if they were completely ignoring the monstrous pigeons flying over the area.
This should be easy. A moving fight for Percy should be nothing special.
The problem was that the horses seemed terrified of Tyson. So much so that they did not even want to be controlled by him. They only agreed to pull the chariot because Percy convinced them with lots of sugar cubes and big apples. Even then, they only allowed Percy to handle the reins, so Tyson had to accept the role of attacker, armed only with a wooden stick.
He could have used his hammer or another weapon, but everyone knew that Tyson was already dangerous with just his fists. Percy did not want to see a camper turned into minced meat, so a simple stick had to be enough.
"Do not hit the ponies with the stick," Tyson said with complete seriousness, as if he were repeating a very real and sacred rule.
"And if you can avoid it, not the people either," Percy added with a firm look. "I still think a stick is more than enough in your hands, with your strength. Just push them away from us and we will try to win cleanly."
At that moment, the number of birds increased noticeably, now slamming against the barrier as if trying to break it and get in. Some campers finally noticed them and began to grow nervous.
Tantalus, on the other hand, did not seem worried at all as he spoke into the conch.
"On your marks. The first team to complete three laps wins. Weapons are allowed and dirty tricks are encouraged."
Then he sat back down.
"Uh, you forgot to say no killing," Mr. D commented, as if he had just remembered that detail, although he clearly did not care.
Tantalus stood up again and leaned toward the conch.
"Not killing so much. But accidents can happen, et cetera, et cetera," he said quickly, while Dionysus gave him a thumbs-up.
Everyone was at the starting line, looking at each other with pride, courage, and competitiveness.
"Glory to Ares!" Clarisse suddenly shouted, making many Ares kids in the stands respond immediately, along with other campers who joined the chant.
"Glory to Hermes!" the Stoll twins shouted, and a large part of the camp followed. After all, many of them lived in Hermes' cabin thanks to the acceptance of unclaimed children.
"Glory to Hephaestus!" Beckendorf followed.
"Glory to Apollo!"
"Glory to Athena!"
Then it was Percy's turn. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the seaweed brothers to shout their father's name. A heavy, expectant silence fell over the place.
Percy noticed it and looked at Tyson. Then he raised both hands, because he did not really have a choice.
"To hell with Poseidon."
"To hell with him!" some campers shouted, although they realized far too late that they probably should not have done that. Others let out surprised and clearly frightened gasps. Mr. D, who was drinking his Diet Coke, spat it out before bursting into laughter.
No one had expected Percy, son of the sea god, to say those words. Tyson followed him without hesitation. That drew an amused smile from Percy, while Annabeth shot him a hard look and shook her head.
"Start!" Tantalus shouted quickly, as if he did not want Percy to draw any more attention.
Everyone snapped the reins at once and the horses took off without hesitation. Almost immediately, a loud metallic noise rang out.
Percy turned just in time to see how Clarisse had slammed her spear into what looked like a pipe on Hephaestus' chariot, breaking it. The chariot failed to start and immediately began spewing smoke.
"Wow, always so kind," Percy muttered, just as he heard something rushing toward his head from the side at high speed.
Without even turning around, he raised one hand and caught an arrow in midair. Its tip was covered with a pad so it would not be lethal, but the place it had been aimed at would have taken anyone out.
Percy looked toward where the arrow had come from and saw Apollo's chariot. One of Apollo's sons was staring at him with a completely shocked expression, unable to believe he had caught the shot so easily. He was already preparing another arrow, clearly panicking.
The arrow spun between Percy's fingers before he threw it like a spear. It instantly struck the Apollo shooter in the chest, hitting him as if he had been blasted by an explosion. The arrow shattered into pieces and left a dent in the metal breastplate of his armor.
Before being sent flying backward, the son of Apollo grabbed the first thing he found, which turned out to be his own teammate. Both crashed to the ground while their chariot kept moving forward out of control.
"Oops… I think I used too much strength," Percy said as he saw what he had caused.
Meanwhile, the horses of the chariot panicked, maybe because the arrow had sounded like an explosion. That made them veer sideways and crash straight into the Stoll brothers' chariot. The impact flipped them over, filling the field with broken wood and splinters everywhere.
Percy could not help feeling a slight thrill in the middle of all that chaos. He kept moving at high speed, with Ares' chariot right beside him, while Annabeth's passed them with some distance. He had a beautiful blonde girl ahead of him as company, who even took the time to greet them with a sarcastic smile as she went by.
Suddenly, a spear flew at full speed straight toward Tyson.
Percy held the reins with one hand and, with the other, grabbed Tyson by the back of his armor, yanking him to the side. The tip of the spear passed just inches away.
It was Clarisse's partner, who recovered the spear almost immediately and thrust again with force, aiming straight at Tyson's face, as if his eye were a perfect target.
Percy pulled him down again to make him duck.
"Tyson, hit!" Percy shouted.
After all, he could not pay attention to the road and the fight at the same time. And even less now, when they had already completed the first lap, the smoke from Hephaestus' chariot covered the field, and the splinters from Apollo's and Hermes' chariots were scattered everywhere.
Tyson obeyed and swung his wooden stick, straight into the Ares kid's chest. Instantly, he was sent flying and fell off the chariot.
"Sorry!" Tyson shouted with a guilty tone, realizing he had used too much strength.
Clarisse, seeing that, drew her sword immediately and attacked Tyson with powerful, precise slashes. Every strike showed how much she had trained to reach Percy's level. Percy, moving back and forth to protect Tyson, had trouble keeping up, especially because Tyson was not exactly light.
"Tsk. Tyson, take control," Percy said, handing him the reins while letting go of the armor and drawing his sword quickly. The clash of steel rang out as he faced Clarisse.
"I am not the same as before, Jackson. I will not lose to you again," she said, her voice loaded with emotion.
Percy blocked each of her attacks and looked at her for a moment. An amused smile appeared on his face.
"I hope you can prove that," he replied, defending himself with apparent ease.
But then his gaze drifted toward the sky.
Hundreds of birds began to swirl in a dark vortex, slamming hard against the barrier.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Clarisse pulled a lever. Huge spikes shot out from the wheels of her chariot and smashed into the wheel of Poseidon's chariot, breaking it completely, before she surged ahead.
The jolt made Percy lose his balance, but Tyson grabbed him to keep him from falling. Even so, with one wheel gone, their speed became clumsy and heavy.
That, however, did not seem to bother Percy, who kept staring at the sky with a deep frown.
Suddenly, a hole opened in the barrier and a massive number of birds poured into the field, immediately diving toward the campers.
Annabeth also came to a sudden stop when she saw that. A dark cloud, formed by thousands of birds, moved toward the stands, attacking the demigods.
Percy did not waste time. He took two swords and began cutting in every direction. Every bird that came close was taken down instantly. His movements were fluid, almost natural, as bursts of dust marked the death of those creatures and he advanced easily among them.
Annabeth rushed over, stabbing birds with her dagger.
"Percy, we need to find something loud enough to scare them away, like Hercules did in the past," she said immediately, pointing at the conch shell Tantalus had used earlier. "Maybe Chiron's office still has his collection."
"Oh, that will not be necessary," Percy replied with a smile. "I can be pretty loud if I really try."
…
"Ah… ah… hello, hello," Percy said into the conch, while the entire camp fought for survival. Screams, running, and chaos everywhere. He, on the other hand, simply swung his sword whenever a bird got too close. "Listen, this is important. Very important. You had better cover your ears."
Many campers looked at him with confused expressions. It did not seem like the moment for jokes.
"And I am not joking," Percy added seriously. "I still do not control this very well. Cover your ears now," he shouted before drawing in a massive breath.
"FAAS RU MAAR," Percy roared.
The shout thundered across the entire camp, piercing everyone present. The conch exploded into pieces, but the sound of that explosion seemed to never reach anyone's ears.
Those who failed to cover their ears dropped to their knees immediately, trembling in panic, letting their weapons fall. Others ran in terror, screaming as if Percy had turned into something even worse than the birds.
The birds also fled through the same hole in the barrier they had entered, at full speed.
Only those who had obeyed and covered their ears felt a chill run through their bodies for an instant, while they looked at Percy with expressions of shock, confusion, and fear.
But it only lasted a moment.
"All done," Percy said with a smile, clapping his hands as if he had done a great job.
Annabeth looked at the camp, now filled with campers running in circles, some crying in terror, others unconscious, all of them submerged in chaos.