Shawns Pov.
Birds. That was our task, apparently. I don't get it,what could make birds so dangerous? I mean, in this world, anything can be dangerous, but honestly, why is there a bird that sounds so much like an infection? From now on, I'm calling them staph birds. I'm not even going to bother pronouncing it properly, not after embarrassing myself in front of Hudson. Ugh, what a pain. And to top it off, we're now missing a certain six-foot soldier who's somehow more monstrous than the monsters we're facing.
Yeah, that's probably the best way to describe Hudson. He's a soldier,and a damn good one. And trust me, I know soldiers. I'm a midshipman in the navy, after all, though I doubt anyone cares about ranks or experience here. This world has a funny way of making all that irrelevant. Honestly, I knew this new world would break us the moment we arrived. I was purposefully rude to test everyone, to see who'd crack. Hudson? He's the type who would've been kicked out of the navy without so much as a warning. The guy loves to kill,he's mentally ill, I swear. But in this world? In this world, he's a godsend. Behind his madness, there's a method. He has a natural talent for slaughter, almost as if this place was designed for him.
But now, we're missing the talent of an unappreciated genius. Instead, I'm stuck with a pair of twins, inseparable to an insufferable degree. Rebecca's a natural sniper and tracker, but she lacks patience. She's headstrong, always pushing back against authority. She'd have been kicked out of the navy too, but unlike Hudson, she would've at least been warned first. Her missing arm? That's no one's fault but her own. It's infuriating. Not only am I missing our scarred prodigy, but I'm stuck with a cripple,and her sister.
Anna, though, is different. Quiet. Quaint. Cute, even. She reminds me of my daughter. She doesn't belong in this world, not at all. She probably had her whole life ahead of her before getting stuck here. Monsters don't belong in her story,especially not the kind that hunts us. She's too quiet, too innocent. Honestly, I'm just thankful she's still alive. But something doesn't sit right with me. In our last challenge, we had two A-grade traumas. Hudson, obviously, was one of them. But Anna? How does someone so bright carry a trauma of the same grade? I wish I could figure it out.
That wish was granted, without warning.
"From now on, I'm taking the lead," Anna proclaimed, her voice steady, unwavering. "I'm going to make myself known. I need you to survive because I can't hit as hard as the rest of you." She mumbled something else under her breath, but strangely, I didn't care. Whether it was curiosity or reluctance, I wanted to listen. I wanted to give her a chance. There was something in her eyes,a glint, no, a glow.
It was as if, for the first time, Anna wasn't just surviving. She was about to thrive.
"A flock of Stymphalian birds. That is what we are facing. Most known in the twelve labors of Heracles. The young hero had to get rid of a much bigger flock with loud noises. But we are not as strong as him, nor are we simply driving them away. We are hunting them." She looked at us, waiting for us to answer, and naturally, as the socialite I am, I responded.
"What do you want us to do?" I asked with a smile on my face. It was as if I was watching my own daughter grow up before me. I probably looked too proud of myself for asking what was honestly a very simple question.
She looked toward me with a look of accomplishment. "First, we need to scout out the size of the flock. The best person for this will be you, Bex," she told her former archer sister.
Rebecca looked up with woe in her eyes. "But how? How am I meant to do this, sis? I lost my arm, for fuck's sake." She pointed at her nub with bitter hatred, perhaps realizing that she lost her arm due to her own mistake.
Anna looked down at her sister with a smile on her face, as if she expected this very question to be asked. "Oh, come on, Bex. You were shortlisted by the Greek goddess of the hunt; that has to mean something. And even though you lost your arm, you are not useless. Tell me, have you ever heard of the legend of Celtic mythology Nuada Airgetlám?" She paused for a moment, gauging reactions before continuing. "He was a fierce king who lost his arm in battle and later used a prosthetic to continue to shoot. But the prosthetic was forged from silver. Are you telling me that in the middle of war you truly think he was just twiddling his thumbs waiting for the arm? No, I don't think so. He must have continued to fight for his people, with only one arm. Now I'm asking you to do the same for me," she told Rebecca empathetically. My thoughts, however, were different. How in the hell did Anna have knowledge of Celtic mythology? Greek I can understand; Norse, maybe; Egyptian, sure. But Celtic? Who knew she would be more knowledgeable on mythology than Hudson?
"I need you to scout it out, nothing more. Just figure out how big the flock is and then report back to us. You're the fastest,we need you." She continued her commands. "Shawn, you're our heavy hitter. Depending on what Rebecca tells us, you'll deal most of the damage. You will hold the fort." It was at this point that I realized I had underestimated the healer. She was a true strategist, someone we could rely on.
Without another word, Rebecca darted off to scout our prey, Anna reminding her to use a vantage point far enough away not to be noticed and yet high enough to see the entirety of the flock. Anna then turned her attention to me, and for a moment, I felt both secure and fearful,a strange echo of how I felt about the missing swordsman.
While Rebecca was away, Anna was fiddling with what seemed to be twine and beckoned me closer. I must admit, I was curious, though I tried to mask it by acting overly eager.
"What's up, Anna? What are you doing?" I asked, trying to sound calm but coming across a bit too enthusiastic.
"I'm creating a trap," she said nonchalantly, as if it should be obvious. She sighed and continued. "We have no idea how large the flock of birds will be until my sister returns. Regardless, we will need a way to slay all the birds at once. The deities might become restless and put another time limit on us. I would rather not have a repeat of the last round."
I nodded slightly, her remark reminding me of the horror of Morpheus's lesser realm as well as my own failure. I wasn't great at planning; honestly, I never had to be. But I needed to learn, and fast.
"So, what do you want me to do?" I asked, probably a little too quickly, like a student eager to answer the wrong question in class. I realized I was fidgeting and forced myself to stand still, which probably made me look even more awkward.
"Well, I don't want you to help with the net, so why don't you tell me what you can do?" she responded in a somewhat mocking way, but her tone told me something different. She was curious, evaluating me, testing me. I needed to think this through.
I'm not a strategist. The only reason I got my rank was due to my loyalty to my country and my determination. So how am I to answer this? I needed to prove that I was useful. I thought back to the only book I'd read in recent years,the one my tentmate had shared with me from time to time. I thought about all the myths I learned. This is Athena's trial, so a Greek myth would be for the best. Then I thought of Hephaestus's trap. He captured the god of war and the goddess of love in a net, right? But they should have been able to escape easily if it were normal. I didn't have the material to make a powerful net, but Anna was already making one. How could I prevent any escape?
Then it hit me. Insect traps. On tour, we had to deal with damned insects, and the traps always worked because they were sticky. That's what we needed,something sticky.
Finally, I spoke. "I'll find something sticky to put on the net." I looked at Anna, hoping she knew what could work.
She nodded, her face lighting up. "Sap. Find sap from the trees and spread it on the net."
Without hesitation, I went off, gathering all the sap I could find. By the time I returned, Rebecca had also come back, her face grim but determined.