Chimera, Part 1
The beast's tail, ending in a stinger that looked truly dangerous, slammed against Percy's sword, sending metallic sparks flying everywhere and showing just how tough it was. The impact pushed Percy backward as he quickly grabbed the tail, trying to keep it from piercing any of his friends.
Even so, he could feel his whole body being shaken in every direction by the monster's strength.
Meanwhile, Harry flicked his wand again with quick precision.
"Confringo!" he shouted, aiming directly at the bag this time so the woman wouldn't be able to devour his magic like she had before.
The spell shot through the opening where the tail had come out and exploded inside.
"GROOOOW!"
For a moment it seemed to bother the beast, the flash bursting inside the bag as if the interior were a massive cavern suddenly lit up. For an instant it revealed the shape of a grotesque face; something like a lion's, with two large horns, scales, and eyes that looked as though they were staring straight at their dinner.
But because of the darkness inside the bag and the sudden burst of fire, the light seemed to irritate its vision slightly. The creature pulled its tail back for a moment, leaving enough space for Percy to let go.
"Run!" Annabeth shouted the instant she saw the opening.
The woman, meanwhile, simply watched them with amusement, making no move to stop them. As if she were enjoying the scene. Or perhaps because she knew her princess needed a little training. To her, the four of them were nothing more than her daughter's dinner… a slightly restless dinner.
The four of them bolted down the train car almost immediately.
Behind them, the woman's bag began to open wider and wider until it stretched into something enormous, while a gigantic creature started forcing its way out. First came a pair of legs tipped with dangerous claws, followed by a violent roar.
Then the beast sprinted after them without hesitation.
Meanwhile, the police officers in the same car widened their eyes in shock and fear, drawing their guns. But a single glance from the woman seemed to send them into a trance.
They lowered their weapons.
And continued chatting as if nothing strange had happened. As if the only thing they had seen was a tiny chihuahua jumping out of a bag and running through the car while barking.
Then the woman turned around and calmly walked after the little animal with a faint smile, humming a soft tune.
Meanwhile Percy and the others ran at full speed through the train cars, slamming the doors behind them. But the closer the monster got, the more they could feel the car shaking violently as the doors behind them began to bend inward.
Percy glanced through the window of the door just in time to see the door of the previous car buckle and fall as the beast burst through, roaring and looking in every direction as it searched for them.
Smoke and fire poured from its mouth.
"Guys… I don't think we have enough train to keep running forever," Percy said as he saw the monster finally spot them and start charging at full speed.
Annabeth quickly looked around and found what she was searching for; an emergency brake lever covered by glass.
Without wasting a second, she smashed the glass with the handle of her dagger and pulled the lever.
The train slammed to a stop.
The jolt was so violent that the beast lost its footing for a moment, just like the four of them, who almost went flying if they hadn't grabbed onto something.
The train screeched along the tracks for a few seconds before stopping completely while confused passengers in other cars heard the announcement over the speakers.
"We have made an emergency stop. Please remain in your cars while we inspect the situation."
But Percy and the others, of course, weren't about to listen to that.
They rushed to one of the exit doors, and Percy used his sword as a lever to help force it open.
Behind them, the door separating them from the monster was buckling violently.
Just as it was about to give in, they managed to open the exit and jumped down onto the train tracks without even looking back.
Once on the ground, they began running along the tracks, putting as much distance between themselves and the train as possible.
Then they saw the lion's head slowly appear through the train car doorway as it roared toward them.
"GROOOOW!"
But it didn't come any farther.
It only watched them.
Percy, who had been running with the others, was the first to notice. He slowed down slightly.
"Why isn't it following us?" he asked, confused.
The others stopped when they noticed the same thing.
"That woman said her princess was young," Harry said quietly.
"I know what it is," Annabeth said immediately, drawing everyone's attention as she studied the creature more carefully.
She recognized those features.
"It's a Chimera. And the woman is Echidna."
"Like anteaters?" Percy asked.
"No. Echidna, the mother of monsters. And if she said it's young, basically a cub, then it won't stray too far from its mother. She's teaching it how to hunt," Annabeth explained.
As she spoke, everything began to make more sense.
The Chimera roared, breathing fire from its mouth before turning back toward the inside of the train car.
Through the window they could see the woman approaching calmly.
"So… the hunt has already begun," Harry said.
From the window, Echidna watched them with a twisted smile as she walked toward her daughter.
As if the whole thing were nothing more than her entertainment.
The four of them didn't waste another second. They turned and ran again.
Taking advantage of the time Echidna was giving them… purely for her own amusement.
…
The four of them kept running through the streets of St. Louis, glancing back from time to time with the uneasy feeling that the woman and her little "princess" might appear behind them at any moment. But for now, it seemed they had lost sight of her.
Even so, none of them trusted that bit of luck as they kept moving forward.
"We can't keep doing this," Grover said as he finally stopped for a moment, completely exhausted, just like the other three. "Running around without a direction won't get us anywhere. She could show up at any corner," he added.
They all took the chance to stop for a moment and catch their breath.
"We need to find somewhere to hide," Percy said, nodding slightly. He looked pretty tired too. His breathing was uneven, and sweat covered his face.
Harry looked at him for a moment with a bit of confusion. He knew his brother's endurance well; Percy trained constantly. He studied him more carefully for a second but didn't seem to notice anything clearly wrong, so he assumed Percy was simply worn out from everything that had happened.
"I think we might be able to find a sanctuary to hide in. One of Athena's," Annabeth said while looking around as if she were calculating directions. Then she lifted her gaze toward a point above the buildings, as if she had suddenly realized how close they were.
"It was built by one of her children," she added with a small smile.
"A temple for Athena… in St. Louis?" Grover asked.
Annabeth pointed up toward the sky.
Between the buildings, they could see a massive arch rising far above everything around it.
The St. Louis Arch.
Suddenly Percy seemed to lose his strength and dropped to his knees.
Harry reacted instantly, rushing forward to grab him before he could fall face-first onto the pavement.
"Percy? What's wrong?" Harry asked, worried.
"Harry… I think the ground is shaking," Percy said weakly. His face was drenched in sweat, and he was growing paler by the second.
"Hey… wait," Grover said as he quickly moved closer. His eyes caught something small stuck in Percy's side.
It was almost impossible to notice.
Grover carefully pulled it out.
It was a tiny spike, almost like the needle of a ball pump.
"That's a chimera stinger," he said immediately.
"When he blocked the tail attack…" Annabeth added, her expression turning serious. "Chimeras are said to be extremely venomous."
Harry's eyes widened with worry as he looked at his brother.
"GROOOOW…"
The roar suddenly echoed through the street behind them.
All four of them looked up at the same time.
"We need to move. Now," Annabeth said quickly.
Harry and Grover acted immediately, lifting Percy's arms over their shoulders and carrying him between them.
Annabeth began guiding them quickly through the streets.
Harry's face was full of concern as they moved. Every few steps he glanced at Percy to make sure he was still conscious.
But at one point, while they were running, Harry noticed something strange on one of the brick walls they passed.
A symbol.
A pentagram carved into the bricks.
For a moment it seemed to glow faintly.
But this was not the time to stop and think about it.
Not when they were being hunted.
And especially not when Percy was wounded.