The Demigod Revolution

Chapter 17 : The Demon In The Woods

With the night sky with bright shining stars shimmering above, one would think it was a peaceful night. The air was cool with a slight breeze, the sound of the ocean waves beating softly against the sound could almost put a person to sleep and the safety that Camp Half-Blood offered to every demigod made the tension leave their bodies. That was the camp's mission, even still after what the Gods had ordered some weeks ago, and would still try to offer that peace of mind to its occupants. Despite this ideal setting, it couldn't be further from the truth. The sounds of horrific, blood curling screams filled the air, a bright orange glow from a fire encompassing the camp lit the entirety of the land, and the smell of burnt flesh spread throughout the flowing wind, only intensifying the fire and smell in the process.

"Medic! We need a fucking medic!"

"Oh Gods, my arm! Where's my arm!?"

"She's bleeding out! We need to cauterize the wound quickly!"

"No! Amanda, no! Don't go! Please don't leave me!"

These were the only sounds that could be heard coming from the camp along with the harsh heart stopping sound of buildings on fire collapsing onto the ground. With the fire quickly spreading and the need of wounded demigods being treated, the scene was becoming too chaotic for even the most seasoned demigod warrior to handle. Thankfully, however, Chiron had emerged from the rubble that was the big house and began to bark out orders like a true leader with years of experience would.

"Apollo cabin, grab all medical supplies and stage an area for the wounded demigods! Ares cabin along with any able-bodied demigod form a perimeter! The attackers might still be out there. The rest of you look for any wounded demigods now!" The ancient teacher yelled out as he watched the campers scramble off to fulfill the orders. Grimacing as pain shot up his knee from shrapnel embedded in it, the centaur sat down against a tree as he took in the sight around him. In all his years, he had never seen his camp be decimated to such a degree. Looking to his left where a severe head of an unidentifiable demigod lifelessly stared up at him, he felt numb at how much death and destruction this attack had caused to his home. Explosions. Bombs. That's the only conclusion he could think of as to what caused this. His ears still rung even now from them. They were quick and simultaneous and judging what buildings were now destroyed; they were placed strategically to maximize the loss of life.

"Gods." Chiron muttered as he rubbed his creased brow.

"Chiron! There you are!" He heard a voice call out to him. Looking up, he spotted the figure of Annabeth Chase, covered in blood from the waist up, running over to him.

"Annabeth! Are you-"

"The blood isn't mine. I'm still alive and kicking." She interrupted before continuing. "The border guards apparently saw a group of unknown people running off into the woods before the explosions. I think we should send a couple of search parties out there to see if we can't capture whoever did this."

Despite the significant risk of sending more demigods out there to search for an unknown number of enemies, it might be their only option to negate another attack. Agreeing with the child of Athena, the centaur ordered any able-bodied demigods to form three search parties and go out to search for the attackers. Annabeth nodded in thanks to her father figure before running off to inform her own squad that they were on the move.

Weaving through the endless crowd of anxious demigods and stepping over the countless severed limbs and wounded demigods on the ground, the daughter of Athena made her way towards her squad that was currently stationed at the pavilion. Anyone that took the time to look at her would notice just how calm she was under the pressure. The way she moved with purpose without hesitating for a single moment inspired all those around her.