The Heroes Gather, Chapter 2

Charles was preparing to jump out of his tree-house with a home-made glider attached to his back. He loved the air whipping around his face and the feeling of flying. Or in this case, falling. He jumped out of the tree-house with a yell as he kept his legs straight and flapped his wings. It was working! Then suddenly one of the wings fell off and he went spiraling towards the ground. "It had to work" thought Charles, "It was perfect. There weren't any flaws." Then Charles heard his friend Jonathan laughing hysterically. "You were like WHOOOOO then the thing broke and you were like AHHHHH! CLASSIC!" Charles glared at Jonathan. It was obvious he had sabotaged one of the wings. But Charles didn't mind to much. Jonathan was like that, he liked to pull pranks and swipe things from Charles, which he always gave back. He liked to see how many things he could swipe and replace in different rooms within one visit. But he really was a good kid. Charles just picked up his failed glider, determined to fix it when Jonathan left. Charles started dragging the broken glider towards the yard when suddenly Jonathan said "Wow, that's kinda cool, that bird is huge! Must be some eagle or a falcon." "That's not any bird I know off" said Charles which was a pretty big accomplishment since he was an expert at birds. All of a sudden, the bird stopped hovering and dove straight towards them. "I will enjoy seeing you cry in anguish as you die" it said. Charles and Jonathan started at each other. Birds didn't talk. This wasn't a bird. But what was it? Charles stood staring at it mesmerized. "Charles!" yelled Jonathan as he pulled Charles. "Sorry" said Charles, "I thought I knew all the birds. I guess not." Charles and Jonathan ran towards the local park but the bird was gaining on them fast. When it was within 30 feet it drew a bronze sword and slowly lifted it up as if to swing. Charles and Jonathan dove into the plastic tube and cowered in fear. The bird swing its sword which oddly went through the tube but didn't destroy anything or hurt the boys. Jonathan elbowed Charles in the ribs. "Charles." he whispered, "It went through us" Charles looked at his chest with terror. "Ahhhh" he sighed "That's what you meant." The bird looked at them through the tunnel and screeched "You won't escape demi-gods! I'll send for more...." The bird was interrupted as two arrows sprouted from her back. She turned into golden dust which blew away in the wind and disappeared. The boys looked at the source of the arrows. "Hello boys" said a girl. "Awwwww" whispered Jonathan, "Saved by a girl. I'm never gonna live this down." Charles just stayed silent as the girl approached. "Hey, I'm Autumn! I saw you guys needed some help." "What... What was that bird... thing...?" Charles asked. "You're welcome." said Autumn "That thing that almost got you was a Fury, one of Hades' personal servants." "Hades like from the Greek nonsense?" asked Jonathan. "It isn't nonsense. In fact, one of your parents is a Greek god, according to the Fury at least." replied Autumn cheerfully. Charles and Jonathan remained silent. They knew somehow that this girl was serious. "So uh, why was that Fury thing after us?" asked Jonathan. "Because you are a demi-god!" explained Autumn exasperated. "Which god was my parent?" asked Charles. "I dunno yet, that'll have to be explained at Camp Half-Blood, a training camp for demi-gods like you." said Autumn. Charles and Jonathan just stood there solemnly letting the information sink in. "Annnd here comes another" said Autumn pointing to another Fury in the sky. She tossed a large dagger to both of the boys. "Here" she said, "You might need these." She shot an arrow towards the Fury but it missed. The Fury lowered its head and flew in like a rocket towards the three demi-gods. Charles ducked behind Autumn while Jonathan turned his head and desperately held out his dagger just as the Fury was about to hit them. The dagger dug into the Furies heart and it screeched "You have made your inevitable deaths, worse!" like the other Fury, this one turned into golden dust which disappeared. Autumn turned around and looked at Charles "Seriously dude?" "I uh, was protecting your back. Wouldn't want a sneak attack!" said Charles looking quite embarrassed. "Why are you here anyway?" asked Jonathan. "I saw the Furys in the sky so I knew there were demi-gods nearby and here you are! Well, with all these monsters, we'd better get going" said Autumn as all three started towards Camp-Half Blood.