A/N: I do not own PJO.


Hydrophobia


Chapter Nine: Willow


Elisabeth opened her eyes and pushed me back. She pulled her hair clip out, and instantly had an arrow strung. I had my sword at ready moments later.

We glanced at each other and nodded. I charged in, slashing upward and cutting the hellhound's side.

Arrows sprouted from its hide, but it was huge, and didn't fall. Elisabeth notched arrow after arrow, but nothing seemed to kill it.

I kept slashing, but I missed most of the time. I realized the thing had one weak spot that Elisabeth couldn't reach with her arrows.

I backed away, and sucked in a gulp of air. The hellhound was focused on Elisabeth and her arrows, so I took my chance and dove under it.

I stabbed upward blindly and heard it yelp. The hellhound fell on top of me and growled deeply.

Shit.

I was being crushed by the massive weight of the hellhound, and I heard Elisabeth yelling from the other side of this furry wall.

"Brennan!" she screamed desperately.

I felt around for my sword and finally grasped the hilt. It was lodged under the thick belly of the dog and I yanked it free easily. It was too late to realize that it was easy because the hellhound was standing up to pounce on Elisabeth.

I ran out from under it and backed up quickly. I sprinted at a stump, and used it as a springboard to catapult myself onto the hellhound's back.

Unfortunately, my sword didn't come with me. It slipped out of my grasp as I landed on the dog's back.

Elisabeth was down to her last two arrows and she carefully but quickly notched one.

"No!" I cried. She looked at me in bewilderment as the hellhound thrashed around, trying to shake me off. "Throw me both!"

She glanced around, then did as she was told. I barely caught the first arrow, but the second one flew right into my hand.

I lifted one above my head and stabbed downward into the still thrashing hellhound's neck. It howled and attempted to throw me off, but I held on tightly.

I took the second arrow and kissed it lightly for luck. I jabbed the arrow deeply into the thick skin of the hellhound's neck and it slumped, tossing me onto the ground. I rolled into the creek and sat up into the shallow, frigid water to watch the monster dissolve.

I stood up weakly and Elisabeth gaped at me.

"That was possibly the stupidest thing I've ever seen!" she cried and rushed forward, throwing her arms around me. "I thought I had lost you," she whispered.

I hugged her back and smiled weakly. "I'm still here. And we still have a quest," I reminded her. She pulled back.

"Right," she muttered.

We stared at the fork in the creek and sighed. "Let's go back to Willow," I suggested. Elisabeth shrugged and turned on her heel, silently walking away.

"What? Aren't you supposed to say that that's the worst idea you've ever heard?" I said sarcastically, following after her.

Her shoulders shook with silent laughter as I caught up to her. "Brennan, this is a horrible idea. Happy?" she said nudging me gently with her elbow.

"Very happy," I said quickly, racing ahead of her.

We raced back to Willow's tree and Elisabeth climbed the crest of the hill first. She stopped short in her tracks and I bumped into her, causing us to tumble over each other down the hill. We ran head first into the willow tree.

Or what had been the willow tree.

In place of the tall willow tree was a blackened skeleton, the ashes still smoldering. Elisabeth stood and touched the burnt bark.

I heard sobbing from the other side of the once huge tree, and I walked around to find the source.

Willow sat drying her tears with a blackened leaf, and when it crumbled to dust in her tiny fingers, her sobbing worsened.

"Willow!" I cried, unsure of what to do.

"Oh, demigod! You came back!" She threw her arms around me and sobbed on my shoulder.

Her body was covered in cuts and bruises, and golden blood spilled from her wounds onto my tattered orange shirt.

"Willow, what happened?" Elisabeth asked, joining us.

Quickly, Willow's posture changed. She slumped back down and resumed her crying. "They tried to kill me. And they did it, too. They did it because I helped you. I'm dying, demigods. Can't you see that my skin no longer glows with youth and beauty? Aphrodite walks these woods often; she said I was her favorite nymph. She often gifted me with her presence. Can you tell her that she was also my favorite goddess?" Willow asked weakly, her small frame shaking.

Elisabeth knelt next to her and I sunk down to more easily hold her up in my arms. "Of course we can tell her for you," Elisabeth whispered.

Willow pulled out a tiny acorn. "Give this to her, will you?" She pressed the seed into my palm and smiled at me. "Lean closer, demigod." I did and she lightly touched my cheek. "I told them you would be back to help me. They laughed at me and said demigods helped only themselves. Prove them wrong."

Elisabeth's eyes widened. "Prove who wrong? Who?" she asked frantically.

"The dancers," she said softly.

Willow kissed my forehead lightly and smiled at me. Her eyes shut gently and her breathing slowed. A single tear ran down her cheek, leaving a path clear of soot. Her body slowly disolved, leaving a tiny daisy in her place.

Elisabeth picked it up and marched with determination back to the creek, and I followed her quickly. Without a word, she dug and small hole and planted the daisy on the banks of the creek, out of the shadow of the dead willow tree.

Elisabeth wiped her eyes and I looked at her with bewilderment. "Are you . . . crying?" I asked in surprise.

"No!" she shouted. Then she looked up and her clear eyes were rimmed with tears. "Yes," she whispered weakly.

I didn't know what to do, so I awkwardly patted her back. She looked up slowly and wrapped her arms around my waist, sobbing into my chest.

"I'm so sick of being a demigod," she whispered.

I shushed her and comforted her as best I could, but after about a minute she pushed me away. "We've been gone too long," she said, wiping her eyes and sniffing. "They'll think we've been attacked."

I laughed lightly and wiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb. "We have been," I said.

Elisabeth laughed and stood up straighter. "Let's find out where we are," she said and ran to a tree. "Gimme a boost."

I lifted her up and she grabbed hold of a branch. She climbed up as high as she could and scanned the area.

"What do you see?" I asked.

She smiled. "We're on a thin island. There's another smaller island across a shallow channel. It's populated, I think." She climbed down quickly and landed somewhat clumsily on the ground next to me. "Welcome to Assateague Island," she said dramatically, sweeping her arms outward.

Just as she turned to face me, her eyes widened and her mouth rounded into a perfect O.

"Brennan, look," she whispered, pointing behind me. I turned slowly and saw in the distance what looked like a herd of horses.

I gaped at the herd and started towards them without thinking. Elisabeth grabbed my arm. "I bet you can talk to them," she whispered softly in my ear.

I crept closer until the stallion saw me. He reared up in defense but I shouted, "Stop! My name is Brennan Wells, son of the sea god Poseidon, maker of horses!"

The entire herd neighed nervously. The stallion cantered towards me carefully and pressed his nose against mine. He backed up and nodded in the horse-like manor that was so familiar to me.

Son of Poseidon, welcome to my home. Why have you come?

The voice was inside my head, but the stallion was staring intently at me, so I answered him. "I need to rescue Pegasus from the 'dancers.' They've captured him and hidden him away."

The stallion stamped his hoof and nudged me. I know where the women you seek are. They are on the human's island. We saw them herding Pegasus across the channel with the others. The humans have begun the annual purge. Go quickly!

Elisabeth and I exchanged glances and sprinted back towards the creek. "We have to find―"

"And just where have you two been?" It was Kim, standing with her hands on her hips next to Brian. I ran into Brian and Elisabeth ran into me, and all three of us toppled over.

We explained quickly as the herd of horses fled. Elisabeth did most of the talking, though she left out the part about her crying over Willow.

"Dancers? Hmm," Brian hummed. "It could be the Muses; they dance."

Elisabeth shrugged. "The only way to find out is to go to the main island," she said.

Kim had been silent the whole time, and when she finally spoke, it was softly. "I think we should just go home," she whispered.

We all turned towards her. "What?" I asked, throwing my hands up.

She winced, but continued, "Really, what's the point of finding Pegasus? He was never that important. I could understand if a god was missing or something like that, but this is just an animal. It's like every other pegasus, right? Just older."

My mouth hung open. "This isn't just some plain old horse, Kim! This is Pegasus! The Pegasus! The original copy, the father of all pegasi, the―"

"I know!" Kim said fiercely, cutting me off. She crossed her arms. "But what I'm saying is: what's the point?"

Brian shrugged. "He's a son of Poseidon. Pegasus matters to him. And Pegasus matters to the gods. Without him, horses around the world would go into a frenzy. Mass chaos around the globe as―"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Now you're just making stuff up." Her hands went to her hips. "I want to go home. Now."

"Well then you should have gone to camp when you had the chance," I said.

"This camp isn't my home. I miss Mom and Dad!" she cried.

I rolled my eyes. "Dad isn't Dad! Your father is a god!"

Kim's eyes got wide. "I never thought of that!" she said quietly. "I want to go to camp!"

Elisabeth sighed in exasperation. "Well it's too late now, Kim. Let's go!" she said impatiently.

Kim pouted, but followed behind Elisabeth. Brian and I fell in line behind Kim and he nudged me.

"You and Kim fight a lot?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head. "We've never fought like this," I whispered. "She turned twelve this year, so I guess she's hit," I gulped, "puberty."

Brian chuckled softly. "May the gods help you."

We trekked to the other side of the island, with Elisabeth in the lead. "Alright, here's the plan: we go to the main island, search for these 'dancers' there. If we don't find them, we come back here, camp on the beach and search again tomorrow."

I nodded, but when I looked across the channel, I noticed one key problem: there was neither a boat nor a bridge. "How are we going to get there?" I asked.

Elisabeth shrugged. "We swim," she said simply.

I gulped. "I can't swim," I said quietly.

"Psh, you've swam plenty of times," Elisabeth said.

"Not by choice! There's no way I'd be able to make it across the channel," I admitted in defeat.

Kim sighed loudly and plopped onto the sand. "Poseidon is the god of the sea. I bet he's disappointed in you," she said harshly.

Even Elisabeth gave her a look and said, "Don't say―"

"No, no. She's right," I whispered. "I already knew it before she said it." I turned towards the ocean. "You don't have to hide it anymore!" I screamed, throwing my arms open wide. "I'm such a failure! You brought me into this world on accident! I'm a mistake!" I yelled to the water.

My companions stood in shocked silence. "Brennan, that's not what I―" Kim began meekly.

"Yes it is," I said, cutting her off. I turned my back on the ocean, and faced the woods.

Elisabeth gasped and there was a splashing noise behind me. Without turning around I said, "Kim get out of the water!"

Kim tugged on my arm. "I'm right here, Brennan. But look!"

I turned slowly and my mouth fell open. Four animals were floating in the water about ten yards off the shore. They were horses in the water, their coats a shimmering silver.

We are here from your father, son of Poseidon.


A/N: Suppahh short chapter? Sorry bout that.

Anyway, tell me what you think of the chapter and be honest. I need some critique on this!

Thanks bruh!


ψcamille elisabethψ