Hunt in Maine
The state of Maine, in the New England region, was usually known for its rugged Atlantic coastline, its dense forests, and its mountainous interior. A quiet, peaceful place where some tourists came to relax and enjoy their days in the calm of nearby towns.
Or at least, that's how it was supposed to be.
This time, though, around those same towns, large military vehicles could be seen moving through the area, unsettling both tourists and locals alike. On top of that, heavily armed military helicopters passed overhead every so often, sweeping across the region.
It was enough to make people afraid to even step outside their homes.
There were barely any people in the streets. A few would come out when they needed to buy something, but the moment they did, several strange soldiers, not dressed like any military in the country, would surround them and search them thoroughly, as if they were looking for someone specific.
They even stopped cars and any kind of transport, checking everything from top to bottom.
As a school bus was being halted, a pale boy with black hair, no older than ten, watched with a tense, uneasy expression, gripping what looked like a book tightly against his chest.
Before a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back into the alley where he had been hiding.
"Idiot. I told you not to leave the hiding spot. What happens if they see you?" said a young woman with the same kind of hair as his, black, straight, and long, tied into a braid. Her skin was just as pale, and the resemblance between them made it clear they were siblings, or at least closely related. Slung across her back was a strange, old-fashioned bow, and at her waist hung a quiver filled with arrows of the same style.
"Sorry, sis. I was waiting for you… I got worried," the boy said, lowering his head slightly.
The girl let out a small sigh when she saw his expression.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. I managed to grab some medicine from the pharmacy on the corner, but I think they're starting to get suspicious. We should let Clarisse know and move soon," she said, a note of concern in her voice, before the two of them began walking deeper into the alley.
They approached what looked like a large, square dumpster and glanced out toward the street one last time before lifting the lid. With the older sister's help, the boy climbed in first, followed by her. Before closing it, she took one last look around to make sure no one had seen them, then carefully shut it.
Inside, the dumpster was nothing like what you'd expect. There were a few garbage bags, sure, but behind them, right against the wall, there was a large opening that seemed to cut through even the structure behind it, leading into a tunnel that sloped downward. The rock looked roughly carved, almost clawed out in a hurry, marked by thin, uneven grooves that made it look unsettling.
Neither of them paid it much attention as they climbed down.
At the bottom, the tunnel opened into what looked like a makeshift underground room.
Just like the passage, it seemed to have been dug out in the same crude way, with wooden planks set every few meters to keep it from collapsing.
The lighting wasn't great. A few battery-powered LED lamps, the kind you could buy anywhere, lit the space. Off to the side, there was a rough sleeping area made from blankets and old clothes, probably taken from some donation pile.
And on that makeshift bed sat a girl, her expression tight with pain, a spear resting beside her as she held onto her shoulder.
"Clarisse. We found something that might help," the young woman said, quickly moving to her side.
Clarisse opened her eyes with effort as soon as she saw them, clearly struggling to endure the pain.
Pain that came from a large black spike, at least a foot long, lodged straight through her shoulder, soaking the makeshift tourniquet wrapped around it with blood.
"Good. Get this thing out already. The poison's getting weaker, but if this keeps up, I won't last much longer," Clarisse said, her voice hard, though strained with pain.
"Are you sure? We should go to a hospital," the boy said, worried, watching as his sister pulled out a medical kit she had managed to grab from the pharmacy, risking being caught.
"Yeah, sure. And those guys outside hunting us will just wait until I'm fully healed before dragging us to that big monster that might fill us with poisoned spikes like some kind of porcupine," Clarisse said, her tone a bit harsh toward the boy. Though that was to be expected, considering the amount of pain she was still enduring.
The boy realized there was no real way out without being seen with her in that condition. He simply closed his mouth and lowered his gaze to the book in his hands for a moment.
"Ah… sorry. It's not your fault, it's just—"
Before Clarisse could finish apologizing, the young woman beside her suddenly grabbed the black spike and pulled it out in one motion.
Clarisse twisted in pain instantly, clenching her teeth as her eyes snapped open, glaring at her.
"Oh. Sorry," the girl said, already tearing the fabric around Clarisse's shoulder to clean the wound, prevent infection, and properly stop the bleeding.
But she didn't seem too sorry.
Maybe a little bit of payback for the way she had spoken to her brother.
Clarisse slammed her hand against the ground and shifted her legs, forcing herself to endure the pain. Luckily, the girl clearly knew what she was doing, and within just a few minutes, Clarisse's shoulder was properly bandaged. The cloth was still stained with blood, but it had stopped flowing, showing just how skilled she actually was.
"You're lucky. That thing didn't hit any arteries, it just lodged into the bone. Still, you shouldn't move your arm too much for now," the girl said seriously, her tone far more mature than her age would suggest, especially since she was younger than Clarisse. She kept looking at the black spike in her hand, trying to figure out what the hell it even was.
"You're the devil's daughter," Clarisse muttered, holding her shoulder in pain.
"Yeah. I've heard that one before," the girl replied calmly as she started putting the medical kit back together for later use. "By the way, we should move again. Those strange soldiers are getting close. It's like they can track us by scent or something."
Clarisse opened her mouth slightly at that, her expression making it clear the girl had hit the mark.
"What? They can do that?" the girl asked, looking at her, reading her reaction easily.
"I'll explain later. Knowing now would only make things worse," Clarisse said, shaking her head slightly. "Don't worry. I already called for backup. If they don't find us first, they should be here in a few hours… if we're still alive. As long as we stay hidden and that thing doesn't find us… we'll be fine."
She took a couple of pills the girl handed her for the pain, then grabbed a bottle of water to swallow them.
"Damn it. If I knew this was going to happen, I would've brought more nectar or ambrosia. But the camp needed most of it to treat the wounded after the battle," Clarisse muttered, clearly annoyed.
The girl beside her looked at her strangely for a moment after hearing that.
But before she could ask anything, the boy, who had been staring at the book in his hands, suddenly widened his eyes with a flicker of fear.
"Oh no… someone found our watchers. Someone's coming."
"GRRRRROOOOWWW"
A sudden lion's roar shook the surroundings.
Clarisse, still injured, snapped her eyes open and grabbed the spear beside her.
"Great. Just great," she muttered, her expression openly irritated. "I hope those idiots hurry… because if I die, I'm killing them," she added, as if already preparing to fight to the end until Percy and the others arrived.