When they arrived back at the Pegasi, Hunter helped Kyle put Marina onto Petunia’s back. He turned to Jimmy. “Jimmy, go back to Camp, okay?” Hunter whispered into his ear. Jimmy snorted and shook his head. Hunter looked at him quizzically. “Oh, you’re going to follow us? How noble and loyal you are.” Hunter said with a chuckle. Jimmy nodded and whinnied before shaking his head into a regal posture. “Alright. Come on.” Hunter said as he ran over to Ulysses and mounted. He kicked lightly and Ulysses zoomed into the air with Jimmy and Petunia, carrying sleeping Marina in front and support Kyle in the back. Their main intention was to get away from Punxsutawney. Hunter was pretty sure that law enforcement wouldn’t take too kindly to 3 heavily armed teenagers surrounded by several unconscious people.
“Hunter! She’s waking up!” Kyle said with a grin before turning his gaze to Marina. Hunter watched as Kyle whispered quietly into her ear. He could see her eyes slowly blink open before realizing what their current situation held in store for her. All of a sudden, a scream rang through the air and Hunter looked over to see Marina clinging to Kyle for dear life and screaming like a banshee. “Let’s set down! Hunter! Down!” Kyle managed to communicate over the fretting Marina. Hunter nodded and started to scan the woods below. He spotted a nearby clearing and directed Kyle to it. Marina screamed all the way down until Petunia’s hooves touched the ground. She closed her mouth and calmly slipped off of Petunia’s back before laying face down onto the grass.
“What happened? Why don’t I remember? Why didn’t you tell me we were flying?!” She muttered, her voice muffled by the ground. She took a deep breath and groaned loudly. Hunter looked over at Kyle who looked back at him and shook his head. He waved his hand and right in front of above Marina’s head a flower grew. Marina looked up and picked it from the ground. Kyle knelt down and took it from her before placing it in her hair.
“It’s a tulip-orchid-rose hybrid. I named it the Marina.” Kyle said with a grin. Marina melted into his arms. Hunter rolled his eyes and walked away from the loving couple. He looked back for a second before looking at his watch. Nothing seemed particularly different about it. He summoned his bow. What appeared was not his bow. This bow was about as tall as Hunter was and looked like it was fashioned from two small trees, bent and tied together. Hunter felt its weight. It was surprisingly light, considering its size. He drew an arrow, but it was a boxing glove arrow so he put it back.
“Normal.” He whispered as he touched the bottom of his quiver. He reached in and pulled out an arrow with a tip that seemed to be so sharp you could get cut by being near it. The arrow was thick enough to be used as a spear and had jet black feathers at the end. Hunter notched it and took aim at a tree nearby. The pullback was easy, which came as a shock to Hunter. He fired and watched as the arrow flew like a laser and stuck into the tree with a loud crack. Splinters, leaves, and branches flew from the jagged stump. “Whoa.” Hunter put away his bow and walked forward. He examined the remains of the tree when he heard the faint sound of hissing behind him. He turned around to see the arrow embedded halfway into another tree. He furrowed his brow and took another step closer the wood around the arrow was slowly dissolving. “Oh my gods…Marina! Kyle! Come look at this!” He shouted. Kyle and Marina came bursting through the trees and stood by Hunter.
“What is it?” Kyle asked quietly, his mouth agape in astonishment.
“Oh, I know what this is.” Marina said calmly. Hunter and Kyle both looked at her quizzically. “It’s Hydra venom. Highly acidic.” She said with a nod. Hunter looked at the bow. Kyle kept looking at Marina. “From the arrows. That came with the bow. The arrows are venomous!” She said finally.
“Oh…Why didn’t you just say that?”
“Well, I figured you would have read the story of Hercules. My mistake.” She said with an eye roll. “Can I see it?” She asked, excitedly. Hunter looked at the bow and shrugged. He carefully handed it over to Marina who grabbed it and as soon as Hunter let go, it dropped out of her hands. “Oh my gods! I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed. “That thing is heavier than I thought! She knelt down to grab it, but she couldn’t lift it.
“Here. Let me try.” Kyle said, lightly shoving Marina out of the way who stepped off to the side with crossed arms and an eyebrow raised. Kyle cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. He took a deep breath and grabbed the bow. He pulled hard and the bow didn’t move. “Haha. Let me just get a better grip.” He said nervously. He readjusted and pulled hard. Letting out a loud groan, he pulled until his face was red, when his hand slipped off and hit him in the chest. He hung his head and took a step back. Hunter tried to hide his laughter. He couldn’t tell if Kyle was red from embarrassment or from strain.
“So, it really is the bow of Hercules.” Marina said looking at it. “ I had doubts, because you were able to whip it around like you were, but I was wrong.” She said quietly. Hunter reached down and picked it up before examining it closely.
“I wonder if you can only use it if you’re a ‘wielder.’ That’s what Philoctetes said I was, now.” Hunter said with a sigh. He was curious what this would mean in the long-run. “I don’t really want to poison everyone that I hit with an arrow.” He said quietly. He touched his quiver and whispered “Non-poison.” He reached back and notched another arrow. It looked the same as the previous one, but he took a deep breath and fired anyway into a tree a few dozen yards away. The arrow landed with a loud whump. Hunter walked over and saw that the only the fletching of the arrow was sticking out. He reached and grabbed the arrow, but pulled his hand back at the feeling of a sharp pain. He looked at his palm which was red with blood. “What in the…Marina! Come here.” He shouted. Kyle and Marina jogged over and looked at his hand.
“Oh goodness.” She said as she reached into her bag and produced some bandages. She quickly wrapped his hand before looking up at him. “What happened?” Hunter chuckled lightly and pointed to the arrow sticking out of the tree. Marina walked over and plucked a feather out of the arrow. Hunter raised an eyebrow.
“How is that you can…” He said, confusedly. Marina shrugged.
“It’s a Stymphalian bird feather. I’m a child of Hephaestus, remember? I work in the forges all day, so my hands get calloused.” She said with a chuckle. Kyle nodded.
“She’s right. It’s like holding hands with sand paper.” He said. Marina scoffed and slapped him in the arm.
“This thing is dangerous…” Hunter said looking from his bow to the arrow in the tree. “Alright. We need to figure out the next part of the quest, but we can do that tomorrow. Let’s camp for the night.” He said with a sigh. Kyle and Marina nodded and the three of them headed back to the clearing. They made camp and began to settle in for the night. “Maybe, we’ll have a normal night for once.” He said, sitting up against a fallen tree.