Burger and Fries (1eyedjuggalo)

A race for our lives Stephen thought as he took off after Taylor. He hopped she knew where she was going, because he had no clue which direction camp was. They couldn't keep on like this very long or the Minotaur would catch them. Once it built up speed, it couldn't be outrun, but it had trouble changing direction. Maybe they would get lucky and the way back to camp would be full of twits and turns. He wondered what the mortals saw. Two kids running down the street away from...a truck? an escaped animal? something even more bizarre? Stephen pushed the thoughts, hilarious though they were, aside and began thinking of how to get out of this mess. His time free running in Florida could come in handy, but he might lose Taylor if he started sliding over car hoods and jumping over hotdog stands like hurdles. So he just ran, followed her and hoped they would make it to camp.

Taylor had to glance back every few seconds to see if Stephen was still there. Her legs were beginning to ache from all the running. How long could she keep this up? Zigzagging around people, corners, dogs and cars sure took up a lot of energy. Taylor kept her eyes open for familiar sights to lead them back to camp. Fortunately, she spotted a few, and was certain that they were in the right path.

"Almost there," Taylor huffed, as she saw the shoreline in the distance. She looked behind her, only to see that the Minotaur was only a few feet behind Stephen. "Look out!" Taylor warned, stopping in her tracks while drawing her sword out.

Stephen didn't see Taylor stop and draw her sword, because as soon as he heard her yell, he threw himself to one side, scraping his knee upon landing. To make matters worse, he landed on his right leg-the one that had his dagger strapped to it, and it left a nasty cut. He rolled up his pant leg and pulled the celestial bronze blade free, cursing in a mixture of Greek and English when he saw the cut, then got on his feet and looked to see how Taylor was handling the Minotaur.

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief as Stephen dove away from the Minotaur's path. She didn't know what happened to him afterward, since now her whole attention was focused on the Greek monster heading straight in her direction.

"Bring it," Taylor said with a smirk.

The Minotaur roared in reply. Taylor knew that it was gathering a lot of speed--something that she was going to take advantage of. When the Minotaur was only a few feet away, Taylor leapt to the side, both of her hands grabbing the lamppost conveniently situated nearby. She was in the air for a second as the Minotaur ran past. In mid-landing, Taylor struck with her sword, but she underestimated the speed of the Greek monster and her sword sliced nothing but the air in front of her. She landed with both feet on the sidewalk, watching as the Minotaur was trying to slow itself down to change direction.

"You okay?" Taylor asked as she rushed to where Stephen was. "We're going to have to fight our way out of this one," she said grimly.

Stephen tried not to wince as he put weight on his injured leg. "There's always a fight when we hang out together. I'll eventually get used to it." That trick Taylor did with the lamp post was impressive, and it gave him an idea. "It has a short attention span, only focuses on one thing at a time." The monster was beginning to turn around. "Keep it focused on you, and do what you just did. When it runs past you, I'll be waiting for it. It's stupid so it should fall for the same trick twice. Hurry! before it gets ready to charge again"

Taylor laughed then nodded, resuming her position beside the lamppost. "Beef brain!" she jeered, and the Minotaur angrily started to run towards her again.

When she felt that the timing was right, Taylor jumped again. She got a firm grip on the post, but she hadn't jumped high enough--the side of the Minotaur's horn collided with one of her ankles. She gritted her teeth at the sudden sting on her left foot, but nevertheless tried to remain in the air as long as possible. Her landing was not perfect: she landed on her good foot sideways, then toppled down to the ground. Taylor winced as her right side suffered the blow, but the adrenaline rush managed to numb down the pain. All she could feel was a far sting on her left foot and some kind of numbness on her right side. Slowly she tried to get up, keeping her eyes trained on Stephen and the Minotaur.

Taylor hoped that Stephen knew what he was doing--if he lost this fight with the Minotaur, they were as good as dead.

Stephen followed Taylor to the lamp post, staying close and keeping his dagger ready. His plan was simple, when Taylor jumped, the Minotaur would run straight into him. It was too tall to gore him with its horns, but one caught Taylor's foot just before the beast crashed into him, taking them both to the ground. Stephens breath left him, but his right arm-the one that held his dagger-was free. He plunged the celestial bronze into the beasts side. It's hide was thick, but he jabbed at it several times until he felt his blade pierce the monsters hide. The beast turned into a pile of dust which Stephen brushed off as he stood. "Glad that's over" Stephen said with a sigh of relief. While battling the Minotaur, Stephen felt something he had not before, something he didn't like. He had no hesitation when attacking the beast, but went at it with a savagery that was foreign to him. That monster was nothing more than a mindless killing machine that needed dispatched, it did not deserve the same kindness he had tried to show the Harpy. He shook his head. "Let's just get back to camp"

"Let's," Taylor agreed, wrapping her handkerchief around her bleeding foot. It hurt, but the pain was tolerable. Taylor chuckled to lighten the situation. "Before something attacks us again."

She started to walk, slightly limping, as she beckoned Stephen to follow her. People started throwing them confused looks, but she didn't care in the slightest. She vaguely wondered what the mortals had seen--two kids fighting a... monster truck? Laughing to herself, Taylor soon enough spotted the hill that was the entrance to the camp.

"Finally!" she said in relief, turning to Stephen.

Stephen was more relieved than he ever thought he'd be to see camp again. The cut he had given himself was hurting horribly, and bleeding profusely, but he hadn't noticed it before. What if he had nicked an artery? He was sure there was one in the legs. He limped ever faster toward camp, hoping to get to the infirmary.

Taylor could see that she wasn't the only one hurt. A red stain had appeared on one of Stephen's leg, and it troubled her for a bit. She quickened her pace, wondering irritably why the entrance of the camp was up on a hill. Panting, she finally reached the top. "Er... great adventure...?" Taylor said. She nervously chuckled. "I'm such a bad influence, aren't I?"

Taylor didn't notice that she had already stepped inside the camp boundaries. Relief washed over her. Thank the gods she and Stephen made it in one piece.

Stephen collapsed just as he made it inside the boundary. He was limping his way up the hill, scolding himself for his stupidity. The only wound he suffered during the fight had been inflicted by himself. As he climbed, it took more and more effort. When he reached the top, he felt a great wave of relief and then...nothing. He fell unconscious before he hit the ground.

...or maybe not entirely in one piece.

"Stephen?" Taylor gasped, as she saw Stephen falling to the ground.

His wound must have been worse than she thought. Ignoring the still stinging pain on her ankle, she rushed to where Stephen lay unconscious on the ground. She was unnerved by how pale he had become. Taylor grasped his wrist, and was slightly relieved to feel a pulse. But Taylor knew that she couldn't get Stephen to the infirmary herself, especially with her own injury she needed to deal with.

Taylor spotted a few campers who had just looked towards their direction. "Help!" she yelled, and they drew nearer. Taylor hoped that one of them was at least an Apollo kid. One of the boys who had come over immediately knelt beside Stephen and produced a small square of ambrosia from his pocket. Taylor watched tensely as the boy placed the godly food in Stephen's mouth. He then started to murmur a prayer, and Taylor silently stared at Stephen, alert to any improvement. Come on, wake up wake up, Taylor began to chant mentally, urging Stephen on.

Stephen ached all over. he tried to ask what happened , but all he could manage was a grunt. He opened his eyes and saw a camper kneeling over him. He couldn't figure out just what happened. Even if he had nicked an artery, he didn't think he had lost enough blood to cause him to pass out. Then he remembered the poison on his dagger. How could he forget that? "Taylor?" he said. The ambrosia was starting to return his strength to him.

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I'm here," she said. She turned to the Apollo camper and thanked him for his help. He nodded once and offered her some nectar for her bleeding foot, but she refused. "I'm good," she reassured the boy. "I didn't realize you were cut that bad," she told Stephen as she tried to get herself up.

Stephen was very tempted to make up a lie to avoid embarrassment, but his mind was still too fuzzy to think of a convincing falsehood. "I cut myself with my poisoned dagger when I landed after I jumped out of the beast's way." He grunted as he tried to stand. "I think I'll be fine now. I'd ask how your ankle is, but I heard you tell dude that you're fine." Well, now the adventure was over, back to boring old camp life. He glanced at Taylor thinking at least now he had a friend who could certainly keep things interesting. "So....." he said, letting his voice trail off as he looked back towards camp.

"Interesting dagger," Taylor mused. If only her sword was like that. Huh, that didn't seem like a bad idea. She made a mental note to go find a Hephaestus kid to help her with that idea.

"Thanks again!" she called happily to the Apollo boy who had turned to leave with his friends. Taylor lifted her foot up, inspecting the stained cloth around it. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, which was a good thing. Taylor knew she probably needed someone in the infirmary to have someone check on it. But that can wait until later. "Well, we're both fine now," she told Stephen, grinning. "I hope you didn't get sick of hanging out with me," she teased him with a chuckle. "I'll probably get you in trouble a few more times."

Stephen laughed. "What you call trouble, I call fun. I used to love the thrill I would get after I left home and had to fend for myself. Here it gets boring, always training for something, but nothing ever really happens. No adrenaline rush. I feel more alive when there's a challenge, part of why I like hanging out with you." Stephen looked forward to more adventures with Taylor, maybe he would get to see her snow powers in action sometime.

Taylor beamed. "Excellent! A person who likes getting into troub--er, having fun!" she said slyly. "Onwards to more dangerous adventures!" She raised her hand for a high five. Taylor was happy to find her new partner-in-crime. She laughed at the thought.

Stephen laughed and high fived Taylor. Her sense of humor was another reason he liked chilling with her, as well as how she seemed to pretty much be an open book. What you see is what you get. "Now that I'm ok" he said with a grin. "Our next great adventure is getting you to the infirmary and making sure that ankle doesn't get infected. Let's go"

Taylor fought the urge to roll her eyes at his remark. "It's going to be fine," Taylor reassured Stephen. "But yeah, let's go," she said. Taylor began to walk, still slightly limping, towards the direction of the infirmary. She punched the air with her fist saying, "Onwards to the great infirmary!"

OOC: I started a topic in the infirmary.