The Olympian League: Origins: Chapter 7

Character List
Nolan Swift

Megan Snow

Hermes

Chapter 7
VII

Running of the Bulls

Nolan Swift

I woke up that morning not really sure what to expect. My company had been hired about a month ago to make repairs to a bridge on the nearby interstate and we were a bit behind due to a few accidents (mostly caused by monsters, but I couldn’t tell the client that).

“Leaving so soon?” I heard Megan say from behind me as I reached for the doorknob.

“Ya, I have work you know. Bridges to build and roads to make,” I replied before giving her a hug and a quick kiss on the lips. “Keep an eye on the little one, she is getting pretty fast lately.”

“I wonder where she gets that from?” Megan replied in a mocking tone. I just smiled and headed out the door and hopped into my car. The drive didn’t take to long and the rest of my crew arrived soon after. I told everyone out goals for the day and before long we were hard at work.

After a few hours I heard some kind of crash about a half mile up the road. There was some smoke and I wondered if everyone was ok as I ran in the direction I heard the crash from. As I got closer, I saw more and more people running in the opposite direction.

“What’s going on?” I asked one guy as I grabbed his arm to stop him.

“I’m not sure, it looks like a rhino escaped from the zoo and is rampaging down the street!” he yelled before pulling his arm out of my grasp and running away in the opposite direction. About a second later, a huge Colchis bull smashed through the concrete dividers as if they were made of tissue paper. The mechanical beast then locked its eyes with mine and started charging right at me. I timed the rate that the monster was running and jumped out of the way as it stampeded right past me.

“Oh come on, this is the third monster attack this month,” I said to myself before looking up toward the sky. “Aren’t you suppose to be protecting travelers?” I said with a bit of sarcasm to my father, Hermes.

I didn’t wait for a reply as the bull turned around to face me. Smoke started coming out of his nostrils and I pulled my hammer from around my neck. The mechanical beast opened its mouth and let out a huge blast of fire that heated the air around me until it felt like the middle of summer. I grasped my hammer pendant around my neck and it began to grow into its true form, that of a Celestial Bronze sledge hammer. I gripped it tighter and the head began to glow until it ignited into flames, which I used to send my own blast of fire back at the monster. The blasts met in a fiery explosion and I was knocked back a few feet, but the bull just seemed angry. It once again charged at me and I ran right for it, watching as it lowered its head to prevent me from slipping under it and the metallic skin scrapped against the ground, causing sparks to fly as it ran.

I charged at the monster and right before it smashed into me, I jumped and landed on the monster’s head before turning myself around and riding the thing like I was a bull rider. The bull stopped dead in its tracks and tried shaking me off, but I held on tight. It then began to blow small amounts of fire from its nose and mouth. I could even feel the build up of heat from inside the monster.

“You’re putting me behind schedule!” I yelled before smashing my hammer right down on the edge of its snout, causing the metal to bend and locking the beasts mouth shut. “That will teach you.”

I sounded triumphant until I felt more built up heat from below me and creaking metal. I looked around and saw cracks form in the metal as fire started spewing out of them.

“This is bad,” I said before jumping off the mechanical bull and running as fast as I could. A second later the bull exploded from the inside out and I went flying in the air only to land on a mattress. “Where did this come from?”

A second later I heard clapping and I looked up to see Hermes sitting in the driver’s seat of a steamroller.

“You still have the moves,” He said as he stopped clapping his hands and looked at me. “Hephaestus owes me 10 golden drachmas.”

“You sent the bull?” I asked him a bit annoyed.

“Of course, I wanted to see if you have what it takes for what I’m about to give you,” he said as he waved a blue envelope in his hands. “I am a messenger after all.”

“Listen, my questing days are over. Plus, I have a family to look after and I’m really behind on my work,” I told him, but the envelope was starting to interest me.

“Are you?” he asked and I looked around. The bridge was completely repaired and my phone began to ring. When I picked it up my boss complemented me on a great job and that I should take some time off.

“Alright, what’s in the envelope?” I said and he handed it to me. I opened the letter and read what was inside:

Dear Nolan Swift,

''You are invited to join the Olympian League, a collection of the most powerful demigods today. We feel that with your accomplishments and skill, you would make a valued member of our team. Please reply as soon as possible.''

Sincerely,

Reyna

“I’m not really looking for any more adventures,” I told Hermes again.

“I know, but there are a lot more demigods out there and the number at camp is growing as well, more than Chiron can handle alone,” Hermes said and a smile grew on his face. “More demigods that are going on adventures, I want you to show them how strong children of Hermes can be. Show them what you can do.”

“I’ll do it,” I said after thinking it over for a long time.

“Good, your family will be waiting for you at camp,” he said as he pointed to a road that really didn’t connect to anything. I started walking down and about eleven steps down the road, I found myself at the border of Camp Half-Blood with a very confused wife and daughter looking at me.

Darkcloud1111 ~Fastest Hero Alive