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ryan-ry · 2 months

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APOLLOS WISH

Valleri has been having a weird recurring dream for the past couple months. In it, a sandy haired boy. She leads a pretty boring life as an orphan, but one day everything changes when she meets the boy of her dreams... literally.

Hey guyyysss. Sooooo, I'm starting yet another fan fic... I will be basing a lot of the dialogue, plot, and scenes off of Rick Riordans books, but I'm going to be trying not to copy too much out of the pages.

*don't expect me to be consistent :)*

SUMMERY:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians but with an added character: Valleri

WARNINGS:

not much, mostly a lot of fluff and maybe some make out scenes.

DISCLAIMER:

Because I don't want to be sexualizing 12 year olds, the characters will be 16 in this :)

Chapter 01

{A Field Trip With the 15 and Ups}

Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BE-

My hand slams into the alarm clock next to my bed, knocking it off of the table and onto the floor. It rolls under my bed and, somehow, continues to sing its off key rendition of ‘twinkle, twinkle, little star’.

“Oh. My. God,” I groan and roll out of my bed. Like, literally. I roll out of bed onto the ground and reach my hand under the bed frame. I’m still half asleep and my eyes aren’t fully open so it takes me a couple seconds to grab the blasted clock. When it’s in my hand I bang it on the ground a couple times. It stops. Finally. Sweet silence.

“My head,” I groan, placing my cheek onto the cool floor and falling asleep again.

It doesn't feel long until I’m forced awake again, this time by my best friend Keith.

“Valleri get uuup. Val, Va, Val, Val, Vaaal,” he pokes me over and over until I finally open my eyes.

I’m met with his face, inches from mine.

“Alright,” I groan, pushing his face away and sitting up.

I look at where I had been laying. There was a small puddle of drool. I wipe it away with the sleeve of my shirt before Keith has another reason to tease me.

“It’s field trip dayyy,” his eyes glisten.

I roll my eyes, “great, more time with the older kids.”

I despised the 15 and ups. They were always bullying and they always, always got away with it. My theory was that the adults of this crap-shoot orphanage felt bad that they weren’t adopted and that they had been here for a long time. But me, I wouldn’t feel bad for them, there was a reason none of them were adopted. And believe me, I know first hand.

Let me fill you in on the pathetic excuse I call my life.

I had been living at Royds Home for children my whole life, a whopping 12 years. What I had been told by the adults was that my mother had dropped me off. Leaving me on the doorstep with nothing but a name tag. Gee thanks mom, you could name me but couldn’t keep me.

Anyways, I had been filtered through family after family after family, but I never seemed to fit perfectly. Each time I either screwed it up or… nope I just screwed it up each time. There were, however, a couple times when weird things had happened. Now, when I say weird, I mean, ‘literally turned into monsters and tried to eat me’ kind of weird. And I know what you’re probably thinking. What the fu-.

Yeah, that’s what the headmaster said each time I tried to explain these situations to her upon my return. Except she didn’t ever say, ‘what the f-’, she normally said, ‘where the f-’. This was always the weirdest part of these experiences. She would send me off with a weird family and each time I would come back she would scold me for running off, almost as if she didn’t remember me leaving with the family. I usually shrugged it off.

I had learned over the years to not question anything. Questions usually led to trouble. So, I never questioned when a family tried to eat me, I never questioned when I saw a man with one eye staring at me, I never questioned when I saw ravens swarming outside my room window, and I certainly never questioned when Keith told me to do something weird, like right now for instance.

“Can you look out your window?” he asks me.

I turn my head and look over my bed and out the glass. Ravens were crowding outside on the ledge. I had come to the conclusion that they had a massive hotel of nests right above my window.

“Uh.. all I see are ravens,” I respond, turning to look at him.

“No, past that,” he says.

I can hear a tint of fear lacing with his voice. As I look past the ravens, I notice that it’s storming outside. Rain falls and lightning lights up the sky.

“Weird,” I tell him, “probably just a summer storm though,” I grunt as I stand. My body is stiff from a rough night's sleep and I wonder how I am ever going to make it past my bedroom door. My muscles ache and I had a slight headache, but I had gotten used to waking up like this.

Over the past month, I had been having this odd recurring dream. Every. Single. Night. In it, I stood on a beach, wind whipping through my hair. There was always a boy standing in front of me, about my age. Hair a sandy color and eyes the color of the ocean. Each night, I tried and tried to ask him his name but nothing ever left my throat.

I could tell the boy was trying to talk to me as well but I could never hear him. The sound of a deep voice always drowned out everything. That and the sound of the wind in my ears.

I would always wake up sore and a little disoriented. But it was normal now and I kept a bottle of Advil on my bedside table.

“Yeah, that’s not normal, a storm that big?” he mutters to himself.

“You’re being paranoid, Keith,” I tell him, walking into our connected bathroom.

“Hmm,” he mutters following me.

I turn on the faucet and splash cold water on my face, telling my brain to wake the hell up. I shudder at the temperature of the water and dry my face. Keith hops up, sitting on the counter as I brush my teeth.

“Yeah but something about it makes me feel weird,” he pulls the hair at the bottom of his neck, glancing at my window again.

“Oh my god Keith,” I say, pulling the toothbrush out of my mouth, “you’re making me nervous with the way you’re pulling out your hair.”

“Sorry,” he mutters, clearly still distracted.

Suddenly my door flies open.

The Headmaster peers in, “be on the bus in 15 minutes,” she closes the door and leaves me to rush around in a frenzy.

“Oh my god,” I finish brushing my teeth and pull my hair back into a bun at the nape of my neck, “Keith, why didn’t you wake me up sooner,” I mutter through clenched teeth as I grab clothes from the chest at the end of my bed.

“You had your alarm set Val, it wasn’t my fault you slept through it,” he shrugs, “hey!” he yelps as I shut my door in his face, “what was that for?” his voice is muffled through the door.

“I have to change weirdo,” I say, raising an eyebrow at the white paint.

I can practically feel Keith roll his eyes as I pull on simple green cargo pants and a black crop top. I look at my extensive collection of shoes- 1 pair of boots and 1 pair of converse -trying to decide what I felt like today. I end up choosing the black boots.

Finally, after glancing at myself in the mirror, I decide to untie my hair and let it fall loose down my back. My hair was the one thing I didn’t hate about myself. It was a golden blonde, always glowing when the sun hit it.

“Are you done yet?” Keith asks me from behind my door.

“Yes,” I huff, swinging it open.

“Ok, now let's go before we get yelled at.”

“Alright, alright.”

At the last minute I decide to grab my leather jacket as I look out the window. The rain seemed to be coming down in sheets now and I didn’t want to chance anything.

Chapter 02

{I Kill A Biker}

“Valleri?”

“Present,” I call out.

The Headmaster takes roll call as we sit on the bus, waiting for it to start.

“Keith?”

“Here,” he looks out the window. I could sense that he was nervous about the rising storm. He was always paranoid about the smallest things. Like everything else in my life, I had chosen to ignore his weird behavior.

“Alright everyone, listen up,” Headmaster calls from the front of the bus, “we will be going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or, the Met as many people know it,” the bus starts forward and students snicker as the Headmaster stumbles forward. She rubs her hands on her ironed pants and continues, “a few ground rules: Number one. Do. Not. Touch. Anything… Number two. There will be some schools there, so try not to get into any trouble with them. Number three. Please be respectful of the tour guides, they didn’t sign up to handle you lot. And lastly, number four, because it’s so important it’s repeated twice. Do. Not. Touch. Anything. Understand?” she eyes us all, “Ok, any questions?”

A hand shoots up, “yes, Justine,” Headmaster says wearily.

“What was number one again?” the boy asks, holding back his snickers.

“I will not be answering that because you should know it,” Headmaster sighs dramatically, “... anything else?”

I raise my hand, “is the storm going to get bad?”

A couple students roll their eyes. I ignore them.

“I don’t believe so, but just to be safe I hope everyone brought jackets.”

I hear groans throughout the bus as students look out the window at the rising storm. I turn and look past Keith out the window. The weather wasn’t currently bad, only a light sprinkle, but with the way it had been the past couple weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised if it started hailing right then and there.

The bus pulls ahead and I sink back into my seat.

—

The bus hisses to a stop and I examine the surroundings. A couple kids have their faces pressed against the windows as they stare at the museum. It was pretty grand, I must admit. We were all used to a run down 3 story farmhouse. The museum was large and looming, yet graceful and looked like it held many mysteries.

I quickly follow everyone out of the bus and into gloomy weather. A cold breeze tugs at my hair and I look up at the clouds, praying that it doesn’t rain too hard. I preferred a sunny day over a rainy day any day.

The horde of children march up and into the large building, pushing and shoving each other.

I spot a school exiting their bus. Keith notices too. My eyebrows knit together as he waves at a boy from the crowd of kids.

“Do you know him?” I ask Keith.

He lets out a weird laugh of surprise, almost a bleat, as I nudge him.

“You’re so weird,” I roll my eyes and follow our crowd.

We are met inside with a young tour guide. He seemed about 20. He was gorgeous. Chiseled jaw and a perfect nose. He seemed to almost glow. He had a mop of blonde hair and striking blue eyes. I found myself staring at him. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t quite place a finger on it.

“Welcome to the Met!” he says, breaking my trance.

“Thank you for having us Mr. Paean,” Headmaster replies with a smile.

“Of course, I love inspiring children,” he scans the crowd as if looking for someone. I flinch as he locks eyes with me. I look away nervously.

“He kinda looks like you,” Keith mutters, leaning over.

“Really? How?”

“Well the hair first of all.”

“That’s just hair Keith, common.”

“Anything you’d like to share with the class?” I whip my head forward as Mr. Paean addresses us.

“No sir, sorry,” Keith and I mutter.

We all follow him over to a statue, “this is the Greek God Apollo, he is personally one of my favorites. Can anyone tell me what he’s the God of? How about you in the back,” I shrink as he points at me.

“Me? Oh, um,” I rack my brain, I know bits and pieces. Keith was obsessed with Greek mythology and was always ranting about this kind of stuff, “lets see, healing…” I count on my fingers, “sun, artery, poetry, prophecies…” I shrug, “that’s all I can remember.”

“Very well done,” Mr. Paean praises me, “you must know a lot about Greek mythology.”

“Not, really,” I shrug, “he knows more than me,” I point to Keith.

“Hm,” our guide looks at Keith, “well you’ve done a good job with teaching her so far,” his voice hangs in the air and I turn to look at Keith.

My friend's eyes widen as if he’s realizing something and he does his weird laugh, like he’s nervous. I give him a worried look but he just pulls at his hair.

“Moving on, we have Hera, personally not my fave, but love her anyways,” Mr. Paean moves on.

I hung back, “yo, what was that?” I ask Keith, “you look like you saw a ghost. You alright?” I ask him.

“Yeah,” he shudders, “it was nothing.”

“Alright… if you say so…” I eye him again before following the rest of the group.

—

After we finish the tour, it’s lunch. We all file outside and find seats around the front of the museum. Keith and I pick a spot on the steps a couple feet away from the water fountain. The sky had cleared for a little bit, the sun peaking out. I bask in its warmth, feeling energy rush through me.

Some teachers from the orphanage had arrived after us with lunch.

I open the brown paper bag I had been supplied with and dump out the contents.

A bruised apple. String cheese. A squished PB&J. And a pack of ‘healthy’ gummies.

“Yum,” I grimace, holding up the sandwich.

Keith starts to dig into his food eagerly.

I eye him wearily, “how do you eat this stuff,” I laugh at him, “ok, I have to go to the restroom, I’ll be back in a jiff.”

“Don’t say ‘jiff’, it’s weird,” Keith says, his mouth full.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” I counter, rolling my eyes. I walk off in what I think is the direction of the bathrooms.

I wander through the museum, enjoying the art as I go. I stop as I pass the statue of Apollo. I feel a strange pull in my gut but just blame it on my bladder.

I turn to keep walking and run right into someone.

“I’m so sor-” I pause as I look up. It was our tour guide, “oh hi, sorry, I was distracted.”

“No, you’re all good,” he laughs with a smile.

“Where are the bathrooms?” I ask. I squint my eyes slightly and notice a soft glow around him. I blink and then it’s gone.

Weird.

“Ah, over there,” he points to my right, “and uh, here,” he hands me a small bracelet- a bow charm and a quiver of arrows charm -, “for answering my question earlier,” he smiles and walks off before I can say anything.

“Uh- thanks?” I turn but he’s gone, “ok then.”

I hurry off to the bathroom, my bladder screaming at me.

As I near the back of the museum I hear voices.

“We are not fools Percy Jackson,” says a woman, “it was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain.”

My ears perk at that last sentence and I walk over quietly. I spot a boy around my age, he looked like he was being scolded by a woman. She was older, gray hair and a faded biker jacket. She could’ve easily been a random biker, but I guessed she was the boys teacher. Her voice reminded me of the many times I got scolded at the orphanage.

I crouch behind a frieze of Greek gods. I was behind the teacher but one sudden move and the boy would spot me so I steadied my breath. I didn’t know why I was so intrigued with this scene, maybe because I could relate to it in some way or maybe I was bored and wanted drama. Either way, I sat and watched.

“Well?” the woman hisses.

“Ma’am, I don’t…”

“Your time is up.”

Well that’s a weird way to put it, I think to myself. I didn’t know what school they came from, but I was glad I didn’t attend it.

Suddenly her fingers start stretching into what loo like claws. I blink a couple times trying to understand what’s going on. I have barely processed the hands when her jacket molds into wings. I sit there frozen.

“What. The…” I mutter under my breath.

Was this some sort of museum attraction? No, because that wouldn’t make sense. But then again, neither did this.

I flinch as a man in a wheelchair rolls up behind me.

“Use the bracelet,” is all he says to me before rolling closer to the boy, “what ho, Percy!” and then he does the weirdest thing. Well considering the past minute, it wasn’t that weird. He tossed the boy, Percy, a pen. What in the world would a pen do?

The man rolls past me, “help the boy, use your bracelet,” and then he’s gone.

I turn and see the woman, teacher, monster thing slashing at the boy. He’s helplessly swinging the sword in his hands.

Wait, when did he get a sword. I shake my head, trying to understand everything, but I quickly realize that this… thing… was going to kill the boy if I didn’t do something, and quickly.

I remember the wheel chair man's words, “use your bracelet,”

I pull it out of my pocket. As I look at it, my eyes widen. The charms grow and grow until I’m holding a bow and a quiver of arrows. I stand there, frozen, unsure of what to do with the weapons I now hold.

I’m forced out of my state of shock when I hear a loud screech.

“Die honey,” the monster reels into the air, her wings batting.

A sudden wave of adrenaline rushes over me and I place the quiver on the ground, pulling an arrow out. I knock it into the bow seamlessly-I would have to look into that later-and I pull it back, releasing the arrow right as the monster is about to land on the boy. At the same time that my arrow hits the monster, he slashes his sword, hitting the monster's shoulders.

I’m shaking as the monster melts into ashes, blowing away in a nonexistent breeze, leaving the smell of sulfur.

“What in the..” I look at the boy, trying to process the moment.

We were alone. When I look at the boy's hand, he holds a pen. I look down at my own hand expecting to see an arrow, instead, I have a bracelet clipped neatly around my wrist. I turn to look for the quiver of arrows, but they, like the bow, have disappeared.

“Y- you saw that right?” I turn as the boy speaks.

“Yeah..” I blink and pinch the bridge of my nose, “and you… were holding a sword, I didn’t imagine that… right?”

“Yeah, but, I don’t..” he trails off.

“I’m uh.. My name’s Valleri,” I laugh, trying to shake the moment away.

“Percy,” he says, still staring at the spot where the monster had been, “that was my teacher.”

The way he says it makes me burst out laughing, “I’m sorry, that was just… I’m a little overwhelmed,” I hold up my hand, it’s still shaking. Percy holds his own hand up, trembling just as much as mine, he smiles slightly.

“We should probably go tell someone,” he says.

“Yeah," I stare at the spot where his teacher had once stood. Who’ll believe us?

Chapter 03

{We Tell The Truth}

“Not funny, man, this is serious,”

We had left the museum and now Percy was trying to tell his friend what had happened, but the boy claimed he didn’t remember, or know, a Mrs. Dodds, the teacher who had turned into the monster.

Keith comes trotting up behind me. I see him and Percy’s friend share a look.

They have to know each other, I think to myself, there’s something Keith isn’t telling me.

I look up at the sky as thunder booms. It had started to rain again. I frown, I had hoped the sun would stay out longer.

I notice Percy walk over to a man. As I follow him I notice that the man was in fact the man in the wheelchair, the one who had thrown Percy the pen.

“Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensils in the future, Mr. Jackson,” the man comments.

I look at Percy’s hand where he’s still holding the pen.

“Sir, where’s Ms. Dodds?” Percy asks.

“Who?” the man stares at us blankly.

“The woman, you know, gray hair, pulled so tight it looks like she has a permanent headache? The one with the biker jacket?” I describe the woman from the museum.

“There is no Ms. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy academy. Are you two feeling alright?”

I glance at Percy. His eyebrows are knit together as if he’s thinking.

“Mr…”

“Brunner,” the teacher tells me.

“Mr. Brunner. Do you not remember coming in and throwing Percy that pen?”

The teacher shakes his head, “I’ve been reading out here the whole time, I don’t know what you two are going on about.”

I turn as I hear the sound of heels approaching.

“Valleri,” I shrink as the Headmaster clicks over, “what on Earth are you doing, bothering this class?” She gives an apologetic look to Mr. Brunner, “I deeply apologize, we will be on our way now.”

“But-” I glance at Percy.

“Valleri- I don’t want to hear it- have a wonderful day,” she smiles sweetly at Percy and Mr. Brunner before escorting me back over to our bus, where everyone is already boarded.

“Keith, come on,” she looks at Keith who is talking to Percy’s friend. He says something to the other boy before quickly following us.

I hear snickers from the kids as we get on the bus. I just cross my arms and walk all the way to the back and sit, looking out the window. The rain was coming down hard now and I felt like each raindrop was another addition of confusion to my life.

I flinch as Keith sits next to me, “so… you left to go to the bathroom… and came back with a boy, claiming that a Mrs. Dodds woman tried to kill you?”

“I don’t want to hear any questions from you right now, things are confusing as is. Why don’t you answer my question?” I mutter through clenched teeth, “how do you know Percy’s friend?”

“So you’re on a first name basis with this boy,” Keith smirks, trying to change the subject.

“Keith..” I warn, my voice low.

“I-I don’t exactly know him… I’ve seen him around.. Before..” he grimaces.

I was too tired to try and get anything else out of him, “whatever,” I lean my head against the cold window and watch the watery landscape whip by, wondering if I was going crazy.

CHAPTER 04

{ We Meet the Garbage man }

“I want the yard to be sparkling clean,” the Headmaster croons.

It’s the next day and Keith and I are facing our punishment. Yard cleaning.

Royds Home for children was nice, considering other orphanages I’d seen, but it wasn’t any picnic in the park. There were leaks in the ceiling, holes in the pipes, lights that didn’t work, and the yard… safe to say it looked more like a jungle of weeds. I had often wondered why the administration hadn’t cleaned it up more. They always said that they didn’t have enough money, but I knew that was a lie because if that was true, how did they afford the field trip to the Met. Or maybe they had saved the yard for moments like these, to punish kids. None of it made sense, but then again, nothing for the past 24 hours had made sense.

I was still in shock from what had happened yesterday. Keith refused to admit he had been talking to the boy and it was starting to make me feel like I had imagined everything, even Percy.

“You two antagonized students plus a teacher from another school.”

No, I had not imagined Percy.

“And you,” she turns to me, “disrupted the guests in the museum.

“Wait what?” I look at her in bewilderment.

“We got a complaint this morning from the gallery, apparently an old woman heard you and a boy yelling and it disrupted her visit,” the Headmaster crosses her arms.

“But I-” No one had even been in the museum while we were in there..

“I don’t want to hear it,” she holds her hand up, silencing me, “now you two had better get to work before these clouds break,” she looks up at the sky and retreats into the house, clucking her tongue.

“Well…” Keith says, looking at the forest of weeds, “where do we start?”

“I don’t know,” I groan, “I guess, you take that side and I’ll take this side?”

Keith shrugs, “sure”

We get on our hands and knees and begin our punishment, weeding the unwanted grasses and prickers from the muddy dirt.

It’s not long before I break into a sweat. Despite the cold weather, I was stripping off my jacket in a matter of minutes.

—

“Hey, you kids need help?”

It was 3 hours later, we had gotten about half the yard weeded. I look up at the voice and spot a beefy looking man. He smiles wickedly and I spot about half a set of crooked teeth.

“Uh, no, we’re good,” Keith says, standing.

“I think you guys need some help, looks like hell in there,” he walks in through the gate.

I stand, “yeah, no thank you,” I yell at him, “that’s close enough,” all my stranger danger alerts were going off.

He was wearing a cap so I couldn’t exactly see his face but I could tell he wasn’t good. I felt a tug at my gut and I glanced at Keith.

“I think it’s time for a break,” he says, backing up towards the house.

“Yeah, good idea,” I agree.

We both walk hurriedly back up the steps and into the house. The second we close the door, I hear the Headmaster clicking down the stairs.

“What are you two-”

“There’s a weird man outside,” I say, my breath heavy in my throat.

“Hm,” she walks over to the door, opening it.

Keith and I shrink as she looks outside.

“It is just the garbage man,” she scolds, “now get back outside, the rain is supposed to hold off for another hour.”

“But-”

“Nope, out,” she ushers us outside.

I flinch as she slams the door behind us. So much for child protection.

I look in the direction of the garbage man.

He starts to walk towards us.

“What’s this guy's problem?” I mutter to Keith.

“I don’t know, but he doesn’t look good,” he says. I’m shocked at how his voice grows steady. That wasn’t normal for him.

The man gets closer and Keith turns to me, “so, that man isn't normal,” he starts.

“Thanks, Keith, I think you cracked the case,” I say sarcastically.

“No I mean, he literally isn’t human.”

“What are you-” my breath catches as the man takes off his cap.

His bald head is lumpy but that’s not what catches my attention. My eyes travel down they meet his, but where there should be two eyes, there’s only one, bloodshot, watery eye.

“Keith, what the fuck, is that?” I yell at him.

“That- is a cyclops,” he says as if it’s the most normal thing in the world, “and I think it wants to kill you.”

Ψ Chapter 05

{ I Find out My Friend’s a Goat }

“Run, I’ll hold him off,” Keith yells at me.

“But- how- where,” I look at him, wide eyed.

“Run to the bus terminal, I’ll meet you there!” he yells.

“But-” how would he fight the monster alone?

“GO!”

I run out the side gate, my eyes trained on what’s in front of me.

“Run to the bus station, what in the heck does he mean by that? This is crazy, I should’ve just run inside and got the headmaster. What am I doing, I left Keith- but he told me to leave him with the random guy. Why would he do that? The guy had one eye, what is going on?” I mutter to myself as I run.

I struggle to find my where abouts but soon I find myself running into the city. I spot a subway and realize I’m only a half mile from the nearest bus station. I change my direction and continue to run, my chest rising and falling. It’s humid out and the air I breathe in is palpable, I can almost taste it and it’s like I’m swimming through the street.

I’m out of breath when I reach the station. I wonder what to do next as I sit on the bench. How did I know that Keith would meet me here? Holy shit, I was going to be in so much trouble with the Headmaster, I would be weeding the front yard for life.

“Valleri?”

I turn at the voice.

“Grover?” I recognized the boy as Percy’s friend.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“Where’s Percy?” I ask him.

Grover pauses, “I lost him, he was supposed to wait for me but just disappeared, I’d assume he went to his home,” he explains. He looked almost disapointed in himself, “what are you doing here? Where’s Kei- er, your friend” he asks, a slight flush covering his face.

“I don’t think you’d believe me,” I mutter.

“Try me.”

“Ok…” I tell him what had happened and by the time I’m done his eyes are wide.

“Ok, follow me,” he takes my arm and pulls me back in the direction of the orphanage.

“What?! Are you crazy, why are we heading towards the danger?? We need to find the police or something!!” I exclaim, shaking my arm from his hand.

“Do you want your friend to die?” he asks me, his voice rising.

“N- no-”

“Well that thing, tha-that cyclops, is going to kill him if you don’t help him. Right. Now.”

“Don’t you have to find Percy? And WHOA- why are you saying, ‘if you don’t help him’? That’s implying that only I will be helping him,” I try and keep up with him as he runs.

“Yes, you have a bow and arrows correct? And as for Percy, he will be safe for now, he’s with his mom.”

“How did you-”

“Never mind that, let’s go.”

I run behind him back to the orphanage. Back to the cyclops.

—

We reach the orphanage and I feel as though I might pass out from the exertion, but when I turn to Grover he looks like he took a nice stroll. He must’ve been in better shape then I thought.

I grow panicked when I don’t see Keith.

“He was here 15 minutes ago,” I hyperventilate.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Grover mutters, looking around.

“But he couldn’t have gone far, what if the cyclops took him. Oh my god this is not good, I can’t lose the one person that matters in my life,” I rant looking around.

“You guys look awful,” I whip around at the voice.

“Oh thank god,” I breath a sigh of relief as Keith walks out of the orphanage.

“I was just about to go find you Valleri,” he says, coming down the steps.

“Well you sure took your time, I was so worried about you,” I run over to him and hug him.

“Well the cyclops is gone so you’re safe for now,” he says as I pull away.

“For now?” I repeat, “how did you…”

“Yeah,” Grover cuts in, “why don’t we explain everything on the road?” he glances nervously in the direction we came from, “I’m worried about Percy. His mother told me that she is going to take him to a small cabin on the beach, about an hour from here. I’m supposed to meet them, I guess you guys should come too.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” I say, backing up, “we’re just going to leave?” I exclaim, “we’re going to get in so much trouble,” I turn to Keith.

“We have much bigger problems,” he states.

How could anything get more problamatic?

“Can I at least pack some stuff?” I ask.

Grover glances at Keith who responds, “sure, but make sure the Headmaster doesn’t see you, and don’t pack too much.”

I nod, “I’ll be quick,” I run inside, heading up the stairs quietly.

A couple kids give me weird looks as I rush to my room but I just ignore them.

I open the chest at the end of my bed and pull out a small Jansport backpack and the few items that I have a sentimental connection to. A journal, my leather jacket, and a small pocket knife. I glance at the converse sitting in the corner and decide to throw those in as well. I put in two days worth of clothes, so all my clothes, plus a hairbrush and zip up the backpack. I straighten and look around the room. I had a small feeling that this would be the last time I would be in my room for a very long time. I glance at the ravens at my window sill, they seemed to be ansy, as if they were ready to leave as well. I shake my head and walk out of my room, closing my door quietly.

“Ms. Valleri, where are you off too?” I slowly turn as I hear the Headmasters voice, “I thought you were supposed to be weeding?” she crosses her arms staring at me.

“This is just full of… supplies,” I motion to my backpack, hoping it would be convincing enough.

“And where did you get the supplies?” she raises and eyebrow.

“I… found them?.. We’re almost done, I promise,” I start to walk away.

“Ok, well just be done before the storm,” I hear her heels click away.

I felt kind of bad for lying to her. Sure she could be mean at times, but she always took care of us and, plus, I had lived this long hadn’t I? I guess I should have been thanking her.

I shake that thought from my head and hurry out the front door.

“All set?” Keith asks.

“Yep, lets go.”

I follow the two boys back to the bus stop. Thank god we walked this time.

It bagins to rain as we treck forward and I pull my hood over my hair.

I glance ahead suspiciously as the two guys speakk in hushed voices. It was as if they had been friends their whole life. Honestly, at this point, after everything that had happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had known eachother for ever. Keith had only arrived at the orphanage a year ago and had never told me anything about his old life, only that it was wonderful. I often made up images of what his life had been like before he had come to Royds Home for Children. I always imagined he had been rich and his parents had died in a tragic car accident. Every time I asked for any information he either flat out denied me or changed the subject.

They both turn to look at me as they walk and I raise an eyebrow at them, frowning. They just look at me weird, turn around, and continue to walk. They were both strange.

Soon we make it to the bus station. It was pouring by now and we all take cover under the bus overhang.

“Uh, guys,” I say, looking at their hair, “I don’t know what it is but you both have bumps on your head, you might want to get that checked out… hm, you guys are like… matching, what, did you both bump heads?” I snicker at my joke. Their hair was wet from the rain and had given way to two sets of identical bumps.

I stop laughing as double looks of fear wash over their faces.

Keith recovers first, “let’s just tell her,” he mutters to Grover.

“About time you tell me something, wait… tell me what?”

They share a look again.

“Could you two stop communicating telepathically and tell me whatever is on your minds?” I sigh in frustration.

All the sudden Grover bends down and takes off his shoe.

“Whoa, I said to tell me what’s going on, not flash me with you’re feet,” I grimace.

My look of disgust quickly changes to fear and then to uncertainty as I see what’s in his shoe.

Instead of human feet, a cloven hoof hits the ground.

“What the…” I turn and see that Keith has taken his shoes off as well, revealing a similar set of hooves, “you too?!” I exclaim in shock.

Then it dawns on me. I look back up at their heads. What I thought were bumps, were actually horns or antlers or whatever. I looked back down at their hooves then back up at their heads.

“I didn’t think my life could get any weirder,” I mutter just as a bus comes hissing to a stop.

The boys both have their shoes back on and they enter the bus. I stand there still in shock.

“You comin’?” the bus driver asks me.

I blink, “oh, yeah, sorry,” I walk on and find a seat near the two boys- goats- goat boys? I honestly didn’t know.

The bus lurches to a start and I glance out the window at the rising storm. What was next, a dragon, a god, a mythical world? At this point, anything was possible.

Chapter 06

{ The Minotaur }

Wind swirls around me and I open my eyes trying to gather my surroundings. I stand on a beach, angry waves crashing a few feet away. Sand cuts at my skin and I dig my feet into the beach keeping the wind from pushing me back. I look down, I’m wearing a white toga with a golden arm band swirling down my right forearm. I lift my hand to my hair and, despite the wind, a golden laurel sits perfectly still on my head.

My eyes burn from the wind and salt but I spot a figure a couple feet away, it was the same figure from all my dreams. I push against the wind trying to reach the person. I get close enough for the figure to come into focus.

I feel my heart quicken, what was he doing in my dream.

4 feet away stood Percy. He too wore a white toga and, instead of a golden laurel like I adorned, he had a laurel of leaves. His face was molded into the same look of confusion as mine. His mouth opened as if he was trying to say something, but just as all my other dreams, the wind muffled his voice.

Suddenly the ground rumbles and I hear deep voice from below us. It sounds like a chanting but it’s clearly someone talking, maybe reciting something.

I choke on sand as I gasp, my feet begin to sink into the sand, pulling me down.

“HELP ME!” I scream, trying to pull my feet free. I reach out, “PERCY!” I can’t even hear my own voice over the sound of the wind and chanting.

A look of fear washes over his face and he lunges towards me, but his feet are stuck in the sand and he falls forward, catching himself on his hands. Suddenly he disappears as if the wind had torn him away. I feel tears forming in my eyes. This wasn’t happening.

“SHIT! This is just a dream, it’s just a dream,” I mutter as I continue to sink. I bury my face in my hands muttering over and over again, “it’s just a dream, it’s just a dream.”

Soon I’m buried up to my neck and I squeeze my eyes shut. The storm still swirls around, whipping sand at my face. I inhale, prepared to go under the sand.

I hear a hissing sound and my eyes shoot open. I’m on the bus.

It was just a dream.

My chest rises and falls and my throat feels as if I had eaten a crap ton of sand. I wipe my face when I realize there’s a tear falling down my cheek.

I wasn’t sure what that dream meant or if it meant anything at all, but I had a strong sense that it meant something bad was coming.

“Val,” I flinch as Keith calls my name, “are you ok?” he asks as I turn to him.

I nod, “j-just a dream,” I grab my backpack and stand, filing out of the bus.

Grover straightens as we join him, “Ok, it’s a short walk, I know it’s raining… and it will be dark soon… but we’ll be fine,” Grover says, as if he’s trying to convince himself, beginning to walk. He mutters something under his breath to Keith.

I wrap my arms around my stomach, trying to shake the dream from my system. It had felt too real.

Keith pulls back to walk next to me, “what was the dream?” he asks me softly

I pause before telling him the events. When I’m done I ask him what it could mean.

“Let’s just hope that it doesn’t mean anything,” he says, “I’m sure it’s nothing… I would ask Percy about it though.”

“Why him?” I ask.

“He was in it was he not?”

“Well… yeah..”

“It could’ve been a shared dream, it’s more common in half bloods than you think.”

“Half bloods?”

“I’ll explain everything to you later,” he sighs, looking down at me.

I smile softly, wiping rain from my face. I was absolutely soaked and since it was beginning to grow dark, the air grew colder. I shivered under my hoodie and tucked my hands into my arm pits.

“You cold?” Keith asks, nudging me.

“A little,” I look down at my feet. I blink in confusion as I see his hooves trotting next to mine.

“The shoes got heavy with the rain,” he smiles sheepishly, noticing my look of confusion.

I roll my eyes, “I still can’t believe you’re half goat.”

“A satyr,”

“What?”

“I’m a satyr,” he corrects, mocking a pained expression.

“Sorry, sorry. I can’t belive you’re a satyr,” I corect.

“Better,” he smiles.

We walk shoulder to shoulder on the side of the road. The rain was coming down in sheets now and I wondered how much longer I needed before I got hypothermia.

“So,” I say, “you and Grover… I’m gonna assume you two have known eachother for quite some time?”

“Yeah, we grew up together,” he smiles ahead, looking at the satyr leading the way.

“You two seem close, and by the way you suck at acting,” I nudge him playfully.

Before he can respond, a small, run down, home comes into view. The lights glow inside and I quicken my pace, ready to warm up.

I freeze as I hear a loud rour come from the darkness behind us. It seemed pretty far away but I knew right away that it had to be a monster. No forest creature made that kind of noise.

“Shoot, shoot, shoot, guys come on,” Grover motions to us, “we gotta go.”

We run through the dark, pushing through the rain.

I’m shivering as we reach door to the small building. Grover pounds his fist on the door.

The door opens after a minute of Grovers hurried knocking. A woman comes into view.

“What were you thinking?” Grover asks the woman, panting from running.

The woman turns around and yells into the house, “Percy what happened at school? What didn’t you tell me?”

I assume she’s Percy’s mother.

She opens the door wider and I spot him a couple feet behind her. He was looking at Grover as if he was in shock. His eyes shift to me and widen even more. I wave slightly.

“It’s right behind us!” Grover explains, “Percy, why didn’t you tell her?!” he starts to hyper ventilate.

“Percy, tell me now!” his mother commands.

We all stare at Percy waiting for him to answer. He mutters, retelling the story of his teacher and how she had tried to kill us.

I grimace at his moms reaction. She takes a deep breath.

“Everyone in the car now. Go!”

I don’t wait for a her to tell me twice. I follow the satyrs over to a small Camaro.

“Hi, sorry for barging in,” I tell Percy’s mother.

The frantic look that’s plastered on her face melts for a moment, “you’re totally all right honey. We should hurry. Percy, let’s go!” her face tightens as she runs around the side of the car and slips into the drivers seat.

I wait to get into the car as Percy runs over. We share a look before getting in. I could tell instantly that he was just as disoriented and confused as I was.

The car pulls out onto the road immediately.

I feel fear tug at my stomach as we tear through the pitch black, rain pounding on the windsheild.

I can see Percy glancing back at the three of us stuffed into the middle seat. Two satyrs and a random girl he had a trauma bond with. Yeah I’d be weirded out as well. I had gotten past the stage of shock, somewhere between the cyclops and the whole satyr situation.

He glances at Grover and then at his mother, “so… do you two know eachother?”

“Not exactly,” he responds, “I mean we’ve never met in person. But she knew I was watching you.”

“Watching me?”

“Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were ok. But I never faked being your friend. I am your friend.”

“So what… are you guys exactly?”

I decide to cut in, “they’re satyrs, we didn’t hallucinate the creepy bat lady, and now there is a monster chasing us. All caught up?” I say quickly.

“But why did they pretend to not know a Mrs. Dodds?” Percy asks me.

I open my mouth realizing I didn’t know the answer to that one.

“Basically the less you know, the fewer monsters you attract,” Keith responds for me, “we put mist over the humans eyes. We’d hoped you two would think the Kindly One was a hallucination but it became too obvious as you started to figure out who you are,”

“Who we are?”

“Wait what?”

Percy and I ask at the same time.

Suddenly a loud bellow rips through darkness. The monster was growing closer.

“We don’t have enough time to explain right now, but we need to get you two to safety,” Percy’s mother says firmly. Her knuckles are white on steering wheel and I could tell she was trying to focus on the road.

“Safety from what?” Percy asks.

“Just the lord of the dead and all his blood thirsty minions,” Grover bleats nervously.

“WHAT?!” I shout.

“Grover!” both Keith and Percy’s mother exclaim.

“Where are we going?” Percy asks as his mom makes a hard left.

“That camp I told you about,” she replies.

“Camp?” I turn to Keith.

“You’ll see,” he mutters.

My eyebrows knit together.

A roar explodes from behind us, I turn and see a large figure lumbering behind us.

“Grover, Keith… what. Is. That?” I ask in terror. The two of them ignore me, focusing on the road ahead.

“Almost there, come on, another mile,” Percy’s mom mutters under her breath.

I clench my fists pushing the rising nausau in my stomach down. I prayed that we got to wherever we were going soon.

Suddenly a flash of light blinds me and the next moment I’m upside down. I groan as the car teeter totters. Lights dance before my eyes and I blink trying to clear my vision. I unbuckle my seat belt and fall onto my back. My backpack is wedged in between the seat in front of me and the wall of the car.

My breathe catches in my throat as I spot Grover, limp against Keith. Keith’s eyes are wide in shock.

“Percy, Valleri, get out of the car…” Percys mom says, her tone was deadly serious but I glance at Keith, holding onto Grover.

“Go,” he tells me, “it’s not us that thing is after, they’re here for you. You see that big tree at the top of the hill?” I glance up and spot it, lit up by lightning, he nods, “good, run there, as fast as you can. That’s the property line, once you get there don’t stop running until you reach the farmhouse, yell for help. Understand? ” he spots the concern on my face, “we will be fine. GO!”

I climb out the door and start running. I pause and turn, “PERCY COME ON!” I yell into the rain. I see him climb out with Keith and Grover. His mom climbs out as well.

Fool.

I turn as I hear brush cracking from behind me. I scream as I spot a bull racing towards me. Except it couldn’t be a bull because it had a mans body from its torso down. I begin racing in the opposite direction.

I trip and fall over a root, pain shooting up my ankle. I look up in terror as the monster approaches me. He smacks me to the side and I hit a tree falling limp as I hit the ground, my head hitting a rock. I grimace as I try to stand. Patches of black consume my vision. I can hear Keiths voice yelling somewhere. He seems far away.

I feel a pull in my gut as the monster turns from me and towards the group.

“No,” I mutter finding my balance.

My vision is blurry but I see Percy’s mom and Keith run away from Percy and Grover. I can hear them yelling. I feel my self falling and I lean my hand against the tree.

“No,” I whimper slightly as the momster turns towards the two of them, “No, Keith!” I yell.

“Hey, monster!” I yell again, weaker this time. I fail to get his attention and try stumbling towards it but I lose my balance as pain shoots up my leg and I fall. I feel a hot sticky sibstance rolling down my face and I realize with a shock that it’s blood. I lift my hand to my temple. I grow weak as blood pools into my hand.

The monster starts hurtling towards Keith and Percy’s mom.

I scream as it grabs the two of them, squeezing.

“No, no, no,” I sob.

“RUN!” I hear Keith yell faintly, I start to hear ringing in my ears.

I let out a scream of horror as Keith suddenly crumbles into golden ashes, blowing away in the storm.

“KEITH! NO!” I feel a wave of rage bubble through me, giving me strength to stand.

I spot Percy running towards the monster as well, anger rippling across his face. He had lost his mother just like I had lost Keith. I stumble and catch myself on the ground.

Percy runs at the monster, jumping up and grabbing it’s horns. I look down at my bracelet and pray that I wasn’t wrong about what I was about to do.

I unclip it and hold it in front of me, praying to anyone. As I open my eyes I’m holding a golden bow and a quiver of arrows, the same ones from the museum. I immedietaly knock an arrow into the bow and shoot. My vision is too blurred though and I miss. I shoot again. This time it hits its target. At the same time it hits the monsters back, Percy rips off the horn he’s holding onto and stabs it into the head of the monster. Just like the one from two days ago, the monster lets out a roar and billows into a dust subastance and disappears.

I catch my breathe, my vision slowly getting darker and darker. I feel the rain stop falling and I collapse onto the ground.

A minute later, two figures grab my arms helping me up.

“Food,” one of them murmers, leaning against the other.

“Come on Valleri, we need to get over the hill,” the other one says, helping me stand. His voice wavers.

We all lean on eachother as we treck up the hill. Thunder rumbles above us as we pass the large pine.

My vision blacks and suddenly I’m on a porch, my cheek resting on the cold wood.

“Get them inside, quick,” says a voice.

“They’re the ones, they must be,” a girls voice fades in.

“Silence Annabeth, they’re still concious,” says another voice.

Then everything goes black.

Chapter 07

{ A God, a Centaur, and a Coke Can }

I toss and turn. Wake and sleep. In and out. I don’t know how long I’m out for but everytime I wake up, a girl is leaning over me. Her hair falls in braids. Her gray eyes inspect me. A couple times she asks me questions but I don’t remember what they are.

I vaguely remember drinking hot chocolate but I’m pretty sure that was a dream. The thick substance filled my body with warmth and energy.

I keep having the same dream from the bus over and over again, it’s like it’s on a loop. Each time right as I’m neck deep in the sand I wake up, my vision blurry and aching.

On what I think is the fifth loop of the nightmare I wake up and see Percy laying in a cot next to me. The same girl is gently dabbing the wounds on his arm. I feel a sense of protection wave over me.

“Don’t touch him,” I snap, or I try to snap, it comes out as more of a gurgle.

She turns, “you’re awake,” she comes over, “here drink some of this,” she lifts a spoon full of something to my lips. I swallow the substance, warmth spreading through me. It tasted like a milkshake yet it felt warm.

She turns and goes back over to Percy as he mumbles something.

“I said don’t touch him,” I didn’t know this girl and I didn’t know what she was feeding us, but I did know Percy and at that moment in time, he and Grover were the only two people who meant something in my life, and I didn’t want to lose them either.

“Sorry,” she backs away, looking at me, “you should rest,” she places a cool washcloth over my forehead, and I feel my eyelids getting heavy. I fall back into the toss and turn again.

I’m on about the 12th repeat of the nightmare when I wake up for good. I’m laying on a cot in a sunny room. I sit up, pain shooting through my head. I look out the window to my left and see a sunny deck. I swing my feet onto the ground and push myself to stand. I’m shocked when only a mild pain flares in my ankle. I could’ve sworn I had sprained it or even broken it.

My mind flicks back to last night. Keith… a wave of sadness pulls my heart into my stomach. The only person who had actually cared about me in my life… was gone. I wished everything had just been one big nightmare, or that we could rewind to before the cyclops, heck even to before the field trip and Mrs. Dodds.

I wipe my tears as the door to the room opens.

Grover trots in holding a box, “hey,” he says softly.

“Hi,” my throat feels like I have never had a cup of water in my life.

“How are you doing?” he asks.

“Fine… I guess,” I pick at my hands, “it was all real wasn’t it?” I ask. I know I sound stupid but I want to know.

He nods, “yes.”

I straighten, “where’s Percy?” I ask.

“I was just about to go see him.”

I follow him out of the room, limping slightly.

We come out onto the same deck I had seen from the room. I see Percy sitting in a chair a couple feet away. He tries to grab a glass sitting next to him but almost drops it.

“Careful,” Grover says, trotting over to him.

Percy looks up and then at the box in Grover’s hand, “you saved my life,” he explains when he sees Percy’s eyes trained on what he’s holding. I don’t know if I imagine it, but I see his face fall, “I… Well, the least I could do… I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this.”

I watch as Grover places the box on Percy’s lap.

My eyes widen as I see what’s inside. I black and white bull’s horn. The one Percy had torn off of the minotaur. The tip of it was splattered with the blood of the monster.

“The minotaur,” Percy says.

“Um, Percy, it isn’t a good idea-”

“That’s what they call him in the Greek myths isn’t it?”

“Half bull, half man,” I recall from what Keith had told me a while ago. Percy looks up from the horn and at me. I feel a tidal wave of connection as we lock eyes.

Grover shifts uncomfortably, “you guys have been out for two days. How much do you remember?”

“My mom, is she really…”

I feel a tug at my heart as his face falls. I shift my eyes to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Grover sniffled, “I’m a failure. I’m- I’m the worst satyr in the world.”

His shoe comes off as he stomps his foot, revealing a cloven hoof shaped hole in the styrofoam filling the shoe, “Oh, Styx!” he mumbles.

Thunder rumbles across the blue sky and I try to find any sign of a storm.

Percy looks down at the horn as if in thought.

I walk over to Grover who is sniffling, he looks sad so I put my hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault,” I tell him.

“Yes. Yes it was. I was supposed to protect him,”

Percy looks up as Grover points at him.

“It was my job. I’m a keeper. At least… I was,” he looks down and I see his face fall.

“But why..” Percy asks, his voice stopping as he swallows, trying to find himself. He looks as if he might hurl.

I walk over, “here,” I hold his cup for him, “don’t strain yourself,” I question the strange sense of protection and the need to help him. I feel drawn to stay with him until he’s healed.

He recoils at the taste and I pull the cup away, “what’s wrong with it?” I ask.

“It tastes… like my moms chocolate chip cookies…” he looks at the cup, his eyebrows knit together. He lifts a hand to his cheek as if remembering his mother.

He drains the cup quickly and I set it down on the table next to him.

“How do you feel?” Grover asks, coming closer.

“Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards.”

“That’s good. I don’t think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff,” he explains.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

He looks out into the field ignoring my question, “come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting for you two.”

I follow him, Percy behind me, around the porch.

I limp on my ankle, the pain still numbing. I could tell that Percy was trying to find his footing as well, holding onto the horn still.

My eyes widen as we come to the opposite side of the house. A valley spread out all the way until it met the water. Little buildings were scattered across the landscape. They looked like newer versions of ancient Greek architecture. Different kids walk around, some playing volleyball, others were canoeing. My eyes are drawn to a group of kids, shooting arrows at targets a little bit away. They all dorn bright orange tshirts like Grover’s.

I spot two men sitting at a table a couple feet away. They’re playing cards, while a girl leans on the rail watching them. I recognize her as the girl who had been in the room with Percy and I.

I glance at one of the men, he was chubby and had the darkest black hair I had ever seen. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawiian shirt and had a mischivous look on his face as he looked at his cards.

“That’s Mr. D,” Grover mutters to us, “he’s the director. Be polite. The girl, that’s Annabeth Chase, she’s just a camper, but she’s been here longer than just about anybody. And you two already know Chiron…” I quickly realize that he’s Percy’s teacher, the one who had thrown Percy the pen. What was he doing here?

“Mr. Brunner!” Percy exclaims.

“Ah, good, Percy, Valleri” he greets us.

Mr. D looks up at us with bloodshot eyes and a frown, “oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to camp Half Blood. There. Now, don’t expect me to be glad to see you.”

I grimace at his tone of voice and I step to the side, closer to where Percy was standing, away from the man.

“Annabeth?” Mr. Brunner slash Chiron calls to the blond girl who was looking at us, “this young lady nursed you two back to health. Annabeth, my dear, why don’t you go check on their bunks? We’ll put them in cabin eleven for now.”

“Sure Chiron,” she responds, looking at us. She has a strange look in her eyes, like she’s trying to figure us out. I shrink under her gaze.

She’s gorgeous with braids framing her face and those striking gray eyes. I feel self conscious in her presence, she has an athletic build and has her chin lifted. I gaze at my shoes unsure of where to look.

She shifts her gaze from me to Percy, “you drool when you sleep,” and then she runs off down the lawn.

I stifle a laugh as I look at him, his face is flushed.

“So,” he starts, changing the subject, “you work here, Mr. Brunner?”

“Not Mr. Brunner, I’m afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron.”

“Ok,” Percy says, confusion tainting his voice.

I look at the director, “does Mr. D stand for anything?” I ask.

Mr. D stops shuffling his cards and looks up at me with a certain look on his face, “young woman, names are powerful things. You don’t just go around using them for no reason.”

I shrink, flushing, “Right. Sorry.”

“Grover, are you playing or not?” Mr. D asks Grover who was standing a few feet away from him.

“Yes, sir!” he trembles, coming to sit in the chair next to the director.

“So… what is this place? What are we doing here?” Percy asks.

“Did your mother tell you nothing?” Chiron asks sympathetically.

“She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn’t leave. She wanted to keep me close to her,” Percy explains, sadness rippling across his face at the memory of his mother.

I brush his hand sympathetically.

“Typical,” Mr. D snorts, “that’s how they usually get killed.”

“What?” I ask, crossing my arms. He couldn’t just go around saying rude stuff like that. I turn to Percy who has a look that’s between killing Mr. D and breaking down.

“I’m afraid there’s too much to tell,” Chiron explains, “I’m afraid our usual orientation film won’t be sufficient.”

“Orientation film?” Percy and I ask at the same time.

“Well you two know that Grover and Keith are satyrs,” Chiron explains. I feel a pain in my chest as he says Keith's name, “you know that you two killed the minotaur, which is no small feat either, I must add. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods- the forces you call the Greek gods- are very much alive.”

I stare out at the field before me, trying to wrap my head around this information.

“Mr. D,” Grover asks timidly, “if you’re not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?”

“Eh? Oh, all right.”

I stare at him like he’s crazy as he bites a large shard out of the empty can and chews it.

“So, you’re telling me that there is such a thing as God?” Percy asks from beside me.

I still stare ridiculously at Grover.

“Well, now, God- capital G, God. That’s a whole different matter altogether. We shan’t deal with the metaphysical.”

“Metaphysical?” I ask, tearing my eyes away from Grover.

“But you were just talking about-” Percy starts.

“Ah,” Chiron cuts in, “gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That’s a smaller matter.”

“Smaller?” I ask childishly.

“Yes, quite,” he turns to Percy, “the gods we discussed in Latin class.”

“Zues,” Percy starts, “Hera. Apollo. You mean them?”

Thunder rumbles through the sky. I look up, trying to find clouds but I’m met with blue skies.

“Young man,” interrupts Mr. D, “ I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you.”

“But they’re stories..” I state, “They- they’re myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They’re what people believed before science,” my eyebrows knit together in confusion and I look at Percy who's also trying to understand.

“Science!” Mr. D scoffs, “and tell me, Vivian-”

“It’s Valleri,” I mutter, shrinking under his gaze.

“What will people think of your ‘science’ two thousand years from now?” Mt. D continues, “Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That’s what. Oh, I love mortals- they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they’ve come so-o-o far. And have they Chiron? Look at these two children and tell me,” he waves a hand at Percy and I.

I didn’t like the way he was talking, I didn’t like the way he was motioning, and I certainly didn’t like the way he put everyone around him down beneath him, stomping all over us.

I cross my arms, flushing. I want to say something back but Percy gives me a warning look. I can tell he wants to say the same things as I, but he just shakes his head slightly. I wouldn’t have said anything even if he hadn’t told me to, but I still had the urge to open my mouth.

“Children, you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing just as you are, for all time?”

Sounded pretty nice to me, but something in the way Mr. D was staring at me made me rethink that opinion.

“You mean, whether people believed in you or not,” Percy asks.

“Exactly,” Chiron agrees, “if you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that some day people would call you a myth. And you Valleri, were created to explain how little boys and girls can get over losing their mothers?”

I turn to Percy, Chiron had flown pretty close to the sun with that last comment. I take his hand in mine, squeezing it. His face carries a look of anger and I don’t blame him.

“I wouldn’t like it. But I don’t believe in gods,” I reply before Percy can say anything foolish.

“Oh you’d better before one of them incinerates you,” Mr. D mutters. I feel Percy’s grip tighten around my hand.

“P-please sir. They’ve both just lost people very special to them. They’re in shock,” Grover mumbles.

“A lucky thing too,” Mr. D grumbles, playing a card, “bad enough I’m confined to this miserable job working with children who don’t even believe!”

He waves a hand and a goblet appears on the table before us and fills with red wine. My eyes widen in shock.

“Mr. D,” Chirons warns, “your restrictions.”

Mr. D looks at the wine and feigns surprise, “dear me,” he looks up at the sky and yells, “old habits! Sorry!”

Thunder rumbles yet again.

Mr. D waves his hand and the goblet turns into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighs unhappily and drinks the soda, playing a card.

Chiron smiles cheekily at us, “Mr. D offended his father a while back, took fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off- limits,” he explains.

“A wood nymph,” Percy repeats.

I continue to stare at the coke can, waiting for it to disappear any moment. I had to be hallucinating.

“Yes,” Mr. D confesses, “father loves to punish me. The first time, prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time- well, she was really pretty, and I couldn’t keep my hands off -he sent me here. Half Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you two. ‘Be a better influence,’ he told me. ‘Work with youths rather than tearing them down.’ Ha! Absolutely unfair.”

I grimace at his words, he sounded like a child and I was one word away from punching his chubby little face.

“And..” Percy stammers, “your father is…”

“Di immortales, Chiron,” Mr. D exclaims, “I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course.”

“You’re Dionysus,” Percy states slowly, “the god of wine.”

I blink. My brain turns as I process everything.

Mr. D rolls his eyes, “what do the kids say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, ‘Well, duh!’?”

Grover nods quickly, “Y-yes, Mr. D.”

“Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?”

I stifle a laugh at that image and the Director shoots me a glare.

“You’re a god..” Percy says.

“Yes, child.”

“A god. You?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Mr. D whips his head at me and stares me down. A fire burns in his eyes and I realize I should’ve probably kept my mouth shut. The god stands and approaches me. In his chair he looked short and stubby but as he gets closer, I find myself looking up at him. I feel Percy tug my hand slightly, pulling me away from the god.

“Would you like to test me, child?” he says in a hushed tone that warns me against opening my mouth.

“No, of course not. Sorry sir,” I mutter quietly. I’m thankful for Percy’s hand keeping me grounded. I probably would’ve passed away out of fear.

The tension in the air falls and Mr. D turns to the table, sitting back down, “I believe I win.”

“Not quite, Mr. D,” Chiron says. He sets down a straight, tallies the points, and says, “the game goes to me.”

Mr. D just sighs, as if he’s used to losing to Chiron. He stands, Grover following his lead, “I’m tired, I believe I’ll take a nap before the sing along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less than perfect performance on this assignment.”

I look sympathetically towards Grover who is now sweating bullets, “y-yes, sir.”

Mr. D turns to us, “Cabin eleven children. And try to mind your manners.”

He sweeps into the farmhouse, Grover following, looking terribly nervous.

“Grover… he’ll be fine, right?” Percy asks Chiron.

Chiron nods, “Old Dionysus isn’t really mad. He just hates his job. He’s been… ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can’t stand waiting for another century before he’s allowed back to Olympus.”

“Wait,” I cut in, “Mt. Olympus? That’s real?” I ask.

“Well now, there’s Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there’s the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It’s still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Valleri, just as the gods do.”

“You mean the Greek gods are here?” Percy asks, “Like… in America?”

“Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West,” Chiron explains.

“The what now?” I ask.

“Come now Valleri. What you call ‘Western civilization.’ Do you think it’s just an abstract concept? No, it’s a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn’t possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you all know- or as I hope you know -the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps- Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on -but the same forces, the same gods.”

“And then… they died,” I state.

“Die? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they’ve ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Valleri, of course they are now in the United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not- believe me, plenty of people weren’t very fond of Rome either -America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so, Olympus is here. And we are here.”

Silence.

I glance at Percy. How were we expected to believe all this? It was as if everything we had believed was now being torn away. I could feel the world change before my eyes.

Percy looks like he had a huge weight put onto his back, his eyes holding a sort of darkness to them, clouded by the confusion of everything Chiron had just told us.

“Who are you Chiron? Who… are we?” he asks slowly.

“Who are you? Well, that’s a question we all want answered, isn’t it? But for now, we should get you two a bunk in cabin 11. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be smores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate,” Chiron shifts in his chair as if adjusting the blanket over his knees.

I back up in shock, accidentally bumping into Percy, but he doesn’t notice, he’s too focused on the scene unfolding before us. Chiron lifts himself out of his chair. My brain tries to make sense of what I’m seeing. His legs stay put but his torso rises. My jaw is on the ground by the time he steps away from his wheelchair. Instead of a man standing before us, a centaur- lower body of a horse, upper body of a man -paws the ground.

“What a relief, I’ve been cooped up in there for so long, my fetlocks have fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy, Valleri. Let’s meet the other campers,” the horse man starts walking off the porch.

I stand there, frozen and turn slowly to look at Percy, his eyes are wide and his mouth is ajar in shock. We lock eyes and I realize I’ve stopped breathing.

It’s only as we start to walk down the steps that I realize we’re still holding hands. I gently pull away, suddenly hyper away of how sweaty my hands are.

I clear my throat and follow Chiron down into the valley.

#Percy Jackson and the Olympians #Percy Jackson fan fic #Rick Riordan #PJO #Percy Jackson #fluff

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