this is a story my sister wrote and I am publishing it for her... Everything goes to her and RickRiodan...
Daughter of Death
I have no place anywhere. My parents chucked me out, as did my aunt and uncle. They said I was the reason those THINGS attacked and that if I ever came back, they would kill me. It was my step-dad who put my Mum up to it, and it was he that threaten me. I don't blame my Mum.
To make matters worse, the Things didn't stop attacking, in fact, it got worse. I found an old, blunt knife in an alley, and I use that now. I steal to live and stay on the run. It is too dangerous to make friends, though I get so lonely sometimes, so lonely.
I have been followed by something for days, and it scares me. It looks like a young lady from the waist up, but it has two snakes for legs. It never dies. I mean, never, ever. It stays down for about one hour, but then it is up again, chasing me.
I have been running for hours now, up a huge hill that seems to go on forever. I turn around, hoping not to see the monster, but there it is 50 yards behind me.
There is a pine tree up ahead, I will get there then rest. I sprint up to it, then turn and rest my back on the tree, watching the snake-lady's slow progress up the hill. Ready myself and shout down, "Can you move any slower?"
Yeah - stupid I know, but I was not thinking.
"Ha!" she screeched, "A daughter of Hades, what a privilege!"
Great, a monster thinks I am a privilege, that can not be good for my health. I steady my weapon, get ready to strike. Now!
My blade clatters against her skin - and breaks. Oh gods, of all the moments it could have broken, it broke now!
Cursing, I retreated, thinking hard. Nothing came to me. I saw an old arrow on the ground. It was strange, come to think of it, but at that moment, I did not care. Raising my makeshift, flimsy weapon, I charged.
I was lucky I guess, I got it through her heart first try. Only then did I look up the hill and see an arch. I ran towards it, I had a feeling that, once I got to it, I would be safe. I passed through it, and passed out.
I woke up a minute later, but only for my mind to register that people in armour were looking down at me. And I was safe.
I had strange dreams in my state of unconsciousness, dreams about a monster, wearing a robe of skulls, and a boy, with brown, curly hair fighting him, but at the same time pleading for help. My help. Then I woke up.
A boy with dark brown hair, black eyes and wearing an aviator jacket looked down at me. "Don't move", he warned. "it makes the pain worse" He studied me carefully, "after you defeated that monster, you passed out and broke your arm.
I sat up. "I'm fine."
"Nico." he said, sticking out his hand.
I shook it, "Zoe." I said.
"Nice to meet you, Zoe"
"You too."
"Your dream sounded interesting." I hesitated before saying, "It was." I described the dream to him. "And you say this giant was wearing skulls?" - I nodded. He frowned. "Ask Annabeth"
"Annabeth?"
"Smartest girl in the camp"
Another nod from me.
"Time to show you round I think"
"Finally - this is our cabin, the Hades cabin." He pushed open the door, and was engulfed in an eerie glow. "Best not stay, its time for dinner."
It turned out that in the camp, you ate outside and were arranged according to your cabin. Only Nico and I were at our table. We ate in silence, watching the fire die. A flash of light interrupted the peacefulness of the scene. A huge voice rang out. "Children of Hades! My son is in trouble, captured by your sibling. Prove yourselves faithful and save him, or else..." Another flash of light, and the voice was gone.
The campers turned to us in shock. Nico managed a faint smile in my direction. "Get a weapon, then we will go."
A short while later I was holding a short, black knife, the metal the same colour as Nico's blade. "I like this one." my voice rang clear.
"You sure?"
"Yes." The blade felt right in my hands, perfect.
"OK then"
Soon we were off. Two children of Hades, off to save a demigod's life.
"We head East." Nico said once we were off the hill. "Why?"
"The person in your dreams, well I know who his is."
"Who?"
"He or rather SHE is called Melinoe, a Greek goddess."
"Oh, is she bad news?"
"Very, she rules over ghosts, and at night walks the earth with them, terrorising people."
"What does she look like?"
"Your worst nightmare."
"Great!" I mumbled to myself. "I get plenty of those."
We caught a bus going east. "Where t'?," the bus man asked, his accent weird.
Nico replied "a ferry port that will take us to Block island."
I saw the mans slitted tongue.
"Oh Gods!" I muttered. I shoved Nico over, and drew my knife. " Well, well, what havvve we here?" the monster growled, dropping all pretence about being American, "a daughter of Hadesss, how interesting."
Great! Definitely a monster then. "Stay back," I said, my voice catching,"You don't know what you are dealing with!" The monster pounced, growing talons as it leaped, changing from a human to a beast. I hacked at it, scared out of my wits. The monster bit and scratched me, pounding me about. Finally, I got a lucky strike, and the monster dissolved into dust.
"What in Tartarus!" Nico said, stirring. "The bus driver - it's gone now." I replied, feeding him a tiny piece of ambrosia (the food of the Gods). The stuff can heal us, but it can also burn us up, well, to much of it can.
Once Nico was healed, we started moving again, it was getting dark and I wanted to be at Block island before nightfall. We got to the ferry port without further ado, but found out the ferries were not going. "Oh", I said bleakly, hopes of getting to Block island before night-time dashed,"What do we do?"
Nico smiled devilishly, "We steal a boat, of course!"
We reached Block island in 70-ish minutes, we docked the boat, and wandered around for a bit. "Nico," I ventured,"how did you reach Camp Half Blood?"
"I don't like to talk about it, Zoe." He sighed, "The past holds many bad memories for me, and that is one of them."
"Oh." I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't.
"Zoe", He said turning towards me."What happened to you, before you reached camp Half Blood?"
So I told him the whole story, how I had been chucked out of my home at the age of 12, and the monsters I had faced over my two years on the street, and how I had found camp Half Blood after years of searching for somewhere safe. "Oh my Gods, Zoe!" Nico gasped his hand to his mouth,"That's awful!"
I shrugged - it was in the past now, and what's done is done. I was about to say this, but Nico said "She's close" I didn't ask how he knew this, being a child of Pluto, I felt it too. I turned the corner, and almost blacked out.
It was my step-dad.
"You!" I nearly screamed, but Nico put a hand on my arm."It's an illusion Zoe. He isn't actually there."
"It looks so real", I sobbed.
The goddess had not seen us yet, so intent was she on the boy.
"What's the plan?" I asked Nico quietly. "We just wing it, I guess," He whispered.
He held up his fingers - 3,2,1!
At one I leaped out and stabbed the goddess in the arm. "What!" she shrieked turning round wildly to see her attacker. Before she could spot me, however, Nico stabbed her in her leg and she turned again, and I final saw who the boy was. And recognised him. "Zoe?" He gasped, asking if it was actually me. This boy, Tommy, had got me out of tight spots with bullies for years, starting from the first day in Kindergarden, when a boy came up to me and stole my teddy. I just sat there crying, until Tommy came up to me after getting the teddy off the mean boy, and asked, "Can we be friends?" offering me the teddy. He was the person I missed most whilst on the streets. Tommy, with his witty remarks, and devilish grin. Tommy, who, when he was older, got sent to the headmaster's office for punching a boy that stole my dinner money. I had never once guessed he could be a half-blood like me. "Oh my Gods! Tommy!"
He was tall, and slim but with the same glint in his eye that had not changed since Kindergarden. "If it really is you Zoe,"he whispered,"and if you get me out of here alive, I'll buy you a cheese burger." I love cheese burgers.
Nico had kept Melinoe busy whilst we were talking, but he was on the ground now, beaten and exhausted. I tried to sneak up behind her, but she heard me grabbed me and threw me down next to Nico.
"Well, well - two of my siblings trying to kill me. I'll kill you fo-" she was cut off by a knife sticking through her belly.
"You dropped this."Tommy said, handing me the knife, almost laughing.
"Thanks, Tommy. You owe me a cheese burger, though"
"Aw, come on, I killed her for you!"
"Just joking, Tommy, I'll buy it."
Nico watched this exchange with a rather amused expression in his eyes.
"You two know each other then?"
"Yeah." Tommy answered, "I got Zoe out of scrapes for years. Reckon we are about even now."
"You bet!" I grinned
10 hours later...
Tommy filled me in, whilst we ate our burgers. "So when Zoe disappeared, I told the social services, and your step-father was convicted" he finished.
"So what God are you the son of, Tommy?" asked Nico.
"Son of Apollo, cheesily bringing sun into peoples' lives - at your service!"
"Cool!"
"Hot, actually, but I see what you mean."
"So, are you coming back to camp with us?" Nico questioned
"If Zoe will let me."
"Oh, I think I could do with my personal body guard back." I winked.
When we got back to camp, we caused quite a stir. We had succeeded, and brought another camper back, after all.
Not bad in a couple of days work...
FINISHED