It was hot. It was very hot. It was burning hot. The kind of hot that made you think you could cook an egg on the side walk kind of hot. Actually, as these temperatures, you actually might be able to cook an egg. Maybe not on the side walk, but on a metal statue? There's a good chance it'll sizzle. Unfortunately, out here, there wasn't a single statue in sight, as far as I could see. Only sand, cacti, lizards, vultures, and spiders. Spiders. Those disgusting little morbid creatures with eight legs, six eyes, and hair all over. They were my worst enemy. Gods knows how many I've ran away from in these past few months. It wasn't like I'm scared easily… it's just that they're spiders. Saying the name just makes me shudder.

It's been 8 months since I've seen the rest of them; Jason, Reyna, Piper, Leo, Nico, Frank, Hazel, and Percy. Percy. I could literally feel my heart hurting. It's physical pain being inflicted due to emotion pain. It's a new feeling, like the feeling of longing, except… not quite. It's almost as if there was an anchor wound around my heart, and it pulling it down… But now is not the time for contemplating my emotions. I was in the middle of the Arizona desert, hungry, thirsty, tired, thirsty. I knew that I needed water soon, or I was going to pass out. So far, I've managed to live off casino water bottles, and the occasional oasis, but… I ran out of liquid the day before yesterday, which means that I needed to hydrate myself, or surrender to the heat of the desert. And there was no way I was going to allow my body to be eaten by spiders. No. Way. Squinting my eyes, I could just barely make out the outline of a dark, hazy blob in the distance. What could it be? It could be a swarm of bugs… or it could be another oasis. My eyes widened. An oasis?! That means water. That means staying alive. And gods knows how much staying alive meant to me. So, I ran. Looking back on it, running in the desert, or more specifically, running in sand, wasn't the best idea. The sand filled my tennis shoes, and as I ran, I kicked up even more sand, which made the air unclean and hard to breathe. Also, because my feet were digging holes into the sand, the running might've just made my trip even slower. But when you're in the middle of the desert, and on your death bed, logic can be ignored, just this once, as an exception.

Upon reaching the shape, I came to realize that it wasn't an oasis, but a town. A town? "I don't recall there being a town marked here on the map…" I ponder out loud, my voice dry and raspy. There were buildings, for sure, but were there people? As far as I could tell, the town was empty, barren, deserted. Not a single inhabitant in sight. But why was I getting such a bad feeling…?

Kneeling down besides the water, I cupped my hands together tightly, to form a small cup of sorts. Carefully, I dipped my cupped hands down into the water and brought them back up to my lips. I took careful sips, so that the sudden rush of water wouldn't hurt my throat.

As I drank the water, I started to wonder more about these seemingly empty houses. They looked old, made of wood, and really log cabin-esque. They had windows, but they were dark and empty, like the eyes of the dead. Or, Nico when he's having a really bad day. I still can't shake the fact that there was something odd about them. Wait, I see something, something moving… there's something in there! It looks like… a person? Blonde hair? Wait, no, not blonde… white? What-What is that? It's moving around… it's mov- Where'd it go?!

Scrambling up, I ran towards that one house. What if there was a person there? What if they were trapped? Or maybe… maybe they could tell me something important? Or provide shelter? Maybe they have a map I could use? Maybe some clean clothes? Anything, and I mean anything at this point could help.

But before I reached the house, I felt something pinch the back of my leg. What? Looking down, I saw it was a dart. A blow dart. I went down like a cow after being tipped, with full on force and straight down. I shut my eyes to avoid getting sand in them. Who could've shot that? There was no one here when I came. It couldn't have been the figure I saw because I was running towards it, and the dart came from behind. So what could've…?

Voices. I hear voices.

"Di immortals, Dakota, you just shot down our ally!" It was a male voice. The voice was followed by a slapping noise.

"Ow, Ow! Okay! I'm sorry! It looked like a zombie to me!" This must be the voice of Dakota. I can understand why he was slapped. At this moment, I would've slapped him too.

"Hush you two! We need to get her to town before sundown. Before they come out." This voice was familiar. If I wasn't just barely staying conscious, I would've recognized it. But I can't. I can barely make out their words now. Everything is spinning. I tried opening my eyes, and the last thing I saw before I went out was a flash of purple.

The flash of a Roman cape.

OOOoOoOoOoooOOoOOOooOooOoOOOoooOOooOoOOoOooooOoOooOoOoOOoOooOoOooOoOoOO

Hey there! So, I'm sorry about any grammar mistakes or spelling errors, I'm not the best at writing.

But please do let me know what you think of this chapter! I mainly joined Fanfiction to read stories and leave reviews on the ones I like, but you know, I got an idea to write about, so here it is!

I'm still new to this whole thing, so please take it easy with me as I try to come out with the best chapters I can!

Also, please feel free to PM me! I don't really know how it works, but from what I can see, it's like emailing! I would love to talk to you about this fandom and really anything about it!

Thank you!

Yours Truly,

Jovaline