Hello! This is I think… what… my tenth fanfic? I just want to give a shout out—thank you every single one of the people who read my stories and reviewed my stories, too! You've been so inspirational! Thank you all so much! I'm going to post an OC form for this. I must be famous for that by now. But anyway, Read and Review, please fill out the OC form, and most of all, just enjoy the story!
~Gemstone
Here are some things I like to do: skateboard, play basketball, run track, go to archery class. You never saw save the world on that list, did you? Good. It wasn't on there. Today, I was doing one of those things: skateboarding down the street and thinking. I do this a lot. I do know why: I have to think about my dad. I've never met the guy. Mom says he was just… striking. Yeah, well, girls say that stuff. I'm a boy. I've been angry with Dad for leaving my mom. I never talk about it because her eyes tear up and she stops what she's doing and just kind of stares ahead. It scares me when she does that.
My name is Jack Phoenix Williams. I never knew my dad, not even his name, or his last name. Williams came from Mom's side of the family. Who knows what came from Dad's. I'm just thinking this as a handful of kids I know, not as friends, yell: "Hey, Williams, can you skate fast?" I don't anwser that, but I can, actually. I am pretty fast on a skateboard. Instead of responding, I turn tail and skate away. I push of with my foot to go faster… faster… and I'm zooming through the neighborhood, all the way down to my house. Well, not MY house, Aunt Nora's house. Ever since we moved in, the once-green grass has turned not-so-green, the lamppost's light bulb has been out for more than a year, the mailbox fell over, and the WELCOME sign by the dusty front door reads WE C E, with the first E sideways. I skate right up the sidewalk, dismount my board, tuck it under my arm, and enter my house. I push aside several cardboard boxes and yell "Mom, I'm back!" I see my mom peek out of the kitchen and wink. I smile and head up the stairs to the attic, my room. I open the door and breathe in the nice smell of sun-washed cotton. That's about the only thing me and my stepdad's daughter Casey have in common—we both are neat freaks.
I have messy auburn hair and forest green eyes, and skin that's the color of coffee-and-milk. Today, I'm wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of baggy ripped jeans, and my old worn-out white Nikes. I'm twelve years old, two years older than Casey, and I'd say I'm pretty nice. Casey has ash blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and pale skin. She's a diva—she always wears designer jeans and a blouse or something fashionable like that, and her brand-new rhinestone-decorated ballet flats. Casey's only ten. I'd say she's sassy and bossy. I basically stay in the shadows, while she's always out in the spotlight. I wouldn't say Casey and I get along, but we don't NOT get along. I guess we just pretend the other one doesn't exist.
I didn't fell like eating dinner, so I just changed into my pajamas and collapsed into bed. I wasn't in the mood for thinking once again about my dad.
I woke up, and I felt open air through my window. It was pitch black outside. I groaned and stumbled up to close the window. Sliding it shut, I fell back onto my bed, but I wasn't very sleepy anymore. I slid back off my bed and walked over to my dresser, opening drawers and removing clothes for tomorrow. I was still turned to my dresser, sliding a thumb over a picture I drew years and years ago, one of a big black dog and a big black bird that was on fire. I have a pretty active imagination. Just as I set down the picture, light filtered across my room in a beam. It was coming from the door. I whirled around. "Jack," said my mother. "Get dressed. We have to leave. Like, right now." I panicked at the look on her face. I scrambled around my room, struggling into the clothes I had picked out. Finally, I only had to shrug on my rich brown leather biker jacket. I grabbed my backpack, and emptied it, just in case I would need it. I swung it over my shoulder and practically flew downstairs. Mom was waiting, looking impatient. "Let's go," she said. I followed her and hopped in the shotgun seat up front. "So, Mom?" I asked. She nodded. "Ask any question you want, Jack," she said. "You should probably know what is going on." That is one thing I love about my mom. She is very fair and kind and understanding. "Where are we going?" I asked, annoyed. My mom replied, but hesitantly. "To a camp. A special camp, for special people like you." At that, I was very confused. People like me? I have dyslexia and ADHD, but I never thought that made me special. It must be something else. "We are we leaving so suddenly?" was my next question. To this she said that we needed to. She's really vague. I became silent. It was one of those annoying silences, you know those? "Jack, this isn't about you, this is about your father." That stunned me. Mom never spoke about Dad anymore. "What about him?" I asked. "What is so important about my no-good…" Mom looked at me sharply. "Whatever you think, Jack, your father loved you. He loved you so much, so, so much… but he had to leave." I became angry again. That's my good-for-nothing Dad for you. Has a kid, and ditches his family. "Then why did he have to leave?! Huh? Can you anwser that?" Mom looked sad. "Because, Jack, your dad is—what the!" The car flipped as we were literally tossed by somebody into the air. I kicked open the door and slid out, and Mom followed. I saw headlights in the distance, and TIXA. I knew enough to know that meant TAXI, so I yelled to my mother as soon as I realized what had thrown us.
"Hail the taxi!" I yelled. My mom shook her head. "I can't leave you here alone!" I was angry with her for trying to stand in the way of me and the monster. She would die. "HAIL THE TAXI!" I screamed, and my mom shrunk under my order. She ran to the road and hailed it. I turned to my attacker. He was at least twenty feet tall and wearing a brown toga spotted with red… I had the urge to puke. His beard was long, greasy, and bushy, just like his hair. He gave me an evil grin. Yeah, I didn't like this guy. "You, puny demigod!" he bellowed. Huh? Demigod? What the heck is that? "Child of the sky god, tremble before me!" he screamed. I turned and sprinted for the cover of the trees. I leapt over a fallen log and continued along an old, overgrown trail. Mom said the camp was in here. I skirted around a skunk in the road and saw torches ahead. I ran faster. I dove inside the yellow-white marble archway. I looked behind me. The giant guy slammed into the marble archway… what? Actually, he didn't. He slammed into some invisible force, and a ripple of mint blue swirled across the sky in a dome shape.
Righ then, I blacked out. In my defense, it was very shocking what had happened in the last half hour or so.
I woke up in a soft bed I sank into about a foot deep. There was a very wet sponge on my forehead, and was dripping water down my face. I sat up, instantly sinking another foot. I was in a spongy bed, surrounded by others just like it. Some had limbs being wrapped, some had heads being wrapped, and some had people sponging their foreheads. I took off the sponge from my own noggin and dropped it on the ground. People were wearing bronze battle armor. There was a kid standing by my bed. He looked about 14, with dark hair and dark eyes, with dark tan skin. He looked about fourteen and wore an orange T-shirt and jeans. He glowered at me. "You were out for seven days," he growled at me. Seven days-! I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. The dark-haired boy continued. "My name's John. Cross my and I'll slit your throat, but les not worry. You're at Camp Half-Blood, a place for demigods, satyrs-"I cut John off. "What? That giant one-eyed guy called me a demigod. What's a demigod!?" John looked seriously annoyed. "Fine, I'll explain, but let Chiron explain the rest. Or Percy Jackson. Or Annabeth Chase, or Jason Grace, or Piper McLean, or Leo Valdez, or—"
"Alright! I get it!" I was getting seriously annoyed with this John character. I wanted him to leave. John looked annoyed and began. "You know all of those Greek and Roman stories? Well, they aren't stories, they're the real thing. And sometimes, y'know, they come down to Earth—and—uh—hook up with mortals. From this is born a demigod. Half-god, half-human. That's it, really. Nothing more to tell." I wanted to scream at John that there was miles more to tell, but I shut my mouth. John was at the end of his string. One more question. "Then, uh, who is my dad?" I asked John. I could swear steam was rising from his ears. "WE DON'T KNOW! Now shut up and follow me!" I did. I clambered out of bed and followed John. We went down many marble pathways, but I eventually found that John was leading me to a regular wooden cabin, like a cabin you would sleep in if you were camping. I followed him inside and met several boys and girls.
Another boy walked up to me. "Hey, you must be the newcomer. We just got two others today! I'm Travis Stoll, head of the Hermes Cabin. And you are?"
"I'm Jack Williams. Nice to meet you, Travis." Travis seemed like a nice guy—unlike John. Travis took me aside. "That right there, that's John Carter. He's real bitter to newcomers. They're always claimed in the first week. John hasn't been claimed for two years, so you better avoid him. On the inside, though, he's a nice guy. Over there, that's Gayle Sprucers. She's pretty, but her sister, Angelina Sprucers—yeah, that one right there—a lot of us say she's prettier. You might want to get in good with her." Travis winked at me. I couldn't believe him! I'm twelve years old. I saw some stairs and quickly ran up them—I didn't really want to meet Gayle or Angelina now.
I chose an empty bunk and fell on it. I could sleep until dinner. And I needed to seriously think about things.
I woke up in the same position, with a clean orange T-shirt and jeans folded neatly beside my head. I changed into them. My old clothes were dirty and sandy from my run from the giant guy, which I had learned was a Cyclops. I did put back on my favorite jacket and my backpack. It just felt right. I ambled downstairs and followed one of the Hermes campers to the Bonfire. The orange flames danced across people's faces. I sat down on the far end of a bench, with a space for about two people next to me. And—oh! Lucky me!—those two people were Gayle and Angelina. I turned beet read and stared straight forward. A man came forward. He too was taller than most of the campers… and then I saw why. He had the torso and head of a human being, but the body a white horse. This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder… I listened, though, to what he had to say. "Campers! Another good bonfire tonight, huh!" Murmurs of agreement rippled around. "First, I would like to make an announcement! We have two new campers, and the Blackout Patient has awoken!" People looked around, and I realized that I was the Blackout Patient.
I turned redder and stared at the ground. "And, I would like all three to come up here, please!" A girl and a boy struggled forward, embarrassed. After a moment or two, I followed. Chiron, the centaur, asked us our names. "Natalie Martinez," mumbled the girl. "Asher Rubeus," growled the boy. "Jack Williams." I was quick to sit down again. Angelina nudged me. "I'm Angelina Sprucers, and that's my twin sister, Gayle. We're Hermes campers. Nice to meet you. We just got here six months ago." I had my birthday seven months ago. I responded. "Jack. Nice to meet you, Angelina." I was silent after that. Soon into Chiron's speech, thunder rumbled, lightning cracked, and a heavy rain began to fall. Several campers groaned. "Zeus has something to say," Chiron announced. Lightning struck down, right in front of me! People stared at me. I decided to say something. "The Cyclops called me 'a child of the sky lord,' I think," I said, embarrassed. Chiron nodded at me, just as a trident appeared above Natalie's head, and a helm above Asher's. Chiron nodded again grimly. "Hail, Natalie Wyvern Martinez, daughter of Poseidon, God of the Sea, lord of horses. Hail, Asher Drakon Rubeus, son of Hades, God of the Underworld. And hail, Jack Phoenix Williams, son of Zeus, God of the Sky, king of the gods."
Cabin 1 is uncomfortably cold and empty. Tomorrow, Chiron had promised, Jason Grace would return and I wouldn't be alone, but until then, yep, I have to sleep alone. I decided on one of the only beds that was out of his line of sight. By his, I mean the giant statue of Zeus in Cabin 1. I snuggled into my blankets and tried to go to sleep by thinking about all of my new friends.
After the bonfire, Natalie, Asher and I kind of formed our own little trio. I learned some things about them. Natalie was a street urchin before she one day found Percy Jackson fighting a hellhound. She helped him and she took her to Camp Half-Blood, because he figured she was a demigod. Asher lived in an old hut on the beach with his grandma. Once, a Drakon destroyed his house and Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, and Nico de Angelo found him, moved his grandma to somewhere safe, and took him to Camp Half-Blood. I learned Percy Jackson, his girlfriend Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Nico de Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, and Jason Grace were local Camp Half-Blood heroes. That night, Asher and I met Percy Jackson, and Natalie was off talking to his girlfriend.
I had followed Percy to his cabin, the Poseidon Cabin. He had given me one of his hellhound's puppies, a boy named Shadow. It was then that he told me Chiron wanted to see me in the morning at the Big House, and Natalie and Asher were coming too… right then, I drifted off into sleep.
I awoke to rumbling thunder. It was always thundering in the Zeus Cabin. I slid into my brown leather jacket and my shoes and ran out of the Zeus Cabin, stopping by the Hades Cabin and the Poseidon Cabin. I looked over a map Percy had given to me last night. Behind me, Shadow the hellhound barked and galloped ahead. "Shadow! No!" I yelled and sprinted after him. Shadow took many twists and turns along the path, but I eventually arrived at a sign that said: Big House. "Good boy," I said to Shadow as Natalie and Asher sprinted up behind me. I walked up to the big house and saw somebody by the door. "Oh, hey, there! You have an appointment?" he called to us. I nodded. "Okay, then! You can go on. I'm Lucas Donald, but everybody calls me Luke, so feel free to!" I nodded and smiled and shouldered open the door to the Big House. Chiron was waiting for us. "I trust that Percy delivered the message?" he asked. I nodded. "Good, well, Jack, Natalie, Asher—I have a quest for you. There are four Legendary Phoenixes: the Silver Phoenix, the Blue Phoenix, the Green Phoenix, and the Black Phoenix. They went and still go by the names of Mooncatcher, Skydancer, Leafsong, and Nightstar. The most powerful and dangerous of phoenixes was the Great Black Phoenix Nightstar. Each currently resides somewhere in our world, but Nightstar has been captured by… by… Nyx, the mother of chaos itself. If Nyx finally unlocks the power of Nightstar, the war between our worlds is lost to us. We lose. Done. However, if we obtain Nightstar, we get an edge. Nyx has already captured Leafsong, the Great Green Phoenix. She has people looking for Skydancer, and they believe they know the whereabouts of Mooncatcher, who is already safe here at Camp Half-Blood. But you must rescue Nightstar and hopefully Leafsong, but Nightstar is your top priority. It is up to you five children to do something nobody has ever done before.
"You must earn the trust of the Great Black Phoenix."
OOOH! What will happen? Sorry for that cliffy guys. I know this chapter didn't go to well, but chapters in the future will be REALLY GOOD, I promise! I'll post the OC form next chapter, because I'm tired, but do not worry, it will come soon! Please review and suggest ideas about what should happen on their quest! SAVE THE PHOENIXES! We haven't even met them yet and I'm already emotionally attached… oh, the full names of the Great Phoenixes are Mooncatcher, the Phoenix of Life, Lady of the Sun and Moon, One of Healing, and Leafsong, the Phoenix of Nature, Lady of the Forest, One of Earth. And Skydancer, Phoenix of Water, Lady of the Seas, One of Aqua. And my favorite, Nightstar, Phoenix of Night, Lady of the Sky, One of the World. Thank you all so much for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it!
~Gemstone