Title: Finding Home
Fandom: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus, sadly. Rick Riordan does. No money is made, but I do like reviews!
Chapter One: Meetings
Percy cursed as the creatures kept coming. He slashed and hacked everywhere with his sword. But when he killed one, two more took it's place.
Percy ran. He ran to the woods, and knew that the remaining ones were hot on his trail.
He turned around and sliced another one. Then he ran again.
The teen looked back, but didn't see anything. He strained his ears, but couldn't hear anything.
Percy huffed and sat on a stump. The boy knew it was dangerous, but he needed to catch his breath.
The day had started so good! He had found fresh meat, gotten clean clothes and new shoes, and had refilled his supply of water! But then the walkers had to come.
Grumbling under his breath, he found a tree that had a thick branch sprouting from the side about twenty feet up.
Percy started climbing and made himself comfy on the branch. He smiled dryly. The boy never thought his life would be like this.
It had started with an experiment. Scientists were trying to find a way to be stronger against diseases, hunger and thirst. They thought they had gotten it, and had injected it into themselves. They had gotten it. But not in the way they imagined. They were immune to sickness, and thirst. But they would turn into things that felt a strong urge to do anything to survive. They couldn't really be called humans. The virus had taken their humanity away. All that was left was the instinct to eat. To survive. Because the scientists didn't take away the hunger. So the things needed to eat. And the poor humans they chose to feed on either were eaten, or survived. But they could survive with their humanity intact, or becoming the one thing every human fears. A zombie.
But they weren't like the shows. They were just as fast and strong as when they were a human. They weren't really smart because all they had was instinct now. But they knew how to carry weapons.
Percy shook his head. Him and his family had started leaving New York. It was too dangerous there. But his mother and Paul had become zombies.
Percy had killed them. He killed them because he knew his mother and Paul didn't want to be those things. So he put them down.
The teen didn't know if he was the only human left on Earth. He hasn't run in to anyone else. Percy was alone. And maybe it was better that way. He couldn't handle losing another person close to him. It might break him.
The raven haired boy tied himself to the tree, making sure his backpack was safe. He looked up at the stars, remembering his mother's smile. He remembered feeling safe when he was with her and Paul. But then he started to remember how they were bitten. How Percy had screamed. How they killed the zombies trying to eat them, but not without a price. Both adults were bitten. They had told Percy to run, but he had refused. Then they turned into the things Percy had grown to hate. And the boy had put them both down with one slash of his sword.
The boy swallowed. The past was the past. He can't do anything about it. He just needed to survive. Percy fell asleep, chanting the word survive in his head over and over again. That was all that mattered.
/Line Break\
Percy woke up to the sound of a chainsaw. A chainsaw?
He looked down and saw some figures trying to cut down the tree. What the hell? Percy didn't know the zombies knew how to use chainsaws!
He could tell that they were zombies by the look in their eyes. The eyes looked empty. No emotions or anything. And the blood on their shirt helped him identify if they were zombies.
The teen cursed and grabbed his backpack. He had long dagger strapped to his right thigh, his sword attached to his waist in the scabbard, and a pistol. Though, he didn't use that because there was no ammo. The boy kept it just in case.
He could hear the stupid chainsaw again, and he decided to jump to the next tree. That didn't work very well though.
"Ow," Percy screeched as he landed on a sturdy branch. His voice sounded like it went an octave higher.
Of course the stupid things heard that and turned towards him. Then moved and tried to cut down the tree he was on. Crap. Well, time for Plan B.
He jumped from tree to tree, going on lower branches each time. Finally, when he deemed it safe, he jumped to the ground, tucking his legs in and rolling.
Moans and groans came up from behind him. Percy started running. He could hear the zombies chasing after him.
"Crap," he muttered and unseathed his sword while running. Might as well be prepared.
He turned on the road he was running on. Then he faltered. Well, he was screwed. A building towered over him. A prison.
He turned around, sword in his right and dagger in his left. If he was going to go down, he was going down fighting.
The zombies were upon him. Percy whirled with his weapons, taking down a creature with every swipe. But it wasn't enough. They were overpowering him.
Then he could hear a whizzing sound, then a thud. The zombies turned their heads to look at the same time.
Percy was confused. Why did they stop attacking him? He was grateful, but what the heck was this?
He turned his head to look where the zombies were looking. Then a breath got caught in his throat.
By the entrance of the iron gate stood a girl. She had curly blonde hair tied up in a pony tail. It was whipping in the wind. She also had crossbow in her hands. Awesome.
The girl shot another time, and the zombies watched as it took out another one. The yelled and ran towards her.
Percy tried to help her. He started slashing at all the zombies in the back, running after them. The girl whipped out a knife and started destroying the zombies. One by one.
Together, they got rid of all of them pretty quick. Percy stared at his savior. She had calculating grey eyes and looked about the same age he is.
"C'mon," she yelled over the wind. "We gotta go before more come!"
She opened up the gate and ushered the boy in. He watched as she got out a huge key and locked the gate from the inside. The iron gate was the only entrance. From here, Percy could see that the iron gate stopped at both sides of the prison. There were watchtowers and two doors that looked very heavy.
She ran up to the doors and knocked. It took a few seconds, but the huge door opened. The girl stared at him, and Percy realized that she was waiting for him. He sprinted up to her.
"Follow me," she said, and walked inside.
"Hey, Annabeth," said a curly haired boy. "Who's the stray?"
Percy scowled at being called a stray. This guy knew nothing about him!
"I dunno," the girl, Annabeth shrugged. "Found him outside the prison. Was fighting a huge group of walkers."
The other boy nodded and stared at the taller boy thoughtfully. He looked dangerous. Battle hardened face with a mean looking sword.
"You know the rules," chided the brunette boy. "Gotta keep him locked up until we know his motives."
Annabeth huffed. Percy frowned. What? Locked up?
His vision went black.
/Line Break\
Percy groaned and rubbed his head. Where the heck was he? He realized he was sleeping on a bed. The boy never did that. Sleeping on a bed was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Then he noticed the bars. He was inside a prison cell! The teen took in his surroundings. A bunk bed. A toilet with a sink. Other than that, it was bare.
"Let me out!" he yelled.
He ran up to the bars and tried to look out. He could see a hallway with even more cells. It was white and bare, like his room. A cell block. The hallway stopped on the right with a door. It had a big skull on it.
On his left he could see a turn. That was where the other door was. By the door was another boy. He had dark wavy hair with dark brown eyes. The boy had a sword by his side and a pistol in his hand. That's when Percy noticed that he was missing all of his weapons.
"Where am I?" Percy demanded.
The other boy just raised an eyebrow at the raven haired teen. He opened up the door with a ring of keys. The younger boy stuck his head out.
Percy panicked and looked around his cell. He flipped his mattress, but under it was just a metal frame. He couldn't get a weapon from that. He ran to the sink and tried to pull off the pipe, but it didn't budge.
"Annabeth, your pet is up," the smaller boy called, and Percy scowled. What is up with these people and names?
Out came the girl from earlier. She looked like she had just gotten cleaned up. He took a moment to actually look at her. Blonde curly hair in a messy ponytail. Startling grey eyes. Lean and toned with tanned skin.
"You knocked me out!" he accused. She shrugged, looking unapologetic.
"Security reasons," she replied. "Jason would've killed me if I had let you through with a weapon and no handcuffs."
Percy frowned. How many people were here? He knows there is at least four.
"C'mon," she unlocked the door. He slowly walked out, wary of her and the other boy.
"Hands in front," she ordered. "Together."
Percy was confused. Why would he need his hands out. His question was answered when she held up a pair of handcuffs.
"You're not putting those things on me," he declined. Annabeth arched an eyebrow.
"You don't get a choice," she says. "Now hands out."
He glared at her. "No."
She sighed and looked at Nico. He shrugged.
"Fine," she said. "If you can beat me in a fight, I'll let you go. Hand to hand combat."
Percy snorted. That would be easy. He has more muscle on her and has been on his own longer.
"Deal," he said confidently and stuck out his hand. She shook it, and Percy was confused why the pale boy hat burst out laughing.
"Good luck," he said, grinning. Percy arched an eyebrow.
"I won't need it," he replied. That only made the boy laugh harder.
"Nico, shut up," Annabeth told him, amused. He stared at her.
"But it's funny," he whined. "He thinks he can beat you!"
Percy scowled. "I probably can. I've been on my own since the virus started."
The other boy, Nico stared. "This long on your own? Nice."
Percy stood up straighter in pride.
"Ready," the blonde rolled her eyes.
The taller boy nodded, getting into ready stance.
They circled each other for a few seconds, but Percy got impatient and charged. He struck out with his fist, and Annabeth casually dodged. She swept a foot under his legs, and her opponent jumped, but lost his balance. She waited for him to catch his balance. Percy did a right hook, but the blonde ducked. The boy stumbled forward, and Annabeth leaned to the left and elbowed Percy in the back, effectively making him lose his balance and fall. She stood above him, arms crossed.
"Now you have to put on the cuffs," she told him in a bored voice. "I beat you."
Percy scrambled up, face burning. He glared at Nico, who was hiding his laughter in his arm.
He reluctantly held out his wrists, and she snapped on the handcuffs.
"Follow me," she ordered and walked out the door. He huffed.
"Shut up," he told Nico as he walked past the younger boy.
Annabeth led him through another blank hallway before stopping in front of another locked door. She pulled out her ring of many keys and unlocked the door, motioning for Percy to come in.
It was a room with a few tables. Probably the cafeteria. Inside he found a group of kids. They were sitting at one round table. There were more than Percy thought.
There was a blonde that looked slightly younger than him. He had a scar over his mouth. On the right of him was a tan girl with dark hair in a braid. Next to her was the boy from the entrance. The curly haired one that looked like an elf. He had an arm wrapped around a dark skinned girl with dark curly hair. On her other side was a tall, muscular Asian boy with short hair. He was scowling at the elf. On the blonde boy's other side was a girl with chocolate hair and color changing eyes. They all looked clean and well fed. Unlike him.
"This is our little group of misfits," introduced Annabeth. She pulled out a chair and sat down in another. Percy awkwardly sat down. Everyone had stopped talking to stare at him.
"Who's he?" the blonde boy finally asked.
"I dunno," sighed Annabeth. "He won't tell me his name. Or anything really."
"Why did you bring him," the boy responded in a cold voice.
"He was about to be ripped apart by walkers, Jason," the girl said. "I couldn't just leave him out there!"
"I'm Leo," introduced the elf. "This is my friend Hazel," he wrapped an arm around the girl. "Frank," he pointed at the scowling Asian. "Reyna," he wrapped his other arm around the girl with the braid. "Jason," the boy grinned at the blonde. "And Piper," the last girl smiled at him.
"I'm Percy," growled the boy. "And I don't wanna be here." He glared at all the others.
"Percy," Jason said. "Handcuffs when you're not in the cell, and you're going to be supervised by a guard at all times."
Percy bared his teeth. "I'm not a child!"
"Yeah, but you are a threat," nodded Jason. "And I can't have you threatening my friends."
"What if I don't want to stay," challenged the raven haired teen.
The blonde boy shrugged. "It's not my problem."
"He's staying for the probation time," interrupted Annabeth. "We can always use extra people, and you should've seen this guy with a sword! If he wants to leave, we can knock him out drive him far away from the prison."
Percy winced at the prospect of getting knocked out again. Wait, drive?
Jason's sky blue eyes stared at her. "Fine. But he's getting part of your rations. He's your responsibility."
"You have a car?" blurted out the teen. All heads swiveled to look at him. "What? I haven't seen a running car since the virus took most of the population."
Annabeth nodded. "Well, Percy, you're gonna come with me to tour our little home."
Percy frowned. Home? They lived in a prison? But there was no exits at all. If the creatures got in, they would be trapped.
"Why do you live in a prison?" he asked as they were walking.
"I'll tell you later," Annabeth dismissed. "See these doors? With the skulls on them?" Percy nodded. "Don't go in there. Our group hasn't cleared the whole prison yet, so those probably have zombies in them."
"This is the kitchen," she motioned to two doors. "I wouldn't go in there. Piper and Leo are the ones who usually cook. They'd kill you if you got it dirty. And those are the showers."
They toured the place for a few minutes before the girl started walking him back to his room.
"So when the virus started, my family, Reyna's and Jason's family started moving away from the big cities. But our families weren't careful enough. They all either got bitten or died. Me, Jason, Reyna, Jason's older sister, and Reyna's older sister banded together. We picked up the rest of the group on the way. Thalia, Jason's sibling, and Hylla, Reyna's sibling left to join this all girls group. Which left us. We barely made it. Until we found the prison. It's great because you can lock down different parts of the prison like cell blocks and even individual cells so you can sleep knowing you're safe. The huge iron gate stops the zombies from trying to get in too. It's much more secure than out in the wild. And it helps when you have others." Annabeth gave a pointed look to Percy.
It actually was a smart idea. Only one entrance through the gate. One entrance to the actual prison. And there were doors for each room. And cell doors for sleeping.
"That's smart," he marveled.
She smirked. "I know. It has running water too. Thanks to Leo. He's a great mechanic. Come on. You stink and are in desperate need of a shower."
She unlocks his cell again and takes off, Percy quick to follow her. He leads him to a one door room, with Nico following.
"There's only one exit from the showers," he informs Percy. "If you come out before she does, I'll put a bullet through your head."
Percy just stared before walking into the shower. It was a blank room that had shower heads lined up against one wall. There was a bench in the middle, and windows. The teen thought about trying to escape, but thought better of it. The windows were up a lot higher than Percy could reach, and he wouldn't even be able to fit through them anyways.
"I brought you some clothes. Those aren't going to be wearable," she looked at his clothes. They were brown and red. His shirt and jeans were ripped in multiple places. Crap, he had just gotten these too.
"Jason looks about your size, she continued. "You look a bit thinner, but he's the closest size.
She held out an orange shirt and blue jeans. Percy just nodded his head.
The teen patiently waited for Annabeth to walk out and close the door before peeling off his clothes. The pants he had on we're very hard to peel off. They were like a second skin.
Percy turned the knob and stepped back instinctively when the icy cold water hit him. He went to turn the knob for the hot water, but stopped. There was no hot water. Electricity was very rare. Percy turned it anyways.
He gasped as warmer water hit him. A knock on the door interrupted his heaven.
"Hot water is limited!" Nico shouted through the door. "Once every two weeks you shower in warm water for three minutes. Don't waste it. I'm counting!"
Percy scrambled for the soap Annabeth left him. He groaned as he started scrubbing himself. Dirt and blood was washed down the drain.
"Times up!" Nico pounded the door.
Percy reluctantly turned off the water and turned to the bench to put on some clothes. He quickly threw them on and rushed out the door.
"How?" he whispered.
Nico snorted, but was silenced from a glare by the blonde next to him.
"Told you, we have Leo. He's special," she said.
Percy looked fresh, and Annabeth stared at him for a second. Raven hair that was swept to one side. He had the greenest eyes Annabeth had ever seen. Tall, thin. No, more like lean and muscled. She could see his smooth skin that was tanned.
"You look a lot better," she commented, holding out the cuffs. Percy scowled, but didn't put up a fight. After all, these people were taking him in, even if it was against his will.
"Where are we going?" he questioned. She looked back at him.
"Cafeteria for lunch. Eating potatoes again," she made a face. "If we could get our hands on actual seeds, we could have real, fresh food."
Percy snorted. "That's gonna happen when I agree to stay here."
Annabeth smiles mischievously. "Then I guess I'm gonna have to get you to stay. I want fresh fruit."
"Demanding," muttered the boy as he followed her to the mess hall.
Inside, all the others were sitting at the same table. Annabeth sat at the right of the head. Jason was sitting there. Percy walked slowly to the seat in between Annabeth and Leo. The Latino grinned and waved at the older boy.
"Potatoes and canned corn with ham for lunch again," Jason announced, and everyone groaned.
"We should go to that farm we saw the other day," called out Reyna. "Maybe we could find some meat and seeds."
"No," the blonde boy said firmly. "It's too dangerous. For all we know, the place could be crawling with walkers."
Everyone turned to stare at Annabeth. The blonde girl swallowed.
"I wouldn't be against going together the farm," she began. "But I'm not encouraging it either. Remember last time we weren't careful?"
Everyone bowed their heads. Last time, some of them had gone to a huge outlet mall to find some supplies. Four had gone, but only two came back. Annabeth and Jason had staggered back to the prison, being followed by a group of zombies. The other two, Luke and Bianca, hadn't made it.
"I vote we go to the farm," Reyna replied. "I'll go."
"Me too. Well, for going to the farm, not for me actually going," piped up Leo. "I'm a terrible fighter."
Murmurs of agreement rose up behind him. Everyone was sick of canned foods.
"Fine," Jason gritted out. "We'll go tomorrow. I'm going too." Percy had figured out that Jason was their unofficial leader.
"I'll go," volunteered Annabeth. Figures, she was the best strategic in their group.
"You," Jason pointed at Percy. "Are coming with us. See how useful you are."
"And how do ya know I won't just kill you and run away?" challenged Percy.
"You won't," the blonde said, chuckling. Percy scowled.
"Jason is our best fighter. Annabeth is the strategist, and Reyna is a great shot and can reload a gun so fast, it seems impossible," clarified Frank. "We're pretty confident you wouldn't be able to escape."
"You haven't seen me in action," countered the raven haired boy.
"You're outnumbered," Piper spoke up. "Most likely, you wouldn't stand a chance."
Percy gritted his teeth, but he knew the native American was right. He probably would be shot down before even trying to engage in combat.
"We'll leave tomorrow morning," Jason announced. "Keep a leash on your pet, Annabeth. We can't afford to loose anyone else."
Author's Note: So I was playing with this idea when I was riding on the plane, and I started to write it. I'm probably not going to update it in a while because I'm working on two other multiple chapter stories, and I plan to finish them. Percy is hostile towards everyone, but is opening up to Annabeth. And the zombies aren't like normal ones. Next chapter will feature them going to raid the farm. Tell me what you think, like, and what I can fix in the reviews. See ya!