"Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon!"
My name rings across the audience. Everyone turns to look at me, seeing if I'm scarred, crying, or both.
I grit my teeth and clench my fists, and I slowly, walk to the stage. My head is held high. I don't want to show weakness, not now.
I steal a glance at the screen that shows the audience all the action, up close and personal. All the cameras are trained on me, and my face is promptly displayed in a tight close up. My features are set hard in stone, but in my sea green eyes, fear is detectable.
As I take my place, the crowd is silent. I'm not sure what they're thinking. A son of Poseidon, being offered as a tribute? A small voice in the back of my mind is telling me this was a set up. What would the mortals of the capitol love more than seeing the only son of the sea god perish on live television?
District four's escort, Margery Wryer, clasps her hands together.
"Well! Let's give a round of applause for this year's tributes! Go on, shake hands." She motions for me to shake the girls tributes hand. Her name is Serena Chavers, but I don't know her. I turn and face her and shake her hand. Her grip is tight, but I'm not sure if that's because it was a nervous spasm, or she can't wait to kill me. Serena's godly parent is Nike, so she won't be back down from opportunities to win.
Mortal guards guide us to the Justice Building, where we will be able to say our goodbyes to our families and close friends.
I'm led into a small room with plush furniture. The walls are plain white with ocean accents. If this wasn't my last goodbye to my mother I might have actually enjoyed this place. I sit on the couch and stare into space. I'm lost in thought, running my hands over the soft couch cushion when the door opens.
My mother rushes in and wraps her arms around me.
"Percy," she says into my hair. I can hear the pain in her voice. She pulls away and runs her fingers over my cheeks. Tears are heavily welled in her eyes. Seeing her in pain like this makes me emotional. I wipe away a tear of my own.
"Hi, mom," I say with a small smile.
My step-dad walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Percy, you can win this. You know how powerful you are."
"I-," I pause. "I know. But how can I…. How could I kill another demi-god? I'm not sure I could bring myself to do that."
Paul starts to tell me something, but my mother cuts him off.
"Worry about that later, Percy. Focus on what you have to do now." She pulls me into another hug. She smelled like an ocean breeze, since she had just been out with Paul this morning on our family boat catching seafood. A guard opens the door and begins escorting my parents out of the room.
"We love you Percy! Don't forget that!" My mom yells as the wooden door shuts.
"I love you too!" I scream. I don't know if she heard me. I hope she did.
I sit on the couch and bury my face in my hands. My eyes are stinging with the tears I refuse to let fall. The door opens again, and my best friend walks in. Grover sits next to me, and pulls something out of his pocket and holds it out for me to see. I look up to find that he's holding up a necklace with clay beads strung onto it. There are five beads each depicting a different, small, detailed, picture.
"They allow you to wear a token from your district," he says. "Will you wear this?"
I nod and take the necklace. I put it around my neck and clasp Grover on the back.
"Thanks bro," I say.
Grover sniffles then bleats sadly. Grover's a satyr, by the way.
"Per-r-r-rcy!" he wails. He sniffs a few more times then regains his composure. "I'm sorry. It's just that losing a best friend is hard."
"Don't worry. I'll come back home to you guys," I try to cheer him up a bit, even though I should be the one that needs uplifting.
Grover gives me a small smile then starts giving me nature advice, since I'm being thrown into an outdoor area.
The guards come in and lead Grover out who's still yelling advice at me even when he's out of the room.
"Don't take a squirrel's nuts! They will come after you!" he shouts as the door closes.
Even with the situation I'm in, I can't help but give a small laugh.
No one else comes to visit me. I didn't expect anyone else, honestly. I didn't really have any friends. Everyone bullied me, or was scarred of me.
Serena and I are escorted to the capitol train by guards. Cameras follow my face, swallowing up every image they can get of me. People scream at me telling me to look at their cameras. I ignore them and instead watch my shoes shuffle along the gravel road to the train.
We finally reach the platform and are forced to turn around to the bustling crowd, so the cameras can get their shots, and our district can wave goodbye.
My eyes scan the crowd and rest on my mother and Paul both waving frantically. There are tears streaming down my mom's face, and Paul has one of his arms wrapped around her.
I choked back a sob and waved at them. The guards signaled us to climb onto the train, which pulled away from the station as soon the door slid close in front of me.
Margery Wryer appears by our side.
"Well, dinner is in an hour, so feel free to explore the train. There are servants waiting on you, so if you need anything, just flag one of them down," she says. She turns and walks away, with her heels clicking.
I decide to just go to my compartment to lay down and think about how I was supposed to survive the next few weeks of my life.
AN: This is my first crossover fanfiction, so don't be too harsh if it's bad. Its a bit confusin but eveything will be explained. I will be using different character POVs, also. All of the seven chosen demi-dogs are part of this, plus some of your other favorite PJO characters. thanks (:
ps I know this is a really short chapter, but I write better in short. other chapters may be longer, but I'm not sure yet