Heroes of Olympus
1

Lucille

Lucille Devereux hated running away. She'd been on the run ever since some monster broke into her mother's home in the countryside of Washington. Lucille knew it wasn't an animal, but definitely a monster of some sort. She couldn't believe it though. Monsters didn't exist, even the ones in the closet and under the bed. This was all just a bad nightmare.

It was a dog, but not any kind of dog Lucille had seen. This dog was huge and as dark as the night. It was bigger than any kind of Saint Bernard she had ever seen. The thing was, this dog never gave up chasing her. At times, she sworn it would disappear into shadows and come from a different site. All the while, the dog chased her.

What is this thing? she continued to ask herself. At some point Lucille would fall and the dog would kill her. She wouldn't let that happen, she couldn't...

"Ruff!" the dog barked, and it quaked the earth slightly. Her heart was pounding, and her legs tired. Her lungs screamed. She had to do something about this. Lucille abruptly stopped, as did the large, midnight-black dog. She closed her eyes tightly, holding her breath. However, she did not feel the crunch of fangs, but all she heard was a dog howling, as though caught in a trap of some sort.

Lucille opened her cerulean orbs to see roots of nearby trees keeping the dog in its tracks. This continues to get weirder and weirder by the seconds. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her by the arm and pull her away. By instinct, she let out a yell.

A hand slapped over her lips as a boy's voice spoke, "Don't, you'll attract more of them." Lucille lifted her gaze to the boy. He was tall, about as old as she—seventeen. His hair matched the color of the dog's—dark as night, and his bangs hung in front of his emerald eyes. He was so fascinating, that she forgot he was pretty much abducting her.

Lucille pulled back to halt both of them. She took his hand off of her mouth. "What's going on? Who are you? What is that thing, and how is it that the tree roots are keeping that thing from moving?" She folded her arms across her chest. The boy looked around nervously, then sighed.

"Really, honestly, we have to keep moving. I can't keep that Hellhound there for—"

Lucille laughed out loud. "Hellhound? Okay, kid, this is—" Again, the boy slapped his hand over her mouth, and yanked her in the direction of his path.

"Shut up, we need to hurry out of here." Lucille gave up. This guy obviously was a good guy—or so she thought. He saved her from a—what was it again? Oh, yeah, a hellhound. She didn't know what that was. All she wanted was to be home in the condo, watching Jersey Shore.

The black-haired boy didn't stop running until they came to a pond. He released his grip on her, and sat down. "I'm sorry about that. Hellhounds are nasty. Life is getting more hectic by the days."

Lucille just stared at him. "What the hell?" Immediately, she recognized a pun, and chuckled in her mind. "I don't understand what's going on. Who are you? Seriously, I'm going crazy with all of this stuff going on. I was sitting at home, watching Jersey Shore, when all of a sudden; this giant black dog bursts through my window and chases me out! Mom was killed by that thing! That giant black Saint Bernard could disappear in shadows! This has to be a nightmare. I'll wake up any moment."

The boy sighed. He ran a hand through his ink-black hair, and then down his face. He looked exhausted. "That was a Hellhound, like I just said. They're from the Underworld, Field of Punishment to be specific—"

"Okay, what?"

The boy laid back. "Never mind. I'll start out simple. The name's Demetri Armstrong. I'm a seventeen-year-old kid who was born and raised in San Francisco, California."

Lucille arched a brow. "What's a kid like you doing in rainy Washington? Personally I'd want to be in California."

Demetri shook his head. "You really can't shut up, can you? Mind listening to me?" Lucille stayed silent. "I was sent on a mission to take you to San Francisco. I'm not sure how you've stayed alive all this time. Surely, if you're what everyone thinks you are, you should have started out in the Wolf House..." Again, Lucille stayed silent, but obviously was even more confused.

This kid seriously isn't making any sense. He's probably some bipolar or schizophrenic kid. Come on, dogs from Hell? What is this? Demetri continued, "Apparently, our director says you're a half-blood. But seeing as how you faced that Hellhound, I'm doubtful of that, and surely she'd be disapproving of you."

Half-bloods? What the heck? He makes it sound like I'm a werewolf or something. I'm not even half-blooded ancestrally. Totally Caucasian. Of course, Mom never did mention what Dad looked like... "Half-blood? Kid, you sure you're all right? You sound like you're high. Maybe you've had a little bit too much crack. If you don't mind, I'll be on my way." She started to walk when he jumped up and grabbed her wrist. She halted. Her light blue pools bore into his grass-green ones, and a pregnant pause erupted.

"Please, trust me. It's ridiculous, but you have to trust me. When we get to camp I'll let Lupa explain everything."

"Lupa? Sounds like Remus Lupin from Harry Potter."

Demetri couldn't help but smile at what she said. She was totally confused on the other hand. "We have a long walk, unless I can somehow get us on a plane. That actually would be our best guess. The earth isn't exactly the safest place, even for me." This kid has something psychological wrong. I'll see how far he takes me. If it gets a little too crazy, I'll ditch him.

Little did Lucille know that it was going to get crazier beyond her imagination.