A/N: Aaaaand, it's been awhile. A very long while since I've updated… Or started… for this matter. About… A month or so? (Or more) And I know it's bad and all that blah. But then there's this goddamn writer's block and the competitions and the recitals and all that jazz… Gah. And you know what it must feel like, right? So… Yeah.

And forgive me for my very late lateness. Which I know is rude. I deeply apologize to the people who have been giving me PMs and all that about telling me to update because I've been keeping you guys waiting as well.

Anyways, I'm also sorry for this… Short eight paged part one. I know, I know. Two months and all and this is all I could come up with. Hey, I just started my life as a junior at school and I'm already cramming for exams and I had to memorize this huge speech which I… Never mind. You don't need to know.

But I really am terribly sorry.

Forgive me for my ranting. Anyways, I won't keep you away for too much long. Without further ado, the first story to the Pursuers series.

Congratulations to the authors whose characters have been chosen to star in this particular part/chapter.

Pursuers I: Sea Mist

Part I

I opened my eyes and found myself surrounded by water.

Which was weird.

Normally, I wouldn't be here… But apparently, since I am here, I'd be panicking out (wouldn't you?), since it's a probably a normal reaction for someone who just opened their eyes and finds out that she's actually standing on top of water and well… not drowning. But I couldn't do anything. Now that I've noticed, I tried to lift and arm but nothing happened. I tried to move but nothing happened.

I was panicking inwardly now (since I couldn't even move my mouth to speak.) What was happening?

I tried recalling the events that happened before this… misfortunate occurrence and how I could possibly have ended up here, in the middle of none other than the lake of Camp Half Blood itself, practically floating on top of the water, not drowning, and apparently: physically paralyzed!

Come on brain! There must be something! Anything!

Ugh! I can't believe this! The only thing I could even recall is having dinner and going back to the cabin! Then I think I even talked a bit with Sarah and Kya… Had a few laughs with Liam… Then…

Oh… Oh gods… I get it.

I'm dreaming.

Could explain why the fog's starting to thicken all around me and why Leah's also approaching me—

Wait. Hold it. Back up!

Leah?

She wasn't a trick of the mist or the fog. She really was walking on water; approaching me.

She looked like she just got out of bed. Her hair was somewhat messy; she was still wearing her pajamas and all, but her eyes and the way she moved seemed different. In fact, she looked like she was in some sort of trance.

As she neared, I felt myself spread my arms out to her, as if she was coming to me in some sort of embrace… Or something.

But no, that was when I realized.

This isn't me.

I don't even recall wearing flowing, pure white dresses or having a pale complexion!

Leah! I wanted to shout, don't come near! This isn't me! Leah!

Come, child.

I felt the hairs on my nape stand on end. Who was that?

Come, child, the voice sang. Come to me. Come, the voice beckoned. Come out at Sea.

Leah took one more step towards me and collapsed in my arms, her eyes staring out into the lake. My pale finger touched her chin and faced her towards me, her dazed brown eyes staring right into mine. Peering into her eyes, I saw my own reflection. Instead of the blue color I'd always meet when I'd look at myself in the mirror, I was met with a pair of bright turquoise eyes.

Who was this person?

This wasn't me!

Leah! I wanted to shout. But no; my lips wouldn't even move on my own will.

All around us, the fog thickened, surrounding us, as if its intention was to swallow us in its shade.

I felt my lips move as the fog began to surround Leah's petite form and swallow her. Come.

Leah! I wanted to shout to the girl. Don't touch her! No!

When the fog started to dissipate…

Come to me. The voice sang.

Leah was gone.

"Leah!"

"Lianna!" I felt a firm grip on my shoulders, shaking me back and forth. "Lia!"

"Nick!" another voice hissed. "Not too rough!"

"Oh, come on, Sarah!" the other retorted. "Her dream's already rough! How could you even say this is rough?"

"Stop it!" a smaller voice shouted. "Stop it, both of you! You're not helping Lia."

"Shh, quiet!" a deeper one said. "She's waking up."

"Lia!"

Groaning, I opened my eyes and was met with the whole Apollo cabin staring down on my face. "So… Noisy."

"Hah," Liam said. "Says the person who's been screaming all night long."

I know it's a bad time to introduce them and all, but hey, you need an image of what they'd look like. So, as far as introductions go, this is Liam Power. One of the many seventeen year old guys at camp. This guy is fun… At times… But wake him up at a bad time in the morning, you'll get on his bad side. Looks? Well, he's okay, he's cute I guess, but he's not the type that I'd fall for, so I'm not one to judge. So since it is probably 5:30 in the morning, the usual wave his hair had was a tad bit messier than usual. It was quite amusing, and I would tease him about it even though he's two years older than me, but I was still confused.

So… What was he talking about? What did he mean by… That?

"Oh, Liam," Danielle groaned. "Can you not?"

Meet Danielle Luce; the big sister of this cabin. Sixteen years old and she's one of the girls whom I'd say is cool. She's fun, and I do admire her for her skill in archery. Well, Liam's better in archery, but hey, Danielle's cool too. So I side with her. What she looks like? In general, she doesn't outshine the others in the Aphrodite cabin, but more or less, with her amber colored eyes, she's pretty. And that is why she got herself a cool boyfriend at the Poseidon cabin.

"Yeah," Bree agreed. "She just woke up."

And this is Bree Cloud Sift. Thirteen years old and she's already a semi-pro at archery. And right now, this semi-pro looked…

Well, neat.

Which was weird since everyone in the cabin's awake already with the exception of Nick (I'll get to him), but since it's Bree, I bet she's been out on a midnight stroll again. It's an occasional thing. But if you see one bed empty, that's Bree. Do not panic, for she's always back after thirty minutes. An hour tops.

Aaaand back to me.

I didn't know what was happening, actually. In other words, I'm still confused.

"What happened?"

Liam threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "I'm going back to sleep," he jumped on the bed and pulled the covers over his head. "Wake me up when it's breakfast."

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Oh Liam," she said. "Can you be a bit more big brother-y kind of person since you are this cabin's head counselor."

Yes. Believe it or not, this guy is this cabin's very own head counselor. Shocking isn't it?

"She doesn't even know about the screaming anyway," his voice sounded a bit muffled beneath the covers. "So let's all go back to sleeeeeeeeeep."

"Can everyone," somebody groaned, "Please keep quiet?" I turned and oh, what a surprise. It's Nick. See? I told you I'd get to him. Now, this sleepy head is just tired. Very tired. Well, I guess he's earned his right to rest since he's intensified his training… Again. So, ladies, take note of his muscular build and his oh so gorgeous hazel green eyes. And no, remember, I am not interested. I roll my eyes at your inward snickering.

Nick yawned "I've been trying to get some rest ever since I heard the screaming." He blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "What's up?"

And thus, it leads to the one and only question that might I remind you: Hasn't been answered. What was going on?

I didn't know I'd spoken it out loud until Sarah turned to me and smiled. "It's fine," she said. She had that… This fourteen year old girl had that comforting and soothing voice one would expect a mother or an older sister would have… Or in some cases, some grandmothers. And anyways, she's a kind person. And I guess she's pretty, but it's hard to say since I'm not a guy and all, but I say, her eyes are pretty. Whenever she's out on the sun, her blue eyes would sparkle. Which is kind of cool since I know mine doesn't sparkle and all…

Wow, she might be a fairy. But anyways, she's cool. But don't tell she's her that I think of her as a naïve person when it comes to guys. But that's another story.

She placed a comforting hand on my arm and rubbed it gently. "You just got a bad dream, 'tis all."

Bad dream?I can't even remember what I dreamt about.

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling Goosebumps on my nape. "Sarah?"

It was Kya who stepped forward and sat down beside me on the bed.

Yes. Kya Rett. She's kind of pale and skinny, but don't let her fool you. She's not weak. Well, she's not good with the sword, but she's pretty much good when it comes to the bow and arrow; a natural. And so, here we go again with the appearance and all. Right now, her blonde hair is a bit of a mess, but she doesn't mind; which is why I think she's cool. You could tell she's tired because you can see it in her blue eyes, but hey, she doesn't mind helping others out. And that is why she's talking to me.

"Well," she started. "I don't know either. But when I woke up, you were thrashing around in your sleep, yelling 'No, please no!' and Leah's name over and over again." she turned to me. "What's up?"

That's when it dawned on me…

It was just a dream! That scene in the lake, Leah and that pale girl with the turquoise eyes… Everything was just a dream! Leah would be asleep inside her cabin right now and everything would be fine…

Right?

I sighed. I didn't know anymore. Slipping on my converse lazily, I started heading to the door.

Sarah tilted her head. "Where you goin', Lia?" she asked.

"To Leah," I answer, heading out the door.

"At 5:30 in the morning?" Bree asked.

"Lia," Danielle called out. "The harpies might still be out."

"Nah," Nick added. "Sometimes, I wake up 5:30 in the morning just to head to the arena. Nope, nada. No harpies. Well," Nick shrugged. "not at this hour, I guess."

Bree glared at Nick, who just shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm just stating the obvious."

Danielle sighed. "Go there later, Lia." She asked, "At least get a bit more rest and eat breakfast-"

"Then check up on Leah." Kya put in, cutting of Danielle's sentence. Normally, one would state that people who butt into their sentences are rude, but no. Not Danielle. She's different. She's cool. So what Danielle did was so Danielle like I bit my bottom lip to stifle a small laugh coming out.

She smiled and nodded her head in that small cute manner she always does out of habit.

Does she ever get angry?

Well, anyways, back to the situation at hand. Let's see, they're telling me to go there and check up on Leah after breakfast or on breakfast itself and sleep first. Pfft. As if I'm going to meet that creepy pale girl again. No way. And besides, it's better done as early as possible because I am sure that I won't go to sleep because of all the panic that'll fill in.

So naturally, I ignored their suggestions and ran out the cabin.

Running to the Poseidon cabin, I knock on the door lightly. I stepped back and waited, and soon the door opened, and a guy with a familiar pair of sea blue eyes answered the door.

I felt my eye twitch. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

You might be wondering who this guy is. And remember I talked about Danielle Luce having a boyfriend? Well, this is him. Meet Alex McCormick. But I call him Fish Breath. Anyways, this guy is cool too, I mean, I admire him for his skills and all and he is kind of cute, but hey, sometimes, I don't know whether to like him or not since… Well, look at him right now. He answered the door early in the morning shirtless!

Which probably would've been fine with the girls in the Aphrodite cabin or so, but not to me!

He yawned and stretched out his arms. "Mornin' Lia," he rubbed the sleep out his eyes and blinked. "What are you doing here early in the morning?"

"Where's Leah?" I asked in a semi-calm voice, ignoring his shirtlessness and peering inside the cabin, to no avail. It was still dark inside.

He yawned again. "I'll call her for you." And with that, he went back inside and closed the door behind him.

I didn't know what to do, so I paced the porch back and forth, until the door opened again. He returned with a wide awake face. And thank gods he was wearing a shirt now. But something was bothering me. Because his expression was more likely… Panicked.

Which is definitely not a good sign.

"Hey…" he looked confused. "She's… Not here, Lia." He looked at me and seemed to search my face frantically.

I felt my shoulders droop.

Normally, I'd be screaming about this whole shenanigan right then and there, but I wasn't giving up just yet. So I pushed Fish Breath away from the door and broke the rules.

Yes. I stepped inside the Poseidon cabin. And yes. It was against the rules. Well... It is, but desperate times call for semi-desperate measures, don't they?

"Leah!" I'm practically waking up the whole cabin, so might as well keep going anyway. "Leah! Leah!"

"Geez," I heard someone mumble sleepily. "What's with this ruckus early in the morning?"

"Apparently," I heard another say. "Lianna Parker has broken the rules by standing inside our cabin." The voice sneered. "My, my, Lia. Can't believe you'd actually want to get in trouble this early in the morning."

Unfortunately, I knew the voice all too well. But that doesn't mean I'm mad at her or anything. I knew she's just like this because she's annoyed and all. That, and who wouldn't be grumpy and sarcastic at 5:30 am in the morning?

I would. But in this case, let's just leave the explanations for later.

"Not now, Georgie," I said, trying to make my voice as calm and not annoyed as possible.

Everyone, meet Georgina Richards a.k.a Gidget. This 15 year old red head seems like a mean person. Am I right? Yes I am. Well, let's just say it's all because it's very early in the morning. Well, don't get me wrong, I mean. I'd be like this too early in the morning. A person interrupting your sleep and all that? What if you just had a very good dream and it was ruined because of some ruckus early in the morning?

So don't think she's the antagonist in this story. Because she's not.

"I'm looking for—"

"Leah," Dani popped in. She was sitting cross legged on top of her bed, her eyes looking at me intently. She smiled at me. "Good morning, Lia."

And this is Dani Hamelton. One of the alright girls in the Poseidon cabin. One of the prettiest, she tries to stay low, but meh. It doesn't work. With her bright blue eyes, that layered, sandy blonde hair and that nice tan from all the times she'd go out to the beach for a swim and all, she's quite cool. Even at 5:30 am in the morning, she still looks quite cool. Heck, her hair doesn't even look that messy at all.

"And Gidget," Another voice chided in. "Give the girl a break. Leah's her best friend."

Georgie rolled her eyes. "Oh Zac, please," she started burying herself beneath the covers again. "Let me sleep in peace."

Zac smirked. "Then you shouldn't have said anything, huh, Gidget?"

And meet one of the hottest guys in the cabin. Zac Westly Seamore. (Not that… I like him or anything…) Not only one of the hottest, but quite the big brother as well. He's fun. He stands up for me, so he's awesome. Two thumbs up for him, people.

Zac then turned to me and smiled. "Excuse the drama queen, Leah," he said. "You know how she is in the morning."

I sighed. Yes, we all knew how some others were in the morning. Gidget's just one of the many. "I guess… Anyways," I cleared my throat and started to head for the door.

"Good idea, Lia." Dani said with that casual smile of hers. "Rest for a while and let's talk around breakfast. We'll talk about what to do from then."

"Yes please." Gidget piped in, her voice a slight groan; muffled under the covers.

"You guys, stop it." Alex chided. "Lia's all worried about Leah and all you guys could do is think of sleep?"

I sighed inwardly, knowing I won't be able to go anywhere when they'll all start quarreling. I stopped at the door and turned to them. "Sleep tight," I told them. Then, I headed out, closing the door shut behind me, ignoring the protests of Alex.

Leah… Where are you?

Gods. Where do I even start?

Groaning inwardly, I ran a hand through my hair as I walked past the big house. Wait a minute… That's an idea.

Turning my heels, I start to run to the big house.

Seems like I'll be paying Chiron a visit.

A/N: Do I still need to edit? I know it's lagging a bit because of the oh so goddamn long introductions, but I'm trying to go by the comments of one of the reviewers. "Introductions." ...I forgot who that was but well... Should I still go on with these long introductions? If not, how should I do it? I mean... I still need to introduce the characters all around, right?