Hello! This is the prologue of my first story, On The Run. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Any characters from the PJO series you recognize aren't mine. The story plot is tho :D

Prologue: Fugitives

Annabeth and Piper were born for spying and shoplifting. They both had long, nimble fingers, and had a slightly athletic build, even though it didn't look like it. They always wore a determined look on their faces, as if it was permanently set like that. Annabeth had startling grey eyes, almost like she was calculating everything in her head at once. No one knew what Piper's eye color was; it kept changing. Sometimes it was brown, other times blue, and maybe even a little green. With her grey eyes, Annabeth also had curly, blond hair, which she usually wore tied up. Piper had choppy, chocolate brown hair, and sometimes would weave feathers into it.

"Annabeth!" Piper hissed, trying not to make a sound. Annabeth caught her eye, and Piper motioned to her to go over where she was. Annabeth obeyed, and gingerly crept up to her.

When she got there, Piper pointed to a group of people about fifteen feet ahead of them. Travelers, she mouthed. Annabeth understood immediately, her heart leaping with excitement. They haven't eaten for days and now finally….

They crouched down, hidden by the low-hanging leaves of a tree. Annabeth peered out from where they were hiding, squinting her eyes. Piper drummed her fingers nervously, giving Annabeth an uneasy feeling as well.

Suddenly, Piper's stomach rumbled loudly; it sounded as if it was trying to say something. Luckily, the travelers up ahead didn't hear anything because they were gossiping loudly. Annabeth looked at Piper with eyes as round as dinner plate. That was really close, Annabeth whispered quietly in Piper's ear. She nodded while Annabeth took her place behind the tree again.

Now, Annabeth mouthed to Piper. Piper nodded her head slightly and sprinted quickly and quietly from tree to tree, slowly cutting to the left, almost too fast for anyone to see her, yet somehow she made no sound. Annabeth did the same thing, except she twisted to the right. They now were on both sides of the travelers. Piper to the left, and Annabeth to the right.

They stood as still as statues, crouching, arms ready, their eyes and ears taking in anything that can help them. Annabeth looked at Piper, and then back at the travelers. Piper, the travelers. Piper, the travelers.

Annabeth could hear her heartbeat thumping loudly in her ears. She could hear herself breathing in the cool air of autumn, and breathing out warm air. She tensed as a small rodent scurried away on the damp forest ground beside her. Piper felt a slight breeze come briefly, ruffling her already untidy hair, but it left as suddenly as it came.

In unison, the two friends looked at each other. On three, Annabeth barely mouthed, not wanting the traders about eight feet ahead of them to notice. Piper, staring back at Annabeth, nodded her head solemnly.

One, Annabeth mouthed over to Piper, looking intently at the travelers.

Two, Piper tensed, ready for the next number.

Three!

Annabeth's timing was flawless. As soon as the words left her mouth, all of the oblivious travelers started gathering their things; leaving their cart unattended for the moment.

Their cart was a little worn down, but otherwise it was okay. The wood was rotting a bit on the edges, and a brownish cover was over it. Annabeth and Piper, realizing that the traders farmed fruit, couldn't believe their luck. This way, they could get food right away, boosting their energy immediately.

Without making a sound, they both crept quickly over to the cart and carefully lifted the blanket at it's corners, discovering succulent peaches underneath. Piper and Annabeth looked at each other triumphantly, each grabbing three.

They were about to leave, when they heard a gruff voice behind them, and some man grabbed Piper's wrist, twisting it. "What are you rascals doing, taking some of our hard earned fruit!"

Piper looked like she was about to pee her pants. She gave Annabeth a scared but determined stare. Annabeth understood what she wanted her to do.

"Well?" The man asked again, this time less patient. "Hand me back my peaches!"

Annabeth looked up at him with her "dumb blonde" face and with the saddest, sorriest, puppy dog eyes on it. "We're sorry Sir," she said quietly, "We…. We just wanted to taste some. They looked so good, after all."

The man looked shocked, but hid it well. "Well…." He said, pretending to be deep in thought, "I suppose I can't blame you." His chest puffed out with pride.

He shook his head. "What are you doing?" He whispered to himself so that Annabeth and Piper could barely hear what he was saying. Then, to them, "But you still have to hand it back."

Annabeth blinked a couple of times, and put on her "dumb blonde" face again. "Yes, of course Sir."

But instead of placing it in his outstretched hand, she "accidentally" dropped it on the forest ground, and kicked it a couple of feet, pass the grumpy man.

"Oops! Sorry!" Annabeth pretended, "I'm so clumsy sometimes."

The man grumbled to himself quietly, something about rascals, blondes, and their friends. But he did release Piper, and as soon as he had his back turned to pick up the peach, Annabeth grabbed another one, and she and Piper ran into the concealing forest. When the man turned around, it was too late.

—

After they were both out of breath, they finally came to a stop. Wide eyed, exhausted, and chest heaving, Annabeth and Piper looked around to make sure nothing was lurking around them; whether it was animals or people.

"Umm…" Piper said quietly, not knowing how to put her thoughts into words. "Thanks for…. You know…."

"Saving you?" Annabeth teased playfully, poking her shoulder.

Piper blushed, but said, "Yeah…"

But Annabeth wasn't listening anymore. The sky was darkening, and that meant that night was approaching. She was looking up at the trees, squinting her eyes in concentration.

"Hmm…." Annabeth thought to herself carefully.

"Looking for a tree?" Piper asked, trying her best to be helpful. The truth was, she had no idea which tree she would pick if she was by herself. She suddenly felt a surge of gratefulness towards her friend.

While Piper was thinking what she would do without Annabeth, Annabeth was a few feet ahead of her, still scanning the trees for a perfect one.

"Hmm…." She said again. "This'll do for the night."

Piper, despite the shock from their close encounter, ginned widely. "Great." She nodded. "Let's get settled then, but want a peach first?"

—

Annabeth choose the perfect tree, of course. It had low-hanging branches, but the branches were strong enough to hold their weight. It also had lots of leaves; great for masking them so that any wandering eyes won't notice they're there. They both climbed swiftly, towards the top of the tree.

They reached the top part of the tree, and started inspecting the area, making sure there weren't any bugs, droppings, or small rodents up there as well. They didn't want any company, other then each other.

Piper and Annabeth each found a tree branch that they could lie comfortably on. Well, as comfortable as you can get up on a tree. After settling in and relaxing for a bit, Annabeth was looking and studying the branches around her. She wanted to make a bow so that they could hunt instead of stealing, but she couldn't find the perfect branch anywhere. She needed something that could bend relatively easily, but not too soft, since she still wanted it to last quite awhile.

Piper was thinking. She was imagining what the situation would have been like if Annabeth wasn't there, or if she had never met Annabeth at all. She was trying to imagine if their placing were switched; Annabeth's wrist had been twisted, and Piper had to distract the man. She didn't know what she would do, probably just kick the man or something.

Besides, Piper thought a little bitterly, Annabeth can survive anything, even if she was alone. She wouldn't need me anyways.

And that was her last thought, before she fell into a fitful sleep.

Thank you guys so much for reading this XD Im really sorry if its SOOOO cringy, but I tried my best lol.

Constructive criticism is always welcome, just please don't be rude about it.

Review review review! XD

~SunSun