Chapter I
The Plan
Have you ever wanted to feel different? Well, I only have to say one thing. Be careful what you wish for. Why do I say that? Well usually, whenever u wish for something it usually doesn't involve a friend betrayal, a cat demon, finding a lost wolf, running around the world cranky, old gods, or dangerous prophecies. I guess I have to start at the beginning when we wished to be different, the day we burned the orphanage down.
"Hurry up! My back is killing me!" I yelled to my friend Emma. Today was the day we would pull our biggest prank ever. Our plan was to steal 12 packets of Jell-O and the microwavable burritos that the "Happy Smiles" Orphanage truck delivers every month. Emma and I were going to mix the Jell-O powder with the burritos in the old dirty pool of the orphanage. When the AMT were cleaning up, we would run away. So far the plan was carrying on as planned. The only bad thing was that I was carrying about five bags of burritos that weigh about 30 pounds each and I was not a happy camper. Who knew burritos could weigh so much! Oh, sorry. Let me introduce myself. My name is Austin Sunn. I'm fifteen years old and I have blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. I live in the "Happy Smiles" Orphanage in Santa Fe , New Mexico. My parents had abandoned me when I was a baby, or that's what "they" told me. The "they" I'm talking about are the mean, cruel and abusive caretakers who take advantage of everything that causes us miserable or even sad. There are three of them, Alex, Megara, and Tisiphis. They enjoy- no they actually love- seeing us work hard. We're forced to suffer the AMT (Alex, Megara, and Tisiphis) treatment, but we manage to get back at them by doing things like sneaking slugs in their combs or sneaking food for the little kids. We became known as the modern Robin Hood. (I'm getting to the part, sheesh). That was my friend, Emma Hearth. She's very picky and if I don't describe her well, she's going to use me as her next punching bag. She has blonde hair with light streaks of brown, her eyes are sort of orange-reddish around the outside and on the inside, neon-olive color, and she usually wears ripped jeans and a camouflage jacket with a white shirt inside, and green sneakers. She's acts tough on the outside, but she's super soft in the inside. Kind of like a _. Oh, and I forgot a little somebody or should I say something. This is Sirius. It's about the size of a big Chihuahua. He has big amber eyes, but his fur is silver white. He may look cute, but he is 10 pounds of sheer fury. The only reason it hasn't attacked us yet because we saved it when we went to Yosemite. Long story short, it was an endangered species and it got caught in the bear trap and we freed it, in return the fox has become sort of a companion. So back to the day we burned down the orphanage.
"Be patient," replied Emma who was trying to pick the lock on the door that leads towards that disgusting pool. Finally, she picked the lock and we were outside.
We poured in the Jell-O powder and stirred it until it was mixed up pretty well. Then, we added the burritos and mixed it again. Then, all we needed to do was wait until the next morning. I sent Emma to go back inside and be the lookout while I mixed our little concoction. All of a sudden, I heard a scream and it became eerily silent. Too silent. In the back of my mind I thought "It's probably Emma trying to trick me". So I turned around and to my surprise, it was Alex, holding up Emma who was unconscious. She held a big lub con the other hand. She smiled and cackled "Good night, sweetheart" and swung the club. Then, I blacked out.
Chapter II
We Meet The Crazy Grandmas
When I came to, I was trapped in a cage in a dark room. I couldn't see anything, but I could make out the silhouette of another cage and three other moving shapes that were definitely not human. I tried to remember what happened before I blacked out and I recalled seeing Emma unconscious before getting hit by Alex. Wait, Emma! She was probably in the other cage, but I needed to make sure she was OK.
"Emma?" I whispered.
"Good, you're awake. I've been trying to pick this lock for the past hour, but I can't see anything in this room," she replied.
"What are those things in front of us?" I asked Emma.
"I have no idea, Austin" Emma said.
As if on cue, the three monsters turned on the lights and we could see women with snakes for hair, blood dripping from their eyes, and bat-like wings. With their red eyes and angry look, they had a similar resemblance to Alex, Megara, and Tisiphis.
"Who are you and why are we here?" I asked them with as much courage I could muster up.
They glanced at each other and shared a smirk. As if they had been training they said in unison, "We are your caretakers Alex, Megara, and Tisiphis or Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone. We are also known as the Furies, guardians of the law. We are here to right a wrong. Now tell us where you hid it!"
Oh great, I thought, my best friend and I are trapped in cages and our orphanage caretakers think that they are evil Greek monsters.
"What are you talking about?"Emma asked.
"Did you really think you'd get away with it? I've been watching you for ages. Now tell us where you hid it!" yelled Megaera.
"I told you, we don't know what you're talking about," yelled Emma.
She looked at me and her expression read "She's drank way too much root beer."
"If you don't tell us, then you'll suffer most greatly," snarled Tisiphone as she cracked her whip. Then a loud bag shook the room. Then I noticed there were boxes of lunch trays and small milk cartons. I knew what this place was. It was the school's basement. There was a big bang, and the side of the wall came in. Just like in cartoons, when the dust cleared, four people were standing in the dust. There were like superheroes. Three were boys, and one was girl. The girl had curly shoulder-length chocolate hair. Her skin was tan and she had piercing emerald green eyes. She had a simple golden crown with a sparkling red ruby in the middle. She was wearing a golden girdle and a brown toga and she looked about twenty five years old. She had a golden bow and three arrows aimed for Tisiphone's heart. The person next to her looked like a proud man the same age as the lady. He had dark golden hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing a white T-shirt with light brown shorts. He had a scar on his face. He was holding a sword, long and deadly and glinting silver. Next to him was another man, younger, about 20. He had long, golden hair with dazzling bluish greenish eyes. He was wearing a white T-shirt too and brown shorts. He had a sword as well, but he had a bronze one instead of silver and he had a sapphire jewel in the middle of the hilt. And last was a man that looked at least 40 years old. He had shaggy black hair that reached the edge of his shoulders. He looked clean-shaven. He was wearing a Greek toga and leather sandals. He had two short and deadly swords and he looked even deadlier without them.
"Let them go, Alecto!" shouted the man with the scar.
"You've grown, Hercules!" snarled Alecto.
"Wait, wait, wait. Hang on" said Emma "You're the legendary Hercules from Greek mythology. Like, boom, boom firepower dude. So... well this is awkward. So, what is the whole conflict here?
"Really? Boom, boom firepower," I said. Sometimes Emma is really dumb. (OW, you don't have to punch me).
Then, the young man with the blonde hair took his bronze sword and cut through our cages like butter. As he sliced my small prison, I noticed the name Perseus engraved in it.
"Who are you guys?" I asked.
The man whom Alecto called Hercules replied quickly, "We'll discuss it later. Right now, I need to save your guys' sorry butts." And with that, he took his sword and lunged at Tisiphone. The woman began shooting her arrows at Megara, and the young man with the bronze sword with the name Perseus on it attacked Alecto. The older man went to our side.
"Hello," he casually said as came to us," My name is Odysseus. I know this may be a little hard to you, but we are the Greek hero's. I helped defeat the Trojans in the Trojan War, but I am mostly famous for my journey back home to Ithaca.
"Oh, sure. I suppose I'm King George III and Emma here is Queen Hippolyta. You're saying this like its normal," I said sarcastically.
"Well, first of all, I knew King George and he was super snotty. And second of all, I wouldn't be making fun of Queen Hippolyta, because right now she's saving you from certain death."
"Thank you Mr. Optimistic, but what we're not going to fall for this little trick of yours, or whatever it is. Right, Emma?" I said.
There was no response. Only then did I notice that Emma hasn't been talking, and she ALWAYS talks [no need for the kicking, it's the truth].
"Right, Emma?" I repeated.
"Well…," she said uncertainly, "Look, how he's talking, Austin. I know how people lie. They act nervous, fidget a little. But he isn't. After what we've just seen, you know with the AMT, Our safest motive is to probably go with the old guy."
Finally, I looked into his eyes and I saw all his knowledge. It was like a slideshow. Somehow, I saw all his flashbacks. Probably from most recent to the oldest memories. First, I saw him showing the other adult/heroes a map of some kind. Then, I saw him in a business suit reading Pride and Prejudice. After that, I saw him with shoulder length hair in a tie-dye shirt holding a sign that said "PEACE TO THE WORLD!" Talk about a fashion statement. Finally, I saw him drawing a wooden horse. Then, the flashback stopped.
"Aah," he said in a daze, "I see you have seen one of my biggest achievements. Creating and planning the Trojan horse. It was the mighty Athena's idea, but I carried it through."
"So…," Emma said unconfidently, "What do we do now?"
"Oh yes. I almost forgot. Come with me." The old man said cheerfully. He grabbed our arms and jumped out of the wall.
"I'm going to take you guys to the school, where you'll-" Odysseus said before getting cut off.
"Ok, hold up. We're not moving until your mouths do" interrupted Emma.
"What I told you is the truth. But we'll explain later. Right now we got to go to camp" said so-called Odysseus, "ZEPHRYUS!"
Right before our eyes, wispy parts of clouds materialized into a man wearing a tux. His hair was curly black hair with streaks of grey. His eyes were stormy grey. He had pale skin. His tux was dark blue with real clouds. My mouth and Emma's dropped. It seemed like magic.
"You called, Odysseus, dear" said the mysterious man.
"Oh stop your fancy talk, Zephyrus and get us out of here" Then, Queen Hippolyta, Hercules, and Perseus jumped through the wall. The fringes of all their clothes were burnt.
"We didn't have long. Tisphis' whip has been purified by the River Styx and made it unbeatable. We only distracted her long enough for us to escape," said Hippolyta, holding up her arrows, all broken.
When the tux guy saw the so-called queen, his eyes widened, and he smoothed his hair back with his hands.
"Why, hello, there, Hippolyta. It's been a pleasure to meet you again." he grinned.
"Um, Hippolyta, the Furies are catching up with us," stammered Perseus.
"What do you want, Zephyrus?" scowled Hippolyta.
"I'll provide some pegasi if you will ride with me" said Zephyrus, "And looks like you totally need to hurry since the Ugly Stepsisters are coming,"
"All right" snapped Hippolyta.
Zephyrus grinned. It seemed that his smile stretched from cheek to cheek. He snapped his fingers and wisps of clouds formed once again. Then right before my eyes, there were winged horses. Their feathers were soft like doves and cloud white. As we mounted the horses and began to fly, I asked Emma if she was ok.
"Yeah, I'm all right. It's just a normal day at the orphanage. Our caretakers turned into evil Greek monsters, and watch a guy form out of nowhere. Oh, and there's the fact that we're on magical flying ponies. What's next, we gamble with leprechauns?" Emma said sarcastically.
Apparently the supposed Perseus heard us.
"First of all, these "magical flying ponies" are called pegasi. They were descended from the original Pegasus himself. I know a lot about pegasi. In fact, I created Pegasus, in a way," Perseus yelled through the wind as the pegasi gained speed, "And as for the leprechauns, they are horrible dealers, but don't let that fool you. I once lost a pint of Gorgon's blood trying to get a pot of gold."
As we were flying through the air, I looked down and I noticed the dreary streets of Santa Fe. When I looked behind us, I saw the three Furies jump out of the wall. They were drenched in a disgusting green slime. I did not want to know what they did with them, and I definitely did not want to know what the vulgar glop was.
From behind us, Alecto shrieked, "You can't run from us forever!"
Then, she held her hand in a ball and a small light was forming. It got bigger and bigger until it was about the size of a small watermelon. She took her homemade glowing watermelon and threw it at Emma. The other Furies followed and they began to flap their hideous wings.
The pegasi did some fancy flying. We almost made it except, one hit Emma's pegasi. They both went down with wispy trails of smoke, trailing behind them. All of a sudden a whip came out of nowhere and grabbed me out of there. The jolt was enough to crack my head off. Alecto grabbed me and snarled in my face. The stench was worse than the time Emma socks were dropped in garbage and sprayed on by a skunk then Sirius had a little accident on them. Before I knew it, my eyes watered and then I blacked out.
Chapter III
We Go To Camp
Hello? Sorry you had to listen to Mr. Shakespeare here. ( I don't care about the moldy oldy guy, what I meant it like he's also so dramatic) Well, first thing's first, this is Emma talking now. Please don't get mixed up with me and Austin. We have totally different personalities. When I woke up hanging on a hammock. I could almost smell my socks and usually that's definitely not a good thing. I felt like my nose was burning. I felt like the whole our-caretakers-just-turned-into-furies-and-we-flew-away-on-ponies thing was just a little hallucination. [Don't be surprised, Austin. I know big words like that]. Anyway, that guy named Perseus, was sitting on a stool and was talking about something with Austin which I consider very dangerous. Here's why. The boy knows too much. He read every book in the library over 20 times. If you bring up any subject, he'll start blabbering until you're bored to death. As soon Perseus saw me, he stopped talking. He then blushed. Right then and there, I felt my heart skip a beat. Now I'm not like one of those girls who are so hyper when it comes to boys, but there was something about him. Maybe it was that shy smile, his deep green eyes, and that mysterious attitude around him. He cleared his throat and walked out the door. Then I noticed the room, a simple wooden room with a wool rug and two hammocks. It also felt like we were tilting a little bit or that was me.
"Hey Emma," said Austin, putting his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a clean white T-shirt and skinny jeans, like Perseus. Then I noticed what I was wearing. Usually I'm not like what you would call, um, a fashionista. I don't worry about my clothes or what's cute and what not, but what I was wearing was a disaster. I was wearing a black - wait, sorry, mistake. I was wearing a white T-shirt covered with so much dirt that it looked black, my army jacket, and my jeans which were singed at the edges. I couldn't handle it any more. But Austin just stood there looking at me.
"Since you're awake, Perseus wanted me to tell you something. You know the Greek, they were powerful civilization and they weren't fools." stammered Austin." Austin, just get to the point," I snapped. Call me cruel but he kind of goes on and on about things.
"The Greek myths are real!" he said reluctantly. And in a slightly scared tone.
"What do you mean? Are you saying that those crazy, old freaks wearing togas running around telling the world that horses can fly are real?" I said.
"Um, I don't want to be a party pooper, but you kind of just insulted yourself," he said.
"What do you mean by you mean by I just insulted myself?" I asked annoyed.
"You're a Greek."
"I'm going to ask you this one more time before I explode, WHAT DO YOU MEAN!"
"Well..., Perseus and Odysseus and the others kind of think that we're demigods."
And I did the most natural thing that I did when Austin says something.
"Huh?" I said.
He sighed. (What? I don't read like you do!)
"Demigods are half god, half mortal," Austin said exasperatedly.
"Whatever, I'm not religious, so this has nothing to do with me," I scoffed.
It was only then did I notice Queen Hippolyta, Odysseus, and Hercules were in the corner of the room.
"This has everything to do with you, child," said Odysseus gently. Usually, I hate being called a child, but the way he said it wasn't like he thought of me as an annoying brat, it was like I was actually important.
"Not God, almighty, he meant gods, as in the gods in the Greek myths," Hercules said.
"Hang on, like Zeus, Apollo, and Hermes," I said, holding up my hand and counting fingers.
"Now hold on, stop. Names have power. Abuse that and that'll be the last thing you'll ever do," warned Hercules.
Usually I would be sassy and snap back, but I just gave him one of those mom glares. Like the one that your mom gives you that says "Don't mess with me".
"If the gods are real, but then doesn't that mean that the monsters and the Underworld and Olympus are real?" I asked. Call me the nosiest demigod in the world, but it's true.
"Yes, but first you must be told everything child," said Odyseuss. I knew he wanted me to calm down, but if I hadn't looked in those deep, calm brown eyes, I would have been the biggest baby in the world throwing the biggest tantrum in the world.
"All right, go ahead," I sighed, sitting back down, defeated.
"There are millions of gods, but the majority of them are split into three main personalities. The Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians. Each personality was different. The Greeks were pretty clever, they could handle themselves pretty well. The Romans were tough, they were hard-core. The Egyptians were very faithful, so everything that happened, happened because of the gods. Then there's about a quarter left, of the rest of the gods like the Chinese, Christians and etc. etc. The monsters from the myths were also real. Both Greek and Egyptian monsters roam the world. Then there were heroes, born from gods and humans. Like me, half son of Zeus and Alcmene. Perseus, half son of Zeus and Danae. They were trained by Chiron, the wise centaur or Lupa, the cunning wolf. But they've both passed on, leaving us to train young heroes. There's not that many left. They're disappearing for this strange reason. Anyway, we suspect that you too have strong godly parenthood. But it'll come soon," explained Hercules, but for a moment I completely blanked. Heroes? Me, a hero. That was too big of a job to me. Whenever we gave food to the kids, I let Austin get the praise not me. I was more of a sidekick.
"We're here," Perseus said triumphantly.
Then there was that gleam in his eye, for a moment.
"There's nothing to be so glad about, Perseus. We've just went on a short boat trip and docked in some island," scoffed Austin.
"But did you have to battle the insufferable Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, or his flirty Nereids? No. Nereus was physco mode today. I mean, he tried to get a whale to eat our boat. In fact, things got so bad, that I almost had to call on Achilles' mother, the goddess Thetis, to let us through. But now we're safe and sound on camp," said Perseus.
"Camp? So that whole ordeal with the AMT, and that weird dude Zephryus and flying ponies, was just to get us to camp? ARE YOU NUTS? We could of died just because you wanted to get us to camp?" I yelled. I changed my tone, "Um, by the way, what is camp?"
"This camp is like a boarding school for demigods. You'll have your own room, and you'll be chosen to be in one of the four teams. Mulciber, Proluvies, Consistorrium, or Ventus. These are the Latin names for four elements, which you'll find are very important. Each building that will teach you everything that you need to know, as in fighting monsters and going on quests. I will be your mentor, along with Perseus, Achilles, and Odysseus. Training starts when Eos comes," she said sharply.
"Huh?" I asked. Usually I do that when Austin and his team of brainiacs tell me something I don't know.
"Dawn," she replied shortly and walked out.
"You ready?" Austin, seeing my face.
I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach. The already nausious butterflies turned into squirming worms, jumping around. Then I realized that from this moment on, that my life was going to change forever.