1| ZOE
My name is Zoe Jackson, and let me confess something to you. I never wanted to be a half-blood. But who does anyway?
I should really start from the beginning shouldn't I, maybe then this will all make sense to your feeble mortal minds.
No offense, being mortal actually sounds nice.
I wake up the morning everything changes for me, to someone hitting me with a pillow. I know that someone is my only sibling, Luke Jackson.
We couldn't be more opposite. I'm more like my dad and enjoy the ocean, swimming, being rebellions…and not caring about school. Luke is just like my mom, so much it's the slighly weird. He's smart with straight A's despite his Dyslexia and ADHD, which I have also. So I can't exactly use that as an excuse why I barely hang onto C's. He enjoys Chess or a good book…which I find weird.
Who enjoys reading?
"Wake up it's our birthday," he says the pillow hits me right in my face which has some drool acquired on the side of my cheek, "Mom and dad are feeding us cake…for breakfast!"
"Cake?" I ask, "Food?"
I sound like a puppy dog. I have honest problems with food. I'm having trouble deciding weather I should stay in my nice comfy warm bed-or go to my one weakness…food.
"C'mon it's Blue cake…your fav-"
He doesn't get a chance to finish his words because before I know it I've stated that I would be down in five minutes. I smile at my brother. Today was our twelve birthday and we both had the same hope on our mind. Mom and Dad would stop treating us like we were five.
I got dressed and headed downstairs. Down waiting for me was a our neighbor hood kids along with our parents. We've all grown up on the same street in New York for our whole life. They're practically family. My parents and there parents were all friends when they were just kids around my age. They all met at this summer camp thing, but they hardly go into detail about it.
My grandparents on my father's side is there also. Technically my grandfather wasn't my real grandfather, he was my dad's step father. But I still considered him my grandfather because he's all I've known and he treats me like his won child anyway.
I guess it would be a good idea to introduce you to our little cult, or whatever we call ourselves these days.
There was me and Luke obviously.
There was Sydney, the daughter of Jason and Piper. She's my closest friend. She was born exactly a month before me. (Which is highly annoying in arguments). She looked like a mix of her mother and father. (Both who gave her there best features). She had dark brown hair that fell into curls down her back, olive skin, and piercing electric blue eyes. She was gorgeous and half the time I was jealous of her, because no doubt by the time we're both allowed to have boyfriends…well she'd have dozens of boys becoming to her feet no doubt. Not that she'd say yes because I know she has had the hots for my brother since second grade when he saved her life apparently. It was one spider in her bathroom, I could have just as easily saved him. She was an only child.
Caleb was the eldest son of Hazel and Frank. Other than Sydney, he was another close friend of mine. Me, Luke, him and Sydney have been in the same grade since kindergarten. He was my age also with dark black hair that swept just about the eyes. He had skin lighter than his mom's but much darker than his father. With almond shaped gold eyes. I swear sometimes he can just tell emotions just by the look. For someone who's about a foot taller than me (and I'm not even that short) at twelve years old. He can be the most sensitive and down to earth guy I know.
Bryan was the middle child of Hazel and Frank, and only a year younger. But me managed to skip a grade and get into sixth grade with Caleb. They look a lot a like to. So him and Bryan are often mistaken as twins. He was usually quiet and unlike Caleb who's a scicial butterfly Bryan usually keeps to himself. He can be pretty nice, when he does talk. But the guy can also be pretty dark.
Jamie was the youngest of Hazel and Frank. She had the same skin tone as her brothers and the same golden eyes but her hair was the most curliest and wild hair I've ever seen in my life. The good wild though. She can be a pretty quiet child. But also pretty cute. Like a little bunny rabbit. Her hair is amazing though. Like her mom's in little ringlets perfectly kept like curly fries.
I told Luke once that her hair reminded me of Curly friends, he told me I thought about food too much. I totally agreed with them.
Last but not least, was the child of Leo Valdez, Derek. The firstborn of the group. So you'd think he'd be more mature and a better role model for the rest of us since we're all younger. Nope he's a tyrant. He's a year older than me, but he got held back a grade in elementary school making him in the same grade as myself. His mother left him when he was younger which left him with his father Leo Valdez. Of course the guy doesn't know how to raise a proper child and the kid is way off the handle.
But eh, gotta love him.
"Happy Birthday," Hazel was first to greet me and Luke with one of her signature bear hugs. My dad says' she's always been this lovable. I guess that's why she has the most kid out of the four couples if you know what I mean. I liked hazel, my mom sometimes could be too uptight and only saw things logically. My dad had trouble understanding things like girl issues. So I'd often come to Hazel with my problems. She's great at giving advice.
I greeted the rest of my parents friends. Piper, Jason and Frank.
I guess I should explain this now. If your' a girl you understand. Father's are overprotective. Try having three of them.
I guess your wondering why I didn't include Leo Valdez in that statement. Well at the moment he was playing 'I got your nose' with Luke. So I instantly put him under the category of crazy uncle.
"Leo," my brother start's complaining, "Your physiologically disabling-"
"Oh stop doing science nonsense and let's eat some cake," Sydney says pointedly stabbing the cake with the last candle.
24 candles, twelve for the each of us.
"Please," Luke crosses his arms, "Do you know how many back chemicals are in this food-"
"Shut up," I affectionaly elbow him in the ribs because I love him so much, "We're going to eat the cake, weather you like it or not."
I hear him grumble a few things under his breath.
We sang happy birthday ate cake then started to open presents. Each family got me something. Sydney got me a hair curler, which I pointed out to her I really wanted a few months ago. I was too broke to buy it. I'm a little surprised she remember. Caleb, Bryan and Jamie got me a chook book. And I wasn't sure if it was an insult to my cooking abilities or if they were urging me on with my appetite. Derek got ne a book full of jokes, because according to him I supposedly don't have a good sense of humor. I punch him hard in the arm for that one and ask if I'm funny now.
The came 8:00, "Last day of school," I hear Caleb grumble beside me, "Fun." I snort. My birthday has fallen on the last day of school more years than I would have liked. We all go to the same school, except for Jamie who since she was in Elementary school got an extra day off. Lucky butt. While we still had to school.
The day was boring and thanks to my ADHD it felt ten times longer than it should have felt. But finally what felt like a week, the school day came to my last class. The dreaded Science.
We've had a sub for the past half of the year. I don't know where the other teacher went, I hardly even remember what she was like, but I just want her to come back. She's horrible, the most evil old, annoying person on the entire universe. She practically ruined my life. I'm not being melo-dramatic. Ok maybe I'm being a little melo-dramatic. Becoming some kind of hero didn't ruin my life. But trust me I was totally fine with being some Dyslexic, ADHD freak. As weird as that sounds.
So I sat there watching the Math lesson go on, close to falling asleep, but I knew I couldn't. Because last time that happened…Well it's a bad horrible story involving half drunken Coca-Cola.
The only good thing about this dreaded class was that I had it with all my friends. All of them, except Jamie. Jamie who's out of school already. I use to think she was the lucky one.
The bell rang just as I was close to nodding off. I literally fell out of my seat landing painfully on my butt. I heard Derek snicker from behind me. I sent him back a heated glare but I could also feel the heat rising to my cheeks.
"Smooth one Jackson," I hear Sydney snicker from somewhere behind me.
By then all my friends are laughing, Caleb goes to lend me a hand but I swat it away swearing some innoproptrate words.
"Get a hold of yourself," I grumble dusting myself off, "I just slipped. "
Derek still getting a hold of himself reaches forward for the door but instead I hear an unpleasant jingle.
"It's locked?" states Bryan in puzzlement.
We turn around to tell , who was sitting right there just a moment ago glaring at us with beady eyes as she slipped some Coke. But instead she wasn't there anymore.
I felt my hear hammer in my chest, but at the time, I didn't know it was just my pure instinct kicking in.
"Where'd she go?" asks Derek looking under some tables. Yeah like would choose to hide there.
"People don't just disappear out of thin air," says Luke.
"Doesn't take some sort of genius to figure that out," I say in annoyance.
"I once fought several of your parents," I hear a hissing voice say icily. It sounds suspiciously like but also very different, "And now I can have my revenge."
I spot her out of the corner of my room, but it was too late she was already dodging at Likes face. Time slowed down like it did when I usually was freaking out, like this present moment. I hear a frantic voice in my head.
"Your pocket," I hear a voice say.
My pocket instantly feels heavier than before. I grab out a pen. I don't even know what causes me to unclip it bit in an instant it's a three foot long swords in my hand. It's heavy, but not too bad. So then I do the only thing that seemed to come natural I swung it. I somehow hit her clean through the waist. She screams out in agony and explodes into dust. Then golden flecks fall onto the ground. And even though she was gone I could still feel her red eyes peering straight in my sole.
Everyone's frozen, no one makes a sound for what feels like an eternity.
"You all..you all just saw that," she was panting like she always did when she started to get a little freaked.
"Yeah," Derek said, "Uh-Zoe not that I'm complaining and all, because without that we'd all be minced me. But where did you get the sword."
"I don't know," I'm surprised at how calm I was sounding, "Some voice in my head told me it was there…and well…"
My four friends looked at me as if I had finally lost it, (keyword finally) when Caleb frowns, "We just had our math teacher turn into a demon and try to kill us. Zoe becoming some kind of sword wielder isn't' the most surprising thing out of this equation."
Somehow we make it home, I'm too confused and shocked to remember how. I do that a lot. Just one moment we were at school the next we were at home.
"Do you think they'll believe us?" Sydney asks in a small voice, "I mean…we just got attacked by a daemon math teacher, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it?"
"There going to have to believe us," states Luke then he goes to open the door.
IT's unlocked.
If I know one thing about my parents, it's that there paranoid. While my friends all have keys to our house. We live in New York, and we never leave the door unlocked. Even though we live in a fairly good part of the city, my parents are still wary about burglars and kidnappers. I've always thought they were overdramatic about it to be honest. But now as Luke opens the door with no problem his eyes lock with mine and we both know something is wrong. He nods at the sword, which somehow turned back into a pen sometime while we were walking (like I said I don't even remember getting here).
I uncap the pen and he opens it slowly.
We all freeze after one step through the door.
My house-my house is in tatters. Broken furniture and glass everywhere. Holes in the walls broken floor boards. Pieces of ripped clothing and the worse of all. Some smears of blood around.
But no bodies.
Our parents were gone.
"Who would do this?" Sydney says her voice strained and she looked as if she was about to cry.
"My guess," Luke says his voice is even but I know he's as messed up as the rest of us, I just know, "Is the same people as the demon math teacher."
"Jamie," Caleb says suddenly in panic.
"They…they must have taken her too man…" Derek goes to put a hand on Caleb's shoulder. But Caleb only shrugs it off and takes a step forward.
"No," he snaps, "Not…Jamie please not Jamie."
There was a sudden shuffle in the pantry which made Caleb stand forward. Luke puts his hand in front of Caleb and stops him.
With a simple shake of Luke's head Caleb understands that we could be dealing with another….monster waiting for us.
My grip tightens on the sword I almost forget I'm holding, Luke quickly opens the door.
Our runs a girl straight towards me. I drop my sword. The girl with hair like curly fries running at me with a spoon. She hits me a few times because I'm directly in her path. Before I grab her shoulders.
"Jamie it's me Zoe," I say.
"Zoe…" she lets go of the spoon and suddenly throws herself in my arms her face finding my shoulders I wrap my arms around her trying to be as comforting as possible. Trust me for me, it isn't easy, "They took our parents…"
"Who Jamie?" Caleb says calmly rubbing her back.
"Monsters."
I push away from Jamie and let Caleb consult her only to stumble backwards. One of me feet hit's something sharp going straight through my shoe and puncturing my foot. It probably as glass or something. But I didn't yelp or curse, I was too afraid and dazed to really care. I keep stumbling backwards until I run into heavy arms. At first I thought they were my fathers but then I realize they were Luke's.
I suddenly clasp to the ground sobbing into Luke shoulder. I must have cried on his shoulder fro almost a half an hour. When I finally stop, I realize my foot hurts really really bad.
I numbly untie my worn down sneakers and take off my sock. It didn't look so bad worth the glass in just a little blood on the edges. I knew it was more deep and gross though. SO I take out the glass slowly a soon as I do blood starts to gush out of the room.
"I'm get some bandages," Caleb says.
Luke starts to clean my wound as Caleb looks for the bandages.
"What now?" Sydney say's quietly her voice dry. She's curled up on the living room ground a few feet from us. Derek's arm numbly around her as he shows a blank face. He never takes stuff like this well.
I wince as Caleb starts to clean the jagged wound on the bottom of my foot.
"Our grandparents should know what to do?" Luke suggests.
"But none of us have cell phones," Derek says.
(A.N. slight future home phones are the thing of the past)
I stand up once Caleb but's the band aid at the bottom of my foot, "We're going to have to walk it should only be like 20 minutes."
"Out there," squeals Sydney, "What if another 's attack?"
I grab the sword which clatters on the floor, "We'll stand ready."
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