Prolog
Cold air ruffled his hair, seeping through his clothes and chilling his bones. He shuddered, tugging his jacket tighter around his shoulders. For the one hundredth time that day, he wondered where he was.
Trees towered above his head. The few leaves that were left fell and vanished into the skies. Branches clung to his skin, pulling him back, preventing him from continuing. He cursed under his breath, ripping the branches from his flesh.
He could not be lost now. Not when they needed him. What kind of leader was he? He left the scouts to fight on their own while he pranced through the wildness having a good old time.
A sigh left his lips, his fingers running through his light, bronze hair. It won't do any good to get frustrated. His eyelids fluttered shut, sucking air into his lungs. That's when he heard it.
It was as quiet as a sigh, riding the wind, and tickling the man's ears. It wrapped around his brain, pulling his feet forward. Stray branches slapped his face and tugged him down.
Darkness settled around his senses. He thrashed, groping for something, anything to hang on to, pull himself up, and set himself free. Those branches that had tried to hold him back now seemed to have retreated.
"No!" His voice traveled around him, bouncing off invisible walls. The voice grew louder and louder, echoing in his head, taking over his sanity. His fingers tensed, clawing the dirt at his fingertips. His back arched.
Air seeped through his mouth and down his throat, but the air missed his lungs. Instead, the air was caught in his chest. The air in his chest tightened. He tried to breathe, but the air never seemed to enter his lungs.
His eyes snapped open. A pair of feet greeted his vision. He looked up, a young girl greeting his vision. A long, tattered nightgown swished around in the breeze. Her brown locks blocked his view to see her eyes.
"You…need…to…run," he gasped. He retracted his fingers from the earth and pointed behind him. "Run…find…the…boy…scouts." The girl tipped her head, causing her long, brown locks to shift away from her face, exposing a pair of green eyes. A smile was tugging at the corner of her lips.
The song grew louder. To his horror, he saw her lips moving, releasing the lyrical melody. He doubled over; his palms covering his ears, squeezing his scull until he thought it would burst. The music grew too intense. It blocked out every thought and knocked all of his instincts to the dust. He grew still.
He stood, disturbing the leaves and earth beneath his feet. He returned the blank smile to the girl. He turned. Blood erupted from his skull as he slammed his head against the nearest tree trunk. Again and again, a dull, hallow sound echoed through the forest as he hit his head against the trunk.
Eventually, his knees gave out from under him. The girl's eyes bugged and she quickly ran over to him. Tears streamed from her eyes as she gingerly touched his arm.
"Are you okay?" she asked, dropping his lifeless arm back to the ground. A quiet whine sounded from her throat. "I thought we were playing and having fun!" The scenery shimmered, than changed. Now they were in a clearing along with a group of boys looking worried.
"Over there!" one shouted. The girl's head shot up. Fear clawed at her heart, she stood, stumbled, and spun on her heel. The boys never saw the small child scurrying into the forest. All that they could see was their former scout leader, his head in a halo of blood.
A/N: So, how was it? This IS going to mention the seven… and Nico. Sorry it's not one of those stories where it's only about Percabeth. There will be some, so don't worry. Thanks for reading! Chapters will be longer, but since this was a prolog, I decided to keep it short.