Heroes of Destiny:
Book 1
The Discovery
This book is dedicated to Rick Riordan for his wonderful fantasies that have sparked our imagination
Chapter 1
"Percy Jackson, to the principal's office." Percy's legs trembled as he struggled to stand up. As he walked slowly down the hallway he wondered what he had done wrong.
Percy scanned the list of things he hadn't done. He hadn't busted a toilet nor broken a water fountain. He had called his English teacher a bad name but she interpreted it as a joke. As he slowly walked into the Principal's office a chill tingled up his spine. He could feel the cold, cruel atmosphere around him. He approached the principal slowly. He looked to his left and saw his mom, who looked worried. "Mom is something wrong?" he said apprehensively.
"Percy we have to leave, now!" She said with urgency. They both quickly bolted out of the office and headed toward the parking lot. While they were riding home Percy asked his mom, "Why did you dismiss me early from school?"
"There is an urgent notice from camp." She said, rushing home. She burst through the door of the apartment. She rummaged through the papers and found 2 letters. "Read these letters."
Percy grabbed the letters and opened the first one-
Dear Percy,
I am sending you this letter to warn you about Camp Half- Blood. Monsters are surrounding camp. You may need to attend camp earlier. We need as many demigods we can get. I hope you make it to camp safely.
Best Wishes,
Chiron
"Here read the other one." Percy's mom ordered.
Hey Percy,
Meet us in the alley way by your school, in one hour.
Your friends,
Grover and Annabeth
"Oh, gods, this is terrible," Percy muttered. He went into his room and started gathering his materials, rapidly. "Mom, I have to go meet Annabeth and Grover. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Contact me as soon as you can," she told him. Then he vanished in a heartbeat to take on what lies ahead.
Chapter 2
As Percy approached to the alley way, a foul stench reached his nose. When he peered down the alley way he saw Annabeth and Grover waiting impatiently.
"Oh, what took you so long?" Annabeth asked.
"Uh-" Percy answered.
"Percy, Annabeth, we have to leave now." Grover exclaimed. Annabeth grabbed Percy's wrist and started running. Just before they left the alley way, a gang appears.
"Oh great, New York City boys," Grover muttered under his breath.
One of the boys stepped forward and said, "Where are you punks going?"
"None of your business, now get out of our way," Percy said courageously.
"Wanna mess with me you little rat?"
"Try me."
"Percy," Annabeth whispered.
"Annabeth, I got this," Percy assured.
The boys advanced for a fight. Percy brought up his fist, but Annabeth pulled it down.
"Just get out of our way," Annabeth warned. The bullies cleared the way for them. After exiting the alley way, all three of them sprinted towards the camp.
"This is not the time to start a fight," Annabeth told him.
"Sorry," Percy apologized. When they reached the camp, Percy saw all sorts of monsters.
"This is worse than I thought, we need to get to Chiron fast," Percy said softly. Annabeth and Grover led him to the secret passage.
When Percy entered the secret passage, he observed the dark, damp surroundings. Percy's air supply was slowly diminishing. He scrambled through the tunnel, trying not to fall. When they burst through the entrance, they saw a crowd of people just few feet away. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover ripped through the crowd. When they emerged in the center they saw her.
Chapter 3
"Thalia!" Annabeth screamed while bending down towards Thalia. Annabeth glanced toward Chiron, "What happened to her?"
"The monsters, they got her!" He said breathlessly. Annabeth and Percy picked her up and took her to the infirmary. They hoped Thalia would be okay.
After a few hours Thalia awoke, feeling as healthy as ever. Chiron called Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia.
"Children, I need to tell you a piece of vital information. These monsters are being powered by something even bigger and more evil. I don't want you kids going and risking your lives to try and find it. I don't want any more demigods hurt." Chiron said warningly.
Just then, they heard a loud piercing scream. All five of them ran outside to see Jennifer's bush destroyed. Ash covered the ground.
Grover ran over to the bush and talked affectionately to her.
"See this is what I'm talking about. Alright, c'mon, it's getting dark, rest up." Chiron told them.
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover glared at each other as if they were exchanging thoughts. They walked away, parting from Thalia. They quickly met up in Percy's cabin.
"You know what we need to do, right?" Percy asked.
"We're going to track down that thing and avenge Jennifer's bush." Grover said ambitiously.
"But first we need a sneak-out plan," Annabeth confirmed. Then they set off creating a devious plan to save their friends.
"Let's get planning!" Percy said.
"We need to bring a weapon of defense. I'll take care of food and medical supplies. We don't where this thing will be, so we have to bring clothes. Also I'll bring a tent to camp out on some nights." Annabeth planned.
"You are going to bring too much, I will take care of the tent." Grover said with sincerity.
"How are we going to find this thing?" Percy curiously asked.
"I have a guide that can sense evil around. I got it from my mother. She's a wonderful supplier of goods." Annabeth reassured.
"When should we leave? And where should we start looking?" Percy asked.
"Good question. Let me ask my guide." Annabeth said while reaching for her guide. She spoke into the brown, slightly burnt paper that showed a map of the United States. "Show me evil." The map started shimmering somewhere in the west. Letters magically appeared and spelled out WoodsBay, Montana.
"WoodsBay, Montana." Grover said.
"We should take a train after we leave tomorrow at midnight." Annabeth said.
"Speaking of trains, we should carry both dollars and drachmas." Percy reminded. Annabeth instinctively ran to her cabin and returned with a stash of cash. Percy walked over to his cabinet and pulled out a pile of drachmas.
"That's set! So what else do we need?" Grover asked for a last count.
"Nothing really. Okay, let's all go pack up. Tomorrow we'll go at midnight, through the secret passage and off into the night." Annabeth concluded.
Chapter 4
The night was still, not a movement was heard. The only sound they heard were the sound of the their footsteps cracking the leaves on the ground. Grover loudly munched on a tin can.
"Shhh," Annabeth whispered.
They heard the galloping footsteps of a horse.
"What is that?" Percy softly asked.
"Chiron!" Annabeth whispered. Annabeth led them into a bush to hide. They held their breath to seem unnoticed. They could see Chiron come outside and examine the camp. Then he vanished back into The Big House.
They all exhaled simultaneously. "That was close," Grover said.
Then they swiftly ran to the secret passage to begin their dangerous quest.
"The nearest train station is right around the corner. I'll take you there." Percy said.
"Alright," Grover agreed.
Percy led them through cracks and alleyways to get their faster. Once they reached the train station, they rushed to buy their ticket. They bought a train ticket for a train that left as soon as possible.
They calmly boarded the train to look "normal." But it was hard to look normal when they were three 17 year olds traveling with hardly any baggage, past midnight. Percy decided that if anybody asked, they were going home from college because of an emergency. They decided it was easier that way, even though they weren't in college yet. They found three seats that were placed next to each other.
"What time is it?" Percy asked.
Annabeth glanced at her clock, "almost 1:00 a.m."
Then the train took off.
Moments later, Grover and Percy drifted off into sleep. After hours and hours of mindless waiting, they heard a strange sound.
Annabeth vigorously tapped Percy. "Percy! Wake up!" She commanded. Percy's eyes fluttered open.
"What?" He asked.
"Listen." Annabeth ordered.
"What is that?" Percy asked with a confused tone. Annabeth shrugged. Percy roused Grover.
"What's up?" Grover said as he sat up straight.
"What is that sound?" Percy asked.
"A monster." Grover said sadly.
"Oh just great." Percy said sarcastically.
"But where is it?" Annabeth asked while glancing around.
"Right there." Grover gulped. They all looked forward to see a two headed dog with a snake tail.
"W-W-What is that?" Percy stammered.
"Orthrus. He was slain by Hercules before he started his tenth labor." Annabeth informed. Their space was limited to fight the monster, but they couldn't leave helpless mortals alone with the thing.
Percy stood up. He pulled out his pen, and uncapped it. Instantly it turned into a 3-foot long sword. He ran down the aisle to attack the beast. Percy attempted to stab it but Orthrus deflected his blow. The beast bared its fangs at Percy.
"Woah!" Percy shouted while backing up. People were starting to stare. He kept swinging at the beast but it kept blocking it. After minutes of chaos, Percy finally stabbed the beast in the chest. Then it disintegrated into mist. Seconds later, an attendant showed up to escort them off the train. He looked tough. He grabbed all three of them and threw them of the train. They all hit the ground hard.
"Great," Grover said.
"Where are we?" Percy asked
"Let me check," Annabeth looked at her guide, "guys! We're in Montana!"
"How far away from Woodsbay are we?" Percy asked.
"A lot of miles." Annabeth said sadly.
"We'll just walk, I guess." Grover compromised.
Almost caught, attacked by a monster, thrown off a train, and forced to walk for miles. What else is in store for them?
Chapter 5
They still had 14 miles remaining. They had made excellent time and distance. They kept walking. They took bathroom breaks. Sleep was filling their eyes. Their clothes were caked with dirt and their legs felt like Jell-O.
"We need to eat," Annabeth said.
"Yeah," Percy agreed.
"What do we have?" Grover asked.
"Uhh, granola bars, Oreos, cereal, gummy bears, nectar, and ambrosia. Grover for you I brought tin cans. For you Percy I brought lots of water bottles. For drinks we have punch, orange juice, and soda." Annabeth said.
Grover and Percy stood there with their mouths wide open. "How did you bring so much food?" Grover asked spellbound.
"I have my ways," Annabeth boasted. They all laughed. They all felt great after smiling. Things were so tense, they had finally sat back and enjoyed themselves. After a tiny snack they began to walk again.
They finally reached WoodsBay, Montana. But they didn't sense anything. They kept ripping through the woods.
Annabeth stopped in her track. Grover and Percy bumped into her unaware that she had stopped. Annabeth stared into the woods. They followed her action. They saw a large circular patch of ground with no foliage.
"That's strange," Grover said suspiciously. Percy and Annabeth nodded in agreement.
"At least it's a good place to camp out," Percy said.
"Yeah let's set up the tent," Annabeth said. Grover brought out the tent. They all worked together to build the tent.
Once the tent was built, they relaxed for a while. When Percy was examining the area he saw a faint light a few meters away. He called his friends out to show them. They all looked confused.
Then they saw a large shadow. A massive creature stepped into view.
"Okay, now what is that?" Percy asked.