A/N: First of all, I don't know how often this will be updated. Second of all, Percy is 18 and Annabeth is 17. It's kind of like an AU (Alternate Universe) so the books are more like a baseline. 'Kay. That's it.


CHAPTER 1

I hiked further up the mountain, my backpack weighing me down. Whatever was chasing me was fast, and I didn't like it. My breathing grew ragged as I ducked behind a large boulder. I brought my legs closer into my chest and rested my chin in the middle of my knees. Trying to stay as still as possible, like a deer being hunted, I tried to control my breathing as I strained to hear past the pounding of my heart. You're probably wondering how I got into this mess…

Hi, my name is Charybdis Scott. Pronounced Ka-rib-dis. Yeah. I was named after a Greek monster, go figure. But people call me Cari. That day started out normal, or, at least I thought it was pretty normal. But first, let's back track, all the way to my fifteenth birthday, which was just a few days earlier…

"Make a wish!" my mother cried as my father snapped a picture. I blew out the fire topped wax candles as I blinked the spots out of my eyes. I tried to smile, but I could barely look them in the eyes. There was something off about them. They told me they had to tell me something extremely important, but what, I had no idea. All I knew was that the awkward was tangible in the air. My parents looked at each other, as the smiles were wiped off their faces.

"It's time you knew, Cari," said my mom as she pulled a chair from the table, taking a seat. My father did the same.

"Knew what?" I asked, naively confused. My parents exchanged looks again, and then after my mother gave my dad a really long hard stare, he finally brought out some paperwork.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Cari," my father looked at my mother, and it was almost as if she egged him on with her eyes. He returned my worried gaze with a sad and regretful one, "You're adopted."

And just like that, everything I knew kind of drifted away from me. Sure, you watch television shows or read books where the protagonist gets told that he or she was adopted, and you kind of think how they're sort of being dramatic as they flip out. You're just adopted. Get over it. Obviously your real parents didn't want you, why take it out on the perfectly good pair you have now? But really experiencing it, realizing that you really have no idea who you are, is terrifying. It's like the person I knew, wasn't me at all. It was like looking back through someone else's memories, because that person couldn't possibly be me. No, they couldn't, because I didn't know who I was. Suddenly, it was as if a big gaping hole, that I never knew I had, opened up. A big gaping hole that screamed, "You've always been unwanted." And it didn't go away, after it was opened.

It wasn't as if I didn't suspect something. I had wavy hair as dark as night and big bright blue eyes as deep as the ocean. My father had wispy light blonde hair and narrow brown eyes, covered by a set of wire-rimmed glasses that slipped down his nose every once in a while. My mother had caramel colored brownish hair that reached her shoulders, straight as a rod, and bright green eyes. I looked nothing like them. They always told me that it was my grandparents; I looked a little like them. I had never met them, of course, neither set. They were conveniently "dead". But now, I didn't even know if they were decaying corpses anymore.

I sat completely still, staring at the both of them. My blue eyes darting back and forth between my two parents. Between these two…strangers. But, I didn't flip a table. I didn't start screaming. I just sat there.

"What?" I asked, very softly, restraining a feeling to burst out and cry.

"I know it might come as a shock to you…"

"A shock?" I asked, looking up at them. A shock. It wasn't just a shock. My world had just imploded. Why? And why now? My mother exchanged a look with my father as she tried to explain.

"We didn't name you, Cari. We didn't conceive you. We didn't give birth to you. We didn't even properly adopt you… We were here to protect you. To hide you."

"Hide me?"

"They will find you, soon, Cari. They already know you exist," explained my father. I stared at him incredulously.

"Thanks for clearing that up, Dad," I spat sarcastically. He looked visibly hurt as I put sarcastic emphasis on the word 'dad'. I looked away, quickly, regretting how I said that.

"But we can't hide you anymore. You need to leave. Or you'll put us all in danger."

"What the hell are you guys even saying? Do you hear yourselves?" I asked them, standing up. My mother calmly stood up with me.

"It's my BIRTHDAY. Doesn't that mean anything to you? I'm fifteen now. Did you plan to absolutely destroy the one day meant for me? Because, if you did, you're doing a pretty damn good job at it."

"Cari, we do not use that language in this household," my father scolded. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, ebbing my anger.

"We're sending you on a camping trip for a few days. By yourself, of course," my mother said after seeing that I had calmed down. I didn't speak to her. I didn't speak to either of them as I was driven to the campsite. My father helped put up my tent and showed me how to make a campfire. He said it was only for a couple of days. I wouldn't stay here long. I still refused to speak to him. I thought my parents were going insane. They WERE insane. He told me that he loved me as he pulled me close into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and told me things were going to be okay. I still didn't say anything to him, and I definitely didn't hug him back. Then they left. It had been a couple of days, and I was tired of feeling scared about the outside. I just wanted to go home, not get swallowed by a bear. By that point, I didn't even care that I was adopted and that my parents made me camp outside for three days. That's when I heard someone else in the deserted woods.

"Hello?" I called out as I heard a twig snap. My voice carried and then everything went silent. I stood up.

"Dad?" I asked, craning my head to see further into the woods. It was silent for a few seconds more until I felt something rushing towards me. I felt my eyes widen. Someone was really after me.

There was only one thought in my mind: Run.

And that's what I did. Which led me to this mountainside behind this boulder, wishing I could blend into my surroundings like a chameleon.

I strained my hearing and heard almost silent footsteps coming towards me. Saying a silent prayer, I whipped out my pocket knife and jumped up. It was a girl. She looked to be about the same age as me, maybe a little older. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her face scowled at me. Her gray eyes glanced at the knife I was gripping tightly and then back up at me.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice shaking, my hand still gripping the knife. She sort of smirked.

"Are you here to kill me?" I asked. She narrowed her eyes at me and then started to laugh. I realized how ridiculous I must've looked. Dirty, hadn't showered in three days, with a knife in my hand. I didn't even know how to use it. I doubted it was even sharp. I felt my cheeks blush.

"You're Charybdis Scott, right?" she asked, returning to a scowl. I nodded my head slowly, feeling my eyes narrow.

"Yeah… Who wants to know?" I hissed.

"I've been looking for you. The name's Annabeth. Annabeth Chase."