THIS STORY IS IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, AND THE CHARACTERS ARE OOC. THE OLYMPIANS ARE STILL THERE, and PERCY HAS BATHED IN THE RIVER STYX. NICO IS PERCY'S YOUNGER BROTHER.

I OWN NOTHING.

I had this gut wrenching feeling that persistently irritated me all night long. I futilely attempted to evade the foreboding sense from my mind. My hair floundered down into my line of vision as I bent over to scratch the area surrounding my Achilles' Heel. Skinny jeans—not as tight, but tight nonetheless—hugged the contours of my hips. I wore no belt, so I was constantly weaving my fingers into the belt holes to hoister my pants into their original position.

"Percy!" my mother called from downstairs. "I need you to watch Nico come home."

"Wait—I thought he was at Carson's. Why is he coming home at," I momentarily paused to glance at the clock, "ten thirty at night? Does he not realize how cold it is let alone the lack of light?"

"I guess he forgot his PMS… or whatever game he has. He and Carson should be coming right now."

I blushed at my mother's obvious lack of knowledge when discussing the gaming world. "PSP, Mom," I answered as I jogged down the stairs. I quickly swung the door open and shortly forgot that my step-father had been putting off the task of putting our glass door up. The late November wind roughly blew in my face. I let out an exasperated sigh, and I was able to see the water vapor of my breath contrast against the indigo—almost black sky.

I saw Nico and his friend race down to our house that was positioned directly across the stop sign. It was a three way intersection that you had to be circumspect about crossing. As they rapidly approached, I focused on their laughter and the sounds of their Nike tennis shoes smacking against the concrete pavement. Because I was distracted, I failed to notice the two cars coming racing down the two-thirds of the intersections. The young boys were still running, oblivious of the oncoming vehicles.

I managed to release a shriek loud enough that they drew their attention to me. "Stop!" I hollered at the top of my lungs. I silently prayed to the gods that they would listen and stop. They neared the stop sign, and the damn cars still had no knowing of the eleven year old boys. I saw Nico halt at the corner of the street while Carson continued on.

It seemed as if the cars had decided to participate in a competition to see who could go the swiftest. Carson exploded out on the street. The first car—a maroon Lexus—sped by and he managed to avoid that. He glanced towards me and smile. My body threw itself towards the road where Carson was.

"Don't move!" I screamed. My feet were carrying me as fast as they could.

Carson chose to deliberately ignore me as all intractable eleven year olds would. Thank Zeus Nico knew to listen to me. Carson ran forward, and the other car collided with his small body frame. Before I could utter another syllable, the car trampled over his body, leaving dirt marks all over his limp form.

I heard Nico scream Carson's name and came scampering across the street to see if his best friend was okay. I reached Carson's body before him. I stared at all of the sanguine splattered across the gravel. His body was destroyed and every limb was bent in an awkward angle. Carson's head was twisted in an unnatural way and his chest was severely caved in. My breathing labored as I watched tears spill over Nico's eyes as he futilely shook Carson from the permanent. Nico had a death hold on him.

Blood ran in trails and got absorbed by the bottom of my tube socks. I heard the distinct sound of the screen door open and then an "Oh my God! Paul," followed it. My mother knew. At least she didn't see a eleven year old get run over.

"Percy… is Carson dead?" Nico quietly inquired. I had heard what he said, but I chose to ignore him. Deliberately. Like Carson did to me. Do I get run over now?

Instead of responding to my younger brother, I lifted the bottom of my foot. It was burgundy from all of Carson's blood. I could feel the thick liquid on the soles and heels of my feet. I shook my head feverishly at nothing, just wanting some form of movement in this obscene panorama. My fingers gently padded over the toes of my socks and smeared blood was on them. I clenched my jaw.

Soon, I heard paramedics arrive at the scene. They took Carson's body and slid it in a black body bag that was twice his length. Carson's parents were untouchable as they sobbed uncontrollably. His mother screamed at the sky, asking why it had to be her son. She asked why it couldn't have been Nico.

I clicked. I stalked over to her. I could feel my mother's eyes trailing my decent across the street. When I approached her, I slid my sock off of my foot and shoved it in her face. "You want your son?" I yelled angrily. "You want him so damn bad, here's what's left of him."

Blood covered her entire face, and her husband wrapped protective arms around her shaking torso. He glared at me through teary eyes. I turned my back on them and quickly reached my house. I collapsed on the top step of our porch, my feet entirely too cold.

"What was that about?" my mother whispered harshly.

"Nothing," I answered lazily as I played with a strand of my coarse hair.

"That wasn't 'nothing.'"

"Well you know what, she shouldn't have said that it should've been Nico," I said aloud before muttering "bitch" under my breath.

THE ENDING WAS PURPOSELY ABRUPT. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ.

- Jia Marie