Hello! I'm Alice-pyon, and this is my first story I'm publishing on this site. I'm not the best writer, but I really wanted to post a Percy Jackson fanfic. Please review. If you like it, great! That will be a first for me. xD If you don't like it, then do you have any tips to make it better? I want to make this story as good as it can be, so tips or advice would be apperciated. :)

And about copyright: I don't own the Percy Jackson series. Rick Riordan is the author.

I hope you guys (sort of) like this story. ^.^

13 year-old Rin Everhart leaned against the rail of the ship, her long black hair flowing gracefully in the breeze. The bright blue water of Long Island Sound sparkled in the sunlight. It was a little chilly, but Rin wasn't about to let that ruin her day.

She turned, scouring the crowded deck for her family. Austin, her little brother, was leaning against the railing like she was at the opposite end of the boat. Her mother and father were sitting at a small table, laughing hysterically at some lame joke dad probably made. Rin smiled to herself. She loved her family, and she loved New York. She didn't want to leave, but sadly they were going back to Ohio tomorrow. This was there last activity planned: a cruise around Long Island Sound.

Austin hopped over to her, a large grin on his face. "Rin! A fishy smiled at me!"

"That's great," Rin said, even though she knew fish couldn't smile.

Her brother laughed cheerfully and ran to her parents to tell them the news. Austin's slightly long blonde hair flew behind him as he ran. Her whole family had light-colored hair. Her mother's was light brown and shoulder-length, while her father had the same color as Austin. Rin looked down her long hair. It was black as coal.

She had asked her parents about that a lot. Why did she look different than them? Was she adopted? Had they kidnapped her or something when she was little?

Her parents always told her that she wasn't adopted. She was their unique daughter that nobody could ever replace. Rin believed them, but at times she still wondered.

She was so unlike them in so many ways. Austin may be immature, but he was still really smart. He got all A's in school. Rin was older than him but still got straight D's. Her parents said it wasn't her fault. She was ADHD and dyslexic. She could barely sit still, and when she read it seemed like the words were floating off the page. But why didn't her parents have a disability like her? They were perfect while she was just a failure.

Rin shook her head and turned her attention back to the wonderful view. Rocky beaches stretched out in front of her, the water lapping calmly on the shore. The tour guide of the cruise boat announced what they were passing. An old house, a certain beach, a special rock formation. Things like that. She would sit back down when they weren't passing anything of importance.

Rin was admiring a pretty beach they were passing when she noticed something out of place. On one of the beaches where the woods were thick she saw something that looked like a canoe. That was odd. Did someone live in those woods? She walked up to the tour guide who was lounging at a table, twirling her microphone by the cord.

"Excuse me miss, is there anything over at that beach?" She pointed to the canoe. The tour guide squinted, holding her hand up to her forehead to shade her eyes from the sun.

"No, that's just a valley."

"No one ever goes to that beach?"

The tour guide shook her head. "Not that I know of. Rumor has it that it's dangerous there. No one settles there for a reason."

"That's weird. Then why is there a canoe boat on the beach?"

"Girl, I don't see anything. What are you talking about?"

"Right there. It's not hard to miss."

"Are you okay? You aren't sick, are you?"

Rin frowned. How could she not see it? "Maybe I'm just seeing things," she said, giving up.

"Could be."

Rin thanked her and walked back to the rail. She couldn't shake that feeling about that valley. There was something strange about it. It was as if she had to go there. Rin started out at it as it became farther and farther away. She was hanging way over the rail, which she knew was probably a bad idea. She didn't care. She just wanted stare at the valley before it was gone behind them.

"Rin!" A voice shouted behind her.

Rin flinched, which was a pretty bad idea. She lost her balance and tumbled head-over-heels toward the icy water below. She had just enough time to look up and see her brother's horrified face. And then…

Splash!

White foam clouded her vision as she kicked her legs desperately, trying to reach the surface. The water was so cold it burned. When she broke the surface she coughed violently, sucking air into her lungs and shivering. Everyone was looking over the rail of the ship. Her mother was screaming her name, and Austin was crying.

"Rin! Are you alright?" Her father called.

"I'm fine!" Rin yelled.

"Hold on honey, we're going to get you back up onto the ship!" Her mother said, running off to find the captain. She came back a few seconds later, towing the captain along. He didn't look very pleased. Instead he glared at Rin as if she was a nuisance.

"Is there a ladder we can use to get her back up?" Austin asked.

"No," the captain stated.

Everyone looked at him in shock.

"A lifeboat?" Her mother asked.

"Nope."

"You don't have anything we can use to pull her back up?" Her father said angrily.

"Precisely."

"I'm going in after her!" Rin's mother cried, kicking off her shoes. Her father grabbed her by the wrist. "Laura, you can't even swim! Calm down!"

Rin was shivering. She was sure her lips must be turning blue. How could a captain be that stupid? Didn't he ever watch Titanic? Most of the people died just because the boat didn't have enough lifeboats.

Then Rin remembered the mysterious valley.

"Mom!" She called. "I'll swim to shore!"

"What?" Her family cried.

"You can pick me up later. I'll swim to that beach," she said, pointing to the beach with the canoe.

"Are you crazy?" Austin yelled.

"Yes!"

"Rin, there is no way we are allowing that!" Her father said.

"There's no way to get back on the ship. What am I supposed to do, just freeze in here? Trust me, I'll be fine."

Her family looked at each other, frowning. Then her mother said, "She's right."

Rin smiled. "Think of this as a fun adventure on our last day here," she said, starting to swim toward the shore.

"Be careful!" Her father called. Then she heard him say, "Captain, start steering this boat back toward the dock. Now."