Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF or any characters of Rick Riordan aside from my own character Silver (Silvia) Hallows.

Enjoy!

1: I get chased by a banshee and I didn't even know it.

"Silvia Hallows, age 11 was last seen leaving Belmont Apartments in lower state New York. Authorities report that they are on the search for the missing girl since the attack on her step-father Arthur Pierce three hours ago." The brunette female news reporter talked so fast. As though her life depended on her spitting out the 7 o'clock news like her life depended on it, but then again of course it was. I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Arthur Pierce is one of- if not the most wealthiest man in the United States- he is also a jerk and a jackass. But he was that influential he could have a papercut and it would be on every newspaper.

"Here, sources from Belmont Apartments released CCTV to the authorities on what might be the last we'll ever see of her." The quality of the CCTV footage wasn't bad, it wasn't the best though either. But it was enough that anyone who was looking for Silver Hallows could tell that she was a short girl with black hair, at least that's what I assumed from the black and white CCTV footage.

"Bless her, the poor girl must be terrified." The voice had crept up on me so quietly I nearly jumped a foot in the air. Clasping my hand over my chest I made a poor attempt in calming down my racing heart, the lady stood behind me was watching the news in the window as well. She was very prim. Almost too prim. Her honey blonde hair was pulled back into a bun. Her face was pointed, ending at a perfect angel at her chin. I couldn't see her eyes but I knew they were quite sinister, just judging from the rest of the expression on her face that I could see.

I ducked into the nearest crowd narrowly escaping the looks of the weird lady. I didn't know what it was but standing next to her made my stomach churn, as though I'd eaten something bad that morning and it was now forcing it's way back up. I'd already felt it once this morning and I didn't fancy feeling it again. It made me wince mentally, as I ducked beneath an archway getting onto Queensboro bridge. I quickened my pace, the unnerving feeling of someone watching my every move followed.

The truth was I didn't even know where I was going, all I knew was that now I may as well be a murderer and all I knew was that if I stayed in one place for too long I would be caught and given back to my father. I didn't want that. Not now that I've finally been released from his stronghold.

I spent my entire afternoon walking, still not knowing where I was going. Just a nagging feeling in the back of my mind telling me to just walk. My mind kept playing tricks on me too, every now and again I could feel the presence of someone else walking behind me. Almost too close for comfort. Everytime I turned around though, there would be no one there. But there was no way I could fake the feeling of someone breathing down my neck.

My stomach growled, I grimaced. I hadn't eaten anything since this morning and judging from the sun on the horizon it must of been more than a few hours ago. Wrapping my arms around myself as an effort to get warmer I still trudged on. I doubt the locals in the area would act homely towards a strange walking around in the dark at 10pm anyway.

"Hallowwwwssssss…" I froze in my tracks. Taking a quick look at my surroundings. The streets were empty. I must have been imagining things again. The hunger must have gotten to me and the exhaustion as well. There was no one around for miles, unless you count the cemetery I had to pass a few yards back.

The air went cold, to the point I could see smoke coming out of my mouth in pants. My teeth started to chatter as I zipped up my hoodie. Then I started moving again.

"Halloowwsss…" I didn't imagine that this time. There was a lady, standing in the middle of the road. Illuminated by a near by street lamp. She looked like she'd just come out of a japanese horror movie, considering the way her long black hair covered most of her face and the dark cloak she wore over her shoulders.

I could feel my heart pumping wildly in my chest. She must be a ghost. Maybe if I prayed to Jesus or something she would disappear. I know my mother had our apartment blessed when I was younger to remove bad spirits and ghosts, granted it didn't much to remove the living issues though.

There was nowhere to hide. I had to keep going. Even if I had to run to ignore the lady in front of me. I forced my feet to keep going, keeping my head down. I could hear my blood pumping in my ears, growing louder with every move. There's never been a point in my life that I had been so scared as when she screeched. I ran.

I didn't look back. She was following me. She must have been supernatural. I didn't hear feet hitting the pavement behind me. Light was fading and I had to move fast. My feet hit the pavement with every step, sprinting like my life depended on it. I was starting to sweat. My thighs started burning, begging me to stop when I couldn't. For all I knew I could turn around and she'd be right there. I wanted to cry. My eyes were welling up with tears.

I wanted to go home. Where it was safe and my bed was waiting for me. But that was naive. There was no home for me anymore. Not after what I'd done. I can never go home. Not whilst that man was alive as well as his sons. Not even my mother would look at me anymore, she hasn't looked at me or given me the time of day since I was a baby.

Running past a corner I felt relief wash over me. There was a gas station with an open seven-eleven. I didn't dare look back as I pelted forward, ignoring the honks from the cars that had to stop as I ran across the road. Pushing my entire body against the door, I let out a cry. The seven-eleven was closed! Since when did seven-eleven's close?!

I fell to the floor in horror, my legs couldn't move. It was as if they'd fallen asleep in the worst time. I cried out for help. No one came. No one ever came. The woman was drifting closer. I couldn't see her face properly but God I could smell her. The smell of blood and rotten eggs enveloped her. Tears streamed down my face- I couldn't tell if it was because of the smell or the fear.

But I knew I wasn't going to get out of this one.

"You're not what I imagined you to beeee." The woman hissed, my eyebrows furrowed. She looked ready to kill me and now she's trying to make conversation?

"I-I'm sorry?" I could have punched myself for stammering so much.

"When your father said that it was easy for you to attract trouble I didn't think he meant it quite literally." The woman landed on the floor quite gracefully, two bony feet poking out from underneath her. I pressed myself against the door of the seven-eleven, watching her walk towards me.

"I still don't understand." She tilted her head so far to the right, I thought her head was going to fall off.

"Silvia Hallowsss?" The woman hissed, I briefly saw the flicker of a snake like tongue poking out. I nodded slowly "Daughter of Amelia Hallows? Turning 12 in a few months?"

"Yes" I looked around briefly, hoping that I actually wasn't going crazy and that someone else could see the lady in front of me.

"Haven't even left home for a day and already have two Stymphalians' chasing you." The woman let out a sigh that oddly sounded like a wail. I flinched a bit as she lifted a hand to push a strand of hair away from her face. Slapping myself internally, I was hoping that she hadn't noticed how edge I was.

"I didn't know Arthur Pierce could contact the dead." Getting to my feet slowly "What did he have to do? Sell his soul? Perform a seance?" For some reason I couldn't imagine Arthur sitting at a table holding hands with a mystic priest trying to contact the dead in a shabby back room lit with candles.

"Your father sent me girl. Not that pompous idiot." She growled, the woman stiffened turning her head to the direction we'd just come down "You have to keep moving."

"What do you think I was doing? Taking a walk in the park?" I retorted, the banshee looking lady glared at me.

"They have caught your scent, they will be here within a few minutes."The edge in her voice brought me out of my thoughts as I watched her wave her hand through the air, the ground beneath her hand shook as the earth cracked. I fought every inch of my body telling me to run as five skeletons materialised, break their way through the surface of the gravel. They both carried black steel swords, if it wasn't for the light from the gas station I would have guessed that the metal was matte with how black they were. On their other arm were shields, made of silver and black steel.

"Protect the heir at all costs!" The woman commanded "Lady Silvia! You must hurry! Get to the camp, you will be safe there!" I didn't have to look before I heard another piercing screech in the air knowing that the they had arrived, looking back at the lady she had disappeared.

I listened to my gut then, breaking into a run again in the direction that I had been following all day. The sounds of swords clashing and the sound of fabric ripping pushing me harder. If they were fighting the ancient beings to protect me I didn't want them to do it in vain if I didn't get to this camp.

The sound of screams filled the air and hit me directly in the chest, a tight pain washed over me. I had a gut feeling I wouldn't be seeing the lady in the cloak again, and it angered me that in all my fear I didn't even ask her name.

The panic in my bones forced me to run faster as I joined onto a highway surrounded by trees. Quickly looking back, I could see a few yards off three beings in the sky. Yes, and they're flying straight for me. I duck into the woods, swearing as I nearly trip over the various bushes and roots from trees. The trees and my surroundings became a blur as I raced towards the camp, my gut telling me that it was just a little bit farther. I had to do this. I didn't run away from my crap living situation just to be killed by some godforsaken birds.

I crashed onto the floor, I had been so focused on the distance that I had missed a large tree root poking out from the ground. I winced, trying to get onto my feet and noticing the arms of my hoodie had ripped exposing my grazed and bloody arms. My body ached everywhere, and my head was pounding from where I smacked the grass covered floor. The trees rustled in the winds, they were somewhere. I knew they were watching me. Ignoring my pained arms I reached for a stupid broken branch lying on the floor.

Waving the branch in front of me like it was some sort of weapon I saw them, two birds at first the size of a vauxhall beetle flying straight for me. I suddenly felt small and ridiculous brandishing this branch as though I could fight off these enormous birds. They let out a loud "CAWWWW!" as they attacked. One going straight for the branch in my hands, I quickly ducked managing to stand up as the second one sliced it's talons sliced down my back. I cried out in pain bending over, my knuckles turned white as I steadily got to my feet again.

They had the advantage of flying. I couldn't get them from where they were in the sky, granted the trees offered me some help minimising the space they could fly to but I was on the floor. The only way I could attack back was the narrow opening before they attacked me. Raising my chin, I gripped the branch in both hands before snapping the branch in two over my knee. The first one again flew at me, using the stick as a javelin I threw it at the last second pinning my tiny branch into it's wing. It flew to the ground, in a scurry I ran over to pierce the stick in my other hand through it's side.

The bird erupted into a burst of golden dust, fluttering away in the wind. But I couldn't let that distract me. I had two other birds to fight off and I didn't know how much longer I would be able to hold them off. Out of the corner of my eye, a shot of silver flew past my side. The birds had now learned not to get too close to me, using instead the feathers from their wings as arrows to attack me from above.

"Pesky over-sized pidgeons." I grumbled as I picked up my other stick again from the ground "Get down here you pterodactyls!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, in hindsight I probably shouldn't have done that considering that they both flew at me.

Ducking again, my body seemed to move on it's own as my arm reached up at the last second to slice the second bird along the stomach with the stick. I half expected bird guts to spew out but felt relieved when it disappeared into a dust of gold once again. The pain in my back and arms were starting to get to me, to the point my eyes were starting to feel heavy and sweat was drenching my face.

I had to get to the gate before this monster makes me bird feed for it's chicks. But as I made to move in the direction of the gate the bird swerved into my way. I swore out of frustration. Wasn't it enough I killed two of the things? I had to kill the third as well?!

I didn't have time to think. Two strong claw-like hands gripped onto my right arm, so roughly I screamed in pain. My arm must of been pulled out of it's socket, my sight started becoming blurry and the bird freak just kept flying higher and higher. I tried to struggle and wriggle my way out of it's grasp, slapping my stick pathetically at the bird but my efforts were worthless. Chances of me surviving this fall were zero to none. We were above the trees now, a fall like this would kill me instantly.

I was frustrated, blood boiling in me making me realise how stupid it was for me to think that I would ever have been able to have a new life away from my crap old one with Arthur and his sons. My mother used to tell me all the time that it was no use. That I would never be able to get out. I should have believed her.

To think that if I died here right now, no one would give a damn made me start to cry. I slammed my stick once more at the leg of the monster.

Then screamed as I fell to my death.