I Meet A Fish

Floating. That's all I knew at the moment. I was surrounded by water. My self preservation instinct caused me to hold my breath. I stared upwards, not bothering to swim to the top. I had no reason to live, no reason to go back up to the surface. My lungs ached, but still I held my breath. I closed my eyes. I finally maged to suck in water. I tried to cough it back up, but I couldn't. More water gushed into my mouth. I was drowning. Perfect. That's what I came here to do, wasn't it?

So why did I feel regretful? It's not like I had any friends. My only friend had been killed by a drunk driver. Ethan. His name echoed in my head, but I forced the memory away. More water filled my lungs. A splashing sound traveled through the water. Strong arms wrapped around my waist as everything went black.

I coughed and opened my eyes. I was cold and wet. "Thank the gods you're awake! I was starting to think I would have to...nevermind." It was a male voice that spoke. I opened my eyes and tried to see, but I was blinded by a white light. I couldn't remember how or why I was lying here, but as I focused, I realized that the light was a flashlight, and the male voice belonged to a teenager. He looked about my age. I squinted. "Oh, sorry." The boy clicked off the flashlight, and I remembered why I was wet.

I sat up and glared at the teen. "What'd you do that for?" I demanded. He looked hurt. "What, stop you from killing yourself? Maybe because your young and probably have a lot going for you! Why were you trying to kill yourself, anyway?" I opened my mouth to tell him it was none of his buisness, but he seemed so honest and straight-forward that I answered, "I have nothing to live for. I have no friends, my adopted mother has tried to kill me on multiple occassions...Must I go on?" He sat down. I got my first good look at him.

He had seafoam green eyes that gave him a sort of mischeivous look in my opinion. His hair was a darking brown and slightly longer than most guys prefer theirs. He wore a faded black t-shirt and a pair of tattered jeans. "Who are you anyway?" I asked. He looked at me. "Percy Jackson." Well then. Looks like Percy is a fish. "So you swim a lot Percy?" He nodded carefully. "I think it's my turn to ask a question." he said, crossing his legs. I nodded and beckoned for him to go ahead.

He hesitated. "Who are you exactly? I'm not asking you to tell me your life story, but if you want to...Ugh. That sounded stupid. I'll simplify. What's your name?" I chuckled. "My name is Skylar. I'm adopted. My mother died in labor. I had a friend when I was seven, but two teens took her and said she'd be safer with them. I found three skeletons a week later. My best friend was killed by a drunk driver. I never knew my father. He gave me away to an orphanage. I was adopted by a terrible woman and her husband. My adopted father deserves better. He was always nice to me and other people. He's a great guy.

"My adopted mother on the other hand...not so much. She forced me to do every chore in the house, gave me only bread and water to live on, and when I did the tiniest thing wrong, she'd shove my head underwater. One day, I'd had enough. I ran away. That was three weeks ago. So today I decided to stop living for the sake of living." Percy looked dumbstruck. I felt bad. The guy pulls me out of drowning myself and I pour out my life story. Not the best way to make a first impression.

"You've had a complicated life." was all he said. No, "I'm sorry" or "Wow, that sucks." No apologies, no sympathies. And for that, I was grateful. I nodded, but didn't speak. Then Percy tensed. "Don't...move." I stayed still. "Okay, Skylar. Turn around very slowly. Then back towards me." I stood as silently and turned. Then I almost yelled wtih excitement. A multi-headed dragon-a hydra, I remembered-stood there, sniffing the air. It was to my shoulder and had two heads. Instead of backing towards Percy, I whispered, "Do you see the hydra, too?" He replied quietly, "Yes, now back up!" But I didn't. I stayed still.

The wind blew towards it and it caught my scent. It whipped towards me and hissed, but for some reason I wasn't afraid. It was actually kind of cute. It crept towards me, and when I didn't run, it stopped. "Hi there, Buddy." I murmured. It heard my voice and crept forward untill we were nose to nose. I held out a hand and one head sniffed it. Then it butted its heads against my belly. I grinned at Percy over my shoulder, who looked like he had been bitch-slapped by Santa Clause.

"How...?" he said, indicating the hydra. I shrugged. "I have a thing for animals. The dogs and cats loved me, back where I lived." I turned back to the dragon, who was now rolling on its back. I was just gonna guess and call it a boy, even though I had no idea what it really was. "What should I call you?" I said happily. I scratched his belly. His tongues lolled. "I'll just call you Copper! How's that sound?" Copper let out a purring growl. "I'll take that as a sign that you like it." Percy shook his head.

"You just named a creature that so many have tried and failed to kill...after a type of metal." I nodded happily. I heard the sound of a cawing bird. "I'll be right back! Copper, don't kill Percy, okay?" The hydra licked my face, which I took as a sign of agreement. "Good boy." I dashed off into the woods. Finding the tree I hid my bow and arrows in, I pulled out the weopon, strung it, and had my quiver over my shoulder in seconds. Long story on how that works, but I'll explain later. I knocked an arrow and found the bird. It was a large crow. I was about twenty feet away, but I shot with deadly precision. The bird fell to the ground. I retrieved it and my arrow and hurried back.

Percy seemed to have realized that there was no point in asking me questions. I tossed the crow to Copper. His heads ripped it in half and swallowed the piece it got whole. He purred happily. Then something weirder than a hydra showing up happened. The hydra turned black and growled. Percy's eyes widened. "Follow me. Now." I didn't argue. Beckoning Copper, we raced towards the water. Percy plunged in headfirst. I grabbed Copper (who was surprisingly light) and followed.

As I held my breath I realized that I wasn't surrounded by water. A giant bubble had formed around me. I released Copper and looked around to find Percy sitting next to me. "Okay, don't freak out, but I'm something called a half-blood. That means I had a mortal parent and an immortal parent. Poseidon is my father." I couldn't help it. I did the logical thing. I passed out. Before I went, I heard something along the lines of:

"What part of don't freak out don't you get?"