Chapter 1: You're in the Army now
Percy really hated his luck.
One day, he's a part of a big anti-war protest in New York, and the next thing he knows he finds out he's been drafted and has to leave his mom behind to go serve.
After saying goodbye to his mom at the bus station, he and the others were forced to stand in line on these yellow footsteps as a big, burly man yelled at them. After being verbally abused, Percy and the other trainees were ushered onto the bus. Percy plopped himself down in a seat by himself in the back. The ride didn't last that long before they arrived at a place called Parris Island. After the bus came to a stop, another uniformed man stepped onto the bus.
"Alright listen up you useless maggots!" the man yelled.
Everyone's attention immediately diverted to him and the talking quickly subsided.
"As soon as you get off the bus, I want each of you to march over to the staging area where everyone can be accounted for"
Everyone stared blankly at him, except for Percy, he sat back with his arms crossed rolling his eyes, he really didn't want to be here and he was going to make it known quickly.
"Alright you scumbags, MOVE OUT!"
Everyone quickly shuffled off the bus as fast as they could and made their way over to a long black metal building that had a big red sign on the front that said:
The Point of No ReturnPercy just let out a big sigh whenever he read the warning sign. It was clearly meant to intimidate new recruits but Percy clearly wasn't fazed. He initially wanted to burn his draft notice like his other ant-war buddies did when they got drafted but his mom insisted that he not. This confused Percy because he figured his mom would rather have him home in her safe care rather than on the other side of the world fighting in a war that didn't make a lot of sense to anyone. He remembered the conversation he had with his mom the day he received his draft notice.
"Mom, you know how stupid and dangerous it is for me to go over there!" Percy argued.
He and his mom were standing in the small kitchen in their two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. His mom had cooked some blue cookies for him and they were sitting on the counter.
His mom let out a sigh, Percy noticed that she had a sad look on her face.
"I'm fully aware of that Percy but I've already made up my mind, you're not going to ignore your country when it needs you to serve," she said with a firm tone even though the sad look remained.
"Why me?" Percy asked.
"There are millions of other kids all over the country who are dumb enough to go fight in this stupid war."
His mom remained still looking at him and let out another sigh. Percy could tell that she wasn't 100% in support of this either, there must've been another reason.
"It has something to do with dad doesn't it?" Percy asked.
His mom's expression became even sadder; Percy immediately understood what she meant.
Percy had never met his dad but his mom stayed in contact with him, at least that's what she had been telling him. Percy wasn't quite anxious to meet the guy; he had grown to become bitter towards his mysterious father. He hadn't been there for support when his mom had to work several jobs just to pay for everything.
"It's what he would want for you Percy," his mom spoke softy.
"Why should I care what he wants?!" Percy yelled which mad his mom jump.
"He hasn't been here for anything; my first steps, my first time riding a bike, or my graduation!" He added.
His mom's sad expression remained unchanged except a lone tear was making its way down her face.
"I…I'm sorry I yelled at you mom, its not your fault" Percy apologized.
His mom nodded in understanding, "It's okay, I understand that you're frustrated," she responded. She even managed a smile before motioning towards the tray of blue cookies sitting there untouched on the counter. I had completely forgotten how hungry I was and decided to abandon the issue and started shoving the cookies into my mouth as fast as I could.
"Get a move on private!" yelled the uniformed man as I came back to reality.
I then sprinted inside the building taking my place next to the other recruits. The guys in uniform sorted us out and took us to get our hair shaved off after we were given olive green fatigues. After all of that we lined up standing in attention in the place that housed all the beds. It wasn't long before another uniformed man showed up, this one looked like your average drill instructor that you see in the movies, he wore shiny black boots to go along with his uniform and wore one of those weird hats that only drill sergeants wear.
"My name is Drill Sergeant Beasley and anytime you address me the last thing that comes out of your filthy mouths will be Sir Yes Sir, do I make myself clear?!
"Sir, yes sir!" everyone yelled in response.
"I can't hear you!" he responded.
"SIR, YES SIR!" everyone yelled at the top of their lungs.
"That's more like it!" Beasley responded.
He paced down the line of soldiers inspecting their appearance before stopping in front of one poor guy.
"What's your name private!?" Beasley yelled at him point blank.
The private had tan white skin and was a couple of inches taller than Beasley.
"Private Everson sir!" he yelled back in response.
The guy's voice sounded confident but his face remained emotionless, as if he was more than mentally prepared for anything Beasley could yell at him.
"Well, Private Everson, you look like you'll make a mighty fine soldier if you can hold a face like that in combat." Beasley yelled with a smirk. Percy detected that he probably got a sick thrill out of intimidating the new recruits.
"Sir, yes sir!" Everson replied.
"I'm surprise you didn't choose to go play football in the pros, we need every soldier we can get!" Beasley yelled again. It was then that Percy realized that he had heard about the guy on the news, his name was David Everson and he was on the news for turning down an offer to go pro in football to join the army which shocked a lot of people, including Percy.
"Sir, I couldn't resist a chance to fight for my country, sir" David yelled.
"Another lamb for the slaughter" muttered Beasley under his breath so only he could hear but Percy overheard. He continued acing down the line of troops before he stopped in front of Percy.
"What's your name private?!" he yelled at him from so close that Percy could smell the sardines on his breath. Unlike David, Percy wasn't nearly as respectful towards the drill instructor. He let out a yawn before stating his name. "Uh, my name is Percy Jackson…sir" he said with a chuckle. Beasley's face curled into an evil grin, he had no doubt dealt with troublemakers like Percy before, and he knew exactly what to do.
"Ohhhh, so we have a troublemaker over here everyone!" Beasley said looking around the room to make sure everyone could clearly see him trying to make a fool out of Percy.
"Listen here boy, I'm gonna give you one more chance to say your name right so I don't have to take…other measures." Beasley growled with a angry expression.
Percy merely shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth to speak, "I told you my name is…" Percy managed before Beasley punched him in the gut as hard as he could.
Normally, Percy could take any kind of beating anyone could throw at him, he had grown up dealing with bullies and thugs who wanted to pummel him and that made him tougher.
Unfortunately, Beasley hadn't given him anytime to brace for impact and the punch knocked the wind out of Percy and made him double up in pain on the cold, linoleum floor.
"Private, I expect you to answer any question with sir, yes sir do I make myself clear?!" Beasley yelled while standing over Percy.
Percy responded with a groan of pain, which only angered Beasley even more.
"I didn't want to have to do this son but someone has to teach you a lesson" Beasley sighed. He reached down and grabbed Percy by the scruff of his neck and started dragging him along. Percy tried wiggling his way out of the man's grip but it was no use, the guy had an iron grip.
"Maybe a little water humiliation will help you show some respect," Beasley growled as Percy realized he was being dragged into the barrack's bathroom. Beasley kicked open one of stall doors and dragged Percy to the toilet. Just as Percy's face was about to be plunged into toilet water, he felt a rush of energy. As if someone just gave him a double shot of espresso. Suddenly, Percy felt the water in the toilet move to his will and he summoned a wall of water at the drill instructor. The sudden burst caught him by surprise as he was sent tumbling out of the bathroom and into the main room of the barracks where the other soldiers remained at attention. Percy then gathered himself and made his way back into the main barracks where everyone looked at him shocked. Percy gave a look of confusion before looking down and he instantly figured out why everyone was shocked, Beasley was soaked from head to toe and Percy was completely dry.