Prologue
"Perseus Jackson has escaped! I repeat, Perseus Jackson has escaped with his famil- I quickly shot the man's radio and punched him in the face, knocking him out.
Red lights flashed above me while sirens blared. Shit shit shit shit shit I ran the curse word over and over in my mind. I was not prepared for this. Then again, my preparation also didn't expect to have a fellow guard right as I hacked the door.
"Come on!" I urged my parents to run faster. Only a couple more seconds. I watched the large door start to close slowly. I cursed under my breath again. They put on another burst of speed, but there was only a slim chance that they could make it out now.
"Percy, go without us!" My mom yelled.
"Never, I'm getting you guys out.
"There's no chance for us now…"
"Mom, please, you can make it" As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were false. I wanted so bad to believe that they would make it. The door was going to shut in only seconds, and I didn't have the time to reopen it.
"Take Tyson before you go" My dad threw a little baby in a steel casket towards me, which landed at my feet with a thunk. Nodding, I reluctantly stepped through the door and towards the outside world. I watched my parents try to make it through, but it was a futile attempt.
As the door slowly closed, I turned away and ran, as far away as I could from the large building I used to call home. As I ran through the rain, water poured down against my face. However, some of the raindrops tasted strangely like salt (AN: Rangers Apprentice reference anyone?)
Chapter 1
Percy POV
I clutched Tyson's meaty hand as we roamed the streets of New York.
"Where are we going Percy?" I gripped his hand tighter.
"Somewhere you'll like"
"I hope I do like it, I'm hungry" I looked down at my little brother's face, and reluctantly pulled out a piece of my beef jerky.
"Here you go" He grabbed it hungrily and ate it.
"Is there more?"
"No, I'll go buy some food at night" He nodded.
"My feet hurt"
"We're almost there" After another couple of hours later, we finally arrived at our destination.
"Percy, I'm so tired" *pant* "I need water, or fruit punch, or something" I gave him a bottle of warm water and he chugged it down.
"I'm going to go find some food and water, you go make yourself home in this apartment" I gestured to the large building in front of us. Then, I gave him a room key. Go to room 250. And if anyone asks where your parents are, just say that I'm waiting for you in the room.
"Okay Percy"
After he left, I checked the roads for anyone that could witness what I was about to do. Then again, I wasn't expecting to see anyone on the streets at 2:00 AM. I hesitantly walked across the street to a nearby supermarke. Rubbing my hands together, I took out a device that immediately shut off all power in a half-mile radius. Grinning, I easily opened the metal door and walked in. Now that everything was technology-based, hacking was a skill that was indeed very useful in this country.
"Hmm… what could we use?" I looked at the fridge and saw a large box of ice cream.
"Tyson would like that…" 15 minutes later, I stepped out of the store with three large carts full of drinks, food, and supplies that I would need. I made sure that all the store cameras where shut down before hauling my goods into the apartment.
"Hello sir, what room?"
"Oh I'm just here to deliver these things to a person who ordered them online" I gestured to my shopping "goods"
"Oh, okay. You can go" I carried my supplies into the elevator and found room 250.
"Psst, Tyson" I knocked on the door.
"Percy? Finall- Who are you?" He stood at the doorway, shocked at my appearance.
"Shhh, it's me Tyson. I just dyed my hair and put on contacts" I popped out my contacts and showed him a lock of my black hair.
"Why?"
"The man there said I could get these goods for free if I looked like that" Tyson nodded. As old as he was, Tyson was very innocent for his age, and didn't understand the concept of stealing. I sighed. Eventually, he would have to fend for himself, so I would have to tell sooner or later.
"Come on, we have lots of time to rest." He nodded and slowly went to sleep.
Annabeth POV
I strolled through the streets of New York, breathing the cool, crisp air. If only I could have more of this every day, how luxurious that would be. I sighed, knowing that my life was nothing luxurious. I had spent the last few years of my life as an illegal hacker, and there was nothing good with that. I wanted to be an architect, but extremely high university fees didn't allow me to do that. And of course, a hacking for dummies book just had to pop up in the middle of the road. I mean, what kind of luck is that?
I walked around, looking for a good store to loot. I felt bad stealing, after all those people had paid well to sell those goods. However, this world was always a Survival of the Fittest kind of place. I shoved my hands in my pockets and kept on walking, when a certain billboard caught my eye.
Good at hacking? Audition for the Hexagon! New open spot! No pay to get in, and if you pass you get combat training, and a luxurious life. Audition now at the Hexagon! I didn't read the rest of it. I ran as fast as my little legs could get me to my new job, and new home.
-Page Break-
"Mhm, and you're here because you want to fill in our position as a professional hacker?" I nodded. She jotted something down on her board before yelling into the intercom.
"Mrs. Grace? Yes yes, we have another one. Come down, you know what to do" Minutes later, an athletic woman with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes came jogging up the stairs.
"So, you think that you can fill in our empty spot" She seemed amused, but there was also a challenging tone in her voice.
"Uh huh" She looked me over, and seemed content with what she saw.
"Very well. But what makes you think that you can make it?" She said while walking down the hall. I followed her, and realized I had been asked a question.
"What makes you think that I won't be able to be a professional hacker?" She paused, and continued to stroll down the hall.
"It's just that the past… hmm let me see" She whipped out an iPhone and turned to me. "23 people have tried. And failed"
"Oh" I had to admit, I knew that hacking was a job that wasn't too rare, but this was a bit much.
"How long has this spot been vacant?"
"For about…" she counted on her fingers "12 years?"
"Wait, you haven't found the right person in 12 years?" She sighed.
"All of them are good, but none of them are good enough"
"But why not just hire a really good one and just resume?"
"Well, we're hoping for someone better than him, or atleast the same skill. And that's very hard"
"But why?" She turned to me, so that our noises were almost touching.
"Curious aren't you? I thought you would've already thought about why. We need someone to capture him"
Percy POV
"Percy?" I looked at Tyson, who blinked at me sleepily with large eyes.
"Yeah?"
"Where's mommy and daddy?" I blinked for a second, before shooting out of bed.
"How do you know about mommy and daddy?"
"Well obviously we had to have one" I blinked once again. When had I told him about that.
"Wait, how do you know that?" He rolled his eyes.
"What, do you think I'm stupid? First of all, I'm already 12, and second of all, everyone's families always has a mom and a dad" Oh.
"I just wanted to avoid the topic" I stroked his hair softly.
"Okay, but can you tell me?"
"They were taken by the bad guys"
"Are they still alive?" I shook my head.
"I don't know, but I'm trying to find out."
"How?"
"You see there?" I pointed at the Hexagon, which even from miles away you could see from a high elevation, loomed.
"Yeah?"
"Mommy and daddy are probably there. They'll be waiting for us"
"Why don't we go back to them? It looks so comfy"
"It's a bad place in there Tyson. It may be luxurious and nice on the outside, but the people and rules that live inside" I shuddered. "We want to avoid that"
"Okay"
"Go to sleep Tyson" As he turned away from me to sleep, I thought about what he had said. What if Sally and Paul weren't alive? No, you have to hold onto that chance that they will live. They need you. But what if my parents weren't alive? I had to be there for Tyson, he was still so young. However, what if he could go back? Or make a living by himself, get a wife and a family? What would happen to me?
I would have neither. After all, Tyson was the very last person I loved dearly that I knew still existed. I might as well kil-
No. Don't think like that. They'll be alive. And if they aren't, you'll always be there for Tyson. If he's gone, then… The sentence was left unanswered, and I kept it that way. I grabbed a blanket, enjoying the warmth, and slowly went to a fitful sleep.
AN: Just to clear up, this story IS NOT post-apocalyptic. And for the people that read Of All Possibilities, I am STILL UPDATING THAT. I just don't update much because I'm on vacation. Sorry There is some Percabeth, but this is 95% Action/Sci-Fi
