Inspired by "Under Pressure" by Logic
Percy's P.O.V.
I burst out of the door at full speed, nearly colliding with the sickly-colored wall that was too close to the door.
I banged my body against the wall and bounced off and took cover behind the ancient table that looked like it was going to fall apart at any second.
My teammates ran through the door and scrambled for cover. The last man to get through the door fell to the ground, after a round caught him in the leg, and he fell.
Another round hit him in the chest, and he flopped lifeless to the floor.
"Shit!" The man next to me shouted.
"Come on!" I commanded and sprinted out of cover, and to the brick wall that was covered in colorful graffiti. Sliding down, I stayed behind the cover, and took out my pistol.
Firing random pot shots that had no chance of hitting anyone, I covered my teammates as they took the risky journey through the whole ten feet separating me and them.
I noticed something out of the corner of the eye, and a wild man ran towards me stealthily. He had a nice knife in his hand that was wet with red crimson blood.
The wild man slashed his knife in a crazy, awkward attempt to gut me, but I ducked down, and hit him in the stomach, hard, and then punched him in the temple with the butt of my gun.
"Let's go!" I yelled above the roar of battle and my team followed my lead into a seemingly empty building.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" A guy with a blood stain on his shoulder asked.
I glared at him, and shoved him in the chest. "Don't doubt the informant. If he says this is the place, this must be the place."
He glared back, very angry, but faltered when he saw the look on my face.
"Shit, dude, calm down." He said, trying to be tough, but I put on a fiercer face, and he melted back.
I stared around the group trying to see doubt, but there wasn't any.
Good, I thought, no one will back out.
"Bomb," I said gruffly, holding my hand out.
A bomb was given and handed to me.
The lights were flickering and the room was filled with shards of broken glass, and overturned tables. Smoke drifted out of a corner, and a small fire was starting behind the broken bar, where many bottles of hard liquor were smashed.
I planted the bomb next to a wall, and set the timer to ten.
"Clear out!" I roared, and sprinted out of the way.
As the rest of the team followed my example, a gigantic explosion lit up the room, and I ducked, as a bright flash of light exploded in my vision. Ringing filled my air, and my vision slowly turned back to normal.
I ran up to the broken wall, and there sat a rare, golden-colored diamond, it's size about the size of my thumb.
"Damn," I heard someone mutter behind me. I grabbed a random bag on the floor and put the diamond in it, before glancing at it once again. I could be rich, but money brought back a lot of memories.
Bad ones.
Flashback
"Mommy!" I cried, as I sprinted as fast as I could on three year old toddler legs.
"Hey, my little Percy," My mom said, crouching down and picking me up.
"Did you bring back anything?" I asked, eagerly, looking behind her back, trying in vain to find the item I loved.
"Yes," Mom laughed, and set me down, and reached into her pocket to pull out a blue lollipop.
"Yay! Thanks mom!" I laughed, and reached up and unwrapped it, but then an ugly voice came from the door, my dad, Poseidon.
"Sally," he roared, and I snapped up from my unwrapped lollipop, and looked up at my mom with wide eyes.
"Mom-" I was cut off by an angry man.
Poseidon pushed my mom, and she nearly tripped over the couch.
Unknown to me, my dad was very high on drugs. Poseidon the CEO of a big company known as Trident, which sold a lot of beach things, like surf boards, boats, etc. He was a notorious drug addict, and was known to smoke crack, weed, pot or whatever he could get his hands on, which was a lot. The man was worth over a billion dollars.
"What did I say about going out?" My dad asked angrily, punching my mom in the arm.
My mom looked like she was going to cry, and my young self realized this.
I grew angry, and threw my lollipop as my father's face. "Get off her!" I cried, and kicked him in the shin.
Unfortunately, it hurt me more than him, because, I was only three.
Poseidon looked at me with fury, and kicked me hard in the ribs, and I was sent flying, crashing into the wall.
Sally slapped my dad in the face, and he turned his fury on her, hitting her, left and right, never letting up.
My mom absorbed the blows, but she sank her to her knees.
"Mom!" I cried, and crawled over to her weakly.
She turned her eyes towards me, and smiled, and told me, "I love you, Perseus. Listen to me. Run."
I was never so terrified in my life, and took off, with no thought, but to listen to my mom. Run.
At Eight Years Young
That was the last time I ever saw my mom. Or my father. I ran from place to place, and was now in the state of New Jersey.
I had almost given it no thought, but focused on the present. It was so scary, being on the run at age of three to the age of eight.
"Hey," a voice said kindly, and a teenager boy stood next to me on the bus stop, where I had drifted off to sleep.
"You alive?" He said.
I groaned, "I wish not,"
He grinned at me, "Not too cheery thoughts for an eight year old."
I glanced over, and saw he looked like a gangster, he had many tattoos and a knife in one hand.
"Crap!" I yelped, scrambling backward.
His eyes widened, but he still had a joking tone in his voice, "Calm down, kid, I ain't going to hurt you."
"Where you sent by my fat- Poseidon?" I asked. That man was not my father. No, I swear I was going to kill him for hurting my mom.
The boy raised one of his eyebrows, but said nothing on it. "No."
"So who the hell are you?" I asked, bluntly.
"Rude little kid, aren't you? Name's Jack." He said, holding out his hand, and I looked at it warily, before hauling myself off of the wet pavement where I had fallen.
"I don't need your help," I said.
"Cool," Jack said, retracting his hand. "Come on, kid, you're going to freeze out here, let's go."
"Why should I go with you?!" I scowled.
Jack laughed, and ruffled my hair, "You're a good kid. Good instincts, and street smarts. Come on, I'll teach you how to pick a lock."
I visibly brightened and walked over to him, "Let's go!"
He laughed.
Jack stretched, and laid back, looking lazy, and picked a cigarette, from his pocket, and lit it.
It was a couple of months later, and I learned from Jack. I learned how to survive on the streets, and learn not everything was all dandy and fine.
"What's that?" I asked, curious. Sue me, but I was eight.
"My girlfriend," he answered shortly.
"What's her name?" I said, laying down on my ratty backpack.
"Nikki ( A.N. This is also from Logic. Nikki, or Nicotine. Listen to it.)" Jack said, smoke drifting out of his mouth.
"You can't have a cigarette as a girlfriend," I scoffed.
Jack smiled and ruffled my hair affectionately, "You love your girlfriends right? I love my nicotine, so, it's my girlfriend."
I looked at him, confused. "Your logic does not make any sense," I complained, moving over to try and pickpocket a lighter from Jack's backpack.
He casually grabbed my hand, nonchalantly, and shoved it back towards me. He grinned affectionately, "Doesn't have to,"
"Run! Percy, go!" Jack shouted. He was limping on one foot, leaving a long line of slick blood behind him.
I could hear the distant sounds of sirens, bouncing off the walls. A helicopter flew overhead, its powerful headlights, illuminating the shadows. The canines of the police barked fiercely, shattering the once-quiet peace of the neighborhood.
Jack tripped, and fell, but he dragged himself up. I ran back to him, impulsively, and hooked his tattooed arm around my skinny shoulders. "C'mon, man. We got to go," I said, under my breath.
Jack and I had just attempted to rob a bank, because we were low on cash, and hadn't ate food in three days.
We managed to get a few thousand dollars from the frightened teller before the police arrived. One cop managed to put a bullet into Jack's leg and he was limping along.
"Go, Percy. I'm not going to make it anyway. I'll cover your escape." Jack muttered.
"No, Jack." I answered shortly. "I'm not going anywhere without your help,"
Jack suddenly stopped, and grabbed both of my shoulders. "Listen kid," he yelled, angrily, "I'm screwed. I've had a long line of crime. They're going to put me away for a long time. I'd rather die, than spend a lifetime in prison, yeah?"
I looked away, hoping he didn't see the tears beginning to form around the edges of my eyes.
"They don't know who you are yet, Percy," Jack sighed. He weakly put a hand around the strap of his backpack.
"Take the money, and run, Percy. You're a good kid with a good heart, but life's been beating you around. Remember one thing, though. Money ain't everything. Good luck kid. I'll see you on the other side." Jack said, and ruffled my hair one last time.
He shoved me, and I immediately broke into a run. There was an old rusty ladder connecting to an equally rusty fire escape, but I managed to climb it and get it to work.
I ran across the roof of the building, and ducked behind an AC unit as the helicopter flew by overhead.
I looked back toward Jack, and noticed he was slumped against an old truck, breathing heavily.
The cops rounded the bend, and shrunk back fast, because Jack had taken out his firearm. "Hands up!" cried one, as he ducked under the cover of a nearby car.
Jack responded by firing one round in the air.
"Screw off," he said, but I could tell he was close to passing out.
A cop in riot gear, with a huge shield stepped out, and Jack opened fire. One bullet hit the cop in the kneecap, and he fell with an anguished cry.
I cheered mentally, but noticed a flash of movement from behind Jack.
I wanted to yell a warning, but it was too late. A cop had snuck behind him, and put a bullet in his head.
Money had gotten Jack and my mother killed.
I looked down at the bag containing the very expensive diamond. The money could kill my loved ones, but it could make me rich enough to never work again in my life.
Money isn't everything, Jack had once told me. All those men were killed for some pieces of paper that held no value whatsoever, only the value our government tells us.
But I could finally take revenge. And have everything I ever wanted. Women, cars, anything.
I stared out the window, and my eyes wandered over to a lonely woman who just stood on the sidewalk, looking confused as to where to go.
Just like me.
Lost.
Suddenly, I knew what I wanted to do.
Dropping the precious diamond, I locked the car with the keys hidden inside, and stepped out onto the street.
"Hey," I called, to the woman.
She was breathtaking, I had to admit. Mops of blond princess curls surrounded her face, that was shaped like an angel from heaven. She was tall, and was wearing casual jeans and t-shirt.
"Hi," Mystery woman said. "I'm a bit lost. My name's Annabeth."
I smiled, "Me, too."
Annabeth frowned, "You're Annabeth?"
I laughed, a sound I hadn't heard in months. "No, my name's Percy," I assured her. Annabeth looked very amused, hiding a small smile.
"I'm lost, too,"
Annabeth smiled, and said, "Ok, Percy. Let's go get lost together. Maybe we'll be friends."
Percy smiled. He felt free. No longer under pressure.
Thanks for reading. This was started a long time ago, and I finally finished it. If you liked it, please review or favorite. :P
