Halloween With the Gods: Part One

I look at the letter again. Clearly Chiron had written it (if Mr. D had written it he would have started it off with Peter Johnson):

Percy Jackson,

You are invited to join us during our Halloween festival, here at Camp Half-Blood. Everyone is expected to dress up and have a good time! We will start the morning off with an Honor to the Gods parade, then leading to the Chariot Race, followed by a delicious Halloween dinner, and numerous night events.

We hope to see you there!

Sicerely,

Chiron, Mr. D

I haven't been to Camp Half-Blood since last summer. To say I was excited would be a huge understatement. I would finally get to see Annabeth and Grover again! Perhaps, I'll get to see Thalia too. You see, Thalia went to join the huntresses. They're a group of girls who follow the goddess Artemis who represents the hunt of the moon. I haven't seen Thalia since last summer, when we saved both Annabeth and Artemis from Atlas (aka the "General") who at the time, was the current lord of the titans, while Kronos is still down in Tartarus. Just your typical summer, right?

Anyways, I get up and get dressed for another boring day at Goode High School. I'm a freshman there. So far things have actually been going pretty well, which is really weird. I scarf down my breakfast and brush my teeth, then I'm off to the bus. I take my usual seat in the back and throw on my earphones to my iPod. Nobody pays any attention to me. I can't help but feel a little agitated, if only they knew who I really was. I guess that's the hard part about being a half-blood, it's harder to make life long friends when you're keeping possibly the biggest secret from them.

Finally we arrive at school. Everyone rushes out like they're going to a fun carnival or something. I follow slowly behind. There's no point trying to push past them all, it's like trying to charge through a stampede of wild minotaurs. Once everyone heads out, the bus driver shuts the door. Perhaps she didn't notice, that I was still inside. I clear my throat to get her attention. She clearly notices me but rather than opening the door, she stands up, towering over me. I get a closer look at her, but I immediately want to look away. She's a very large woman, with huge muscular arms that should belong to a sumo wrestler. Her eye brows could really use some plucking, as well as her upper lip. I tried not to let my face show my utter disgust. She then speaks, a low, husky voice that could only belong to a man. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, Percy Jackson". There was something really familiar about that voice, but I couldn't put my finger on it. All I could do was stutter out "H-how do you know my name?" The man-lady chuckles darkly, "Oh, well we have some unfinished business..." "Oh... did I not have any money left on my Charlie Card or something?" I tried to convince myself that had to be what she meant, even though I knew she didn't. She was a monster. Probably sent by Luke or Kronos, or something. I checked my pocket for Riptide, and felt it safely there. I began to gradually back away from the driver, casually putting my hand in my pocket. Suddenly though, the he/she tore off her uniform, revealing the finest armory and snagged out an extremely sharp weapon, pointing it straight at my chest. It was celestial bronze. I immediately grabbed Riptide. That's when it all sunk in. The manly features, the fancy armor, and high tech weapons. Ares. "Ares?" I had to ask, to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Why on earth would Ares impersonate a woman? "Yes, young hero. It is I, Ares. Coming to get my revenge." "But- why would you pose as my bus driver? A-and a woman?" "The element of surprise..." he answered, clearly proud of his plan. I found it really hard to take him seriously when he had lipstick and fake eyelashes on. Boy, did he make an ugly woman! "So what then? You wanna rumble?" I asked, suddenly really angry. He always triggered at my emotions like that. He laughed at me, mockingly. "What else do you think I came for?" I could see the fire blazing in his eyes, even through his sunglasses. I looked at the school wearily. My mom would be so disappointed if I got kicked out of yet another school, but Ares wasn't concerned about that.

He began to stalk forward.I backed away as a reflex. This seemed to amuse him all the more. "Scared little hero?" he slashed his sword and I dodged it swiftly. We continued doing that until I found my back against the end of the bus. Ares lifted his sword triumphantly, and prepared to cut me to bits. I made one last attempt to swipe at him, and he deflected my strike easily, sending my sword flying. I knew soon Riptide would be back in my pockets in a few minutes, but by then I would be a Percy shish-kabob. "Giving up so soon? I knew you were weak. That's the thing with you heroes, you think you are so fantastic. Ungrateful children," he sneered. Did he realize he just insulted his own children? I shut my eyes, and made a silent prayer to the Gods, not including Ares of course. Then out of nowhere a glowing light began to shine through the window. I didn't dare open my eyes, knowing that with one look I would disintegrate into nothingness. I could feel the warmth of the light fan my face, and suddenly the air around me smelt like perfume. I loved it. I opened my eyes dreamily. There before me was the most beautiful woman in the world.

For a second I thought I was in heaven, but then I saw Ares. He was looking at the gorgeous angel in utter confusion. He even dropped his sword. I was about to make my escape but he grabbed me by the collar. "What are you doing here?" he didn't ask it rudely, as he would with anyone else. "Waiting for you, of course." Her voice sounded like the most beautiful instrument you could ever think of. She had her hands placed on her hips and was tapping her foot impatiently. Ares didn't know how to respond, he gave her a dumbfounded "What?" He loosened his grip on me. "We were supposed to be at the movies an hour ago, how could you forget about me?" her eyes began to water a bit, and I instantly wanted to go over there and wipe away every single tear that had formed in her eyes. "I just had some business to finish," he grumbled. You could hear the guilt in his voice. He then turned to me, and he glared at me like it's all my fault he decided to come to pulverize me on the same day as his date with Aphrodite. "Well I certainly hope this business of yours doesn't involve harming my dear Percy. He has a date to get to..." she winked. Now I looked just as confused as Ares. Ares mumbled something that sounded like "you're lucky punk" and the two turned into a golden light. I averted my eyes quickly.

I glanced at my watch. I would probably catch the end of third period. I was reluctant to go inside though. I was trying to process all that just happened. Aphrodite said that I "had a date to get to". What does that mean? And why would Ares attack me on the spot like that? It all just didn't make sense. I nearly jump out of my feet when I felt a firm hand grab hold of my shoulder. I turn around to see a girl with familiar gray eyes, looking at me with a warm smile. "Annabeth!" I practically shout, wrapping her into a huge hug. Normally, this would be awkward for me, but I was thankful to see her. She looked down at her feet briefly, and I think I saw a tinge of pink on her cheeks, but then she looked me in the eyes. Her facial expression had changed. She looked... concerned... "What's wrong?" I frown. She shakes her head, "Nothing..." she says it like she's trying to convince herself, and an uncertain Annabeth is a very bad sign. "So-uh- what brings you here?" I have so much more I want to ask and tell her but I decide it's best to wait it out. "It's a long story actually..." "Well I have time," I smile at her encouragingly. She just cocks an eyebrow and says, "Do you?". She glances at the school then back at me. I know I should be in class, but honestly I couldn't care less. "I can make time," I smile slyly. Apparently not sly enough though because Annabeth tells me to go to class and to meet her out here by the end of the day. "See you later Seaweed Brain," she waves bye. I watch her leave and mumble "Until then Wise Girl...".

After-school- 3:00

Once the bell rang I bolted for the door, which of course with my luck, resulted in making a huge mess. I nearly hit a guy with my backpack when I swung it over my shoulder, then as I ran down the hall I made a quick turn and collided with a girl who was walking down the hall with her friend. Her books and papers went flying everywhere. "Hey!" she complained. "Sorry," I said as I began gathering her papers. When I looked up at her I was a little startled. Her eyes were the same gray as Annabeth's, except unlike Annabeth she had red frizzy hair. It was cool though. It fit her well. "Umm, I'm really sorry," I said again like an idiot. "Yeah, well watch where you're going next time," she said with an attitude, though you could tell she wasn't really mad anymore. I began to walk away. "Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?" she called. She suddenly appeared at my side. "Oh-uh..." I wasn't expecting that, "um, I promised to meet a friend here..." I don't know why but I felt uncomfortable saying that I was waiting for Annabeth. I didn't want to give her the wrong idea, though I had no clue what that idea would be. "Oh, okay..." she says, but she looks like she's debating whether or not to believe me. Suddenly Annabeth appears, "Percy where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhe-" she then notices my acquaintance. "Who's this?" Annabeth asks with a bit of an attitude. I raise a questioning eyebrow at her, but she just looks at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. "This is-" I then realize I have no clue who the girl is. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare," the girl announced with confidence. I just nod my head like an idiot. "And you are?" I can't help but notice the bitterness in Rachel's tone. "Percy's friend..." Annabeth replied cooly. Rachel crossed her arms, "Well, I'll let you guys be on your way. Happy Halloween Percy!" She then opened one of her journals and scribbled out something and handed it to me. Rachel smiled smugly and then walked off. I looked down at the paper she gave me. It was her number. I smiled to myself. I then noticed Annabeth storming off ahead of me...

(to be continued...)

Hey Everyone!

So this was supposed to be published on Halloween but sadly I didn't have enough time :( I did want to leave you with something to read though! As you can see it's not finished, but there will be two parts to it. Hopefully part two will be out sometime this week. I have had LOADS of school work to do, so I might be a little slower on my updates. Chapter three of Finding Mr. Right should be coming out this week as well. So I hope you all enjoy! I've been wanting to write a PJO Fanfic for a while now so I'm glad I finally got to start one. Read and Review!

-May :)