A.N New story. Enjoy and review. Warnings: Talk about sex and innuendos nothing worse than what you hear in school.

Chapter 1: The cough that took the world.

XXX

One cough...

That was all it took.

It started off just as a cold, at least that's what people believed it was before they started dying off.

One by one, the earth vanished. In the course of months, a third of the planet was gone then a half then...

Well us.

My name is Leo Valdez. I've been running.

No particular destination but I've been running because I have to.

We have to.

I've been running with Percy and Jason for a couple months. We were a good team. Jason knew how to turn electricity on in buildings, Percy was good at finding places with clean running water and I was good with cars, finding them, making them run, etc. But there was one thing we weren't good in and that's the woods.

Which is where we were currently stuck.

"Jason, I have to say that your idea to looking in the woods for food was just genius. Why we don't listen to you all the time? I do not know?"

"Cut the sarcasm, Valdez." Jason groaned. "Perce, do you have any idea where we are?"

"We're in the middle of the woods, how would I know?"

"Well, If Valdez hadn't lost the compass."

"You can't even read a compass." I laughed.

"Yea, well-" Jason stopped and turned. "Did you guys hear that?"

At that moment we all turned and heard footsteps land softly on the ground. Percy and Jason turned their pistols on the assailant and was shocked to see a girl with an AK-47 aimed at them. She had caramel skin that had smudges of dirt and grease. she wore a black tank top, camouflage shorts and converse but what bugged me most was her eyes they was the brightest shade of green I've ever seen.

"Might as well drop your weapons, boys." A smooth country accent invaded my ears. "let's face it, mine's bigger."

Jason and Percy put their guns down and held their hands up.

"Knock it off, Lyric." We heard as another girl hopped down from the tree. She was tanned as well and had eyes that changed colors. she was wearing a faded orange shirt and shorts and was also carrying a very large gun. she strapped it behind her back and went to shake our hands. "I'm Piper. Do you need help?"

"Pipes, you don't know them." The girl who's name was Lyric called. "They could be murderers."

"Are you murderers?" Piper asked. we all shook our heads no. "See problem solved, besides Chiron says we should help people. After all that's happened, everyone's got to look out for each other." She turned back and smiled at us. "So, why are you in the middle of the woods?"

Jason spoke up. "We were looking for food."

"Well, we have food at camp if you want." She said.

"What?!" Lyric advanced until she was standing next to Piper. "Your just going to invite them to camp?"

"They're hungry and they need help. We help people remember?"

"You help people." She said. "I know better then to trust every Sally Jones having car trouble."

"Lyric..." They looked at each other as if they were having a silent argument. Until Lyric looked away.

"Fine, let's go then." Lyric spun around and stalked off, leaving us behind.

"Don't mind her." Piper shrugged. "She's always been on for dramatics."

"Where are you taking us?" Jason asked.

"Camp Half-blood." Piper smiled. "After the whole flu epidemic, a lot of us found refuge in the abandoned summer camp. And we only grew, and now we're functioning like any other town."

"How many people are there?" Percy asked.

"Not a lot. like a hundred."

Our eyes bugged out. She was right a hundred wasn't a lot but these days a hundred people in one place might as well be a country.

"You'll have to excuse Lyric." Piper said next. "It's just she's not very trusting of people from the outside. And she's more shoot first, ask questions later."

"Stop talking shit behind me." Lyric shouted from ahead of us."

"It's only shit-talking if it's not true." Piper shouted back. Lyric put her middle finger up and continued walking ahead of us.

"She must be a lot to deal with." Percy laughed.

"No, she acts tough but underneath she's just a big teddy bear."

"Fuck off." Lyric turned around. Lyric sped off and when we turn the corner we saw her standing at the top of a hill talking to a girl with blonde hair. As we made it to the top of the hill, Percy froze.

"Annabeth?" He said. The girl turned and smiled hugely before she was running toward us and crashed into Percy and hugged him back.

"You're alive?" I looked at the girl's face and she was crying. I looked over at Percy and he was crying too.

"Yea." He smiled. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm not!"

"Yea, I see that!" Percy said, collapsing into the girl again.

Lyric walked up at that moment. "Um, Explanation?"

Annabeth stepped forward. "This is Percy Jackson, He's my best friend."

Lyric's eyes bugged out. "He's that Percy?" She asked, Annabeth nodded. "Oh crap, I'm sorry I almost shot you."

"You were going to shoot us?" Jason said, shocked.

"Well yea, if your story didn't check out. I mean, three teenaged boys wandering in the woods." She shrugged and walked toward the camp, leaving us behind.

"Don't worry about Lyric, I know she's prickly but she's just been through a lot." Annabeth said. "Anyway, let's go." She started walking away, so we had no choice but to follow her.

"Where are you taken us?" Percy asked.

"The infirmary." Annabeth said. "You've got to get tested for diseases, infections, etc. don't worry they're just going to take some blood that's it." Annabeth turned to Percy. "Come find me when you're done?" Percy nodded dumbly. Annabeth smiled before running off, leaving us in front of the infirmary.

"Dude, she's into you." Jason said.

"What?!" Percy said, as if he was a little shocked. "No! We weren't like that."

"Never?" I asked.

"Well, I had a crush on her when we were 12 but I mean, I was a kid. I had a crush on any girl that wanted to be seen with me."

We walked into the infirmary only to see Lyric...

"You work in the infirmary?" I asked.

"Yes...?"

"I thought you were border patrol?" Jason asked.

"What?" She said, confused. "Oh, you met Lyric, didn't you?"

She's insane... I thought to myself.

"Mel, does this look like it needs stitches?" We heard a voice behind us. We turned only to see Lyric, holding up her elbow to show a deep gash on her arm.

The girls whose name was apparently Mel ran over to her. "Yes, Jesus what did you do?"

"Knife practice with Ethan got a little carried away." Lyric shrugged then winced at the pain that just shot up her arm.

"You need to tell Chiron about this." Mel said. "He always too rough with you."

"Pssh, if you think this is rough you should see our after hours activities." Lyric winked and Mel rolled her eyes.

"You're so gross. Go on back and see Gwen before you get a black eye to go with it." She pushed Lyric who stuck her tongue out at her before skipping to the back behind a curtain. "Sorry about that, what is it you needed?"

I was staring at the curtain because I was still a little shocked. That was the same girl who just threatened to kill me with a military weapon and I had just saw her skipping.

"You guys are twins?" Jason asked.

"Triplets actually." Mel said. "Harmony works in the kitchen."

"And what does Mel stand for again?"

"Melody." She said, tying the tie to his forearm and tapping his arm to find a vein.

"So Melody, Harmony, and Lyric." Percy asked, she nodded.

"Our parents were traveling musicians before then whole disease happened, often left us at home alone with our eldest sister, Music. She was the first to die." Melody looked at us with a distant look. "Lyric was the closest to Music. Took a lot out of her when she died."

"Why are you telling them that?" Lyric said, taking a lollipop and placing it into her mouth.

"You know we keep those lollipops for the kids." Mel reprimanded her.

"I wanted a lollipop so I got one." Lyric shrugged. "Three stooges?" We all looked up figuring she was talking to us. "Gwen and Will want to ask you guys a few questions before you get your room assignments. They're in the back."

Mel caught her before she tried to walk out. "Don't forget to talk to Chiron." She said with a sad look in her eye.

Lyric rolled her eyes. "If I talk to him will you let it go?"

"Yes." Mel perked up, smiling wildly at her sister who just scoffed at her and left.

XXXXXXXXXX

"When was the last time you were sick?" Will asked me.

"Um, sometime before all this happened." I said. "But I think it was just strep throat."

"Sexually active?" Gwen asked.

I made a face. "Well, I've been traveling with my best friends who are not my type and also male so no, I haven't been sexually active."

Gwen laughed. "That didn't stop Will. He had sex with his best friend while I was in the next tent."

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Will sighed. "Besides, it was just a one time thing for him."

"One, if Nico heard you say that he'd slit your throat, and two, it wasn't just a one time thing because I was awake literally all night."

"So can I leave now or...?" I said, awkwardly. The conversation took a turn that I didn't want to know about.

"Oh yea, you're fine." Gwen handed me a towel and fresh clothes. "You're in cabin three. Showers are by the lake, lunch is 12-1, dinner is 6-8. Any questions?" I shook my head. "Fantastic. Also the cabins are co-ed so no sex. Though it seems like We don't have to worry about you so much."

I almost wanted to ask what she meant by that but I really needed to shower and sleep and eat so... priorities.

I wondered around the camp until I saw a blue cabin with a big 3 on it. I saw Percy sitting on the steps.

"You got assigned to this cabin?" He asked.

"Yup." I went to stand in front of him. "Why are you sitting on the stoop?"

"Door's locked."

"Did you knock?" I asked and Percy got the look on his face that he got when he knew he was being stupid. I rolled my eyes and moved to knock on the door.

"Look, if this Travis with another snake, I'm going to rip the snake from in between your legs." We heard a muffled voice and was greeted with a towel-clad Lyric.

"Fucking hell." We heard before the door slammed in our faces.