Heroes of Olympus (Series by Rick Riordan) FANFICTION

-BASED OFF OF WHAT MAY HAPPEN IN SON OF NEPTUNE-

By Wyatt Ward

I

PERCY

I didn't know anything. I didn't even know who I was. All I knew was that I had woken up early in the morning, with a mischievous face looking at me.

The face said, "Hey, Percy, wake up. You've got to see this. Seriously, wake up."

I jumped. I saw that I was in an old, battered Jeep that was climbing up a mountain pass. I seemed to be in it with two kids about my age, one a boy, the other a girl, and the most unusual driver imaginable. He looked like he was simply too short to be allowed.

"Sit down before Old Man Pine looks in his mirror. You know what he'll do if you stand up in the Jeep," said the boy, who was looking up at me now. He adopted a voice that sounded not unlike the voice of a very old, scratchy-voiced mouse. "Get down in the trunk and give me fifty! Come on, get going! Alright, that's it! You're going to be doing the laundry for a month!"

The girl giggled. I noticed that her hair seemed to emit light, or maybe she just cleaned it a lot. The boy's eyes darted all over the place, like he wanted to have something from somebody's pockets, possibly a fat wad of cash. I felt a strong urge to check my pockets at this point, but I only felt a ballpoint pen in my pocket. I felt pretty sure this boy, whoever he was, wouldn't be interested in that.

The two others in the back seemed to know me, but I didn't have a clue who they were. So I decided to ask. "Who are you? I asked. They must have thought I was kidding, because the boy said, "oh, come on, Percy.

I was confused. "I don't know you. Either of you."

"I think he's serious, Gavin."

I thought so too.

"Naw, he can't be. We would have noticed if a boulder had hit his head."

"You know what I mean. He must have amnesia. This is not something to laugh about, Gav. We should get him help."

"Who would we tell, Kate? I mean, we can't jump into a jeep behind us, and Old Man Pine would give him a shock therapy with the car battery and jumper cables until he died or remembered."

I looked up at the mirror in the middle and front of the car. The driver, who I supposed was Old Man Pine, was looking at me like I was a magician who had simply popped into existence in front of him. He looked away the moment he noticed I had seen him.

"Anyway," said the boy, who I gathered was called Gavin, "We'll have to fill him in, Kate."

"…Fine," said Kate, "Fill him in."

"Okay," Gavin began. "Your name is Percy. That's spelled P-E-R-C-Y. Your full name is Perseus. P-E-R-S-E-U-S."

"He knows that, Gav," said Kate. "He responded when you used it."

"Oh-kayy. Fine. So, anyway, you're now riding in a jeep up a switchback road to the top of Bridal Veil Falls in Telluride, Colorado. From there, it's only a three mile hike uphill by foot up to Blue Lake, a repository for a hydroelectric power plant. Then, you'll collect rocks with crystals on them that each weigh upwards of twenty-five pounds. Then you'll put the rocks in a backpack and hike back down the three miles of craggy rocks on a mountainside, with a ravine next to the road, for three miles back to where the trucks are waiting. Then they'll ship you back to the boarding school by the name of the Elevation Station, where our classes include discipline methods like being beaten with a wooden ping- pong paddle."

The Jeep rumbled to a stop. So did the ones behind us. Old Man Pine jumped out of ours and yelled, "Alright, campers! Get out of the Jeeps! I'll be going with you up the mountain! Please don't fall off of the ravine, as I would have to explain that to your parents or guardians, and some of you probably don't have life insurance! Also, once we get to the top, please don't fall in the reservoir! Get going!"

Everyone started running, but Old Man Pine called me back. "Hey! You! Yeah, you! Come over here!"

I came over, feeling worried. He said, "I don't know who in the name of Pluto you are, but you shouldn't be here."

I didn't know who Pluto was, but it seemed to ring a little bell. "What?" I said, "You know I shouldn't be here?"

"Yep," he said. You smell like a half- blood."

I didn't know what a half- blood was, either, or how I smelled, but it made me feel better that he, at least, knew that I shouldn't be there.

"There's a monster somewhere around here, and I know it. That's why I'm coming with the hikers. I have two other half- bloods to protect, but thanks to you, I have three of them. I'd better get you to Camp Romulus ASAP."

I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but I was glad that I wasn't going mad.

Old Man Pine started limping. I thought that limp seemed familiar, and I began to think about cheese enchiladas. Okay. I had no idea why that came to my head, but it seemed like a nagging memory was trying to slip into my conscience.

Suddenly, I heard something. A terrible roar, like a wild bull that had a smaller-than-average number of brain cells when his cowfriend left him for another bull, sounded from around the corner. The rest of the group ran screaming, except for Kate and Gavin, who decided to check it out with me and Old Man Pine. Pine seemed to have been expecting this, and somehow, I knew that roar well, and knew I hated it, and never wanted to hear it again. A man-bull came around the corner. By that I mean he had the lower half of a man, wearing tighty-whities, and the top half of a bull. He looked like he recognized me, and was pushed past anger to pure rage.

Not exactly an assuring sign. I didn't really take to the guy- I mean, to the bull- oh, whatever. I yelled back at Kate, Gavin, and Old Man Pine, "Run away!" but they decided not to listen to me. Kate yelled, "What is that thing?" She was shocked, and Gavin wasn't looking much better. "It's the Minotaur!" I yelled. I had no idea how I knew, I just knew. "It's from Greek mythology, and I don't think it likes me!"

"You think?" yelled Gavin as he ran forward to help. "You're gonna need help, Percy!" he said as the Minotaur charged. It was fast, and I barely dodged it. Gavin yelped as it rammed straight into him. I didn't know the guy, but he seemed alright to me, so I knew I had to protect him. Instinctively, I uncapped the pen in my pocket, and to my disbelief, a bronze-bladed, full-length sword appeared out of the pen, the pen itself morphing into a handle. I yelled, "Hey, Minotaur! I bet your mother threw you off whatever mountain you were born on! Maybe that's why your face is so ugly!"

It didn't help. He just got angrier. He charged again, but this time, I was ready. So I swung my sword as if I had done it hundreds of times, and missed. But Kate was ready for it. She yelled, "Leave…my…friends…alone!" and it seemed that her eyes, skin, and hair were suddenly as bright as a miniature sun. It seemed like the Minotaur had spent too much time in caves, because he couldn't handle it, and was screaming in pain. I took the opportunity to charge him again, and this time, I stabbed him, and he disintegrated.

Pine looked amazed. He said, "What kind of sword fighting was that? That was completely different than anything I've seen before. You must have had training, but it was not from a Roman legionary camp."

"…I don't know," I said, feeling confused.

"Well, I'd better get you to Camp Romulus. The monsters are no longer confined to Tartarus, so the Minotaur might be back any minute."

At this time I wondered, What camp? Tartarus?

"I'll let the teachers finish up here," finished Pine.

Okay, I know it isn't a brilliant story, and that this chapter is a bit like chapter 1 of the lost hero, but there aren't too many other things I can do. Please, this iis my first story. Cut me some slack.

More chapters will come.