Outcasts
Annabeth always felt at home when she was swimming. The ocean water encircling her was comforting and soothing. Somehow the coral reefs and sea creatures calmed her nerves and she never felt more relaxed than when she was surrounded by them. Annabeth could spend hours exploring the underwater caves that lined her island home. However, at this moment she couldn't focus on the beauty around her.
Annabeth shot through the water like a bullet, leaving a bubble trail behind her. Piper and Hazel followed after her, trying to keep up with her tail's powerful strokes. When Annabeth reached her destination, she stopped and broke the surface. Piper and Hazel came up shortly after her, panting.
"How do you do that?" Piper asked, out of breath.
"How do I do what?" questioned Annabeth.
"Swim that fast without getting tired."
"The real question is, why are you so tired?" Annabeth said, "You'll never get your moon rings if you run out of breath like that."
Hazel sighed, "Just because you have your moon ring already doesn't make you an expert."
"Yeah, Annie." Piper remarked, "You still have full moon patrol with us tonight."
Annabeth had only received her moon ring the previous week. She had already been assigned patrol and had to miss the celebration. She probably could have convinced the council to let her go to the celebration, but her pride wouldn't allow her to go back on her word.
"Keep talking, Pipes," drawled Annabeth, "I'm still the youngest mermaid to ever receive a moon ring. And don't call me Annie!"
Silena's and Clarisse's heads popped out of the water. "Shouldn't you have started patrol by now?" she questioned.
"We were just heading out," said Hazel.
Silena nodded, "Good, you better get going. We only have a few hours before moonrise."
Silena and Clarisse turned away from the trio and swam away. Piper looked at the water where Silena just was.
"Well, you heard my sister." Piper stated, "I'll take the far shore, you get the rest."
Piper dived under the water and swam away.
Annabeth huffed. "I thought I was in charge."
-o-O-o-
Annabeth finished her patrol quickly and she returned to her secret spot. She treaded the water carefully staying where she could see a small boat. In it were two land boys she had seen many times. They often came to fish on the reef. Annabeth enjoyed observing the two land boys. Some time ago, she learned the dark-haired one was called Percy and the blonde on was called Jason.
From what she saw over time, Percy and Jason were almost complete opposites. Percy gazed at the ocean with a gleam in his eye. She had often seen that same gleam in her reflection. On the other side, Jason seemed afraid of the water. Annabeth didn't understand why Jason looked at the water with disdain. To her, the ocean was a calm, peaceful protector.
"Here's good." declared Percy. He threw the anchor into the water and grabbed his fishing pole.
"For what?" Jason questioned, "You'll never catch anything."
"I'll catch something before you, Sparky!"
"You wish, Kelp Head!"
Annabeth watched as they cast their fishing line. Piper and Hazel slowly swam over to a distracted Annabeth. They stopped a few feet away from her, noticing what she was looking at.
"Gross," Piper remarked, "land people. Could you imagine living without a tail?"
"They seem very content with their legs," said Annabeth.
"Is this where you go to when you disappear, Annabeth?" questioned Hazel, "To watch these land boys?"
"Yes, they happen to be interesting to watch." Annabeth replied, "Now, let's have some fun."
"Doing what?" Piper asked.
"Giving them a hand catching something."
Annabeth and Piper slipped under the water. Hazel remained where she was, treading the water. Piper tugged on Jason's fishing line while Annabeth found a suitable fish.
"Oh, yeah!" exclaimed Jason as he reeled in the line. Piper released her grip and Jason reeled in an empty line.
"Aw, no fish?" Percy mocked. Annabeth found a decent fish and attached it to Percy's hook. Percy felt the fish pull and began to reel in the fish. "There we go! Get the net."
Jason put down his pole and grabbed the net from the bottom of the boat. He scooped up Percy's fish in the net. He sat down in the boat, untangling the fish from the line and net. Percy pulled up the anchor on to the vessel. He started the motor and steered the boat towards the beach.
"Why aren't the leaving?" asked Hazel as she swam over to Annabeth and Piper.
"They camp here all the time." Annabeth replied, "They won't see anything. Once they enter the forest they don't come near the beach until mid-morning."
"I hope you're right, Annabeth." declared Piper.
-o-O-o-
Percy never really enjoyed camping. The idea of sleeping on the hard ground surrounded by bugs didn't appeal to him. Even though he didn't particularly like camping, he did it quite often. Whenever he went camping, he would go to Mako Island. Percy always felt a special connection with Mako and liked to spend time there. The island was the only reason Percy put up with the numerous camping trips he was forced to go on, like the one Jason made him go on now.
"How good was that?" Percy asked rhetorically.
He and Jason sat in front of the fire in the middle of their campsite eating the fish Percy caught that afternoon. It was the place they always used when they went camping, a small clearing next to a stream.
"A bit rubbery," replied Jason.
Percy gave him a pointed look.
"But not bad." Jason added, "Why didn't you bring, Rachel?"
"This is a bro trip." said Percy, "Just us hanging out before school starts next week."
"But it's so boring out here."
"It was your idea to go camping. We could have just stayed in my garage watching movies all day."
Jason sighed, remembering Percy's suggestion. "Maybe we should have. Whatever, I'm gonna crash."
"If you snore, I'll hit you."
"Right back at you." Jason called, "Where are you going?"
"Nature calls," responded Percy as he made his way through the trees.
Percy trekked through the forest to a smooth rock wall at the base of the volcano. He relieved himself quickly and started to head back to the tent when he saw a light. It was an unnatural glow coming from a cave he hadn't seen there before.
He approached the cave cautiously. He looked back in the direction of the tent before going into the cave. Percy walked through the ancient cave, finding a carving at the end. At the center of the carving, the trident indent was glowing. He felt drawn to the glow as if it were calling to him. He carefully touched the trident carving. The ground beneath him vanished, and Percy screamed as he fell into the unknown.
-o-O-o-
Annabeth loved being in the moon pool during the full moon. The magic concentration was at its highest then and she never grew tired of feeling it. The full moon was above her and the water enveloping her was bubbling with power. Annabeth looked to Piper and Hazel and knew they felt the same.
Suddenly, a golden crack formed in the rocks above them. Out of the crack fell a land boy, Percy, screaming. He landed in the moon pool, sending an energy wave out from the pool. The trio of mermaids rushed to the now unconscious boy.
They were all silent until Annabeth spoke up. "We need to get him out of here."
All three of them grabbed Percy and swam out of the moon pool. They guided his body to the beach and pushed him onto the shore. They swam back into the ocean, leaving Percy on the beach. They reentered the moon pool and looked to where Percy fell from.
"I feel really bad about leaving him there! Unconscious!" exclaimed Hazel.
"How did he even get in?" Piper wondered aloud, "It's solid rock up there?"
"All that matters is that he did," stated Annabeth, "and we will be made responsible for it."
-o-O-o-
Percy woke up feeling disgusting. Not the 'I'm sick' kind of disgusting, more the 'I haven't showered in months' kind. He sat up from where he lay rubbing his eyes. When his vision cleared, he saw that he was laying in the sand on the beach. He stood up, slightly weirded out, and began to make his way to the campsite.
Once he got there, Jason quickly stood from his place by the fire. Jason rushed over to Percy's side and lead him to the fire. Percy sat down as Jason grabbed a blanket from the tent. He draped the blanket over Percy and sat down next to him.
"You look awful, bro," Jason said after a few seconds.
"Thanks." Percy retorted dryly. He grabbed a metal cup.
"Where did you sleep?" asked Jason as he poured hot chocolate into his and Percy's cup, "Do you even remember?"
"I remember walking off to take a leak." Percy began, "I saw a light."
"Last night was a full moon."
"Not the moonlight. Like a weird glow. There were rocks. And when I moved closer... there was a cave. Next thing I knew I was waking up on the beach… You don't believe me?"
"No."
"Then I'll show you. Come on."
Percy led Jason down the path he had hiked the previous night. They speedily arrived at the base of the volcano. Percy pushed against the rock where the cave opening was.
"There was an opening here. A cave," stated Percy.
"The this can't be the place," Jason remarked.
"It is!"
"Maybe you dreamt it."
Percy backed away from the stone wall. He sighed. "I know what I saw… I think."
"Yeah, sure." Jason drawled as he walked back towards the campsite.
-o-O-o-
Hazel glanced anxiously at Annabeth and Piper. She felt very guilty about leaving the boy on the beach, and even more so about accidentally letting him into the moon pool. Even though she didn't directly let him, she still felt extremely bad about it.
"We have to tell the pod," Hazel stated.
Piper looked at her incredulously. "Are you crazy?"
"Piper," said Annabeth, "you know we have no choice."
"If we tell the pod who knows when Hazel and I will get our moon rings," exclaimed Piper.
"There has got to be a better way to handle this." Annabeth declared.
Silena and Clarisse arrived in the moon pool. They looked between the three conversing mermaids.
"Handle what?" Silena asked, "What happened here last night?"
"There was a land boy," Hazel began, "in the moon pool."
"You let a boy into the moon pool?" questioned Clarisse, sternly.
Piper scoffed. "We didn't let him in. He fell."
"That's impossible." affirmed Silena, "There's no other way in. What did you do?"
"We didn't do anything." pushed Piper.
"Stop lying," Clarisse commanded.
"We aren't lying." Hazel said, on the brink of tears, "We didn't do anything. Please don't tell the pod."
"We have no choice," stated Clarisse. She dove under leaving to tell the council of what happened.
"If what you say is true…" started Silena, "and something did happen to the boy, I fear for us all."
Silena turned and followed after Clarisse. Hazel looked away, she felt like crying. Annabeth swam over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What if she's wrong?" Annabeth queried, "What if nothing happened to the boy? All I know is that we have to find out. We have to follow Percy and Jason."
"You know their names?" Piper cried, "Just how long have you been watching them?"
Annabeth didn't answer. She exited the moon pool and went near the shore where the boat was. Hazel and Piper hurried after her. From where they were, they could hear shouting.
"Why do we have to leave now?" Jason asked loudly, "We only just got here."
"You know I don't like camping on a good day, Jason." replied Percy, "And after last night I just want to go home."
Percy and Jason loaded their things into the boat. Percy pushed the boat off the coast and got in. They sped off onto the open ocean.
"We have to follow them." Annabeth professed.
The three mermaids dove under the water. They swam after the boat, never letting it leave their sight. They soon found themselves in a small canal. Jason had already been dropped off and Percy steered his boat over to the dock. He got out of the boat and tied it down.
The trio of mermaids surfaced underneath another dock in the canal. They had a clear view of Percy as he walked over to the hose.
"This is wrong." declared Hazel, "No mermaid is allowed this close to shore."
"What if they see us?" Piper asked.
"No don't worry. I've been here before, and no one's seen me."
Piper stared at Annabeth. "You. You, little miss perfect mermaid, have been here before?"
"Yes." Annabeth answered, "I told you I like watching them. I've gathered a lot of information on land people from this spot."
The mermaids turned their attention back to Percy. He turned on the hose to wash off his reel. When he went to put the reel under the running water, the water moved away from his hand. Percy jumped away from the hose. He slowly moved his empty hand underneath the spout. The water moved away once again. Percy dropped the reel in shock and stared at his hands.
"Whoa," Percy said to himself.
Hazel looked at her two best friends. "He's got powers!"
-o-O-o-
Percy was having a weird day. He woke up on the beach with almost no memory of the night before, and now he could move water with his hands. At first, he thought he was dreaming, but then he realized he didn't dream very often. Once he officially decided that he wasn't dreaming, he rushed to the Ocean Café. Percy went over to the table where Jason and Rachel sat.
"Hi, Percy." Rachel said as he approached.
"Hey, Rachel, hey." uttered Percy, "I really need to show you something, Jason."
"Are you okay?" asked Rachel, "Jason said you felt weird and bailed on the camping trip."
"Yeah," Percy replied, "I'm fine now."
"Are you up for a run?" Rachel inquired, "After I finish my shift."
"Sure." answered Percy, "Um, I just—I really need to talk to Jason."
Jason stood up from his chair. Percy led Jason down the path to the Ocean Café's dock. Once they were out of hearing range, Percy began to explain.
"Something happened to me last night," he said.
Jason sighed. "Yeah, you had a dream."
"I can make water move," stated Percy.
Jason laughed. Percy could tell he wouldn't believe him. For as long as Percy knew him, Jason didn't believe anything until he saw it.
"I'll show you." declared Percy. He grabbed the hose from the dock and handed it to Jason. "Turn it on."
Jason turned on the hose and water came out, arching slightly, before going into the ocean. Percy stuck out his hand and curved the water stream to the left. Against his will, the water started to go back.
"I could make it move!" exclaimed Percy, "I could make it bend!"
"I don't think so." Jason said, "I'm going back to my lunch."
Jason walked back to the Ocean Café. Percy grabbed the hose, not believing he could no longer move water. He turned on the hose and water shot into his face. The force of the water pushed him off the dock, and into the ocean.
While underwater, Percy felt an odd tingling on his lower half. He looks down and saw that his legs had become a tail. He looked around him to see if anyone noticed. When he knew the coast was clear, Percy dove under and headed back to his house. He swam extremely fast, faster than he ever had before.
Percy arrived at his house and pulled his newly tailed body onto his dock. He grabbed a towel off of a post and dried himself off. Once he was dry, his tail disappeared and his legs came back. Percy rushed to stand up. He ran back to his garage, feeling his legs with every step he took.
He grabbed his phone and texted Jason, 'Get over here right now.' Percy walked back out to the dock, less anxious. He looked around making sure no one was looking before diving into the water. He began to swim around, waiting for Jason.
"Percy?" called Jason as he approached Percy's garage.
"I'm over here," Percy yelled from the water.
"Percy?" Jason walked towards the sound of Percy's voice. He looked into the water to see Percy with a tail. "What the—You've got a tail?"
"I told you something happened." boasted Percy, "Check this out." Percy raised his hand from the water. A ball of water followed the motion of his hand. "Heads up!" He threw the ball of water up into the air. I came down and landed directly on Jason's head.
"How did you do that?" Jason asked, amazed.
-o-O-o-
Piper was fearful of what was to come. As she swam back to Mako, her mind couldn't help but turn to the land boy. He had a tail and powers. They were going to be in more trouble than they could have imagined. After a while, the trio of mermaids reached the moon pool. Silena was in there waiting for them.
"Silena?" Piper tested.
"I'm so sorry," said Silena.
"We can explain," promised Hazel.
"It's too late." Silena whispered, "You neglected your duties. You let a boy onto the island and you let him into the moon pool. You broke so many laws."
"We didn't mean to." assured Annabeth, "We didn't want the boy to get powers."
"The boy and the island are connected." declared Silena, "The pod must leave."
"This is our home." Hazel cried.
"It's not safe here anymore." Silena alleged.
"Where will we go?" asked Annabeth.
Silena sighed. "Not you. The pod must leave. None of you may follow. You've all been cast out."
"What?" Annabeth shrieked, "Silena, let me talk to the council, please."
"You can't. They blame you." explained Silena, "And, Annabeth, they still believe you are just a child."
"But I have a moon ring." defended Annabeth.
"The council doesn't care about that." explained Silena, "You haven't even had it for a whole moon cycle."
Silena turned away from Annabeth. She looked at Piper carefully.
"Goodbye." Silena finally said, "My dear sister."
Piper could barely stay afloat. Why did this have to happen? So many thoughts rushed through her head. She was so distracted by her thoughts she almost missed Hazel speak up.
"Where will we go?" she asked quietly.
"We aren't going anywhere." Annabeth answered, "We are going to fix this."
"How?" questioned Piper.
"We'll find a way, I'll come up with a plan." replied Annabeth, "We have to set this right."
A/N: Thanks for trying out this story. This is a new writing style that I am trying. If it works I might go back and redo my other story. Feel free to give me your opinions, I really want to know if this works.
~LadyPandoraRaven