Summary: Anna Force is simply a small town girl with a messed up family. When someone arrives promising to take her away to safety, she simply can't refuse. What she doesn't realize is that she's a half-blood whose about to be taken into a world of gods and monsters. She also doesn't realize that it's her job to fulfill an old prophesy, one from which she may not survive.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I owned this story, I wouldn't be writing on fanfiction. :D

I finished typing the last few words of my report and pressed print. I sighed contentedly as I leaned back in my computer chair and turned my attention to the printer as it took in a sheet of paper and began to document my work. I smiled. It was the first time I had actually managed to finish a report without having first asked for an extension. I had never felt more pleased.

"Can you stop lazing around and pick up a broom?" my mother, Allison Force, asked as she began dusting around the computer. "There's a lot of cleaning to be done before Andrew comes by, and I want to impress him."

' More like need,' I thought to myself as I rose from my seat. I was sick and tired of my mother going through boyfriend after boyfriend. She always had the same routine: meet a guy, invite him over and desperately try to impress him, stay together for a month, break up. The longest relationship my mother had had was when she had been with Stefan Onorati, and Italian man straight from Italy. They had stayed together for three months, long enough for Allison to find out that she was pregnant with my little brother and Stefan to decide he didn't want a child. That was that.

"Well, hurry up!" Allison screamed at me.

I scurried off to find a broom and begin my cleaning. Part of the reason why I never had an assignment done on time was because my mother was a slob who couldn't cook for her life. That left me to do most of the cleaning and to supply every meal for my little brother. I didn't mind it much, although whenever it came to finishing homework and assignments on time, well, I hated it when my teachers told me that I shouldn't blame my mother because 'my mother wasn't the one doing the work.'

"Anna," Aiden, my seven-year-old brother said, "Mommy is having another boyfriend over, is she?"

Even Aiden who was so blind that he wore large Harry Potter style glasses that slid down his face knew that our mother was being ridiculous. I nodded, not in the mood to talk.

Aiden forced his glasses back onto his face with his right hand. In his left hand, he clutched Ether, a stuffed cat missing an eye ball with missing patches in its fur. He had refused to let go of the stuffed animal for as long as I could remember. He insisted that it would protect him, but I just found it to be creepy. "Anna," Aiden started again.

"What?" I snapped.

Aiden turned away from her and she knew he was wiping a tear from his eye. When I had been younger, I had seen my mother beaten to a pulp by some of her boyfriends. I had cried for her and begged her to leave them, but she refused. From that point on, I decided that any pain my mother received, she deserved, and I promised myself I would never cry again. Aiden had also tried to make the same promise, although it was much harder for him to keep.

Aiden faced me again and asked, "No matter what happens, we'll stay together, right?" he asked.

I stared at him. I wasn't sure why he was always saying such depressing things, but I figured it was better to just give him the answer he wanted, lest he'd burst into tears. "Yeah, Aiden," I replied. "Always."

When Andrew arrived, Aiden and I retreated to our rooms. Our mother didn't care to have us present, and anything we did that might interrupt the dinner would only cause us trouble. I sat on my bed, completely irritated with my mother. I closed my eyes, and took in a deep calming breath. When I opened my eyes, I stood and began to walk around. I never felt comfortable unless I was on the move.

I nearly leaped out of my skin when I heard the door open. I turned around to find Aiden sneaking into the room, Ether gripped tightly in his fist.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked, aggravated.

Aiden shrugged. "I can hear them talking from my room," he mumbled. "The sound makes me uncomfortable."

I constantly found myself taking care of her brother whenever he was afraid so I was used to it. "Fine, you can stay in here," I said, trying to make myself sound stern. "Just don't make too much noise, okay?"

Aiden nodded earnestly and curled up on my bed. Within minutes, he was asleep. He tossed and turned restlessly, and his breathing was uneven. I was used to his breathing problems. Sometimes it seemed like he was trying to breathe something other than air. It got even worse whenever he had an asthma attack.

"Sleep well, Aiden," I whispered and kissed him on the forehead.

A winter breeze blew in from the window and made me shiver. That caught me by surprised since I usually kept the window close. I walked over to it and slammed it shut. I walked back over to my bed and sat down. A click sound coming from the window caused my eyes to shoot towards it. Once again, it was open.

"Don't close it!" A voice screamed out from the darkness.

Now, most people would have screamed for help, or at the very least, closed the window, but I was not most people. I sat patiently as first one pale hand, then another grabbed hold of the window sill. I heard a grunt and then a face peered at me from the window. It was a boy who appeared to be about my age with midnight black hair and eyes so light that the irises almost appeared to be white. "Hello," he said.

I stared at him. The first thought that ran through my mind was, 'I hope my mom doesn't figure out he's here.' "Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is..." he paused as he yanked himself in through the window, flopped onto the ground, and rolled until he landed near the foot of my bed. He smiled at her as he got to his feet and held out his hand. "Callahan Douglas Weston, but you can call me Cal for short."

I stared at him, and after a moment, he lowered his hand.

"I'm assuming you're..." he paused and dug a small index card out of his pocket, "Alesana Beth Force."

"Just Anna," I corrected.

"Good, Anna, hi."

I wasn't sure what to make of him. Now that he was inside, his black hair flopped into his eyes, his skin seemed paler, and I realized that his eyes were actually a very pale shade of blue. He was lean with firm cheekbones and a smile that was both encouraging and goofy.

"Why exactly are you here?" I asked.

"Huh, oh!" he said as if he had completely forgotten why he had climbed to the second story of my house and broken in through my window. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm here to take you to safety. And don't worry, I'm smarter and stronger than I look."

"And what's not safe about being here?" I asked. "The only problem I've had is you."

Cal flushed and since his skin was so white, his face turned as red as a tomato. "Right, well, you might be in danger so I was sent to bring you to safety."

"By whom?" I asked.

"I'm not supposed to tell you that," Cal replied. "So, are you coming?"

"Well, it means getting away from my mom," I replied, mostly just happy to have a way out.

Cal's face was baffled as if he couldn't understand why I would possibly say yes. He fixed his expression and smiled at me. "Well, great. You should pack lightly and then we'll be on our way."

"Okay," I said as I headed towards my closet and began grabbing my favorite outfits. I turned to my bed and glanced at my sleeping brother. "What about Aiden?"

"Who?" Cal asked.

"Aiden, my little brother," I explained. "I can't just leave him here."

"Well, I was only sent for you," Cal said.

"Okay, but he's my baby brother. He needs me, and I promised him that I wouldn't leave him alone," I explained.

Cal seemed to think this over for a little while before sighing and saying, "Fine, he can come. Just get him packed quick. I want to get of here as soon as possible."

I sat down next to my brother and gently shook his shoulder. His eyes fluttered open and landed on me. "Aiden, we're leaving. Go into you room and pack anything you need."

"Where are we going?" he whispered, his voice sounding drowsy.

"We're going on an adventure. But you can't tell Mom, and you can't bring anything that you don't absolutely need, okay?" I said, hoping he understood.

Aiden nodded and climbed out of bed. "Pack as fast and quietly as you can, and come back in here."

Aiden nodded again as he left the room.

Within twenty minutes, Aiden and I had packed out bags. We followed Cal out of my window and into the night.