Percy Jackson is quite the enigma. While I could predict most of the plot twists by the end of chapter one, (I know it's a kids series, and I know that's not saying much) I still loved the series. I guess it's because of the characters. Which is why this was inevitable: my fifth fanfic, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Shadowy Past.
For the first time in a long time, I had a nightmare. For most people, this wouldn't be so bad, but for me, it can mean big trouble. See, I'm a half-blood. As crazy as it sounds, that means I'm half god. My dad is Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. I know what you're thinking, "he must be crazy" right. Well it's true. And sometimes I wish it wasn't.
So anyway, this was my dream. I was at the recently re-built Olympus (long story) inside the throne room of the gods. The twelve "major" gods were gathered around someone. I noticed the other thirty or so other gods weren't there (also long story). I moved up to the back of the crowd and saw someone I didn't recognize. He wore a black jumpsuit, the kind you'd see S.W.A.T. guys in. He had brown hair and eyes and an expressionless face. There were letters on his sleeve, some kind of acronym. With my dyslexia, I had no chance of getting the order right. I saw something like H.S.A.D., but even if I knew the right order, I had a feeling it still wouldn't mean anything to me. The weirdest part was he was mortal (Don't ask me how I could tell) and he wasn't the least bit intimidated.
"If I could get my team that far," the mortal said, "I can set the bomb so there will be no collateral damage."
"How dare you!" one of the gods screamed. "We let you up here, against our tradition, so you could spit this garbage?!" I looked over to see the speaker had a leather jacket and black shades. It was Ares, god of war.
"Your traditions are none of my concern," the mortal said. I couldn't believe a mortal had the courage, or perhaps the stupidity, to talk to a god that way.
"Why you," Ares fumed, "I'll slaughter you!"
"Silence, Ares," Zeus said. He was wearing his dark blue pinstriped suit. This mortal must be under Zeus' protection, I decided. That was the only way he would look so calm standing up to Ares.
"No! This is nonsense!" Ares was ranting like a madman. The next thing I knew, the mortal had drawn a gun and shot Ares between the eyes. My jaw dropped when I saw the war god fall to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain.
Zeus looked uneasy, like he was afraid the mortal would turn his weapon on him next, but he continued. "I must admit, I am very intrigued by your plan," he said apprehensively.
"I would have you explain more, mortal," a goddess spoke up. She wore jeans and a white blouse, and had long blond hair and stormy grey eyes. It was Athena. I wanted to back away from her. See, I've kind of been dating her daughter, and she hates my dad, so she kind of hates me too. She opened her mouth to speak again, but the mortal cut her off.
"We have sources," the mortal answered, like he had read her mind, "that's all you need to know." I thought my new hero (Ares wants to kill me, so anyone who can cause him pain is my hero) was about to be vaporized, but Athena just nodded as if she had done something wrong! I was really starting to get freaked out. It was almost as if the gods were scared of this mortal.
"I object to this plan," my father, Poseidon said. He looked like he just came back from a fishing trip, like he always did when he wasn't in his armor.
"Putting on a show for your brat?" the mortal asked. Before that even registered in my brain he turned and fired his gun in my direction. No one moved for a long time. None of the gods were hit, but I could feel a shallow cut on my cheek. "Trespassing in my domain is lethal," the mortal said looking straight at me, "Stay out of my mind."
I shot out of my bed and reached for my deadly pen/sword Riptide, but then I realized that I was back in my bedroom. It was seven in the morning. I woke up on time without my mom having to drag me out of bed, which never happened.
My mom walked in expecting to see me snoring in bed. When she saw I was already up, a look of concern shot across her face. She ran over to me and started fussing over the left side of my face. "Oh, my gods, Percy! What happened?" I didn't know what she was talking about at first, then I felt blood trickle down the side of my face. The cut I got in my dream! I told my mom everything. She looked like she was going to cry. I had almost died last summer because of dreams like that.
I ate breakfast with my parents in almost absolute silence. Mom must have told Paul about my dream, I thought. Paul Blofis, my stepdad, was really cool. He didn't mind all the crazy stuff that came with a half-blood like me. But he looked as worried as my mom.
Right after I finished my breakfast, I heard a knock at the door. I got ready for the last day of school and carefully opened the door. On the other side of the door was a girl in a plane looking school uniform. She had the same curly blond hair and grey eyes as her mother. She was scowling at me.
"I'm glad you came," I said.
She just huffed and started to walk away. Annabeth, my girlfriend, had stayed at her friend's house the night before, so we decided to walk to school together for once. Normally we'd only see each other in the afternoon since she went to an all girl's boarding school.
"Are you still mad at me?" I asked. She huffed again. I took that as a yes. "I told you I was sorry!" It wasn't even a big deal. I… I kind of stood her up a week ago. I just forgot! It's not like I was avoiding her or anything. And I had been apologizing ever since.
When we left the apartment my backpack got hooked on the door. When I turned to unhook it Annabeth gasped. "Percy, are you alright?"
I realized right away she meant the bandage on my face. I also realized I had been trying to hide it from her subconsciously. I told her about my dream too. She didn't look nearly as worried as my parents, but that's because she had been through just as much as I had. Still, she looked worried. I was supposed to be invulnerable after I bathed in the River Styx last year.
Annabeth put her hand on the small of my back and traced a small circle with her fingers, her little way of showing her affection. If it had been anyone else, I would have jumped away and not let them touch me. That was the only spot that was still vulnerable. Literally my Achilles' heel.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked in a soft tone. I nodded, but the truth was, I wasn't sure.
I smiled at her. "So the next time you're mad at me," I began, "I just have to get hurt in my sleep and you'll forgive me?" She jabbed me in the side (which is not ever a good feeling) and huffed at me again. This time it wasn't an I'm gonna kill you kind of huff so much as a watch it buster kind of huff. "I really am sorry," I said as we hit the point where we had to separate.
"I know," she said reluctantly, like she wanted to stay mad at me. She leaned over and kissed me, "Just don't let it happen again Seaweed Brain." We both went our separate ways.
Luckily, there were no monster attacks this year, which was a first for me. I guessed it was because Kronos was no longer stirring them and making them restless.
When the three o'clock bell rang, I rushed out to meet back up with Annabeth, who I hoped was still over our little spat.
When I saw her my heart sank. She was crying. I rushed over to her and asked her what was wrong. "My father was arrested," she said. That was really bad news, but it didn't seem like the kind of thing a strong girl like Annabeth cry. "That's not all," she said, like she read my mind, "They threatened my whole family. They said they'd kill them if they told anyone they were there."
"Then how did you find out?" I asked, trying to stay calm and comfort her at the same time. A second later I realized how insensitive that sounded and cursed my ADHD mouth in my head. She didn't seem to care.
"They threatened me too!"
This is the first time I've attempted to write in the first person. It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. This is off to a great start as far as I'm concerned, but I suppose I'll see if anyone else thinks it's any good. I'm just lucky the ending of The Last Olympian set me up so well.
