Hey guys second chapter is up. My brain is a cluttered mess so please forgive me if this chapter is a little scattered. :P
I wake up in a cold sweat. My hands are trembling and tears stain my face. My breath is shaky as I sit up from my makeshift bed.
It's not yet morning but I cannot force myself back into sleep. I try to shake the horrible memories out of my mind but they're burned into the back of my eyes. When I blink the images flash into view and I shudder.
By the time the sun comes up I had already packed up my duffle bag and had started moving. I knew that if I didn't keep moving every monster within a 20 mile radius would be on me.
I walk along the ground at points but when I sense monsters, or rather smell them, I climb up into a nearby tree and continue on among the branches. No one can hear me as I leap from tree to tree, hiding in the shadows just out of sight.
Most of the monsters I see are patrolling the forest outside of New York City. None have caught any demigods which meant that I didn't have to rescue anyone. I was the last demigod who wasn't part of a rebel group. I'd been surviving on my own for two years; no help from anyone and that's how I like it. I only have to worry about myself in dangerous situations. Sure I help demigods when I can, but only because I know what Kronos can do to them. I never want anyone to suffer through pain like that.
Most of the time I stay within a 5 mile radius of New York City so I can keep an eye on Kronos and look for a weakness; so far none have come.
The sky by now is a hazy brown and most of the plants around the city are dead or dying. The trees are the only thing that survive due to the nymphs that Kronos has allowed to live. No birds sing and the winds blows through the branches of the trees, biting at my skin and hinting at the soon approaching winter.
Though Demeter and most of the Olympians were killed by Typhon; the four winds were tasked with creating the seasons. The humans still noticed the chance. Most of them thought that the apocalypse had started when Kronos took control, and in a way they were right. Usually Kronos didn't bother with humans, unless they could see through the mist. He still had a grudge against Rachel Elizabeth Dare for hitting him in the eye with her hairbrush. Still he was more focused on wiping demigods off the face of the planet.
He despised demigods more than the actual gods. Some rouge demigods had formed a rebel group most commonly known as the Titian's Bane. They usually attacked small hordes of monsters wandering around the country and giving Kronos a major headache. Mostly though, his problems were with me. I was the last child of the big three. He still believed that the prophecy wasn't complete and that I could save Olympus. I'm 15. Two months until my birthday. I had a small glimmer of hope that the prophecy would come true and I would preserve Olympus, but in reality… in knew it was hopeless. Percy Jackson, the best demigod of our generation couldn't even beat Kronos when he was in his weakened stage. How was I supposed to kill him when he is at full strength?
My mind is wandering as I leap to another branch; however, this branch isn't as thick as the others and I hear a snap! I try to grab at another branch and prevent myself from falling but I can't find a handhold and I tumble to the ground some 30 feet below. Branches scratch my legs and arms as I make my way down.
I hit the ground… hard. My breath comes out in a painful grunt. I'm stunned for a moment by the pain but I quickly get up and look at my surroundings. I'm in a small camp, a bonfire blazing in the middle with a single mat laid beside it. It seems abandoned, but an urgent voice tells me different.
"What are you doing? Do you have a death wish or are you just plain stupid? " a voice whispers harshly to me.
I turn around and see a girl sitting next to a tree her hands bound together by a rope wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Her skin is lightly tanned but littered with bruises and a few deep scratches. She's skinny from lack of food but not so much that she looks sick. Her clothes are torn and filthy; a pair of blue jeans that are torn at the knees and at small places in her thighs and a black T-shirt with a pair of teal headphones on the front that was covered in dirt and… dried blood. She is bare foot and her feet are dirty and scratched. Her ink black hair is pulled back into a short messy braid that reveals her face. Her lips are cracked and bleeding slightly and a small buries is visible on her lower jaw; but her eyes are what really catch my attention. They're a bright green-teal around the edges of the iris that slowly fade to a green and just before they reach the pupil the green fades into a golden brown, like waves crashing upon the shore.
I stare at her like an idiot for a few moments before I come back to my senses. "Who did this to you?"
"Shh… keep it down!" she whispers. Her eyes turn away from me and turn to fear. "Forget it just hide! Hurry!"
I don't argue and duck into some thorny shrubs just as a massive figure stomps into the camp; Atlas, Kronos's second in command. The titian wastes no time and walks directly toward the girl who stays perfectly still and tries not to look at where I am hidden.
Atlas sighs and looks at the girl with pleasure. "Hello, my dear. Did you miss me?"
She stays silent which seems to irritate the titian. "Now come on don't be like that. I just want to know how my girl is doing." He leans down so his face is in front of the girls. She again says nothing and turns her face away from his.
Atlas growls in frustration and grabs the girls chin and forces her to look at him. At first I think that he is going to slap her across the face but his scowl turns into an evil smirk. "You know I've always wanted to taste the lips of a sea spawn."
My mind spins at the words. Sea spawn. It couldn't be.
Atlas leans in to kiss the girl but he doesn't get very far. She spits in his face. "Well you're going to have to wait a bit longer."
The titian roared in anger and whipped the spit form his face. "You're going to pay for that." A look of fear crossed the girls face just before Atlas lifted her up off the ground by her throat dragging her back up the side of the tree until she was over his head. She struggled against her bonds but couldn't break free as Atlas continued to cut off her oxygen supply. She gasped for air as Atlas chuckled to himself. "How does that feel my dear? Do you like that? Huh?!" he said tightening his grip.
I couldn't take any more of this. I emerge from the bushes. "Hey Atlas!"
The titian turned just as I threw my sword at him, aiming for his chest and hitting my mark. A look of surprise crosses his face before I run at him and twist my sword out of his body. E bellows in rage and drops the girl from his grip. She slides down the side of the tree gasping and choking, trying to get enough oxygen back into her lungs.
The titian slams his hand into my stomach and I go flying, crashing into a tree on the other side of the camp. "Bad idea puny demigod." he rushes at me like a freight train but I quickly dodge and slash my sword at his side. Another scream of pain escapes the Titian's mouth as golden ichor begins to run out of the newly opened wound.
Atlas swipes at me again but I jump over the attack and bring my sword down on his wrist, severing his hand from his arm. The titian yells again and clutches the wound to his chest as more of his blood runs onto the ground.
He is now seething with rage and he jumps at me. I don't expect the sudden burst of speed and his foot slams me into the ground. The sole of his boot digs into my neck as I try to desperately push him off. Atlas grins triumphantly down at me as I grin my teeth and claw at his large boot squishing my windpipe.
"You're good kid I'll give you that, but you're not good enough. Kronos is going to praise me for bringing in two of the most powerful demigods to him in chains." Atlas laughed.
"I'm never going back to that place ever again!" I say as loud as I can with his boot on my throat.
I will myself to fall into the shadow of a nearby tree and Atlas growls in frustration as I disappear from his sight. I wind up behind the tree that the girl is tied to and I cut her hands free of the ropes.
"Come out you worthless spawn!" Atlas yells as he searches for me.
I run to the girl and stand her up on her bare feet.
"I'd really love to stay and chat Atlas but, I have other things I need to do." I say as the titian turns to where the two of us stand. His face is full of anger and surprise when he sees us.
I give him a wicked grin and a wink before I vanish into the shadows with the girl at my side.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
We wind up in another part of the forest, too far away for Atlas to find us. My mind is hazy from shadow traveling for such a long distance and I sit down on the dying grass as soon as we reappear out of the shadows.
The girl blinks her eyes a few times in shock but soon gets over it and begins to rub her wrists where the ropes had left deep red marks on her skin.
"You okay?" I ask seeing the hand mark on her throat.
She nods. "Yeah I'm fine, thanks… and you?"
"Same."
A million questions were running through my mind. Who was this girl? Why did Kronos want her? Why had Atlas called her Sea spawn? Why was she out here all on her own?
I can't think straight with all of these questions and I barely register her voice as she speaks.
"I guess I'd better get going; thanks again for… um… saving me back there." She says awkwardly. I don't say anything as he begins to walk away onto the forest. I almost let her go. I wanted so badly to forget all of my questions and just leave well enough alone, but I know I can't afford to let her walk away without getting some answers.
"You're a daughter of Poseidon… aren't you?" I blurt out.
The girl stops dead in her tracks and doesn't say a word. I continue on with my questions. "What are you doing out here alone? Why does Kronos want a daughter of Poseidon? Where did you come from? Who are you?"
She turns around in a flash and stares at me but doesn't answer my questions. She just continues to stare at me with her fascinating eyes and I do the same for a long time.
When she finally speaks, her voice has a hint of laughter to it. "I knew it was you; as soon as you shadow traveled I knew that you were him. Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, prince of the underworld." She says a smile paying at her lips.
There is tension between us that is building, but it is soon broken by the girl sticking her hand out for me to shake.
"Anya Westfall, daughter of Poseidon and princess of the sea."
Yep and now we will start to get into the flashbacks and answering some major questions for the story. Hope you enjoyed. Please review I love to know what you guys think and I want to get better at writing.
:P