Third part's here! Enjoy!

Beckles: Ha ha, thanks for the reviews. I don't mind all that much if I'm not getting a lot of reviews, though, which is funny because a few months ago I'd've been crying my eyes out.


Part Three

He didn't have to wait long before the girl made another appearance. About a year later, he was in third grade and was trying to draw with chalk on the pavement at the school playground.

There was a tickling sensation on the back of his neck, and he swiveled his head around. At first, it was hard to see. He dug his fingers into his palm, squinting. The powdered chalk was caked his skin, but he forgot all about it once he saw it.

A man, in a dark trenchcoat. He wore a hat that dribbled eerie shadows down his face, and he wore a sinister snarl. Percy shivered and tucked his knees in. He couldn't see the man's eyes, with the hat dipping so low, but he had the distinct feeling the man was watching him.

The piece of chalk slipped out of his fingers, rolling across the bumpy ground. Percy rose to his feet, taking a shaky, nervous breath, and started walking away. Maybe he was just imagining things. He had to have just been imagining things.

He went to the slide and waited in line to get on. The sun glinted off the metal of the monkey bars. Percy focused on that part. Shiny was much safer than scary. The metal here felt warm, too. His feet shuffled across the sand, kicking up the dust in the air, listening to the giggles and chatter of the children around him. They shared the playground with the second graders, so he watched them run around, thinking about the little brother he never had. He had always asked his mom for a little brother, but she would just shake her head, smile sadly, and say that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She had to keep an eye on her one brave boy, after all.

Either way, watching the little kids run around carefree helped him relax. It made him feel more safe. Like he was at home.

The line thinned and Percy found himself at the front of the line. A grin settled onto his mouth. He began climbing, careful not to slip on the sand that had made its way onto the steps of the sturdy steel staircase. His hands gripped the sun-kissed handlebars. He didn't love the sky quite as much as he did the sea; it didn't give him that warm, tingling sense, but he did love the thrill of walking higher and higher. It gave him a bit of a rush that set his heart racing. He couldn't quite place it.

As he reached the top, though, and bent down to go down the slide, he felt a trickle of dread settling into his stomach, weighing him down. It felt cold, much colder than it should have been in the freeing sun.

Percy slowly lifted his head, and his gaze caught onto a silhouette in the corner. He felt colder. It was him. The man.

Oh, no. He wasn't imagining things.

The man reached for his dark hat and slipped it off. His arms were thick and meaty-looking, coated in filthy hair. The hat also looked dirty, as if it had been dragged through mud. And something else. Mud didn't look quite like that when it dried...

Blood?

No, that was silly. Strangers don't come to the playground with blood on his hat. People would have said something, right? Right?

He glanced around, checking the supervisors spread around the playground. For some reason, none of them were looking at the mysterious man as if he didn't belong. He got a sinking feeling that he couldn't quite explain, until he realized: it's not that they didn't notice the man's hat, it was that they didn't notice the man at all. They walked straight past him as if he wasn't even there. Certainly they would have at least seen, him, right? Even if he was a parent of one of the kids, wouldn't one of them try to help him find his kid?

And besides, the man didn't seem to be watching out for a kid. He seemed to be looking at...

Percy.

He swallowed.

"Go!" shouted one of the kids at the bottom of the side, hands on hips. Percy jolted back into reality and gave himself a push, allowing himself to relish in the momentary feeling of freedom as he slid down the smooth ride.

Was he just imagining it, or was there a huge flash as he slid down?

He reached the bottom, feet crashing into the dirt below. Grains of sand wriggled their way into his pant legs. He winced, but quickly looked up where the man had been. With the hat off, his face was a lot clearer to see. A rough chin, chapped mouth, mean-looking nose, and...

There was a flash of blonde hair.

Percy's heart skipped a beat. It was her. That girl. Again.

She pulled out a dagger, winked at Percy, and stabbed the man in the back.

Percy's eyes widened and he stumbled back, trying to regain his balance. Did she just-

The man didn't appear hurt too badly, just angered. His arms flailed as he cried out, turning a few, but not all heads. He spun around as quickly as he could in that large figure. A growl crept out of his mouth, and his knuckles rippled into a fist.

The girl rolled, and lunged again. This time, she slashed his neck, and the giant man fell back, collapsing onto the ground. The blonde girl bent down, wrestled her knife through his chest, finishing the job quickly and efficiently.

Before the man dissolved into nothingness, Percy could have sworn the guy looked straight at him...

With one eye.

Percy blinked, then, without hesitation, ran toward the girl. She was wiping her brow with her arm. Both were covered in grime.

"Are you okay?" he asked, heart racing. Before she could answer, he added, "That was awesome! How come nobody else saw?"

The girl looked at him, eyes softening with a smile. "There's something called the Mist. It makes it so people don't see things the same way we do."

"We?"

She winked. "You'll understand in a few years, okay? You're actually not supposed to see me right now. You didn't see me most of the times I came."

"What do you mean? Why a few years?"

She looked over the top of his head into the distance and sighed. "Because that's when you'll meet me. Past me."

"Past?" Percy scrunched his nose.

Her eyes flickered down to his, and made him pause. Her eyes reminded him of storm clouds, but in a good way. "I'm a time traveller, Percy. Among other things. I'm from your future."

"Wha-"

"I've got to go. You'll understand it all in a few years, I promise."

And she ran away. With a flash, she was gone, leaving Percy to himself.

Time travel, he repeated in his head. Then where did the monsters come from?