"Oh, Sea Spawn, don't worry. By the time you do, you'll be dead," Skulker laughed. I had time to think Uh-Oh before a giant laser came out of his arm and a flash of bright blue surrounded me. Danny's screams were drowned out in the following explosion.
Most people would be reduced to ashes by a ray that powerful, kinda like the entire wall and all the furniture behind me. But being forced by my psychotic cousin to almost drown in the River Styx has its perks. Unless the gun hit the small of my back (a spot only Annabeth knew about), I was invulnerable.
The dust cleared, leaving a rubble-covered me, dirty but unharmed, in the midst of the wreck. My clothes were singed, torn and barely hanging on my body. Which kinda sucked, because those were my favorite sneakers. Danny and his friends looked at me, and if their eyes were any wider they'd have popped out of their heads. Even Skulker looked surprised, but more angry that his powerful weapon couldn't harm a "defenseless" guy like me. He tried to shoot again, but had obviously wasted the majority of his power on the initial explosion. Muttering some unrepeatable curses, he busted another hole in the ceiling as he flew away.
"Until next time," he growled with an evil smile that would make normal kids dig up their teddies out of their closets. As soon as he was gone, everyone rushed up to me.
"Percy...?" Sam couldn't even choke out the rest of her sentence. She turned to Danny, who shrugged almost imperceptibly. He probably didn't know what to make of me either. Tucker just stood there, openmouthed, frozen like one of Medusa's statues.
I realized a little late that these kids were mortals. They had no idea that I had the curse of Achilles, only that I'd been able to get hit directly with a pretty dangerous-looking gun and had survived pretty much unscathed. Time for some play-acting.
I hunched over, clutching my stomach with a pretty realistic-sounding groan. Please buy it, please buy it. Obviously the medic of the group, Sam was all business as she checked me over.
"Oh God. Danny, he's definitely been hurt. Probably Ecto-radiation, minor bruised bones, no cuts or scratches- but that just means the damage is internal." Oh no. I'd been a little too realistic. Of course my mom and Paul would see right through the act, but if I was stuck in bed this summer (or worse... taken to a hospital) I would most definitely go crazy.
"Percy, can you hear me? What hurts? C'mon, we need to make sure you're okay," Danny said kindly.
"Um... I think I'll be okay. Seriously. I had a broken rib that just healed a week or so ago-" Not entirely a lie, but it'd mended instantly with some ambrosia. "-and the gun probably re-injured it. Honestly, I'll be okay," I smiled weakly. They still looked pretty unconvinced, and helped me over to the couch where we all sat down to talk.
"Percy, I don't think you know how serious this is," Danny told me.
"Was that... a ghost? Like the ghosts that attack your town all the time?" I couldn't help but ask. Tucker, who had finally gotten over the shock, just sighed.
"Yeah, but that's one of the worst. His name's Skulker, and he goes around hunting for one-of-a-kind creatures," Tucker seemed to realize what he'd just said, and looked at me strangely. "So why was he hunting you?"
"He said his patron gave him more power. He's usually more harmless. But Skulker doesn't have a boss, unless..." Danny trailed off, looking at his friends. Another silent conversation. I sighed.
"Guys, I know you're pretty nervous about the whole ghost thing. But I can help. We're in this together. So let me know what's going on. I don't scare easily, I promise," I gave a small laugh. Both Sam and Tucker looked to Danny, who eventually shrugged.
"He's right, guys. We should tell him everything." Sam looked shocked.
"Everything? But Danny-"
"-Yeah, Sam. Everything." But he glared at her in a way that let me know he was still keeping some of his secrets. What could this guy be hiding? I was pretty sure he wasn't a demigod, and his friends were definitely mortal, but what else could he be hiding? I wanted to know, but decided not to press him. After all, I had a secret I wasn't telling, too. Danny finally turned to me.
"My parents are ghost hunters. I mean, our entire house is a giant lab filled with inventions for capturing, harming, and... disposing of ghosts that escape back into our world. My mom's a genius, and my dad's a madman. They won't work without each other, so they're always messing up and doing stupid stuff. But their inventions work, for the most part. And me and my friends try to use them to catch some of the ghosts when my parents can't."
"It's made us pretty high on most ghosts' enemy lists-" Tucker started.
"-but it's worth every minute." Sam finished. At least I knew a little of what was going on. I decided to play stupid.
"Oh, that makes sense. Maybe Skulker was just trying to catch me to spite you guys. I dunno." They nodded, obviously wanting to believe such an easy explanation. But I think we all knew there was something going on here. And I was determined to find out.
Thanks to everyone who's reading! I know these chapters are really short, and I'm sorry. But I didn't mean for this one to end like this. I have lots of plot ideas, but I don't want to put them all in at the beginning. Anyway, thanks again!
