Dark storm clouds enshrouded the shops and apartments in Bushwick. A dark-haired woman leaves the subway and begins the long trek home. She walked as quickly as she could without running. She didn't want to alert whoever or whatever was following her that she knew it was there. The street was eerily silent even for the early afternoon. The wind picked up and caused the woman to pull her jacket tighter around her small frame. She glanced over her shoulder when something flashed just outside her range of vision. It was just a little black cat. She cursed having an apartment so far away from the subway and continued on as it started to rain.

Sally Jackson had grown up fearful of storms. They never meant anything good for her. The first storm she could remember being afraid of took her parents. A stray lightning bolt took out one of the turbines, and the plane went down over the Atlantic. They were never recovered. After that day, anytime a storm blew through, she would find a hiding spot, or if her Uncle Richie was home, she would stick with him. There was a storm the night her Uncle Richie died. The clouds had been dark and heavy that entire week with the occasional low rumble of thunder. Uncle Richie had gotten weaker and weaker as the storm grew more and more ominous. To Sally, it seemed like the storm was directly draining his life force. When the sky finally cracked, and lightning flashed outside of their window in Mt. Sinai hospital, Richard Jackson passed on to the afterlife.

After her uncle's death, White-hot rage replaced the fear Sally felt during storms. Instead of cowering, she'd sit on the fire escape, drink, and blare angry music from the stereo system inside her apartment as she watched the sky. This went on for a few years until the night she met him. The…man who would change her life forever. He was unlike anyone she'd ever met. Intense, thoughtful, and he could make her laugh. Not to mention he was gorgeous. All he needed to do was give her a look, and she couldn't stop herself from trying to jump him. They'd been caught in varying states of dress on the beach. Many times. More than anything, he saved her. She believed him when he said that the alcohol wouldn't make things better. It wouldn't make her loss hurt any less. So, she started going to AA meetings, and things were perfect for a little while. Then, in early December, Sally found out she was pregnant on their six-month anniversary, and everything changed.

As it turns out, her inhumanly hot boyfriend was a literal god and not just any god. The Greek god of the sea, earthquakes, and…storms. She'd always known he was different. All her life, she'd been able to see things that no one else seemed to. And from the start, Peter—or rather, Poseidon—had always seemed to glow. Especially when he smiled. He'd broken an ancient law by giving her a child, and now she and her new baby would suffer because of it. When he offered to build her a palace under the sea where she'd be safe, Sally had an epiphany. Storms weren't something to be afraid of or something to be angry with. They were a sign of change, for good or bad. She turned down his offer several times. He warned her that the child would have a strong scent that would attract monsters, and she would always be in danger. Yet, she still couldn't bring herself to leave her home. She had always been fiercely independent, and she didn't… couldn't give that up for anyone. Three months after Poseidon returned to his kingdom, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Perseus.

Sally smiled as she reached her apartment. Percy had been such a cute baby. Just as she was turning the key, a flash of movement once again caused her to look over her shoulder again. This time, however, a man was standing there in some kind of Navy dress uniform. He tilted his head as he looked right at her. Sally suddenly noticed that his eyes had different colors. One brown. One blue. His form seemed to flicker like bad reception on a TV, and Sally gasped as she glimpsed the monster underneath. The man smiled.

Sally sprinted through the lobby and up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When she reached her fourth-floor apartment, she burst through the door to find Beryl dancing to a Beatles song with Percy and Jason.

"Sally? What's wrong," Beryl asked. Sally moved to the closet and started pulling out some duffle bags. Percy and Jason stopped dancing when they noticed Beryl no longer doing the wiggle waggle dance with them.

"We need to go," She said, gasping a little to catch her breath. "Something found us."

"What do you mean? Who found us?"

"Beryl. We don't have a lot of time. We need to take the boys to the summer camp." Beryl's face lost all color.

"Shit," Beryl said.

"Mommy," Jason gasped. "You not 'posed to say that word!"

"Sorry, sweetie. What do you need me to do?" Beryl asked. Sally pulled a short barrel shotgun down from the shelf in the closet and placed it on the kitchen table.

"I-I need to explain something to Percy. Can you stuff our clothes in some bags? We're leaving five minutes." Beryl nodded and left.

"Jason? Put your shoes on, sweetie. Percy? Come here. There's something I need to tell you. Me and Mama Berry are going to take you somewhere special today, okay?"

"Why mommy," Percy asked. Sally felt a tug in her heart. Percy looked just like his father.

"Do you remember when you took that trip to Coney Island last year?" Percy nodded. "Well, the place we're going is a lot like that. It's a place that your dad said we should see."

"S-so. So. There are rides and stuff?"

"Yes, sweetie. There are rides."

"And we go right now?"

"Yes. Now, Percy. I need you to do something for me." Sally gripped Percy's shoulders. He had a habit of running away when people asked him to do things.

"Percy. I need you to promise me that you will look after Jason when we get to the fun place. Can you do that?"

"Why me," Percy asked.

"Because—," Sally's throat closed up, and her eyes began to water. "Because Mama Berry and I might get lost when we get to the fun place. And it would make me happy if you could look after Jason until we found you again. Okay?"

"Okay, mommy." Sally hugged Percy.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetie. I love you," she said.

"I love you too, mommy," Percy said.

"Good boy. Okay. Help Jason with his shoes so we can go. I'll see you downstairs soon." Sally looked up to see Beryl standing in the hall with two duffle bags, tears going down her cheeks.

"Sally, what's happening," Beryl asked. Sally wiped her eyes, walked over, and gave Beryl a tight hug.

"It's time to go, Beryl. It was stupid to think we could hide this long. Let's get going."

Sally grabbed the shotgun off the table and tucked it into her jacket. With one final look at her apartment, Sally closed the door behind her, and they all made their way downstairs, taking the back entrance to the street where she parked her uncle's old blue truck. Fifteen minutes later, the two mothers and their sons were speeding down the 495 toward the one place that Sally thought they would be safe.

"Okay. You need to explain what's happening now," Beryl stated firmly.

"I told you. Something found us. We had to leave," Sally responded.

"Yes, but that's all you've said. You came home from work looking like you'd seen a ghost or something."

"Pfft. I wish." Sally muttered.

"That. See that right there. Sally, I love you dearly. You're my best friend, but if you don't tell me right this second why we had to leave the good life we had back there, I'm going to hurt you. And not the fun way either." Sally let out a weak chuckle at Beryl's very empty threat.

"Promises. Promises, Berry," Sally said quietly.

"Sally, please. Let me in." Sally checked the back seat. Percy and Jason were out cold.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I do. It's just that… talking about it is… dangerous."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't Jason's father explain things to you when you got pregnant?"

"What. You mean Ze—"

"Don't!" Sally interrupted. "Don't say his name. Names have power."

"Explain." Sally sighed.

"Fine. You know how Percy and Jason's fathers are…special?"

"Yeaaaaah?"

"Well. That's actually… a bad thing."

"No kidding," Beryl said, looking out the window. The sun was beginning to set on the Long Island Sound, and Beryl took a second to admire it.

"No, you don't understand. Bad as in dangerous. Beryl, the legends of Greek myth are real. All of it. Even the monsters."

"Shit. Really?"

"Yes. And Percy's father explained that due to his power and position, Percy would be a target for miles around. Jason, perhaps, more so."

"Oh my God."

"Yeah." They rode in silence for a few minutes before a nagging question sprouted in Beryl's brain.

"How come we've never seen any monsters?"

"Percy's father… Let's just call him Perry. Perry says that this magical barrier called the mist protects regular mortals like us from the divine world. So, people don't normally see things as they really are. Normally, anyway."

"What?"

"I've always been able to see through the mist," Sally whispered.

"Wait. So, you've known about this even before you met Po-erry?"

"Yes, and before you ask. I had a very good reason for not telling you about any of this."

"Lay it on me."

"You ever hear that saying about how you can feel your ears burning when someone is talking bad about you?"

"Yurr" Beryl said. Sally laughed.

"Stop that," Sally said. "You know I hate that stuff. Anyway, monsters, and gods and whatever can sense when you talk about them. Saying their name could really have bad consequences. So, I'm serious when I tell you not to say their names."

"Yeah, well, you need to lighten up. You're acting like someone's going to die." Sally abruptly stopped laughing.

"Shit. That was probably a bad thing to say. Um, where are we going exactly," Beryl said.

"It's a summer camp."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Perry suggested it. It's a camp for kids like Percy and Jason."

"Wait. There are more?"

"Yeah." Sally chuckled. "We're not special, Berry. Do you think you're the only one to ever capture the attention of someone like Zack?" Beryl started laughing.

"Zack? That's hilarious. How much longer till we get there?"

"Look out the window. We're going to be there soon."

Beryl looked past sally out the window and saw a sign for a strawberry farm up ahead. She also noticed that dark clouds had completely covered the moon.

"So, what's the plan?" Beryl asked.

"I was waiting to do this until we were closer. But I can't remember all the directions Perry gave me. Hand me my cell phone from my bag, would you?"

Sally pulled out a faded card from her wallet that had contact info for Camp Half-Blood on it. Just as she pulled off to the side of the road, Percy and Jason woke up. She quickly dialed the number on the card while looking around at the dark stretches of farmland.

"Mommy are we at the fun place yet," Percy asked.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Jason said.

"Me too, mommy! I'm hungry too," Percy echoed.

"No you're not!"

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am—"

"BOYS!" Beryl yelled.

"Sorry," They said together. Beryl turned back around to Sally.

"Are they picking up?" Beryl asked.

"No, but we're not that far away. Maybe I'll just keep going straight."

"Hey, maybe we can ask that guy for directions?"

"What guy?"

"That guy in the navy uniform standing by that turn sign."

Suddenly a black projectile blew through the front windshield, and Sally jerked in her seat.

"Shit!" Sally screamed.

She floored the gas pedal, and the truck burst forward like a rocket.

"Oh fuck," Beryl said.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Percy asked. Jason started crying, and thunder rumbled in the sky overhead.

"Beryl…. you have to… get the boys… to camp… be there… soon."

"Sally!" Beryl screamed again as Percy started crying too.

The truck was approaching a large hill quickly with no signs of slowing down. Beryl could see a large sky-blue house sitting just past the top of the hill with an old white picket fence in front of it. Sally was holding her hand to a black spike stick out the right side of her chest, her blood seeping through her fingers. Before Beryl could say anything else, she felt something impact the front left tire, and she was suddenly overcome by a weightless feeling as the car flipped into the air.

Beryl regained consciousness and realized that she was upside down and something was dripping down the side of her face. Her ears were ringing, and the boys' faces were scarlet red as they screamed and cried. Percy's arm seemed to be dangling unnaturally, and Jason's face. Once her hearing returned, Beryl could hear the sounds of a fight going on. There people screaming, and she heard the vicious roar of a lion.

"Hey! Jason? Jason, it's okay, baby. One second and mama's going to get you out okay. Hang on." She turned Sally and saw that the black spike had gone deeper. Sally didn't seem to be breathing, and her eyes were stuck in a vacant look. Beryl bit her lip to stem the flow of tears she felt coming with the loss of her best friend. However, the sounds of the battle seemed to be getting closer and closer. Her door was abruptly ripped open, and Beryl couldn't help but gape at what she saw. There was a horse's body from the ground up, but when she got to where the head of the horse should be…

"My dear, can you hear me?"

"Yes! Please! You have to help us! My children are hurt!"

"Don't worry. We're going to get you all out. My name is Chiron."

"Take the children first." Beryl said. She couldn't feel her legs, and she would only slow them down.

"As you wish." The horseman ripped Percy's door away and pulled him from his seat with little effort. Beryl guessed that Percy must have passed out from the pain or shock at some point. Jason was now screaming for her. She ripped the seatbelt from the broken latch and fell to the roof of the truck.

"Mommy's coming, sweetie. Hold on." She said. She crawled from her seat. Her left leg was definitely broken, but she didn't care. She needed to get to her son. She managed to limp over to the driver's side, open Jason's door, and pull Jason from his seat. Then she looked over at the sounds of fighting and gasped. There were people in Ancient Greek-looking armor fighting a bunch of monsters. There were dozens of big black dogs, an armored woman with giant snakes where her legs should be, and the biggest lion she ever saw. Except it wasn't like any lion she'd ever seen before. It had a big black spikey tail that curled like a scorpion, and its face was a hideous facsimile of a man. The horseman, Chiron, galloped to her side.

"Ma'am, I must ask that you give me your son. It's the only way he'll be safe."

"I—" Beryl couldn't think. She couldn't move. She could only hold Jason a little tighter. Suddenly, the weird lion thing broke through a line of attackers and charged full speed towards her. Towards her son. She decided.

"Take him! Go! Hurry!" Chiron pulled a screaming Jason onto his back, and Beryl felt something sharp hit her in the throat. She reached up with quickly numbing fingers as her blood began to spill all over her hands. She sank to the ground, her eyes going glassy as a lightning storm raged overhead.

A/n: There you have it. If you enjoyed the story, I would really appreciate a review or a favorite, or even a dm with your thoughts. I'll be posting the first story of my revamped PJO series in a few weeks, so add me to your author alert if you're ready to see where this goes. I'll also post a little teaser next weekend, barring any school/life-related circumstances. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to going on this journey with you.

With all due respect,

Dr. Nomal