It was quite dark in my room. Unclear of what's happening… Of what's going on… But one thing is clear to me…
Someone is calling me from somewhere.
Tossing and turning doesn't help the anxiety building up at the pit of my stomach.
Come to me
I'm scared…
Dont be scared. I would never hurt you
Who are you?
Fall… With me…
I don't want to hear you anymore…
We'll rule as one….
This is just a dream…
Denying won't keep me…
This is not real…
We are one…
I'm hearing things…
~
Tears pricked my eyes and I shot up trembling.
As I thought all of those were just a dream. With what little time have I caught my breath.
My alarm stared ringing 6 minutes after I woke up. D/N, my dog, nudged my hand and looked at me with his worried eyes.
"I'm good boy… I'll be good. Today's the class trip… I have to be good."
I ran down stairs to see my mom cooking breakfast.
"Hey there sweetie. You excited for the trip~?" She sang.
I reluctantly nodded. "Yeah…"
As mom set D/N's bowl she turned to me with a worried look. "You sure? Your enthusiasm sure tells me how excited you are."
"Will D/N be coming with me?"
On cue my dad already in his suit came down and gave my head a kiss. "Of course sweetie. He's a support animal, they have no choice." He smiled.
Taking a pancake from the plate, he didn't bother adding butter nor syrup and bit it like bread.
"Anyways, I gotta go. Have fun at your trip. And I'll see you after work." He gave me and my mom a kiss then left.
"Start eating. We have to make sure you don't miss your bus."
~
The bus was noisy. Everyone is screaming and laughing loudly. I sat at the very front with Mrs. Rudolph. She's my history teacher and our class adviser.
She looks like a grumpy old witch lady who eats children, but her personality is far from that. Which seems to be not enough for my classmates as they're very bratty in her class.
D/N was currently laid on Mrs Rudolph's lap as she gently pet him.
"Are we close yet Mrs Rudolph?" I asked.
She gave me a smile, "yes quite close. In fact, it reminds me to remind you kids something." Picking up D/N from her lap she gently placed him on mine and stood up.
"Attention!" She yelled immediately changing from her soft demeanor.
They kids instantly settled down and kept quiet.
"Good, now… Is everyone aware of where we'll be going?"
"Yes Mrs Rudolph…" We all reply.
"And where are we going?"
No one answered. I could sense she was about to get mad so I answered on my own.
"Metropolitan museum of art…"
"Good job Y/N!" She smiled at me and glared at the others. "We'll, I'd like to remind you lot that we won't be touring alone. Another school will be joining us, Yancy Academy! Now I wouldn't be the one supervising the tour, it'll be Yancy Academy's Latin teacher, so we need to show them we are capable and proper. I'm putting Y/N L/N in charge of the group. Listen to what she says and do participate when asked."
Whispers started coming once again. I've always been Mrs Rudolph's favorite. It's not like she has a choice, I'm the only proper one among her students after all.
"Keep quiet!" In an instant the whispering died. "I will not hear anything from your mouths about Y/N being in charge! She'll have the same power as I! If you have a problem speak louder and say it to me! Understand?!"
"Y-Yes Mrs Rudolph…"
The bus then stopped moving.
"Y/N…" Mrs Rudolph rested an arm on my shoulder. "Lead them." She smiled and went out.
I cleared my throat. "E-Everybody file ou-out properly an-and orderly… P-please."
Grumbles and mumbles came from them as they did what I said. Once everyone was out I got out. I had D/N in my arms.
The first thing I did as I got out was examine everything. From the distance, you could see the students who I assume are from Yancy Academy. A particular group had caught my eyes.
A redheaded girl was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in a guy's curly brown hair, his friend was clearly agitated by what's happening and had balled his fist.
"Y/N L/N." Mrs Rudolph called snapping me out from the trance.
"H-Here!"
"Okay so everyone is here. Remember, Y/N L/N is in charge. Now go mix with the Yancy kids." Mrs Rudolph clapped and almost immediately everyone ran towards the group. She walked up to me and pointed at D/N. "Dogs aren't allowed inside sweetie I'm sorry. We tried telling them."
A whimper came from my boy as he scoot closer to my chest. "It'll be fine boy. W-would you… Mind?"
"Not at all. I was going to offer after all." She smiled and took D/N from me. "Now run along and make friends. He'll be with you by lunch."
I turned to see my classmates only to see them instantly making friends with the strangers.
I could never do that.
Getting closer I searched curly brown haired guy and his friends.
A man had called our attention by clearing his throat, not giving me the chance to find curly guy.
It was a middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket.
"Everybody file." I said which thankfully they followed.
"Hello to everyone." He gave us a comforting smile. "I'm Mr. Brunner, Yancy Academy's Latin teacher. I was told Y/N L/N will be in charge of your group?"
I stepped up and greeted him.
"All right. Well, feel free to mix in with the group. We'll be staying for a while."
He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was listening to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, only one kid had been trying to keep them quiet and he keeps getting glares from someone who looks like Mrs Rudolph every time.
Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.
Finally, a snicker came from behind, and a kind of loud reply of, "Will you shut up?" Came.
The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story. The guy who had said shut up was the friend of curly.
"Mr. Jackson," Mr. Brunner said, "did you have a comment?"
His face was totally red and he said, "No, sir."
Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"
I looked at the carving, and back at the guy who looked relived. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"
"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because …"
"Well… Kronos was the king god, and—"
"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.
"Oh uh…" He stammered. Obviously his one mistake got rid of all the information he remembered of the image.
"Titan," I reminded him a little too loudly.
They all had turned on me.
"Ms L/N, care to help Mr Jackson?"
"I-I, he knows… I don't…"
I turned to Mr Jackson who looked at me as if he needed help. When he mouthed please I gulped.
"H-He didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them…"
As if he had a moment of epiphany, Mr Jackson looked at me and Mr Brunner. "Can you continue on Mr Jackson?"
"Okay, Kronos's wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"
"Zeus fed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him puke his other five children, who were immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach." I interrupted… Oh god was that rude?
"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind us.
"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," he continued, "and the gods won."
"The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld." I continued.
Some snickers from the group.
Behind us, the red haired girl mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"
"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"
"Busted," curly guy muttered.
"Shut up," Ms Bobofit hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.
I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."
"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "How about you Ms L/N?"
I shook my head frantically not sure of what to say.
"Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson, Ms L/n, You both did well. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, Mrs Rudolph, would you lead us back outside?"
The class drifted off, the class still mixed with the other.
"Want to join us for lunch?" Mr Jackson offered scratching his head.
"Uhm…" My face was heating up I never had friends before. I was about to reply when I heard a loud whimper from outside. It was D/N's cry. "I'm sorry." I said and ran towards the sound.
They were about to follow when Mr. Brunner called, "Mr. Jackson."
Running outside I searched for D/N. "Hey boy, where are you?!" I called.
Not long after I found him by the fountain alone.
"Oh god, what are you doing here alone? Why were you crying? Weren't you with Mrs Rudolph?" I cradled him in my arms and lied on the grass.
Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.
Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Red hairedgirl was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Rudolph was with her look alike.
"Hey," someone had looked down on me.
"Sorry I ran. I heard D/N cry…"
"Percy, Percy Jackson." He smiled.
"Huh?"
"I'm Grover Underwood." Curly beamed.
"O-Oh… I'm Y/N L/N, this is D/N." He barked in response to the introduction.
"Really?!" Grover looked at D/N in surprise. "Can I borrow him?! Please?"
Me and Percy looked at him weirdly but I handed him D/N anyways.
Grover sat on the edge of the fountain, and Percy and I close enough but not an earshot away.
"Detention?" I asked.
"Huh?"
"Did you get left behind for detention?" I asked him.
"Nah," he said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius. He thinks I know everything about Mythology and stuffs."
"I think you are." I smiled at him. "You're pretty smart."
"Yeah, well this genius is dyslexic." He smirked.
"No way."
"Way."
"I am too!"
"What?"
"Okay we're totally dyslexic twins now." I chuckled.
"Totally." Being the awkward kid I am my stomach had to growl. "Want to have my apple?"
I felt awkward and took his apple. "Thanks."
We watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and had small talks about random stuffs, we ranged our topic from his past schools, to his mom, Nancy Bobofit the mean redhead, and Mrs Dodds his mathematics teacher.
Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.
Percy was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap where D/N sat.
"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos
D/N tackled her down, not biting her but barking at her not letting her up. And Percy tried to held his laughter in.
Nancy screamed at D/N and tried to hit him. When she had successfully hit him she glared at me then the dog.
"This stupid dog!" She then kicked him.
When his whimper came out. "Hey?! What do you think you're doing!?" I screamed.
"You don't know how to control your stupid dog!"
"You dumped your lunch on him he had every right to mount you!" Grover had D/N now cradled in his arms.
My teeth were gritting at the sight of this redhead. I was about to lift my hand on her.
I don't remember what happened clearly, but I was pretty sure the water grabbed her, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"
"No he didn't you liar!"
Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.
Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"
"—the water—"
"—like it grabbed her—"
I didn't care about the whispers. All I knew was that Percy was in trouble again.
As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on Percy. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if he'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"
"He didn't do anything! Why are you punishing him?! Weren't you watching what was happening?!" I glared at her. Staring straight in her eyes.
I don't know where I got this confidence and everything but I am starting down the teacher Percy is most scared of and winning.
"I'd like to apologize for the bad conduct my student had affected yo—"
"Nancy Bobofit is in the wrong not Percy! She. Hurt. My. Dog." I could hear the poison laced in my words.
Mrs Rudolph came to me, "sweetie, let's go back in the bus. We have to leave." She took D/N from Grover and dragged me away from the scene.
"But—-"
"Ms. L/N, we'll miss the schedule. Let's go."
As if D/N knew he jumped off from Mrs Rudolph's hold and ran.
"D/N!" I didn't bother saying anything to Mrs Rudolph and ran after him.
"Y/N!" She tried calling after.
I had lost D/N a few times and I found him. He was barking and growling at something.
I went to check and saw Percy swing a sword at a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs… She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.
"Percy?" I called.
His sword was gone and there was a ballpoint pen in his hand.
His hands were still trembling.
"W-Was th-that… D-did…"
"Percy," I slowly walked up to him and pulled him to a comforting hug. "Calm down. Breathe. I… Also saw that. You're not imagining things alone."
We went back outside. D/N leading us.
It had started to rain.
Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."
I said, "Who?"
"Our teacher. Duh!"
We blinked. "We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr." Percy said.
He asked Nancy what she was talking about.
She just rolled her eyes and turned away.
We went over to Grover to ask where Mrs. Dodds was.
He said, "Who?"
But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at Percy, so we thought he was messing with us.
"Not funny, man," he told him. "This is serious."
"I am concerned as well…" Grover looked at me in surprise.
"A-about what?"
"About… Mrs Dodds? Percy and I saw something really disturbing."
Thunder boomed overhead.
Percy then let go of me and went over to Mr. Brunner who hasn't moved from his spot.
I immediately followed after.
He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."
Percy handed Mr. Brunner his pen.
"Sir," he said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"
He stared at him blankly. "Who?"
"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher." I added.
He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, Y/N, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"
"W-What?"
"And Y/N, Mrs Rudolph is very worried about you. You just ran away all of a sudden. Your bus is about to leave."
I turned to Percy reluctantly. "I'll walk you…"
"This… Can't be a real…" I gasp. "Okay if this is real, then we'll never meet again and we were really just imagining things and this is a coincidence."
"Agreed…"
"Percy, I know what I saw. I know what I remember. We'll meet again, and when we do… I have a feeling it'll be weirder."
"I'll look forward to it."