Crashing into a recycling bin was not something I ever expected to be doing, but my father always did have a twisted sense of humor. Oh, it just had to be full of empty wine bottles, didn't it? Well, it could be worse, I just don't know how. I turned my head skyward and started screaming at my father about the unfairness of it all. That was when I realized something very strange and looked down at my clenched hands. No no nononono. "You …" I began before seeing a group of monsters closing in on me. Not again. I bolted, cursing my father with all my might as I ran away from the monsters. My legs already started throbbing in pain, still bleeding from the cuts that the glass had caused. I took a deep breath in and was about to fight them the best I could when an unexpected blast of water knocked them all down. "Do I never get a break?" a painfully familiar voice whined. Very funny Dad, very funny. "I'm Percy. What's your name?" he asked calmly as he fought the monsters. I stayed silent, not sure how to respond. After quickly finishing off the monsters, he walked over to me. "Don't talk much? That's cool. I'll just take a look at whatever identification thing you have with you." he assured me softly.
"I … have this?" I mumbled lamely, handing him the passport Zeus had "kindly" made me.
"Ok … Parker Johnson? Wow, that sounds like something Mr. D would have made up!" he laughed, not noticing my discomfort. Wow, Dad. You really put a lot of effort into making my life miserable, didn't you? I stumbled forward, attempting to hide my embarrassment, and promptly fell unconscious.
I woke up in the back of a car. "Where am I?" I yelled, pushing myself upright, "Where are you taking me?" The driver laughed at my sudden outburst and I remembered everything that had happened.
Furious with how quickly Apollo's punishment was over, I had stormed over to my father as soon as possible and demanded him to just end my stupid punishment already. It was likely the most crazy thing I had ever done. Even Ares looked at me like I was a hot headed idiot. "You think that the punishment was not harsh enough, Diosynsis? Maybe I should give one to you and see whether it will work any better than your current one!" Zeus boomed.
"No, wait!" I begged in vain. He raised his lightning bolt and I closed my eyes, preparing for the pain. Zeus did not disappoint, and soon I was falling through the sky.
"You're going to Camp Half-Blood," he stated. This is not happening!
"W-what?" I stammered nervously. I needed to know if Zeus had really gone and did what I thought he did. I knew all the evidence was already there, but I was in denial.
"Ok, I'll not beat around the bush with you. You're a demigod and Camp Half-Blood is one of the only safe places from the monsters that will hunt you down," he explained. Oh no, not again! "We should be there in an hour, but that likely won't happen. Demigods never seem to get a moment of peace when they want one. Better buckle your seat belt, because something is sure to go wrong."
One wild car ride, a group of blood-thirsty Aeternae, and a thrown up snack bar later, we arrived at Camp Half-Blood. It could have been a better entrance, but I was still too car-sick to care. "I found this one and brought him over. You guys won't believe his name!" Percy chirped, unaffected by the long, wild car ride. Chiron trotted over, shaking his head.
"Could you explain to us where you found him and why he looks like he's about to throw up?" he asked angrily.
"Found him running from monsters near my house. He recently went on his first demigod car ride, apparently," he explained, walking me over to my old friend. I saw his mouth moving, but the words sounded like they were said underwater. With no further warning, I slipped into unconsciousness for the second time in one day. "Parker's waking up, guys!" somebody laughed nearby when I opened my eyes again. "You gave us all quite the fright when you did that!" I pushed myself into a sitting position to find Percy staring back at me. "You woke up just in time for Capture the Flag! That was the game where I was claimed by Poseidon! You'll love it, Park!" he teased. Seeing the look on my face he stammered, "Oh, s-sorry. You probably won't l-like being ... called that. I didn't … think through that one though. Sorry, Parker." before recovering and joking, "Well, at least you got to participate in the camp tradition of being called the wrong name even without Mr. D being around!"
"... Yes, I guess. When do I start?" I asked awkwardly.
"Now," he replied without missing a beat. "Come on, Parker! Oh, by the way, you'll be in the Hermes cabin until you are claimed by your godly parent yada yada boring stuff. Let's go!" I tagged along behind him, limping slightly. After the rules were explained by Chiron, we started playing with me on the red team. I had to admit that it was very different actually being in the game from watching it happen. I'm mortal now, I could die playing this and the only thing that will happen to the person who kills me is getting a week without dessert. It was not helping that there was a thunderstorm happening and I was trying not to flinch each time lightning struck the ground. That was when one of them hit me and I literally started crackling with electricity. Zeus's sign glowed above my head as everybody stopped fighting to stare at me. "It is determined," Chiron said, almost numbly as all the campers went on their knees. "Hail, Parker Johnson, Son of Zeus," I could see obvious shock on everybody's faces. The son of Poseidon had come to them after beating the Minotaur without any idea what he was doing and had a fight with a child of Ares before getting claimed. I had just stumbled in from a rather mild car ride and fainted, only later to be struck by lightning. It was not exactly impressive for a son of Zeus.
"Um … thanks?" I mumbled before accidently electrocuting a nearby bush. "Oops?" I apologized lamely "This is cool and all, but I'll just go to bed now." I limped all the way back to my new cabin and slumped into my bed, exhausted. Being a demigod was even more tiring than I remembered and it didn't help that I had tried to force those memories out of my head when I had become a god. With a long sigh, I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep.
My eyes snapped open in the morning, a hazy nightmare haunting the back of my mind. The first thing I noticed was a packet of seeds with a note on them that read: From one confused, antisocial demigod to another. Enjoy your gardening!
I didn't know why such a small gesture made me feel so much better. Unfortunately, there was still that nagging little voice in my head whispering, You don't deserve this. You never cared about any of them, why should they care about you? You don't belong here. You aren't one of them, not anymore. Pushing the voice back down, I held the grape seeds to my chest, holding back tears. I walked outside my personal cabin and started planting them like it was a second nature. "Hey," Percy mumbled next to me, "I guess this makes you like my cousin, not that it matters with gods. Want some water for the …"
"Grapes," I answered to his unspoken question. He shuffled his feet for a bit before handing me a watering can.
"I don't know much about gardening. I wish I could help more," he commented, desperately trying to have some kind of a conversation with me. "How could you tell, with the annoying demigod dyslexia stuff? How did you even find your cabin? We forgot to tell you where it was!" Oops. I stiffened up, afraid he would make some kind of connection. After all, he had helped Apollo when he was turned mortal.
"Um… Well…" I stammered, trying to decide whether I should tell him or not.
"Sorry, I know you don't talk much. I won't pressure you. Just promise to tell me more about yourself at some point," he sighed after my lack of a proper response.
"I swear on the River Styx that I'll tell you more about myself eventually," I blurted out quickly before mentally kicking myself for my stupidity. Percy raised one eyebrow, but thankfully did not comment on my slight slip-up. "Why haven't you gone back to your home, anyways?" I asked hypocritically.
"Well, I was planning to come over this summer, so you just hurried my plans along a bit. Come on, or we'll both be late to practice! Chiron said I could work with you, since we both are the only people in our cabins!" he answered almost immediately. Why me? The day started with me dragging my sorry, aching body to training and ended with me practically crawling back to the cabin with an even more aching body. I would have used all my remaining energy to sprint to bed, but the sight near the cabin made me pause in shock and gasp. The seeds had sprouted into full grown vines with small grapes on them. There was a note beside the makeshift garden, reading: To a fellow lonely grape planting demigod. From Cabin 12.
"Pollux," I whispered. I wiped away the tears that started forming at the thought of my other son, Castor, who had died in battle. I knew better than to show weakness or pain. I stumbled into my bed, my heart heavy with grief. The next few days passed with the same kind of pattern. Wake up from a quickly forgotten nightmare, drag myself to personal training with the demigod son of Poseidon, barely eat anything and drink too much soda, collapse into my bed. Even after a whole week of this, I still barely talked, knowing it was more likely for me to give myself away if I did. I also still didn't understand why people seemed so keen on giving me presents. In just that week, the Zeus cabin had a garden that could almost rival Cabin 4. Somehow, the entire camp had discovered that I liked gardening and everybody was sending seeds. One of the few perks of being a son of Zeus, I guessed. The garden had a vast assortment of chives, fruit, vegetables, flowers and even some saplings. Some people even started rumors that I was actually a son of Demeter and Zeus, and was a secret minor god spying on all of them. They were only partly wrong, I guess.
After around a month of pain, pain and more pain, I got my first quest. Like the idiot I was, I stayed quiet when Chiron asked who I wanted to join me. The full force of my bad luck prevailed and Percy said he would come with me and Pollux also volunteered. I was a hairbreadth away from making a giant flashing SOS sign for Zeus and hope for the best. "Take care of my plants for me if I don't make it out alive," I begged to Chiron.
"I'll do it, Park!" one of the campers sneered. "I'll even take the quest with Percy Jackson! A wimp like you, son of Zeus or not, doesn't deserve that kind of honor!" That. Was. It.
"Silence!" I yelled, lightning forming in my hands. "This is my quest! I'll show you! I'll show you all!" They all stared at me, Percy had an impressed look on his face, but the rest looked plain shocked. "I'll do it," I whispered, "I'll complete it, just you wait and see."
Hope this is ok. Could you please PM any ideas on what the quest should be and any other suggestions? Will make chapter 2 as soon as possible.