I do not own Percy Jackson, yadda yadda yadda, if you want to see my full disclaimer, check out the first chapter.
Author's Note: Hey, readers! This is Chapter 9, I hope you enjoy, and be sure to stick around until the ending. I introduce a familiar face, so stick around! Anyway, I wanted to introduce a new idea to my story, called song-themed chapters. I will find a song that relates to my storyline, or could work with the plans I have, and try to incorporate it into that chapter. I will only do this when I can; like, right now. Tell me what you think, R&R, and I hope you enjoy!
Song-theme: If You Could See Me Now, By The Script
(I do not own the Script, or anything affiliated with them.)
Chapter 9: We Meet an Old... Friend, I guess.
Once again, I was stuck playing guard duty overnight. Yeah, total shocker (Heh, see what I did there?). Anyway, I didn't encounter any vengeful spirits, deities, or monsters, but that still doesn't mean that the night was good. That night, I was hit with a wave of something that has never happened to me before.
I was sitting next to the fire, experimenting with the Master Bolt, seeing what else it could do, when my vision started to blur. At first, I thought another monster had come to attack us, but that wasn't the case. I tried to expel the darkness covering my vision, but there was nothing I could do as I plunged into darkness.
When my vision started to return, I knew instantly that something was wrong. I wasn't at the camp anymore; in fact, I didn't know where I was anymore. That is, until I turned around. Behind me, a towering, well, tower overshadowed me. I drew the Master Bolt, which I somehow still had, and decided to investigate the building.
I kicked open the doors and scanned the room. Empty. I explored around a bit, and I found a lone staircase ascending into the upper levels. I climbed the stairs to the second floor, which was much bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. And by that, I mean much bigger. Right when I stepped into the floor, a whole neighborhood appeared out of thin air. The road that appeared under my feet was empty, void of kids or cars, and there was practically no sound.
Nothing about this neighborhood screamed out trap, but I was sure something was up. Like, I had been here before. Then, it hit me.
This was my neighborhood, where Carmen and I had lived before we found out we were demigods. And before… The incident. I wandered around the place, trying to relocate the staircase while combating my raging memories of sorrow in my head. I found it behind the house Carmen and I were raised in, which brought along a super-powerful wave of memories. I nearly stumbled and landed face-first in the tile floor when it happened.
I saw images whiz by my line of sight. I watched Carmen and I chase each other with fake swords in the back, our mom smiling and laughing. After all this time, it was both a blessing and a curse to see my mom's face again. Her hair was a light brown, and her eyes were a deep blue. She wore glasses and a sweater as she laughed when Carmen attacked me with a wooden sword. I shook my head to get the memory away, with no avail.
In fact, I'm not sure if I made it worse. Another memory popped into my mind, and the landscape and the stairs disappeared. Then, another scene formed. I was standing in a cemetery, watching as a casket was lifted into the ground. I spotted a few of my relatives, who stood as far away from Carmen and me as possible. A preacher was reading a sermon or something, and Carmen and I were crying our eyes out. We were only 12; later that year, after a month or so after this, we were taken in by the Camp.
I tried again to shake the thought out of my head, when another memory shot by in my head. It was the day our lives changed; a Satyr found us. His name was Grover Underwood, and he protected us, leading us to what he called a safe haven.
Then, my dreamscape collapsed. I woke up, panting, by the fire. Carmen and Shade were nearby, practicing or something like that. I got up and headed off into a secluded part of the woods to think, alone. Which, of course, was unsuccessful.
"Hey, Carson!" Shade yelled after me, running to catch up to me. I didn't turn, and I didn't make any movements to show that I had heard her. Shade kept pace next to me, followed by Carmen, and tried to coax a response out of me.
"No." I said, plaintively. I picked up the pace a bit up where I forced Shade and Carmen to jog, but I could still walk. They wouldn't leave me alone, so I did the only thing I could do. I tricked them. I took on a full sprint forward and went deeper into the forest, Carmen and Shade struggling to keep up. I rolled into a patch of thick, safe bushes and hid there. Carmen and Shade passed right by me without a second thought, and once they were a good thirty yards away, I got up and sprinted off.
I reached the camp long before anyone would show up, so I finally had time to think.
Funny thing was, that wasn't what I wanted to do anymore. The memories fought to leave me, but I tried my hardest to keep them by me. It didn't make a difference; they were gone with the wind. Then, and only then, did I cry for the third time in my life.
Right at that moment, the flames in front of me burned brighter than anything I've ever seen. As the flames died down, a woman appeared. "Who are you?" I said, between sobs.
"Why, child, who else would I be? I am Hestia, mother of the hearth and guardian of hope."
Author's Note: Hestia's here! Did you expect her? No? Didn't think so. Anyway, thanks for reading, R&R, and yeah. Until next time, rainstorm24 OUT!