A/N: Sorry about the wait, I got busy with finals… and baseball. And everything. Sorry
Anyways, here's Into the Darkness, Chapter 1…
I'm pretty sure that there isn't much in the world that could scare me. Maybe I just lost my memory, but at the same time, my gut was once again sending me silent messages about my past. And those messages seemed to say that I was a pretty brave dude, all in all. And wolves certainly didn't scare me. They were practically just big, vicious, more angular dogs.
But I'd never seen a wolf stare at me like this. Hades, I'd never seen a wolf this big before. But those eyes… they seemed to say No matter how bad you are, I'm ten times worse. I will rip you to shreds, inferior being.
I don't doubt it.
Of course, the fear this dog was causing was not a fear of injury, or even death. Based on the number of scars on my body, I am pretty sure I've been injured too many times to count. And death was something that I had already come to terms with. This wasn't a memory, but a state of mind. It was a way of life. That couldn't be taken away by amnesia.
No, I feared not being able to see Annabeth again. I feared not regaining my memory, too, but mostly, I just feared not being able to hold that beautiful girl that was the entire consistence of my memory at this point. I want to hold her, touch her, talk to her, laugh with her, cry with her, kiss her.
And I'm absolutely sure this wolf could take away any chance I have of doing so.
But, despite the vicious look in the beast's eyes, it didn't pounce. It didn't try to rip me apart. It didn't growl ferociously. It didn't even tense. It merely flicked its tail in the direction behind it, as if gesturing for me to come towards it, then turned around and began loping in that direction.
So… The wolf is intelligent?
Guess so.
Surprisingly, that knowledge doesn't actually surprise me.
Haha. Wordplay. Annabeth would appreciate that…
Wait, why would she appreciate that?
GOD DAMMIT!
Why can't I remember?
Oh, crap, the wolf is moving… Better follow.
I move in the general direction of the wolf, but don't ever let my guard down. Too many bad experiences with seemingly harmless beings… and this one wasn't even seemingly harmless.
Wait…
Huh?
Who knows…
As I follow this giant wolf, I begin to notice a feeling that I shouldn't be here. It gets steadily more powerful as we traipse farther into the dense undergrowth. Yet as much as I believe that this is a mistake, I also realize that I don't have any other options. I have no idea who I am or where I am, so this is the only choice to take.
Not that I think it's a good one.
After what seems like hours of hiking through the forest, we finally arrive at a clearing. Though clearing is said objectively, since the "clearing" is full of the giant remains of a once-spectacular house that….
That what?
It was something about Annabeth again…
But, as always, the memory is more of an instinctual thought that makes no sense to me. Nothing more than a reflex.
And it was frustrating the hell out of me.
What took away my…. Oh shit.
The wolf is doing something.
It stares into my eyes with its ferocious gaze, and then performs a complicated series of motions that look random, but somehow mean my mind translates as Hello, hero. Welcome to the Wolf House.
I jump about three feet in the air at that. So not only is the freaking thing intelligent, it can actually speak. Great. Just freaking great.
Don't look so surprised hero. You are here for a reason… a reason I happen to dislike. But a reason nonetheless.
A reason? Does that mean I lost my memory for a reason.
Your memory will be returned to you if you merely do as I ask. Follow my instructions to the letter, and you will survive. Survival means gain. And, in your case, gain means the return of your memories.
"Does that include Annabeth?"
The wolf cocked its head, informing me that I had somehow managed to confuse the hell out of it. I know nothing of this Annabeth you speak of. However, if she remains in your memory, you must share a strong bond with her. If this is so, then yes, your complete memory of her will be returned to you… if you survive.
"Which means following your orders, no matter what.
You learn quickly, Son of Neptune. I believe I will enjoy breaking you.
Breaking me?
A/N: Ok, so I know that in SoN it says that he spent part of the time with Lupa learning the language. But he was only there a month, and most of that time would have been spent learning how to actually be a member of the wolfpack. So, I figured I'd take the idea from all the other books and just have him automatically know how to speak it.