Author's Note: Hoped you liked that prologue my lovely reader(s)! On to the next chapter! Phew, there is going to be a little action (not even any) in this one; and this is where my friend and I make our little appearance (The names are not actually our real names). Sorry for the errors here and there (as usual). Haha, but no I seriously wish this was perfectly correct or something. Like that'll ever happen. I bet you guys could hear my eyes rolling from the comment. Sorry for the way how the action is portrayed; I am always super bad at writing action scenes. And also, I apologize in advance for a slow start (most likely, my stories are ALWAYS like that). So the REAL plot will probably start moving into action until maybe chapter eight or nine. Who knows? I don't, since I haven't made an outline of the story yet. And man, it's going to be so hard trying to make my friend act as accurately like in real life; which is why she is one of the two authors for this book! She came up with the idea of making a fanfic anyway. But, thanks for taking the time to check my story! Enjoy the first chapter! Sayonara!
~Lynn~
Chapter One
"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"
"I don't know! Just use your speedy little Kenya legs and run!"
"I'm not that small!"
"But I am taller than you!"
They crashed through branches and trees all around them. They shoved each other forward, and ended up tripping on a few things sprawled on the ground, like twigs or rocks. It was around 4:30 in the afternoon. The Sun shone high in the sky. The sky was a very pretty blue, and there were no clouds to be found. It was a blazing 98 degrees Fahrenheit, but that was normal summer weather when it came to California. The air was very hot, and the world would've looked a lot better if they weren't getting chased by whatever they were getting chased by.
They didn't even know what they were getting chased by; it looked like it should exist in a fantasy book. And there were a lot chasing after them. And the bad part was: they were catching up pretty fast. Good thing one of the girls is the fastest in her PE class, or they would've been eaten alive by now.
"What the hell is this?!" One of the girls said, sprinting like she was in the Olympics. "I know I'm beautiful and gorgeous, but I'm not delicious!"
"But you are fluffy!" Her friend replied, referring to one of their inside jokes.
"Shut up, Lynn! I'm out!" Lynn's friend replied. "You're on your own, Lynn! We're all going to die! And I never even met Tom Hiddleston yet!"
"Not the time, Amitola! And for the record, you never will!"
"I told you to call me Loki! And don't doubt our secret connections!"
"Like I ever will! And, what secret connections?!"
"The red string of fate ties us together!"
"Oh, that is so cheesy."
They kept sprinting through the park trying to get away from the hungry-looking beasts. They snarled and bared their teeth at the two frantic girls, but they didn't seem to notice due to the fact that they were trying to live at that moment. People that passed by glanced at them and they had a look that read: What are those crazy girls trying to accomplish? It's like they didn't even see the hungry monsters chasing after them. None of them freaked out or anything; the only ones freaking out were Amitola and Lynn, and maybe a few little kids that couldn't catch the flying butterflies.
"If only Captain Kirk—"
"Not the time once again, Ami—"
"Loki!"
"Amitola! Not the time, Amitola!"
The monsters were closing the distance between them now. In other words: they were catching up, and that was bad news. It's like they would never get tired, while Amitola and Lynn were struggling to stay alive. They were slowing down the more they ran. Their lungs burned from the lack of oxygen, and their sides hurt from running too much and too long. They were sweating like crazy, and Lynn's glasses were starting to slip off of her nose, which really bothered her since it took effort to push them back up, only to have them fall down again. But, if she left her glasses, they would fall onto the ground and either Lynn of the mad-hungry beasts would trample on them. Then, Lynn would never be able to see the world in clarity ever again.
Their legs began to become numb, and they were hoping that they didn't end up tripping on the ground and getting eaten alive, while the pedestrians only stared with the look that read: What are they doing now? Get back to your normal lives obsessing over things on the internet, girls. I'm surprised you decided to spend time out in the Sun for once. Teenagers these days. Make up your minds already.
They ran and ran through bushes and grass, all around the park.
"You know, I'm starting to regret today!" Amitola yelled over her shoulder at Lynn. "I'd rather be at home fangirling over Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch right now!
"Starting to?! I already did!" Lynn panted. "I'd rather be at home reading! Or watching Benedict Cumberbatch getting beaten up by Kirk!"
"Shut up, Lynn! You're so mean to me!"
"He deserves it."
Amitola dramatically gasped in response. "You little poopy-head! I will kick you with my Kenya legs later!"
"If we even live!"
Their sides started to hurt so much it felt like someone was stabbing a knife into their sides repeatedly, and every time they gasped for breath their sides would just hurt more. They started to lose speed, and the beasts looked more ferocious than ever. Then, they realized that Amitola and Lynn were starting to slow down, and that's when they decided to speed up.
The two teenagers risked a glance and turned around, only to be face-to-face with a giant ball of heat, AKA fire. The monster roared and barked in pain, until it was only mere ash on the park ground.
"Don't worry, my ever beautiful ladies! Don't fear 'cause Leo's here!"
"Not the time, Leo!"
"Hey, a man's gonna have to have a cool appearance, right? I mean, we are in front of the ladies, you know."
"Leo!"
"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Am I your replacement Annabeth or something, Percy? Because, you seem really anxious to get me over there."
"Leo!"
"Okay, okay! Time for some Leo-hot action!" A guy with curly hair and pointed ears smirked and winked at the two girls, then dashed off to help his friends.
The two confused girls decided to catch their breath and look at their shocking surroundings at the park, which none of the pedestrians seemed to notice.
There were eight—used to be nine, until it got burned into a crisp — hungry-raving beast that were occupied by three guys and a…giant dog?
One of the guys had blonde hair, electric blue eyes, and a small scar on his lip. He wore a purple shirt that was stained with what looked like glitter or some magical dust, so the words that were on the shirt were illegible. He wore blue casual jeans and looked like he was fighting off one of the beasts with a golden sword. The other monster he used to be fighting seemed to have magically disappeared.
Another guy had brown hair and sea green eyes. Just like the blonde man, he wore blue casual jeans, but instead of a purple shirt, he wore an orange shirt that read: Camp Hal—the rest was covered with magical dust. He fought one beast with a sword as well, but what was weird and unnatural was that he was controlling the water from the pond. He was controlling the water. And of course, one of the beasts seemed to have magically disappeared. It was probably drowned by the pond water that had its own mind.
"Lynn, I think I fangirled too much."
"This was not caused by fangirling! I see it too!" Lynn hissed. "I just think we're hallucinating from exhaustion or something."
"Maybe you secretly fangirl to Anime!" Amitola gasped. "I knew it!"
Lynn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, Amitola."
"Loki!"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Lynn chuckled.
The last guy was the one that winked at the two "hallucinating" girls. He seemed to be the odd one out, because he was the only one that fought with a hammer…a hammer on fire. And he seemed to be holding it like it was no problem. He had dark brown curly hair and pointy ears like he was an elf or something. He had a tool belt around his waist, and he wore suspenders and an orange shirt that read: Camp H—while the rest was covered with magical dust, again. It's like the magical dust-covering was a routine for them. Maybe it was some new style that people were coming up with? And of course, like it was a routine, he was only fighting one monster now. The other monster's corpse seemed to have magically disappeared, like the rest.
The last one fighting seemed to be…a giant dog. It was sinking its teeth into the monster's side and throwing it against trees. It tackled the monster with its huge paws, and the giant dog scraped with its claws, leaving horrible gashes and scratch marks. The other monster was gone, but there was a whole lot of magical dust on the ground.
Amitola gasped and started jumping around. "Look, Lynn! It's Tofu!" She exclaimed, referring to Lynn's Chihuahua-mix named Tofu. Her older sister named him Tofu due to Tofu's fur being the color of fried tofu.
Lynn rolled her eyes. "Okay, firstly, Tofu is not that big. Secondly, his fur color is a tan color. And lastly," she added a tone of sarcasm into her voice, "this is obviously not the most important one. He does not bite people and throw them against trees!"
Amitola pointed out, "He does scratch though."
Lynn made no comment to that whatsoever.
The blonde-haired one leapt backwards when the monster thrust its head towards his stomach. It lashed out its claws and attempted to strike across his chest, but the blonde-haired guy was pretty smart when it came to this. He struck the claws with his sword, and they had a little strength contest. The monster pushed its claws forward, while the blonde-haired one struggled to push his golden sword forward.
The brunette dodged each one of the monster's attacks with ease, just like the blonde-haired one. It was like they practiced for this day or something. Whenever he thrust his hands out at the monster, the water from the pond shot out like a bullet and plummeted against the monster, making it slightly confused and making it get pushed back from the water's pressure. That's when the brunette dashed forward and lunged at the monster's chest. And here's where the secret of the dust came. The monster disintegrated into dust. Gravity pulled the dust downwards onto the ground, joining the other dust particles that were all around the park grounds. And of course, none of the pedestrians seemed to have noticed this.
The curly-haired one held fire in his bare hands. He dodged the monster's attacks, and sometimes blocked them using his hammer that was on fire. The monster lashed out its claws, and he ducked. During that interval of the monster pulling back its paws, the curly-haired guy threw fire at the monster's feet, making it incinerate into a massive ball of heat, until it disintegrated and joined his dust-particle friends.
The giant dog snapped its teeth at the monster, but the monster seemed unfazed. It lashed out at the dog, sending blows along its side. The giant dog whimpered with pain, but lashed out its own claws, sending down similar, but bigger, scratches down its side. The monster snarled, and went to tackle the bigger being. The giant dog took this to its advantage and opened its jaws when the monster sprung itself forward. It snapped its jaws shut on the monster's back, making it disintegrate into dust. The giant dog seemed very pleased with its work, for it wagged its tail and barked very joyfully.
The fighting soon ended. They all (except for the dog) wiped their brows and put their weapons away. The blonde-haired one flipped his sword and it turned into a golden coin, the brunette turned his sword into a pen, and the curly-haired one slipped his hammer into his tool belt. There were no bumps in the belt that indicated that the hammer was actually in there.
Amitola and Lynn realized that they were wide-eyed, and that Amitola's jaws were dropped open. She closed her mouth, and Lynn regained her composure. The three boys and the giant dog trudged over to them, all covered in monster dust.
"Ghost busters!" Amitola cheered.
"They were fighting monsters, Amitola."
"Sh-h," Amitola shushed Lynn. "Don't spoil it." Lynn only rolled her eyes in response.
"Are you guys okay?" The blonde-haired one asked.
"Uh, do they look okay?" The curly-haired one exasperatedly spread his hands out at the two girls.
"You guys are Amitola and Lynn, right?" The brunette one offered a nervous smile. "Unless you guys were running away from whatever the Mist is showing, then we've got the wrong people."
"Dude, Percy. I'm pretty positive they just saw us fighting," the curly-haired one retorted.
Percy—the brunette—rolled his eyes. "Just making sure. I mean, that would've been pretty awkward if they were playing a game of tag, and we suddenly jump in out of nowhere and start lashing out at whatever the Mist is showing with a hammer, a coin, and a pen, while I'm randomly waving my arms everywhere."
The blonde-haired one chuckled and nodded. "True."
"And, yes, we're Amitola and Lynn." Lynn offered a smile—a very awkward one, for this situation seemed very awkward.
"No! I'm Loki," Amitola corrected. The she deviously smiled. "In disguise."
"Okay, whatever, Amitola." Lynn playfully shoved Amitola in the shoulder.
"Loki!"
"Oh just be quiet and deal with the name you were born with."
Amitola pushed her invisible glasses onto the bridge of her nose. "Well, logically, my last name is—"
Lynn cut her off, "Don't bring logic into this."
"Oh, I always bring logic into things." Amitola started clearing her throat and nudging Lynn with her elbow. Lynn rolled her eyes and smiled in amusement.
"Do you think we should take them to Camp Half-Blood now?" The blonde-haired one suggested while Amitola kept fake coughing.
Percy nodded. "But, why were there so many sphinxes?"
"Sphinxes?!" Lynn asked, bewildered. "You mean those things that are like cat-human-things that are outside of those Egyptian temples?!"
"Cat-human-things," Amitola snickered.
"Oh my God shut up, Amitola." Lynn shoved her friend's shoulder once more.
"Lok—"
"No," Lynn cut her off.
"But, logically—"
"No."
"But—"
"Sh-h, Child." Lynn started patting Amitola's head.
"That's my line, Child!" Amitola protested. Lynn only laughed.
"Uh, okay." The blonde-haired one chuckled. "Let's just get going."
"Woo!" The curly-haired one cheered. "I really need a shower now. I gotta look good for the ladies anyway." He wagged his eyebrows at the two girls.
Percy rolled his eyes. "Okay, Leo."
"Hey, you have Annabeth. Cut some slack, dude."
Percy chuckled at the response, and motioned for the giant dog to come nearer. "You ready, Mrs. O'Leary?"
Mrs. O'Leary barked in response, panting with her tongue sticking out, and wagging her tail, which seemed to be causing winds as strong as tornados. And the pedestrians still didn't mind.
"Wait, what is this Camp Half-Blood?" Lynn asked them as the three guys hopped onto the dog's back."
"We'll explain later." The blonde-haired one offered them a hand. "Let's just go."
"Woah, Jason! What happened to Piper?! Ooh, I can so see the Aphrodite kids gossiping right about now."
"Shut up, Leo."
"I'm serious!"
"Are you sure we should be going?" Lynn narrowed her eyes at them. "And where are we going? Where is this Camp Half-Blood?"
"You sound like Annabeth when I first met her at Death Valley." Jason chuckled. "She kept demanding things like where Percy was and all."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "I never heard of this."
Jason shrugged. "Didn't seem very relevant to me."
"Should we mention the fact that Camp Half-Blood's in New York?"
"New York?!" Lynn screeched.
"New York?!" Amitola exclaimed joyously. "Lynn—no exceptions—we're going."
"But—"
"Let's go!"
Amitola grabbed her friend's wrist and dragged her onto the giant dog's back.
"Hold on tight!" Percy called to them. "It's going to be really fast, so watch out!"
"I'm still not sure about this," Lynn grumbled.
"You party-pooper, let's go!" Amitola cheered.
A nearby tree's shadow became wider and wider, and they were soon sucked into the void. They were going as fast as the speed of light. The wind tugged at their hair and the skin on their faces. Their clothes buffeted against all the amounts of pressure and G-force. It was dark and cold all around them, and they could hear unidentifiable sounds. Lynn was getting pretty creeped out, while Amitola screamed at how dark it was.
The sunlight came into view a moment later, and they were standing on top of a hill next to a tree, with something golden draped on one of its branches. There was a giant dragon sleeping ever so peacefully by the tree, like it was guarding it. Well, if the dragon was asleep, that would mean that it was doing a poor job of guarding it.
"Woah-h," Amitola commented, sounding impressed.
"I know, I'm amazing." Leo grinned while Lynn just rolled her eyes at that comment.
They all jumped off the giant dog's back, and it instantly flopped down on the grassy terrain and began snoring away with the dragon.
"Well." Percy spread his arms out at their surroundings. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."