Look at me, updating on time. It's been less than a week since I updated last. You guys are amazing, seriously. I have 45 reviews, 50 favourites and 80 follows. hank you so much for reading my story.

I warn you there are some pretty heavy themes in this chatper so beware.

Calypso POV

I start awake for no reason, Leo is still sitting by the fire. I check my watch, I've been asleep for an hour. I get up and walk over to sit down next to him. He starts, nearly dropping the stick he's holding back into the dying fire.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi," he says back, drawing something with the charred end of the stick.

I lean over to look at it, it looks like a blueprint. A really complicated one of a dragon, he's drawn a diagram for the building of a mechanical dragon. Festus he's written under it. Below that drawing is a ship with a dragon figure head, it looks like an ancient Greek trimer. Around it he's written words like Flying and Fire and under it he's called it the Argo II.

"You're really talented you know." I tell him and he looks at me in astonishment.

"These are just sketches I do when I'm bored, they're not that good." He mutters, "And anyway they're far too imaginative, we don't really have the technology to make a flying ship."

"We have made a flying ship before, you know?" I say, watching as he starts drawing another diagram.

"Yeah and it crashed during its test drive, just fell right out of the sky." He says, putting the finishing touches to his new invention. It's a table apparently called Buford.

We sit in silence after that while he draws and perfects diagram after diagram. He's not paying attention to me anymore, completely absorbed in his work. It's pretty amazing to watch how he can create designs that surpass that of some of the most impressive designs I've ever seen and those were by some of the greatest engineers of the century.

"I'm sorry about what Piper said." I say, finally breaking the silence.

"It's fine, she thinks she's superior to us. I get it, everyone thinks they're superior to us." Leo shrugs, "Jason won't hurt her, you know, though I don't understand why you didn't you after them."

I shrug, "To be honest I don't know why we didn't go after them. Maybe we knew he wouldn't hurt her or maybe we all think it's time Piper gets what's always been coming to her."

"Yeah, well she's a bitch. How are you guys friends with her anyway, if she's so horrible and all?" he asks.

"I don't know, friend choices are pretty limited and she used to be really sweet. She's not that bad a person really, she's just misguided and if we dropped Piper it would be awkward because Annabeth and Piper are best friends and our parents are best friends." I explain. Piper really isn't that bad she's just been raised to think a certain way.

"Huh, I guess they don't let many people into the elite circles." Leo says, throwing his stick back into the fire.

"You should probably sleep," I say, "Your friends not going to get better if you worry about her."

I get up and he follows me, he climbs into bed next to Annabeth and Will. He doesn't fall asleep though, he's building something under the sheets. Maybe it's a little model of his dragon or maybe it's something completely different.

888

The door bursts open and people flood in, it seems they had to take Hazel to the hospital then. They seem surprised to see us. They take us downstairs and separate us from Jason and Leo. We get taken to a police station and told that our parents have been worried and will be here to collect us soon. They also tell us that the kids won't go unpunished for kidnapping us even though we tell them they didn't. Piper keeps asking what happened to Jason but no one listens to us. Our voices are lost in a storm.

Thalia POV

I watch as they lead Percy, with Nico in his arms, to a different car. He doesn't see me sitting in a car but I can see that Nico's crying and Percy is getting pitying looks. The social worker keeps trying to talk to me, her name is Lucy, but I don't engage so she eventually gives up and asks the driver to start moving.

I'm off the live with a nice sounding couple call Mr and Mrs Samuels, they only foster teenage girls which is why that's where I'm going. I guess they think Percy isn't safe around girls or that I don't have enough female guidance. Whatever the reason it's stupid and I hate it.

"They're very nice people and I'm sure you'll get on tremendously with all the other girls. There are four of them." Lucy says and I ignore her, "One of them is called Jasmine and she's seventeen, she's the eldest. Then there's Drew and Clarisse who are sixteen and Lacy who's thirteen. When your friend Hazel is well enough she'll come stay here too even though she's only nine."

When I still don't respond she sighs, "Look, Thalia, we want to help you and I know you don't want to be split up from your friends but it's for the best. You're safe now."

"From what? From who? Percy who is the only person in the world who has ever shown me real kindness? Nico who is a ten year old boy scared for his sister's life?" I ask her quietly, "Jason who is my brother afraid? Leo who might just be dying too? Who am I safe from?!"

"Anyone who might hurt you. You're a girl who is turning into a woman, a very pretty one at that and he is a boy turning into a man. You both have desires and sometimes boys aren't every good at controlling them." She says.

I laugh coldly, "You think Percy's gonna rape me or something like that. We've been living together for the past three or four years, he's practically my brother."

"You may think that but-" she says.

I interrupt her, "I know that, Percy has helped to feed me and four other kids who he had no need to help for the past two years. Before we found him it was me and Jason, neither of us had any experience on the streets. I was ten and here comes this kid who's the same age as me but has been doing this for two years already. It's been almost four years since he found us and helped me look after my brother. We've basically raised three kids together, he's my best friend and he's never hurt me."

"I don't doubt it, but there are other dangers being with him present and they couldn't take all of you." She's lying but I don't call her out on it because there's no point.

The rest of the car ride passes in silence. When we arrive Mr and Mrs Samuels are waiting for us with one of the girls. She looks to be about thirteen so it must be Lacy, maybe she's going to be my buddy. I sink down in my seat but Lucy opens my car door and forces me out.

"This is going to me your new home, as least for the next few months." Lucy says as though I don't already know that. I raise my eyebrows at her and she continues, "Thalia, Mr and Mrs Samuels have been kind enough to give you a single room and Lacy will take you up there now. I will be back tomorrow to check on you but for now I have to talk to the adults."

I sigh and follow Lacy into the house. She won't stop talking even though I don't answer any of her questions. I feel out of place with my old ripped clothes, ragged hair and gruff street manner. This place is all light and clean. Lacy wears a white frilly dress.

"This is your room," Lacy says, "I wish I could have my own room but I have to share with Drew. She's my half-sister which is why they put us in a room together rather than putting her in with Clarisse. That and the fact that they can't stand each other." She notices that I'm just standing there awkwardly, "Well, aren't you going to go in? There's a clean set of clothes for you on the bed and the bathroom is down the hall if you want to freshen up." She grins and I mutter a thanks.

I push open the door to my room, Lacy leaves to do whatever it is she does. The room is bigger than I expected, about six by five metres painted a light green. The bed is in the corner of the room farthest from the door and it has light blue linen. There's an empty bookshelf and a desk. There's even an armchair by the window. It's like they expecting somebody to need this room. The clean clothes Lacy spoke of are a clean pair of jeans and a back long-sleeved top. There is also a clean bra and panties and a tooth brush.

I follow Lacy's instructions and go into the bathroom. I feel bad for taking the time to do all of this while Jason and Leo are feeling taken into care and Hazel might be dying but I stink and it's not like I can do anything all of that. I make sure to lock the door before I remove any items of clothing just in case. The water in the shower is warm and it's been a long time since I had a warm shower. I wash my hair and do all of that crap.

When I'm done I smell like vanilla and strawberries but I feel clean which is something. The clothes hang off me. They were obviously bought with a normal sized fourteen years old in mind not a malnourished street kid. I stare at myself in the mirror, without all the dirt my skin is pale and you can clearly see the dark circles under my eyes. My wet hair is plastered to may face, I look vulnerable and pathetic.

Someone knocks on the door, "Thalia are you okay? You've been in there a while."

"I'm fine!" I say shout grumpily back, flinging the door open. The girl on the other side looks surprised by my appearance. From what I gathered from all the things Lacy said this is Jasmine, the seventeen year old.

"Um, hi. Sorry it's just when I first came here I used to lock myself in the bathroom and do things that I don't want you to do. I don't know where you came from but I know you're not like Lacy, Drew and Clarisse whose parents died and then they came here and I'm not like them either. Sorry." She says.

Suddenly I remember all the facts Jason used to spout about how children from difficult backgrounds would have a harder time adjusting and often got depressed. "You think I'm going to cut myself." I say.

"No, yes, maybe," she sighs, "I don't know, what I do know is you're sad and angry and confused and all those things can make very bad things happen."

"I'm not going to kill myself or maim myself, at least not until my brother and all the other people I love are okay." I tell her then I shove past her and walk back to my room.

She thinks I'm going to kill myself or cut myself. I laugh darkly at that, I mean sure I've thought about it but I'm not giving up on this. I'm not giving up on Percy or Jason or Nico or Hazel or even Leo because that would mean there was no hope left and there is. There's hope, as freaking cheesy and cliché as that sounds.