Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor any of its characters, I just own my own character Antheia/Alyssa.

As soon as the bus stopped, Grover had to run to the bathroom and Percy and Alyssa both agreed it was best to ditch him. After all, he was freaking them out muttering how they were going to die and how it always happens when we are young.

After getting their suitcases, they caught the first taxi uptown to go home.

When they got to their small apartment, hoping that there mom would be home. Instead, Smelly Gabe and his equally fat and disgusting buddies were sitting in the living room playing poker. The floor was littered with empty beer cans and chip bags and the tv was on blaring ESPN. Gabe, hardly even looking up, took another puff from his cheap cigar before saying, "Oh joy, I guess your both home now."

Percy and Alyssa exchanged a glance, more like Percy silently asking permission to kill him and Alyssa silently saying to calm down before turning to Gabe.

"Where's mom?"

"Working, you kids got any cash?"

Percy tensed up and clenched his fists, raising them and stepping towards Gabe before being quickly detained by Alyssa's hand, blocking his way to beat up Gabe. She sighed as she looked back at her stepfather. Her real father was unknown to her, having fallen in love with Sally when they were in college. See they weren't married. Sally told them that he was important and rich, so their relationship was kept a secret. One day, just after Percy was born and she was around three, he went on an overboard business trip and never returned. Lost at sea, Sally said. After working several small jobs and never having the time to raise her two kids, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice for about thirty seconds. He hated them and strived to make their life's miserable, and add that to Percy's stubbornness and her inability to be controlled, they all made Sally's life pretty hard.

Alyssa gave one more warning glare to Percy before answering.

"No, we don't have any cash."

Unfortunately, one of Gabe's only talents was sniffing out money like a greyhound.

Suspiciously rubbing him chin, he questioned, "I'm not stupid. You kids just got out of a taxi, probably paid the driver a twenty and got six or seven dollars change..."

Alyssa turned to Percy who grumbling took out a wad of cash and threw the money on the table.

"I hope you lose." He growled before stalking off to his room.

"Your report card came in!" Gabe shouted after Percy, "I wouldn't act so snooty!"

He turned back to Alyssa, who was still standing there.

"If I were you I would control that rat of a brother you have. Little boys with big attitudes tend to get hurt."

She narrowed her eyes, feeling a storm rage inside her, pushing at her chest to get out. She had to take several calming breaths in order to control her temper, which seemed to grow stronger throughout the years.

She stepped closer until she was standing right next to Gabe and his smelly comrades. In a low raspy voice, she said, " If you ever dare to even think about hurting me or my brother, I will make sure that you never see that light of day again, any consequences required.."

She turned and before leaving, knocked his beer can over, spilling the dark, frothy liquid all over his worn jeans.

"Oops!" She said, a sinister smile across her face.

They all stared at her with horror filled eyes, Gabe stared frozen, never hearing this side of her before. She turned and walked off to where her brother had stormed off to just minutes before.

Alyssa entered her brother's room, slowly opening the door to see Percy cradled in a ball sitting on his unmade bed. His eyes were puffy and he had never looked so lonely and scared than he did right now. Alyssa immediately rushed over to him and placed her arms around him, trying to comfort him in any way possible. His bottom lip was quivering, eyes wide and glassy.

"Sshhhh..." Whispered Alyssa, "I promise Gabe won't ever hurt you, I just gave him that scaring of his life, and if there wasn't beer all over his pants, I would have said that he was so scared he peed his pants."

Percy chuckled at the thought, his face brightening a little.

"Alyssa, Gabe isn't really the reason why I am scared." He looked up at Alyssa, fear filling his eyes again. "I can't stop remembering Mrs. Dodds, her claws just inches from my throat before I killed her... Or the sound of that old lady's scissors snipping the yarn. Grover had such a look of panic-how he made us promise to let him walk us home- I get this feeling that someone, something is looking for me right now. Maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons. If anything ever happened to you..."

Alyssa cut him off.

"Percy, I swear nothing will ever happen to me."

He ripped free of her arms, a fierce scowl on his face.

"You can't say that because you don't know! Do you think dad knew that he was going to die on that boat, leaving Sally, you, and me behind with that monster Gabe!"

Alyssa grew silent, her eyes watering at the blank wall she got whenever she thought of her dad. Percy knew this was a sore subject for her and he calmed down immediately before sitting down next to her.

"I'm sorry Alyssa. I didn't mean to bring that subject up."

She shook her head. "It's ok Percy. It's just that lately I have had really weird dreams about people. There's one man who I think was dad. He had stormy gray eyes and dark course hair and he had such a booming laugh that made the whole room seem happy. Then there was another man. He had such a kind face, full of light. All I can remember of him though is running to his waiting arms and feeling so loved. But it wasn't a fatherly love or a brotherly love, it was almost like true love."

"That's good, but I don't think your idea of dad is really dad. I mean mom said that he had green eyes. But let's just say for the other guy, I don't want you to fall in love, because then I wouldn't get to hang out with you anymore."

She laughed and playfully rubbed his head.

They were interrupted when they heard their mom's voice calling out to them. They both got bright smiles on their faces whenever their mom was around. Racing down the stairs, they were greeted with a warm hug.

"Hey Percy and Alyssa."

Her red -white-and blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like every candy that they loved. She held a package in her hand, which they immediately knew was a bag filled with blue candy. She had this thing for blue, she always went out of her way to make blue foods, like blue waffles, blue tortilla chips, even blue cherry coke.

They were interrupted from their merriment when Smelly Gabe yelled from the other room asking for bean dip.

Sensing that Alyssa and Percy would get mad, Sally quickly leaned down and whispered," If you can be nice to Gabe for a little bit, I planned for us three to go to Montauk beach, three whole nights, same cabin, no Gabe."

Their eyes brightened. They hadn't gone to Montauk for two summers because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.

As Sally went to talk to Gabe about details, Alyssa and Percy rushed off to pack. When they were loading the luggage into the car, Gabe was giving them the while lecture of 'dent my car and I will dent you'. But Sally was quickly ready and then set off, leaving Gabe to his lonely fat self.

Their rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. Though there was always sand and spiders in the cabinets and the water was too cold to swim, they loved the place. Sally had been taking them there ever since they could remember. Sally never said why she loved the place so much, but Percy told Alyssa that he knew it was the place where she met dad.

When we arrived, her eyes turned the color of the sea, her face grew carefree and she seemed to grow younger.

When it got dark, they made a fire. They roasted hot dogs and marshmallows while Sally told them storied before her parents died. Percy would always ask about dad when they were here and Mom would tell them that he was kind, tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. She explained how Percy had his black hair and green eyes.

"You know he would be very proud of you two if he could be here right now."

Alyssa and Percy exchanged glances. They both were C+ average and got kicked out of schools for the past six years. Turns out that they got kicked out their previous school too for "freak accident on the field trip".

Percy looked up at Sally.

"Are you going to send us away now? To a boarding school?"

"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think... I think we'll have to try that."

Alyssa blurted out "Because you don't want us around" but immediately regretted it.

Sally's eyes filled with tears. She took Percy and Alyssa's hand and squeezed them tight.

"Oh Alyssa, no I could never want that. I have to send you too away, for your own good."

Percy's face grew dark.

"Because we're not normal..."

Sally cut him off, "You say that like its a bad thing, Percy. But you two don't realize how important you are. I thought your school would be safe.

Confusion hit Alyssa's eyes.

"Safe from what?"

Percy nudged her and memories came back of all the bizarre things that have happened to them. Stalkers and snakes and a lot of bad things.

Alyssa had the feeling they should tell Mom about the old ladies and Mrs. Dodds, but before she could, Sally spoke up again.

"They told me it was a mistake keeping you too close to me, but there was only one other option, Percy- the place your father wanted to send you. And I couldn't send you. I just couldn't do it..."

"Just me? Did dad want Alyssa to go too?"

Sally froze up. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth formed a tiny o. Alyssa sat up straighter in her seat, suspicion growing.

"Umm... Well the thing is there's something I've been meaning to say to you. The thing is..."

Before she could say anything, the sky suddenly rumbled with thunder. The wind picked up and the waves crashed dangerously against the sand. The three of them quickly gathered their belongings and rushed inside.

This was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in this summer. Over the roar of the wind, they could hear a distant bellow, and angry, tortured sound that made their hair stand on end.

Then a much closer noise, a desperate voice yelling, pounding on our cabin door.

Mom sprang up and threw open the door.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't exactly... Grover.

"Searching all day," he gasped."What were you thinking?"

Sally looked at Alyssa and Percy in terror, not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.

"Percy," she shouted over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?" Alyssa and Percy gave each other a wild look before looking at Grover.

O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" He yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"

Alyssa was too shocked to register that he had just cursed in Ancient Greek and that she understood him perfectly while Percy was wondering how on earth he had gotten here by himself. But the strangest thing that both of them noticed was that where Grover's legs should be... Where his legs should be...

Mom looked at them sternly and spoke in a tone she had never used before,"Percy. Tell me now!"

Percy quickly filled her in on the whole old lady and Mrs. Dodds thing and before he could finish, she had grabbed her purse and car keys and yelled, "Get in the car. All three of you. Go!"

They all raced to Gabe's Camero, but the thing was, when Grover was running, he wasn't exactly running, more like trotting. Because where is his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hoofs.