The room was silent save for the hissing television and the gentle snoring of its lone occupant. It was nearly three in the morning and two sets of eyes peeked into the room from the hall. Alexa and Morgan glanced at the lone figure in the arm chair, then at one another. Morgan gave Alexa a small smile and a squeeze around the middle.

"It's okay" The older sister mouthed. "We can go…"

Chewing her lip, Alexa glanced at the lump in the arm chair, then back at Morgan. Morgan gave her an encouraging nod and tiptoed through the room. Hesitating for just a moment, Alexa followed.

The two were as different as two sisters could look; Morgan was older by a few years, nearly 14 now, with long dark, beautiful, black hair that flowed over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. Long and leggy, no longer little girl cute but in that awkward gangly stage inbetween girl cute and womanly beauty. Alexa, by contrast, was her short little sister, only five, with a tangled mop of brown hair that hung down around her face.

Both girls were dressed in pajamas, with Alexa's featuring a prominent duo of a gray-blue cat and a brown mouse. As they stepped through the thick, orange carpet of their tiny apartment, they had to avoid the land mines all over the floor; old food wrappers, green and brown bottles that had once held beer, and the remote for the tv. The two made it to their destination, the little kitchenette. As silently as she could, Morgan retrieved the two items they had quested for and the pair began stepping over the stained orange carpeting again.

Clink

Both girls suddenly froze as Morgan's toe brushed a bit too close to a bottle, causing it to gently knock against another. The lump in the armchair stirred in the glow of the tv. Morgan's hand shot out and grabbed Alexa's shoulder, rooting her to the spot and keeping her from bolting.

The lump groaned and rolled over, then promptly began to snore again. The two girls stayed stone still for a moment longer before continuing their trek, a bit faster than before. They made it to the safety of their shared bedroom and after locking the door behind them, they sat down on the floor between their beds.

"That was scary…" Alexa whimpered.

"Yeah" Morgan agreed. "But we got it!" She grinned a conspiratorial grin towards her sister and dropped the plastic container in front of her. She gently removed the sleeve from it revealing their prize. A row of chocolate chip cookies. Alexa's eyes lit up.

Her big sister pulled a small candle out of a smaller box in her left hand and shoved the dark blue waxy end into a cookie. She reached under her bed and retrieved a little green lighter. With a flick the flame sprung to life and she gently lit the candle. She held the cookie out to her little sister, watching the candle's flame flicker in her eyes. The two stared at it for a moment before Morgan began to gently sing.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Alexa-"

Bang!

The two froze as something hard and heavy shoved against their bedroom door. Alexa quickly blew out the candle without thinking.

"Open up you little bastards or I'm going to break this fucking thing down!" Their mother's voice came blasting through the door like gunfire. Morgan glanced at her sister. Their mother was drunk again, that much was clear from the way she was shouting, louder than either of them could remember hearing her. Alexa knew what that meant and she began to tremble in response. Morgan got to her feet and pressed her body against the door.

"Window!" She hisses "Down the fire escape! I'm right behind you!"

"B-but-!" Alexa whimpered. There was another thud, and more curses from behind the flimsy door. Alexa could see cracks forming in the wood.

"Go!" Morgan commanded. Alexa was quick to obey, hurriedly flinging open the window and scurrying down the fire escape.

Even through the noise of the city below her, she could still hear the loud crack of the door breaking. There was a moment of silence. Alexa was only two floors below her window. She heard the scream.

"Morgan!" she cried. Her mother's head appeared at the window, covered in little red speckles, her eyes unfocused for just a moment before they locked onto Alexa's face.

"See what you did you?" Her mother slurred. "You...a-and him! You did this to her! A-and when I catch you...you...you're gonna be just the same as her!"

Alexa didn't move, not until her mother started to pull herself through the opening. It was only then that Alexa bolted again, down the fire escape, down to the street in her bare feet, and down the sidewalk, blinded by her tears.

"So what's the story with her?" The two officers were talking in the next room. Alexa pretended she couldn't hear them as she sat at the table. It had been hours, and the nice lady had volunteered to go get Alexa some lunch. Alexa sat at the little plastic table, huddled in a blanket, unable to tear her eyes from the green plastic.

"Domestic situation. Her mom chased her out of their apartment with a butcher's knife. She's got bruises and scars all over her back...pretty open and shut case on this one."

The other policeman sighed. "Poor kid…"

"Yeah. She couldn't even tell us what happened for 3 hours… probably hasn't eaten or slept since yesterday." Alexa pulled the blanket tighter around herself. She didn't know if she could ever sleep again...not after what had happened. Every time she closed her eyes she could see her mother's face, still speckled with red.

The two officers' conversation paused as the nice lady returned. She sat down across from Alexa.

"Here we go sweet heart." She said, putting the little bag down in front of Alexa and pulling from its greasy depths two hamburgers, and a large fry. Alexa didn't do much beyond pick at her food, her eyes still focused on the table. The nice lady leaned in closer to her lowering her voice.

"Listen sweetie...I know this is going to be tough, but...I can promise you things will get easier. Not necessarily better...but easier." Alexa said nothing. The woman reached out and gently grasped her hand. Alexa flinched at first, but didn't pull back from the contact. The woman's fingers were long and cold, but exceedingly gentle, the nails painted a deep forest green.

"There's going to be a man coming" The nice lady continued, lowering her voice still further. "He's going to say that he's your father's brother. He's going to provide some legal documentation and he's going to take you away from here. Okay?" Alexa blinked.

"But...but my daddy…"She started to say.

"Isn't in the picture. I know." She gave her hand another quick squeeze. "But there's a special place, not too far from here for kids just like you. They'll take care of you in ways that no one else can and they'll keep you safe."

Alexa's body began to tremble again. "Even...even from...her?" She manages to ask.

"Especially from her. She won't even be able to find you even if she somehow manages to get out!"

Alexa began to chew on her lip, but all the same, she nodded her agreement.

Just as the nice lady had said, within the hour the two officers were talking to a new man in the hallway. He was tall and painfully thin, brown hair poked out of his baseball cap in rough curls, and he wore a metal brace on his left leg, supported himself with a metal crutch under his right arm. A frown creased her face.

"What's wrong? That's the man I told you about!" The nice woman whispered gently. Alexa shook her head.

"It's not that…" She said, trying to figure out just what that little tickle in the back of her head meant.

"Then what is it?" The woman asked.

"He...doesn't need those things…" She finally said, nodding at the metal brace and the crutch. She didn't know how she knew but they just felt like they weren't being used right. The brace wasn't correcting or aiding in any way, and the crutch didn't have any weight set on it...he didn't actually need them. The woman smiled and gave her hand a quick pat before returning her gaze to the three men.

The three had finally stopped talking and turned to face Alexa and the nice lady. The man with the crutch fake limped his way into the room.

"Sweet heart...you probably don't remember me, but I'm your Uncle Theodore." He gave her a gentle smile and held out his free hand. "I'm here to take you home with me...if you want to."

Alexa glanced up at the nice lady who gave her an encouraging smile and a small nod. Slowly, Alexa reached out and took the man's hand. He turned and looked at the two police officers.

"Will there be anything else? Or can I just head on out…? I'm sure she's going to want to rest after...after everything."

One of the officers shook his head. "We have your number in case we need more information from her." He squatted down so that he was at eye level with Alexa. "You take care of yourself, okay kid? Be strong"

With that, Alexa followed the strange man with a crutch he didn't need out of the police station and to a white van with some sort of logo on the side. Alexa, who was still learning her letters, didn't really register what it said before she was ushered into the front seat. The inside of the van smelled like strawberries and dirt.

Uncle Theodore climbed into the driver's seat and carefully placed his crutch behind him on the floor of the van before setting out. The two of them made their way through the normal mid morning gridlock, towards the interstate.

"Where are we going…?" Alexa only just thought to ask as they got onto the highway.

"There's a place...it's sorta a camp for kids just like you. You'll like it there, there's strawberry fields, and volleyball, and a whole bunch of fun things." Uncle Theodore answered brightly, glancing over at her.

"...There's a camp for kids with crazy parents?" Alexa asked flatly. Uncle Theodore grimaced and looked as if he wanted to say something. Instead he paused and cast a nervous glance upwards at the clear blue sky.

"No, dear. It's a camp for other kinds of people. Kids who are...a bit different." He answered. Alexa said nothing, and drew her blanket up around her again. The two drove in silence after that, away from New York City and down Long Island's northern half.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to the child, the van turned down an old gravel road. They ascended up a slight hill and from there the trees suddenly opened up. Alexa got her first look at the place; a lush forest way out to the north, a vaguely U shaped collection of buildings across a small river that emptied from a lake. Moving across the lake she could see several people in orange shirts paddling canoes or splashing one another. Closer to the road was a sandy pit where several more orange clad kids were playing volleyball, in the shadow of a very large, very red house. A house where the gravel driveway ended.

"Alexa" Uncle Theodore said "Welcome to Camp Half-blood"