*This is my first ff so like ye. It'll prolly get better as the story progresses. Hate on the story in the reviews all you want, idgaf. Constructive criticism is appreciated though. Itll help me a lot (trust). Also lets thank chatgpt for the title (I couldn't come up
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SUMMARY:
Percy Jackson is a clear sighted mortal whose dad left him and his mom at birth. In desperation, Sally married Gabe Ugliano, who killed her when Percy was 8, which landed Percy in an orphanage. Having enough of the abuse, he escapes the orphanage runs into the forest on his 11th birthday. At 14 years old, he meets a mysterious lady in the woods who may or may not be a Goddess.
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Chapter 1: Lady in the woods.
All Percy could think about was running. Running from a monster which went by the name of Gabe Ugliano.
"Get back here, you little dipshit!" A manly voice shouted from a distance behind him.
The little boy ran even faster, maneuvering around people on the street. Turning right, he proceeded to run straight into a closed off alleyway. Tall buildings surrounded him. Seeing that there was nowhere to go, Percy decided to hide behind a dumpster, hoping that he won't be seen. Tears were streaming down his eyes. Hearing footsteps, Percy tried to control his sobbing.
"When I find ya I'm gonna fucking kill you, you little cocksucker." Gabe's voice sounded a few feet away from him.
His chest was heaving from all the running. He took a step back, trying to get away from the edge of the dumpster. But in process, he accidentally knocked a trash can over to the ground. Metal clang resonated throughout the alleyway.
Percy's breath got caught in his throat. World stopped for what felt like hours. He didn't want to die.
Little boy got brought back to world with the help of the hands that got wrapped around his throat.
"The fuck did I say huh!?" Gabe lifted the kid into the air, holding Percy against the wall of the building. He couldn't breathe. "ANSWER ME YOU LITTLE SHIT!" The man screamed against his face. His vision was beginning to go dark. He couldn't feel his arms.
"Release the boy!" A third person's voice sounded from a distance. Last thing Percy heard before he slipped into unconsciousness and him being dropped into the ground.
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~.~ FLASHBACK ~.~
"SPEAK WHEN YOU'RE SPOKEN TO YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Percy tried to avert his eyes from the bloodbath. He was trying to hold his tears back but his eyes were starting to water. Looking from his spot under the table he could see his mom lying in a pool of blood. Gabe was on top of Sally, repeatedly punching her in the face.
"and when I say bring me a fucking bottle, YOU BRING ME IT!" He was drunk again. Percy couldn't control his tears anymore. Tears were streaming down his eyes. He got out from his little place under the table and took off running. At the front door he could hear Gabe screaming for him to get back. He couldn't afford to look back though. Opening the front door, he sprinted down the stairs.
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When Percy opened his eyes he found himself in a white hospital room. He was laying in a bed. To the left there was a nightstand. Right in front of him was TV which was playing some cartoon. To the left of the TV there was a yellow door. He had a hospital gown on. Cuts which Gabe inflicted on him were bandaged and treated.
Suddenly memories started rushing back to him. His mom, running from Gabe, getting caught by him.
The door was opened and a middle aged woman walked in. She was wearing pink scrubs. She had blue eyes and blonde hair that was tied up in a ponytail. blue eyes and blonde hair that was tied up in a ponytail. On her clothing there was a tag that read "Sam". The nurse was holding a half filled glass water cup in her hands.
"Oh, you're awake, would you like some water?" The nurse, Sam, walked up to Percy. Little boy nodded his head. He was thirsty. Sam held the cup up to Percy's lips. After drinking the whole cup, Percy wiped his mouth with his arm.
"My mom, is she ok? Where is she? Can I see her?" He asked hurriedly.
The nurse's smile fell. A second person walked into the room. A police offer.
A curt nod was exchanged between the nurse and the cop. Sam looked back at Percy with sadness for a second before turning back and leaving the room. The cop closed the door behind her.
"God this never gets easier." The cop mumbled himself. "Hey kid," He began speaking to Percy. "We took care of him, Gabe, you won't have to worry about that scumbag anymore."
Percy felt relief wash over him. The monster was gone. He and mom could live without a worry now. They wouldn't have to live in fear.
"But," The cop grimaced for the news he was going to have to tell the young child.
"The damages he caused on mom, they were too much. It was too late, we couldn't save her. I'm sorry."
Tears were starting to form in Percy's eyes.
"NO! You're lying!" He pointed his index finger at the cop in an accusatory way.
"I'm sorry, kid." The cop walked up to Percy and gave him a hug.
Percy tried to push the cop away. He was full on crying now. He didn't want to believe what the cop was saying. It just couldn't be true. His mom couldn't be gone.
The cop lifted Percy's head up and made him look into his eyes. "We couldn't find any relatives for you to live with."
Percy was still sobbing.
"We're going to have to put you in an orphanage. But," He paused for a second.
"You don't have to worry, they will treat you good in there. They will take care of your education and will raise you to be a good man. You'll meet a lot of kids your age there. You can have fun, make new friends." The cop finished. The cop stood up and gave Percy a pat on the back before taking his leave.
Percy sobbed for hours on end. He cried until his eyes couldn't even produce tears anymore. He could not imagine a life without his mother.
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~.~ A year later… ~.~
Percy was nine years old now. Everything the cop said about orphanages was a lie. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Nobody gave a shit about him. He was bullied by the older kids in there. When he reported it to the staff, they did nothing about it. In the end he got beat up even more just because he switched. Even the food was straight up garbage. It seemed like they were saving up on as much money as possible. None of the foods came close to his mom's cooking.
While he was not getting beat up and bullied though, he was learning wild life, nature and survival. Something about it just absolutely fascinated him. He tried to learn more about nature and survival in the wild at every chance that he got.
"Sup dumbass." Percy got smacked in the back of his head. It was Josh. A 16 year old who has marked the orphanage as his own and declared himself the king. Josh saw everybody beneath him and he and his group would literally bully everybody else. Staff did nothing about it. No matter how many times he'd report it…
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~.~ 2 years later… ~.~
Percy's life in the orphanage didn't change a single bit during his stay there. Only thing that changed was Josh leaving because he turned 18. But it didn't change anything either. The oldest after Josh in his little gang took the leadership after he left.
He learned a lot more about nature. He learned pickpocketing and perfected it. After all, he would need it to get money after he escapes this damned hell hole. He had been thinking about it for a while and he decided to escape the orphanage and run into the woods. Live out his life in the forest. He would have to make trips to the city once in a while to restock but it wasn't a big deal at all. After all, anything was better than his current predicament.
Percy had been pickpocketing money little by little saving up for when he runs away from the orphanage. Which was in 2 days, on his 11th birthday. It would be his own birthday gift for himself. Nobody ever celebrated his birthday once during the whole 3 years he was in there. No one even knew. They never cared enough to ask.
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~.~ LINEBREAK ~.~
He was out, finally. Percy doesn't remember feeling this free in his life, ever. When Percy was born, his father left and he and his mom were left alone to fend for themselves. They were always struggling for money. Then Sally married Gabe. It got even worse after that.
Now, he could just live his life out in the woods by himself, away from humanity. It was a dream come true. His heart was beating from all the excitement.
All he had to do now was buy some clothes and set out towards the nearest forest. It was going to be hard explaining why an eleven year old was shopping by himself but he didn't care. He would figure something out on the spot. Percy was always like that. He didn't like preparing for stuff like that. He usually just went with the flow.
It was also summer so he could hopefully get comfortable with his new living conditions before winter hits.
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~.~ A few months later… ~.~
The first few months were hard for the eleven-year-old. Still, he loved it all the same. All the stuff that he learned during his stay in the orphanage definitely helped him. If he didn't know the stuff that he did, he would have died in his first week.
Throughout the 4 months he spent on living by himself in the woods, he had only once made a trip into the city, and that was to get new clothes because his former ones got cut. He was proud about the single trip nonetheless.
However, the winter was nearing. It was already freezing temperatures and winter hadn't even officially started yet. To be honest with himself, Percy was anxious. He wasn't sure how his first winter would play out. By the way weather was playing out at the moment he wasn't confident he would be able to survive the winter. Weather was getting worse every passing day.
Percy never stayed at the same spot for too long. He mostly just traveled around. Staying at most a few nights at a location. But for winter, he was planning on making a shelter to live in. After all, if he wanted to push through winter, he needed to prepared for it.
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~.~ 3 years later… ~.~
Soft crunches was breaking the loud silence of the forest. Tall snow covered pine trees surrounded him. Snow covered everywhere around him. Water vapor covered the air with each exhale of the boy. The air was numbingly cold.
A gust of chilling wind sent the 14-year-old's hair flying back. Percy was following footprints and blood trails of an injured deer. Due to a sudden breeze his shot went off course and hit the deer's leg. And now, he had to follow the trail and finish the job.
There. The deer was limping away in a small clearing. Trying to get away. Attempting to escape the predator. His bow raised with his left hand, Percy pulls an arrow out of quiver. Having done this a million times, he notches the arrow and draws the bowstring back. With an inhale, he moves his aim, accounting for the wind. Exhaling, Percy releases the arrow.
The arrow flies through the air at high speeds. Percy follows the arrow with his eyes as it goes straight for the deer's head. Just as Percy's arrow was about to meet its mark, a silver arrow hits the deer's head before his arrow does.
The teenage boy walks up to his prey, getting ready to drag the deer back to his camp which wasn't that far away. As he sees the second arrow sprouting from the deer's head, a beautiful young woman enters the clearing with her bow aimed at him. With his bow already slung over his shoulder, Percy raised his hands up.
The girl, who appeared about his age, was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on. Her long auburn hair had streaks of silver, and her striking silver eyes seemed to glow along with her pale skin.
"W-Woah there." Percy stuttered.
The mysterious girl remained silent, opting to just glare at him.
"Mind lowering the bow? Please?" He gulped.
The girl lowered her bow and Percy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in relief. He dropped his hands by his sides.
"What are you doing here all by yourself?" He questioned the young woman.
"I could ask the same thing, boy." Her voice, as clear as silk, echoed through the clearing, both commanding and smooth.
"I was hunting the deer. A gust of wind made my arrow miss the deer's head and it hit the animal's leg." He mentioned towards the arrow sticking out of the deer's leg. "The kill is mine, by the way." Percy added.
"How so? I dealt the killing blow." Smirking, the girl pointed towards the silver arrow with the end of her beautifully crafted bow.
"I shot it first, and I injured it. If I hadn't it wouldn't have even came here." Percy protested, throwing his hands into the air.
"I dealt the killing blow." She fixed him with a glare.
"You know what? It's fine, we can share it." Percy gave in. "You hungry?" The girl's stomach growled.
Smirking, he grabbed the dead deer by its antlers and started dragging it towards his camp. "Still my kill though." Percy added with a grin. The girl hit him playfully on the arm.
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By the time they reached Percy's small camp it was already getting dark. Due to it being winter, the sun was setting early.
Small rocks circled the fire that was burning in the middle of the camp. Various deer body parts were over the fire. There was a small tent nearby the fire. They were sitting around the fire. Percy was tending to the deer parts that were positioned over the fire, trying not to burn the food.
"So," The boy cleared his throat before proceeding "What are you doing here in the forest, all alone? It's dangerous out here y'know. Don't you have a home?"
"I live here, this is my home" The girl responded. "You?"
"Ah, same for me, actually. I've been living in the woods for a few years now. I ran away from an orphanage on my eleventh birthday and I've been traveling around the forests since then." Percy let out a sigh. The girl's eyebrows lifted upwards in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something before closing it, choosing to stay silent.
"Anddddd dinner's ready." Percy announced with a grin. They dug in, eating in silence.
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By the time they satisfied their hunger, it was already pitch black. Percy was already tired from dragging the deer all the way into his little shelter.
"I should get going." Wiping her mouth, the girl sat up from her sitting position.
"You sure? Its pretty late." Percy frowned. "I mean its dangerous traveling at night. You can get lost pretty easily"
"I don't think I'll be getting lost any time soon."
"Okay then, I'll accompany you I guess." He got up as well.
"No need, I know the way." She said.
"Nah, I don't mind." Percy insisted.
The girl gave him a glare that was stern enough for him to back down.
As the girl walked away, Percy remembered that he hadn't asked for her name.
"Wait!" He called out to the girl. "I never got your name."
The girl looked back, smiling. "Artemis."
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*Anddddd that's a wrap. 2.7k words. It took a few days to write. Had fun writing it tho. See yall in the next chapter. Leave a review no balls.*