Chapter 1

Before I start this, I'm going to tell you that this whole thing was not my idea, nor it was my fault. Let me just make that clear because what you are reading is no light read. This story really flipped my life upside down…

I was a normal kid to be honest. I mean yeah, I had never met my father before and lived with my mom and her horrible husband, Gabe, but that's not that abnormal right? That's right though, I never knew my father. He supposedly died at a car accident when I was 1, but if he did, why have we never visited his resting place? Why was his name kept secret from me? Where were some family pictures of us when he was still there? Honestly I had no answer to any of those questions, but I kind of knew one thing-he wasn't dead. He was somewhere out there, having fun I dunno, without my mom and I. He left us to be poor, to starve. Well, until Gabe came along.

Where do I even start? Gabe. He was a pain for everyone. Sure, he had lots of money made from gambling, but he was drunk most of the time and always made me do chores for him, and used me as his punching bag. Every night he came back, the alcoholic smell filled the entire flat, making me feel nauseous and nervous about the beatings I knew would come. I never told my mom about it though, cause Gabe threatened me about that. Stated that he would hurt my mom if I tried to tell her about any of his doings. So I kept my mouth shut. But personally? I think she knew somethings like that were happening. Maybe she didn't want to interfere, or maybe she was threatened too. Or maybe, she didn't care.

It was a cool, sunny morning in Manhattan, when I decided to take a walk in Central Park to clear my head after a long night of Gabe's tantrums. Mom had her night-shift as a nurse in the nearby hospital, which left me and Gabe alone.

"Jackson! Come here boy!" Gabe shouted from the living room. He insisted on calling me little boy-which I was not. I was 14. I rolled my eyes and walked out of my room, coming face to face with the drunk man.

"Yes sir?" Gabe laughed with delight.

"You're home! Terrific! Come boy! Let me introduce you to the world of drugs. We can start one at the time" He smiled at me. It wasn't a kind smile, it was I'll kill you if you don't say yes smile. But hey, I wasn't the one to do drugs. I shook my head and tried to turn back. Note on the tried. I never got to. As I moved my body, a strong arm collided with my face and I could taste blood in my mouth. "Don't you dare turn back Jackson." He growled, making me shiver. I didn't like the result of his growling. He stomped forward, grinning at my shaken form. I gulped. He charged at me and grabbed my collar, dragging me out of the room and into the kitchen where the drugs were kept. I glanced at them nervously, scared about what was coming. Gabe threw me on to a chair and made me sit down, opening my mouth that was currently out of my control from fear and poured a beer down my throat. And yeah.. I'll let you decide on your thoughts about what happened next. Just know, it was absolutely horrifying and a long night…

Anyways, I meandered around, looking for someplace to sit. All the benches were occupied by a bunch of happy looking families, leaving me sitting down on one of the tree trunks. I sighed, looking at the joyful children running around, hoping I could've been like that when I was younger, or rather, now. I did not help that I actually saw my mother walking across the park to get to our apartment, and realised that my dreams were just a dream.

I sat there till I don't know when, and the sun started to set, making the sky a beautiful red orange coloured palette. I gazed at the now empty park, and looked up at the sky and saw the sun just about to set. Seriously though, when did I get this sentimental?

"Hey you! Over there!" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts, making me jump. At first I had no idea if it was me he was calling, but I became aware that I was alone, and it was me they were calling. I turned back and saw 3 people, in their mid 20s, holding a bat, a stick, and a.. gun?? My breaths turned into shorter ones and I stood up, backing slowly away from them. They did get closer though. I got a closer look at them, and they were complete strangers, which made me kinda freak out in the inside. I backed away more, eyeing them.

"Where are you going Jackson?" My heart dropped. They knew my name. They knew who I was. Who were they? I started to back away faster, and they kept stalking up to me, evil grins on their faces. I backed away more, until I heard a honk and reached the end of the park, which meant that I had nowhere else to back away. I shivered and looked at the 3 guys, who just kept coming forward.

"How do you feel about death boy? I'm sure you'll get to meet it today, just in about a couple if minutes." The third guy threw back his head and laughed. Funny, I did not find that amusing at all. I shook my head, wanting to clear my thoughts. How could the police not see us? Couldn't they see that they were armed?

They started to come closer, and closer when I suddenly got dragged back and into a car. The door slammed right away making the 3 guys cuss. I looked down at the car seat in surprise. What had just happened? I looked next to me, and saw a middle aged man with a black sunglasses on driving the car. He didn't spare a glance at me, and kept driving. I was confused, of course, and the best way to solve your confusion is to ask. So that's exactly what I did.

"Who are you? Why are you here? Why am I here?"

"Argus. Simple, didn't you want to be rescued? I came to do that." Crap. I was more than confused now.

"Yeah, I did, but how did you know I was in trouble? How do you know me?"

"I know every child who is destined to join our order. I came to get you because I got some orders. It's your time now." He responded, making me wonder again.

"Who were they? Our order?"

"Kronos's sidekicks. Yes, our order, soon to be your order as well. Now, no more questions. We're here." At that I looked out of the window and saw a big mansion standing in the middle of nowhere. It was a deep red brick building, had 5 floors, and it was surrounded by a high fence. When we got closer, the gates opened and revealed a posh driveway leading up to the house. I got out, mouth open in surprise.

Then I heard a swishing noise, and my head snapped back. Then I saw an arrow flying straight at me, aiming for my head. I stared at it in horror. Seriously? I heard a cracking sound and saw that the arrow had been broken in pieces by a dagger. I turned and saw that the door was open, revealing a blonde girl with imitating grey eyes, hands on her hips, lips pursed.

"What in the world were you thinking? Don't you realise this place is dangerous?" The girl narrowed her eyes at me. I shrugged, making her sigh.

"Whatever. My name's Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, the battle strategist. You must be Percy Jackson. Welcome to Olympus."