Fear. That was all he knew. He had known fear since he was either two or three. He couldn't remember which. The source of his anxiety stood in front of him. The smell of alcohol filled his nose, causing it to wrinkle. Shards of glass dug into his tender five-year-old skin.

A walrus of a man stood in front of him. A broken beer bottle in his hand. His shirt had many stains on it, and his head was bald except for two greasy strands of hair that was combed across his head as if it made him look handsome. Behind him were a few guys sitting at a poker table, not caring to pay attention to the scene happening, not even two feet away from them.

"What did you just say?" The man growled at the black-haired sea green-eyed child.

"I-I said get your o-own dip." The child stuttered terribly. The man smashed what was left of the bottle against the boy's head. The guys in the background chuckled as they drank their beers. The boy groaned in pain as a shard stuck itself in his skull.

"You don't fucking talk to me like that unless you want to follow your mother's footsteps, brain boy!" He yelled as he kicked the child. The boy groaned in pain. "Now, get the fuck up and the fucking dip!"

The kid struggled to stand as he groaned. He made his way to the kitchen and struggled to open the fridge door. He climbed onto the lowest shelf so he could see the damn thing. He grabbed the dip. He noticed a small paper under it in a language he didn't recognize. Suddenly it was like the words translated to English.

Dear Percy,
Under the sink, there is a bag of money and Everything you will need to survive for at least a week. Take it and get as far away from here as possible. Make your way to the cabin. Your father will meet you there.

Love mom

Percy smiled at this. He shoved the paper into his pocket and grabbed the bag from under the sink. He looked at the men sitting around the poker table. He hid the kit under his shirt and walked over to the table.

"Your dip." He said as he took the lid off and put it on the table. He then walked away to his 'room.' The second he got there, he ran to the window, opening it. He climbed onto the fire escape and made his way down. He got to the ground and bolted in the direction he hoped the beach would be.

⚔️🛡⚔️

I ran to the beach after two weeks of nonstop traveling and yelled.

"DAD! DAD WHERE ARE YOU!" I yelled. I continued to yell things along those lines, but no one ever came. No matter how loud or long I screamed for no one came. Tears welled up in my eyes as I fell to my knees. I broke down on that beach, wanting nothing more than to have a family again. To be held in a loving embrace instead of tossed onto shards of broken glass as they dug into my skin.

I ended up crying myself to sleep that night with nothing but the clothes on my back to keep me warm.

🛡⚔️🛡

When I woke up the next day, something was curled up next to me. It had black fur and wasn't much bigger than the palm of my hand. When I saw it, I jumped back, kicking up the sand and waking the creature.

It stood on four legs and stretched. Around its mouth was red fur and whiskers the same color. It looked at me with its head tilted in confusion. It got close to me slowly.

"W-what are you?" I asked as I kneeled. I sat on my knees as it rubbed against my leg. It looked a lot like a cat, but something told me otherwise. The white of its eyes was orange, and its irises were red. It mewed as I picked it up.

"You a cat of some sort?" It purred as if to say yes. "Do you have a name?"

I looked for a collar with a name tag. I saw a dog tag around its neck and looked at it. It took a few seconds to decipher.

His name is Fotiá (Φωτιά).
If he came to you, then that means he trusts you
And you are its new owner.
Take better care of him, then I did.
He has a good sense of character.
So he chose you for a reason.

"Huh. Fotiá is your name, then?" The cat purred again. I petted its head. "I'll go get some firewood."

I got up and found some logs outside a cabin. I grabbed three of them and walked back to Fotiá. I placed them down in a bonfire style.

"What do I have to light this with?" I wondered aloud. Suddenly Fotiá spat an ember at it, making the logs set aflame.

"Holy sugar honey iced tea!" I yelped in surprise. Fotiá looked at with what I guessed to be a smirk. He then curled up in my lap. I rubbed behind his ear as I got out some hot dogs. I started roasting them over the fire.

🛡⚔️🛡

I stayed at that beach with Fotiá for about three weeks until we were running out of food. I was about ready to give up on my dad coming for me. I was about to pack up camp when a lady came up.

She was covered in dirt. She had long licorice-black hair, a face of regal and unapproachable beauty like that of a supermodel on a fashion runway, and large, soft brown eyes that one could get lost in. I could see all of this through the dirt. She was probably in her mid-twenties.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but... could you spare a woman some food?" She asked. I looked at Fotiá, who nodded his head. She had a good character. Or at least he said she did, and Fotiá has yet to lead me wrong.

"Please sit. I think we still have some fish left." I said as I grabbed some paper that was wrapped around some fish. Fotiá added some more wood to the fire as I unwrapped the fish and put it onto a clean stick of timber. I waited for it to cook.

"What is a child doing out here?" The lady asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," I responded.

"I'll tell my story if you tell yours." She said.

"Well," I looked at Fotiá, who nodded. "My mom passed away a while ago. She told me that if I came here, my dad would come to get me. I've been here for three freaking weeks. You're the first person to come up to me."

Fotiá nipped at my arm. "Other than Fotiá."

"That's terrible. Don't you have some guardian to look after you?" She asked.

"I did. But it was either run away and live or stay and die."

Silence washed over us as I stared into the burning flame.

"Alright, I told you my story. You tell me yours." I told her as Fotiá rubbed my arm.

"Right." She sighed before continuing. "You see, I have a husband, and I love him with all my heart, but he isn't loyal. At all."

"Then why do you stay with him?" I asked.

"I can't get myself to leave him." She stated with a frown. I chuckled.

"I guess we both have some pretty messed up family."

"Yeah, I guess we do." She smiled. I yawned and rubbed my eyes.

"You should sleep, young one." She said calmly.

"I can't. I need to stay awake for longer." I replied. She smiled as I yawned and laid my head onto her lap. She runs her hand through my hair in a motherly fashion.

Soon I was fast asleep.

Words: 1382
Ok, so by the end of the day today, all story's I have will be restarted with a new prologue. The only one without a new prologue will be the son of order. I hope you all enjoy the edited version.
-Red