five.
( the lightning thief. )
❛ highway to hell. ❜

THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE TENSE, simmering with apprehension and abrasive stares that were damaged with just a glimmer of too much speculation. Nobody chose to mention the attack of the hellhound, too inflamed with fright to bring it up in a larger conversation. At least not publicly. The unexpected assault had sent a message that might as well've been carved in blood along the camp's walls—monsters would stop at nothing to get to Percy, and not even the camp could protect him.

Majority, if not all, of the campers steered clear from him, avoiding conversation during lessons and only sparing him inquisitive looks rather than speaking to him. And Colette Archer was no exception.

After Colette and Percy's quarrel at the end of Friday's capture the flag, the two had only seemed to grow worse in the other's eyes. Capture the flag had been the catalyst in setting off a chain of boiling sparks and spats between them and Colette's irritation had started to produce quicker than she'd expected.

It was two days after Percy's claiming and the two had been in canoeing lessons with the Demeter and Hephaestus kids. Unfortunately for her, everybody had taken to picking partners before she'd arrived, and given that nobody actually wanted to partner with Percy out of apprehension that the boy was literally the child of the sea, it meant that she was forced to partner with the dark-haired boy.

Canoeing, which was possibly Colette's worst skill, paired with the Jackson boy's irritable nature had left her wanting nothing more than to jump in the lake and never resurface again. Much to her dismay, Percy seemed to excel in her worst subject. And it was quite obvious that Percy still had no idea where he fit in the camp—having been tricked into a false sense of warmth and familial friendship before being outcasted once again, which meant that he spent the time sat behind the girl in the canoe staring absentmindedly at those who whispered and glanced at him judgementally.

"Jackson, start focusing right now or I swear to the gods--" grumbled Colette, her jaw tightly clenched and her arms aching from doing most of the paddling considering Percy's distractedness.

"What?" Interjected the boy, "you'll turn me into a donkey?" His attention narrowed back on her, watching as she whipped her head around to face him in annoyance.

"I think a starfish would suit you better personally."

Percy's lip curled frustratedly, and his grip on the paddle had tightened to the point where when he next when to move the wood, it splashed a large amount of water onto the right side of the girl. She flinched at the cold liquid, her hands dropping from the paddles as she turned to face him with an almost frightening glare, "oh, well mature of you, Percy, really. Now tell me, is that what friends do?" She raised an eyebrow, referencing how he'd spoken to her on Friday.

He flared up, grumbling out a: "guess you wouldn't know."

Colette didn't even want to remember what'd happened next before the canoe had tipped right onto its side, and with a shriek, the two fell from their sat down positions and straight into the water below. The water, though not freezing, wasn't warmed due to the early morning sun and Colette shivered from where she broke through the surface. And of course, Percy stayed dry, simply blinking in surprise.

"You absolute idiot, Jackson!" Shrieked the brunette, her violet eyes seeming to darken in an angered hue as she splashed him with the water she resided in. Her clothes turned darker with water as her feet kicked at the clear liquid that flooded around her body, her hair having fallen pin straight and dark brown as it stuck to the sides of her face, flowing lightly when it reached the water.

He seemed to brighten drastically, but Colette suspected it was due to being in the water rather than her splashing him. Then his eyes turned sharp as he glared back at her, splashing her back. "You can't just blame me for this, Bambi! If you hadn't of pushed me, we wouldn't of fell!"

Keep talking, starfish." She sneered back from where she grappled onto the canoe, trembling as she did so. For a second, he almost felt bad. She reminded him of a petrified animal that'd been left in the water for a second too long, desperate to get out of it as her nails scratched at the wood of the canoe.

Like she was resentful of the water.

After another minute or two of bickering, Percy had practically dragged the girl off of the canoe so that it could be flipped back over, and she glared daggers at him whilst he did so before jumping back onto the canoe once it was flipped. She shivered as she sat upon it, her arms crossed and her nose upturned away from him.

In the distance she was sure she'd caught a glimpse of a beaming Lee Fletcher and Luke Castellan who gave her a thumbs up from where they stood at the edge of the shore, and she put up her middle finger in response.

She didn't bother to speak to Percy as he dragged the canoe back to the shore of the lake, and by the time he had, she was already leaping off of it and stomping towards her cabin. He'd watched her walk away, his eyebrows knitted and a prominent frown falling over his features.

After that, the two had cut contact. It wasn't as though they were actually friends previously, but they wouldn't have gone out of their way to glare at each other like they would do now. He'd offended her and she'd betrayed him. Simple as, and now they had shunned the other into the few people in the camp that they held a dislike for.

Though Clarisse avoided him on her own, Colette had stopped interfering when she heard the taller girl create and scheme with her siblings surrounding Percy. And he'd stopped looking for her at the meal times and listening to her laughter. Though they did share some lessons together, in which small attempts to sabotage the other would occur.

Maybe their small rivalry was pathetic — sparked over a few inconvenient arguments but both were too stubborn to attempt to forgive the other again. However, in her distaste, Colette wasn't stupid. Percy had to be her and Annabeth's chance for a quest, he had to be. He'd carried the Minotaur horn and he was the son of one of the big three—she didn't know how somebody was supposed to be more prophesied than him.

However, until Chiron made it clear, she'd continue to avoid the green-eyed son of Poseidon. And to her luck, Will had weaselled his way through her door and declared that Chiron was asking to see her.

She grinned—she was going on a quest.

Meanwhile, alone and miserable in Cabin three, Percy had taken to lying flat on his back and staring at the coral-patterned ceiling above. Maybe one of the positives of having a cabin to yourself was that you get to pick whatever bunk you want instead of bickering over it with siblings. It took him a while to fall asleep that night, his fingers drumming against his stomach and his head nestled into satin pillows. But when he did, he had a strange dream that night.

His legs burned as he sprinted through the heat of a whirling storm that pulled and stretched at his skin and clothes. This time, there was a city behind him, but not like New York. The sprawl was different: colossal buildings of gold marble and platinum reigned over the beach, spread farther apart whilst blowing leaves of palm trees resounded through the air.

About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting with dangerous sneers, like two forces of nature determined to overpower the other. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair that blew with the swirl of the wind. Both wore expensive Greek tunics, one trimmed in rich, velvety blue, the other in a vibrant, sea-like green. They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.

And for a reason he couldn't understand, Percy needed to stop them. But the harder he ran, the more the wind resisted his attempt at running, until he was running in place, his heels digging uselessly in the sand. It was like the wind was fighting against him, laughing and cackling as it circled him in an invisible grasp that pinched at his skin. Over the roar of the storm, he could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, "Give it back! Give it back!" Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.

The waves got bigger, more dangerous and thundering as they rose in height like hands fighting a sudden force in the air, crashing into the beach, spraying him with salt.

And in his desperation, Percy yelled, "Stop it! Stop fighting!" But it was as though he wasn't there, and the two continued to brawl.

The ground shook, bubbling and diving like it were being split in two. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, but it wasn't as soft and melodic as the laughter he preferred. No, this laughter was brooding and expressed waves of dire malice followed by a voice so deep and evil it turned his blood to ice. "Come down, little hero," the voice crooned. "Come down!"

The sand beneath him seemed to split and Percy feared he'd fall down before a sudden hand gripped his arm, tugging him backwards into a foreign security. He turned to look at them, his dark hair displaying against his forehead and his clothes blowing with the wind. Before him, a familiar deer-masked girl stood.

She looked at him, her upper face concealed but Percy still managed to feel her gaze analysing him. "Percy," he heard her voice in his head though her lips never moved. It was a voice familiar—too familiar. "Percy, you need to wake up."

Her grip on his arm tightened as she continued to step back, almost dragging him with her though his heels remained lodged in the sand. She looked unaffected by the wind, the only signs being the slight movement of her dress which now looked a pale green. Then her grip loosened until she let go, and Percy noticed something in her hand.

A pale-coloured pinochle shell.

He hissed as she raised the shell, slamming it across his temple and sending him backwards, falling into the mouth of the earth that swallowed him whole, digesting him deeper and deeper as she watched from the top of the surface before she disappeared from view.

Then, darkness and he was left awaking with a feeling of sudden panic.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

THE NEXT DAY WAS overwhelming for the Jackson Boy as he descended down from the oracle. After awakening from his strange dream, he'd been met with Grover who'd taken him into the Big House where Mr. D and Chiron awaited. His jaw hung loose throughout the entirety of what Chiron had told him about the chaos of the gods and his place in the center of of it all.

Zeus' lightning bolt had been stolen, as Colette had predicted (though Percy didn't really want to give her the satisfaction) and with little reason, the king of the gods had chosen to blame his brother, Poseidon. Or more specifically, Poseidon's mortal and never-should've-been-born-son, Percy. All because Zeus was fused with paranoia, furious at any sign of opposition that could cost him his throne.

And so the twelve-year-old had been offered a quest, one that he wasn't too sure about yet, but one that had an up and coming deadline. If Zeus' master bolt, the celestial fracture of divinity that fabricated the way for all of his other lightning bolts, was not returned in ten days by the summer solstice on June twenty-first, a war would of occur—one that made the Trojan war look like a water-balloon fight taken too seriously. A war so deadly that it ensured that worlds would crumble and gods would fall. A war to end all war.

That was his quest. Finding Zeus' master bolt and returning it before the summer solstice. But before hand, he was forced to speak to the looming and eerie presence of the oracle.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.
You shall find what was stolen,
and see it safely returned.
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
And you shall fail to save what matters most,
in the end.

Fan-fucking-tastic. Not only was he rendered silent in the midst of the oracle's riddles, but he also had no idea what the words were supposed to mean. But he felt himself bubble with anger as he continued to converse with Chiron and Grover.

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron had insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth." 

Hades had done this, and left Percy to suffer the consequences. It caused his skin to boil and his jaw to clench, and he wanted nothing more than to confront the lord of the dead and drag him to Olympus himself, forcing him to tell Zeus the truth. But then again, Hades was a god. And Percy was just a boy.

They carried on, and Percy gave Chiron a curious look. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?" He accused, an almost bitter tone in his voice.

Chiron sighed in response, "I had my suspicions." He stated, "As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."

"So let me get this straight," Percy began, shifting his weight onto one foot and folding his arms. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check," Chiron nodded.

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check."

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right."

Percy gave a thoughtful hum as he exchanged his gaze to a practically trembling Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts, his pupils shaking anxiously as he did so. "Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.

Percy gave him a sympathetic look, shaking his head at the older boy, "You don't have to go," he told him. "I can't ask that of you."

"Oh ..." Grover shifted his hooves, his gaze downcast as to avoid Percy's vibrant eyes. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..." He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

Percy smiled to himself in relief. Grover was the only companion he'd ever had for longer than a few months. And though he wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, the son of Poseidon felt better knowing his best friend would be with him.

"All the way, G-man." Percy gave him a toothy smile before he turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west." Explained Chiron, "It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."

Percy looked no less confused than he had previously. "Where?"

Chiron raised a surprised eyebrow, clearing his throat before speaking. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"Oh," Blinked Percy, drawing his lips into a tight-lipped smile. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"

"No!" Grover shrieked, his dark curly hair bouncing as he shook his head feverishly. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"

The boy shook his head, cheeks red with embarrassment. His mom had never taken him anywhere by plane, and he'd never thought much of it. She'd always said they didn't have the money. Besides, Sally had lost both of her parents in a plane crash.

"Percy, think," Chiron encouraged slowly, his voice careful as he spoke. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."

Overhead, lightning crackled with a fierce shriek and Thunder boomed so loud that it resounded through out the room, leaving a tingle of shivering vibrations upon his arms.

"Okay," Percy breathed out, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."

The centaur nodded approvingly, "That's right," he stated. "Three companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other two have already volunteered, if you will accept their help."

Percy's look fell flat. It didn't take a genius to identify who the two other members of their group would be. "Gee," mocked the boy, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

The air shimmered before him, and annabeth appeared behind Chiron. "We've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she huffed. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"We?" Percy repeated, "I'm guessing that means everybody's favourite archer's around here somewhere." He rolled his eyes, glancing around yet he was unable to see the daughter of Artemis anywhere around.

"Boo."

Percy jumped as a voice hit the shell of his ear, jolting forward and turning around to see a highly amused Colette Archer laughing to herself at his startled expression. "Scared ya."

"Seriously?" Percy blinked at her, turning to Chiron with an almost pleading look yet the man simply smiled back at him. Childhood friendship was just so precious. "Wanna just through Clarisse into the mix whilst you're at it?"

"Why not, Starfish?" She taunted him, "you'll be needing all the help you can get at this point."

Percy shook his head lightly. She was right. He did need all the help he could get considering almost all the drives of nature were intertwined with him. "The four of us." He looked between them, "that'll work."

"Excellent," Chiron clasped his hands together, resting on of them upon Colette's shoulder as she moved to stand beside him. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flashed almost Protestingly, and rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather. It was quite a sight for the likes of Colette, who'd only witness rain from afar during the past four years, never having actually been in the eye of a storm in years.

"No time to waste," Chiron cleared his throat, redirecting their gazes from the rain. "I think you should all get packing."