Raising a Demon

Ch.5

- 3RD PERSON -

April 25, 2014. 6:45 AM, Central Park.

Percy woke up to feeling a hard surface pressing against his back, with a dulling pain throbbing in his shoulder and leg. Sitting up with a groan, the son of Poseidon took in the loud sounds of traffic and many stifled footsteps.

He caught a big whiff of citrus and acetone; like nail polish remover was slathered all over his face.

He was quick to identify the liquid chloroform; a substance that can make a person suffer from dizziness, fatigue, and headaches when they intake high amounts at a time.

Percy could barely comprehend his surroundings, not even able to open his eyes all the way. Forcing himself to stand up, he blinked away the blurriness, finding himself in the center of a park. Central Park, to be specific.

'That daughter of a demon actually helped me?'  He mused in bewilderment, barely able to comprehend what was going on. 'She even bandaged me up.'

Shaking his head, Percy started making his way out of the park trees, where he had been carefully hidden. Then suddenly panic began to settle in, realizing that his vulnerability as a celebrity was out in the open; the paparazzi could have the perfect chance to come and harass him.

Thankfully, it was early in the morning with the bare minimum of people around.

As he walked toward the street, Percy noticed a small cafe where he could find a phone to call his friends. As he entered, he was hit with the wonderful smell of cinnamon and coffee beans. 

As the door slowly closed behind him, the little jingle of the bell alerted an elderly woman from behind the counter to say, "I'll be with you in a moment.", before disappearing to the back kitchen.

Percy waited patiently in front of the counter, glancing at the TV, to surprisingly find his face plastered across the screen. The popular news commentator, Amy Carter, popping up with her usual enthusiasm.

"Good morning, New York city! Today, we're going to continue talking about the troubling terrorist attack of April 21st. As you all know, the one and only Percy Jackson went missing. It was said to be that the famed CEO of Kline industries had been kidnapped by the terrorists during a visit to the St. Dawn hospital."

Percy couldn't believe how much of a big deal people were taking his disappearance, especially since he didn't have much interaction with the public to gain this much popularity.

The elderly woman returned to the counter her back to Percy as she started brewing some coffee on the back counter. She sighed as she mumbled under her breath, "Oh, I feel sorry for him."

"Why is that?" Percy asked in confusion, absently forgetting his position as a high-status person.

The lady shrugged as she poured some pre-made coffee into cups, "Well, it's rumored that Percy Jackson's mother was enlisted into that same hospital, yet on the same day, he was kidnapped. Of course, you're going to feel bad for him."

The demigod shook his head, "Ah, don't be. It's not like he's dead."

The young woman suddenly slammed the carafe down on the counter, whipping around to look at him as she fumed, "Excuse you! You-"

She stopped short; her jaw was slack with her eyes wide in shock as she took in the sight of Percy Jackson standing in front of her. Disbelief was clear in her eyes, as she kept looking between Percy and the picture of him on the TV screen.

A waiter came out of the back kitchen, looking at the elderly woman in surprise, "Ethel? What's going on?"

She only pointed at Percy, making the waiter glance his way before their jaw dropped. It was only then that the son of Poseidon realized his mistake in talking to this woman.