Celestial - a Percy Jackson fanfic [BOOK ONE]

Chapter two

I had refused to go back to Yancy Academy since that day. It was just so terrifying what Percy and I encountered, but at the same time, I can't even tell you what had happened. Because as soon as we went back outside, Mr. Brunner was still reading his novel at the bottom of the steps like nothing happened and nobody had taken any notice to the commotion inside. In fact, when Percy asked another kid about where Mrs. Dodds was, he acted like he had never even heard of the name before, asking if he meant Mrs. Kerr, whom I nor Percy had any recollection of. The only thing that kept us from thinking we were crazy were each other. But then again, what if we both were crazy?

I kept my mind off of the crazy things I saw that day, engulfing myself in my heaps of studies. Just because I was homeschooled didn't mean that I didn't have final exams. Unfortunately, I did have pretty bad dyslexia, so it was pretty tough for me.

It was a normal day. The city was awake, but the sky was absolute turmoil. There were gray clouds and you could hear thunder brewing.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock. It was mid-day. Mom and Dad were both still at work, the twins were spending a couple days at Nancy Bobofit's summer house. Nobody ever really visited.

I rose up quietly from my spot at the table, crept toward the door, and looked through the peephole. I recognized this boy from the Yancy Academy. He was the small boy with curly black hair who was always with Percy. He twiddled his fingers and looked awfully worried.

Deciding that he was of no harm, I opened the door a crack and said, "Hello?"

"Cleo, hi, I'm Grover," he introduced himself. "I'm friends with Percy."

I opened the door a bit more, leaning against the door frame. "I remember..."

"Listen," he sighed. "I know this is going to sound really weird, but we need to go save Percy right now."

"Huh?" My brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"You see how angry the sky is right now?" I nodded. "That means he's in danger- and I think you probably are too."

"Why would I be in danger?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Grover blew out air through his nose. "It's really hard to explain. You remember Mrs. Dodds?"

My eyes widened. "Everyone told me that she never existed."

"I know, it was to protect you, but now there are other things like her coming after you and Percy," Grover explained.

"How can I trust you?" I asked.

Grover grabbed my hand and stared me dead in the eyes. His look was honest, and he was just a kid like me. What harm could he be?

"I'm still skeptical, but I'll come."

"Great! Now, do you have a car?"

"Grover, I'm literally in seventh grade."

——

I didn't realize what I had roped myself into. Apparently Percy was in Montauk, and it spent Grover and I half the day to even find a bus to get us there. And even then, it took until well into the night to even find the correct area he was in. By now, the sky was even angrier than before. The wind was heavy enough to push you, enough rain to soak you, and enough lightning to deafen you.

We found our way to the beach because Grover said they would definitely be on the water. But it seemed too dangerous to actually get near the tide because of how heavy the waves were crashing onto the sand.

There was a distant bellow, angry and tortured, loud enough to hear over the scream of the wind. Grover looked over at me in a panic. He pointed at one of the quaint houses with a red Camaro sitting out front. "That's his step-dads car!" He shouted over the wind.