The Sea // pjo

Chapter One // Weird Dreams and Unwanted Suggestions

    I was running.

    Running away from something.

    No...

    I was running with something...

    But what the heck was it?!

    I knew I was in a dream; as a demigod, I could just tell at this point.

    But this dream was different.

    It felt too real, too familiar.

    Turning my head, my eyes fell on the lithe form of a dog...

    Oh, my gods.

    No.

    It was a lobo, a wolf.

    Why the heck was I—

    The ground fell from underneath me, and now I was in the middle of an empty beach in the middle of the night.

    I could feel the storm brewing as rain slashed at the buildings and palm trees around me.

    I was in Florida.

    How did I know this?

    ...

    I have no idea, but I did know it was Florida.

    I furrowed my brows but spun when the sound of hooves came flying towards me.

    My eyes widen at the sight of Grover the satyr (yes, a satyr, didn't you read the first book?), one of my best friends, sprinting towards me.

    He looked older than when I saw him last (little more of a shaped face, but his acne was about the same, and so was his peach fuzz) last July or so before he went on his quest to find the great Pan of the Wild. That had been shortly since we arrived at Camp Half-Blood, the summer camp location safe haven for kids like me, my brother, and our best friend, Annabeth.

    Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, me and my brother, Percy Jackson, were children of Poseidon.

    But like I said...You already knew that.

    What you don't know is why Grover is rushing at me like a bat out of Hell...

    ...I would like to know this too.

    He had his human shoes in his hands, his face pale, as he glanced over his shoulder at something.

    Something he was afraid of.

    A growl shot through the air, making my heart stop in my chest as a shadowy figure stood at the far end of the blood. A street lamp exploded with a wave of what I assumed was its arm.

    Grover stumbled, trying not to cry out in fear as he wheezed to himself, Have to get away! Have to warn them!

    There was no vision of what was chasing him, but I knew it had to be big as the entire world was shaking around me.

    Grover shot around the corner—

    And hit a dead end.

    Without a second to lose, my best friend shot through the nearest door that had been opened by the storm's wind.

    ST. AUGUSTINE BRIDAL BOUTIQUE

    ...weird.

    The shadow of the monster passed in front of the shop. I almost gagged at the smell of wet sheep, old rotting meat, and the OD of a middle-school guys' locker room (I have a brother in middle school, I know what it smells like) with the mixture of skunk and my Abuelo's old enchiladas gone bad.