Falling Forest | pjo

change is grim but necessary

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Charlie Wang sighed to himself while he sat by the bleachers of the gymnasium. Everyone else was happily dancing, gossiping, and drinking to their hearts content, but he refused to. He had a very bad feeling, today and his gut had never failed him so far so he learned to trust his instincts. Especially when the di Angelo siblings were involved.

When he was enrolled into Westover Hall, Charlie had immediately noticed how powerful their demigod auras were, but he doubt they knew how much of it they were exuding. It wasn't until later on in the year that he noticed the monster stalking them so he decided to keep an eye out for the two.

Originally, the Chinese boy did not want to get involved. At all. He just wanted to go complete a normal school year for once, to ease his father's worries. He missed his father dearly and wished to stay at home to help with the farm, but the man insisted that he go to school. His father was a kind man while his mother was a goddess, the goddess of agriculture.

He first met his mother when he was 10. That was also the time he first discovered his powers. He was attacked by a drakon of all things while in the woods and the natural flora came to life, saving his life. That was when his mother appeared to him with a smile, giving him a ring that could turn into a spear.

After that, the number of monsters that came after him increased. Being a powerful demigod child of an elder god turned you into a monster magnet and so, he trained his powers as well as his ability with the spear to survive the encounters. He had also done his research on Greek mythology and as much as he read, he still hadn't figured out what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was.

Charlie was almost positive that the monster knew that he knew. Dr. Thorn was always giving him suspicious glances and would increasingly grow irritated every time Charlie whisked away the siblings before he could get close.

He knew the monster would make a move soon as evident by constant glances towards the three so he moved closer to the two. Especially since this was the last day of the term. It was bound to happen.

Charlie fiddled with the edge of his sweater, glancing around nervously as the feeling in his stomach continued to worsen. His head snapped up to the entrance when he felt three presences enter the gym. Charlie bit his lip with anxiety.

This was bad. This was really bad. Two of those demigods had auras as powerful as Nico and Bianca. If he could sense them, Dr. Thorn no doubt did so as well.

"You three. Come with me." The man said, his accent grating against his ears, as if he was mocking the boy. By this moment, he knew that this encounter would change his life forever. He didn't like change.

        Charlie was right. He didn't like being led out into the cold. Nor realizing the fact that Dr. Thorn was a bloody manticore. Or the fact that a boy named Percy Jackson tried to rescue them and failed to do so. Charlie knew the boy came with others so why the hell was he by himself.

"What are you doing, Jackson?" Dr. Thorn hissed. He noticed Percy standing still with his eyes closed. Did he have a death wish?! "Keep moving!"

"It's my shoulder. It burns." Percy said, through gritted teeth.

"Bah! My poison will only cause pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

The four demigods shivered as Dr. Thorn herded them towards the cliff at the edge of the snow-covered forest. Charlie exhaled slowly, his breath billowing into mist in the cold air. He was trying to calm himself because if he didn't, the two that he's been trying to keep safe would've been in danger. And he refused to let it happen. Charlie had felt a connection to them, somehow and they were just children after all. He had to wait for the right moment.