Shades of Glory- Book one of Walk of Glory.

Grover finds a pink poodle.

We were pretty miserable that night.

We camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers.

We'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but we didn't dare light a fire to dry our damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract anything else.

We decided to sleep in shifts. Percy volunteered to take the first watch.

Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk , and stared at the night sky.

I sat close to Percy, my eyelids forced me to fall asleep.

I was in the middle of a battle, surrounded by enemies and allies. I was a demigod, a child of Aqua, and I fought with my twin brother Zander by my side. We wielded twin swords called Oceanwave, forged by Hephaestus himself. They were blue and silver, and they could control water and ice.

We slashed and stabbed our way through the enemy ranks, dodging arrows and fireballs. We were unstoppable, a perfect team. We had each other's back, and we communicated with a glance. We were fighting for a cause, to protect our home and our friends.

But then, everything changed.

I saw him. Ethan. He was standing on a hill, holding a bow and arrow. He looked smug and cruel, a far cry from the sweet and gentle boy I once loved.

He saw me too. He smiled wickedly, and raised his bow. He aimed at me, and let go of the string. I saw the arrow flying towards me, and I knew I couldn't dodge it. I braced myself for the impact, ready to die.

But then, Zander pushed me out of the way. He took the arrow for me. He fell to the ground, blood gushing from his chest. He looked at me with pain and love in his eyes. He whispered my name, and then he was gone.

I screamed. I screamed louder than I ever had before. I screamed his name, over and over. I screamed until my throat was raw and my lungs were burning. I screamed until I couldn't scream anymore.

I looked at Ethan. He was still smiling, still holding his bow. He had killed my brother. He had killed my other half. He had killed me.

I felt something snap inside me. I felt a surge of rage and grief and power. I felt the water and ice respond to my will. I felt ωκεάνιο κύμα vibrate in my hand.

I ran towards Ethan. I didn't care about anything else. I didn't care about the battle, or the enemy, or the allies. I didn't care about the danger, or the pain, or the death. I only cared about one thing.

Revenge.

I reached him. I swung my sword. I cut him down. I watched him fall. I watched him bleed. I watched him die.

I didn't feel any satisfaction. I didn't feel any relief. I didn't feel anything.

I looked around. I saw the carnage. I saw the bodies. I saw the faces. I saw my friends. I saw myself.

I realized it was a dream. A nightmare. A vision.

I woke up.

I was in the woods leaning on Percy who was asleep. I was safe. I was alive.

I cried. I cried harder than I ever had before. I cried for my brother, who was still alive. I cried for myself, who was still dreaming. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore.

I wished it was a dream. A nightmare. A vision.

But it wasn't.

It was the future.

Everybody else was asleep. I took my watch for monsters. My body screamed for rest but I couldn't, I wouldn't not until I was back at Camp and able to kill Ethan.

By the time Percy, the last one got up, it was midday. I was shaking him, he had used my neck as a head rest, and when I stood up, he woke up abruptly.

"Well, " Annabeth said, "the zombie lives."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Long enough for me to cook breakfast." Annabeth tossed him a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. "And Grover went exploring. Look , he found a friend."

Grover was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with the dirty, unnatural pink poodle.

The poodle yapped at Percy suspiciously. Grover said, "No , he's not. "

He blinked. "Are you . . . talking to that thing? "

The poodle growled.

"This thing" Grove r warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him. "

"You can talk to animals?"

Grover ignored the question. "Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola , Percy."

Percy stared at Annabeth , figuring she'd crack up at this practical joke we were playing on him, but she looked deadly serious.

"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle, " I said. "Forget it."

"Do I have to say hi?" I whined

"Yes," Annabeth said. " I said hello to the poodle . You say hello to the poodle. "

The poodle growled.

We said hello to the poodle.

Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck up a conversation. The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family, but he was willing to if it meant helping Grover.

"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" I asked.

" He read the signs," Grover said. "Duh. "

" Of course," I said. "Silly me. "

" So we turn in Gladiola, " Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple. "

I thought about my dream- the eerie smile on Ethan's face as he killed him. Why did the gods have to show me that? My heart quenched for my brother. Not for the fact I learned he dies, but simply we haven't ever been this long apart. I wanted to start crying, no I can't... I'm not that weak... and I don't trust Percy yet not to tell Annabeth about why I was crying either. She would easily kill Ethan as soon as we got to camp. I wanted to kill him, but I couldn't, fate would never allow that. I could feel my face getting hot, like I was about to cry, I pussed the feeling down. not now.

"Not another bus, " I said warily.

"No, " Annabeth agreed.

She pointed downhill, toward train tracks I hadn't been able to see last night in the dark. "There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola , the westbound train leaves at noon. "