new magic wand : pjo/hoo + hp

One Step Forward, Three Steps Back

Percy Jackson

Mr. Blofis and Mrs. Jackson, of Manhattan, New York City, were proud to say that they were perfectly not normal, thank you very much. As their very much not normal son, I can surely attest to the claim. I mean, you can't really get away with a title like that after what I've been through.

Despite how proud my parents are of being different, they sure are excited for me to live a "normal life" and go to college this fall. I am too, don't get me wrong, but I'm just not so sure on the "normal" part, I mean sooner or later something is gonna come up and I'll be off fighting in battles again. I often find myself struggling with the point of it all, but then I'm reminded of the person I'm doing this for, and a smile replaces my frown.

Colors dance to the right of me, like a russian ballet, until they become a picture in the middle of my bedroom.

A frightened Rachel Elizabeth Dare speaks from the mist, "Percy, you need to get down here quick, it's urgent! We'll explain everything once you get here!"

"Wait," I stop her, my brain still trying to process the information, "who's we? And please don't tell me this another quest or something because I really think that it's not the—"

She ended the call before I could finish my thoughts, which hello?? Rude much? It really must be urgent though for such a heedless haste. Something was really wrong, I could feel it.

The weather outside was a drag to say the least. Rain was pouring down so hard the drops felt like hail, I wouldn't be surprised if they would go right through a piece of paper like acid. The lightning was startling, I almost had to shield my eyes. Once I got in the car, realization hit me too late that even if I could dry my shoes (which are brand new) from the water in puddles, I was not able to get rid of all the gunk and dirt that gathered in said puddles. I couldn't help but think how this upset may be all for a reason, that maybe this has something to do with the Iris Message Rachel sent me. The cab door shuts behind me like a drum, the abrupt noise makes me wince and suddenly I was transported back into the weirdest dream I had just last night, I had almost forgotten all about it.

                                        - - -

I'm floating in a pitch black space, some sort of a vacuum, until I notice water almost as dark as its surroundings coming up to just below my knees. "To my knees?" I quietly whispered to myself, and suddenly, I wasn't floating anymore, but standing on top of something, not quite a floor, but not quite open space either. I try to move around and explore my surroundings, but my feet are stuck onto some sticky tar-like substance. I panic, unsure of my next move. Should I try to be smart about this and think three steps ahead like Annabeth, or should I just stick with what works and wing it like I usually do? I look up and on the low-sitting ceiling above me there's a cracked mirror. When I glance at where my reflection is supposed to be, I see someone else instead. A boy with dark hair and green eyes just like me. You would've thought we were twins if it wasn't for the fact that he wore glasses, had an odd-shaped scar on his forehead — barely visible due to his hair covering most of it — and that he looked to be only about 11 or 12 years old. It wasn't some weird double sided mirror where he was another person though, he was me. Whenever I moved my eyes, his shifted in the same direction. I tried sticking out my tongue and scrunching up my nose too and his actions followed. When I looked down at my hands, they were noticeably less calloused and my skin was paler too. I was a completely different person.

My thoughts were interrupted by an abnormally large ripple in the water that seems to only be growing more intense as seconds go by. Something of a threat was obviously coming my way, a dangerous creature no doubt. I squat in my position so that only the very top of my head is visible above the water. Soon enough, the disruptor comes into earshot, and it seems that there are two rather than one being in the water.