Riptide by Annabeth Chase

Chapter One: Luke and Thalia

(Demigod Diaries pg. 56-62 & The Last Olympian pg. 149-151) 

I had been on my own for a few days and I was terrified, constantly terrified. I hadn't slept, I had barely been able to find any food and even finding water was a nightmare. I hadn't expected just surviving to be this hard but at least I hadn't seen any spiders since I ran away, and I had only had a couple close calls with monsters. I collapsed next to a park fountain after filling up my water bottle and sat there in the dark listening for signs of life. I had spent most of the night running from some sort of fire breathing snake and I didn't know how long I had until morning.

As I sat there slowly sipping the water and taking a quick minute to breathe, I knew I wouldn't be able to stay put for long. The sun would come up and people would start to wonder where my parents were. Of course, that might be the least of my worries if I hadn't actually lost that snake. Then I saw the barn owl I'd been trying to follow for the past few nights. I didn't know if it was actually some sort of symbol from my mother, but it seemed likely. Barn owls were one of the main symbols of Athena and it kept showing up every night, looking directly at me and waiting until I followed.

I put my bottle back in my backpack and stood up, my legs shaking and threatening to buckle under my weight. I was exhausted but I knew I would need to keep moving eventually. The owl spread its wings and flew toward the south.

Each night it was harder and harder to follow but the owl always waited for me when I would get too far behind. It led me out of the city towards more abandoned areas. When it flew through a construction zone, I picked up a hammer that someone had left out. I needed a new weapon since the baseball bat I had previously been using had caught fire while I was fighting that stupid snake.

The owl landed on the end of a dock and didn't fly off again when I caught up. Maybe it was done leading me or maybe it was just aware that I was about to drop.

I was considering sitting down to rest when I heard a noise that sounded like people talking. It didn't really matter what was making the noise, everyone was my enemy. Whether they wanted to eat me or take me back to my dad I knew my best bet was hiding. I ducked under a sheet of metal hoping that whatever was around wouldn't try to find me. I gripped the hammer in my hand listening and ready to attack.

"Are you sure?" someone whispered. They were closer now and I was waiting, hoping that I might still be able to surprise them.

"Something's down there. I sense it," a second person responded.

If it could sense me, whatever was out there must be a monster. I hadn't met any monsters capable of speaking but I knew they existed. I heard the owl take flight and it knocked over something large near where I was hiding. The loud CLANG combined with my fried nerves caused me to jolt meaning I had lost any chance of them passing me by. I knew I was going to have to fight my way out of this and pulled every last bit of energy I had ready to pounce. The metal I was hiding under started to lift and I sprang up aiming my hammer for the things head.

"Woah," the thing said dodging my attack. They looked human but I knew that wasn't a guarantee they were. The one closest to me had grabbed my wrist, and my hammer went skittering away. I kicked and struggled trying to get away.

"No more monsters!" I shrieked. I knew that wouldn't do much, but I was too scared to think straight. That stupid owl had led me into a trap. At best I would get eaten quickly by whatever kind of monster this was and at worst they would try to take me back to my dad.

"Go away," I yelped. I kicked, hit, scratched and bit at whatever I could get in contact with.

"It's okay," the person holding my wrist said, adjusting to hold me tighter and slightly further away. I continued scratching and kicking. I had to get away, I couldn't let them take me back to my dad. "Thalia, put your shield away! You're scaring her!"