Kai - The Chosen One

Chapter 1 - Choosing Him

Percy POV

I woke up with a jolt from my nightmares. I was sweating so much that my face was as wet as a rag. I had been having nightmares for the past couple of days. Like there was something that was going to happen soon. As I grudgingly got out of my soft bed, I walked out to the kitchen. That's when it happened. A knock had startled me fully awake. It was so loud, the sound traveled around the whole quiet apartment like a giant bang.

It had been years since anyone even dared to knock on my apartment door. Annabeth had left Camp Half-Blood almost three years ago now, trying to find happiness as she called it. When she found happiness, she would have contacted me and tried to repair our relationship. The day has still not arrived. My heart had been broken by that final act of friends leaving me behind to rot. The first one happened when Luke sacrificed himself to defeat Kronos. I had never forgiven him for leaving me in this cruel world.

The memories of that hurt like a thousand knives stabbed into my heart. I mopped the days away in my apartment, some days crying so hard there were no tears left to cry. I finally walked over to the apartment door and slightly peeked out the peephole. There was not a single soul out there, and I wondered why would someone knock. I slightly opened the door to peep out and saw it. The letter had been taped to the door of my apartment room. I quickly snapped it off and scanned who it was from. All it said was "URGENT" on the front of it. I walked over to my couch and plopped down, breathing a sigh of anticipation. 

As I slowly ripped open the letter, there it was. I saw it from the corner of my emerald eyes, the name Hermes. I practically almost had a heart attack as I threw the letter across the room. It slowly landed on my other couch and plopped down on the cushions. I was shaking so badly wondering why the fuck would Hermes be writing me after all these years. Maybe something changed in the god kingdom and there was urgency for something? But for what would the gods need this pathetic, little, worthless son of Poseidon? He hadn't bent water or done much fighting since leaving Camp Half-Blood almost three years ago. Part of me wondered if this was going to be a punishment for something he did years ago. 

After 10 minutes of just thinking about every possible scenario, I finally got up and picked up the letter. I gazed my eyes over and over what it was. Pick any of my four children from the following photos and I will grant them to your custody so you can help raise them. I sighed as I picked the photos in my hands. My palms started to sweat just as I was about to find out who they were and what they looked like.

As I picked up the first photo, it was of this red-haired demigod. He had chocolate brown eyes and tan skin on him. I didn't feel any connection to him and decided that it was probably not the right one to have. I picked up the second photo and as soon as I saw the ocean eyes, it pierced my heart and reminded me of Annabeth. She had medium-length blond hair with freckles across her face. I didn't want to keep looking at it as it so heavily reminded me of Annabeth. I put it down and shed a tear as I picked up the next photo. It revealed a teenage boy with emerald green eyes like his own. He had freckles sprinkled across his face and his hair was brownish blond. The eyes were dull and he had scars all across his chin. I didn't want to spend time with someone who looked similar to himself and would remind him of his failures so he let that one go as well. 

He thought about what the fourth photo would bring, and if it would be a better option than all of these other photos. As I picked it up, I panicked so hard, and adrenaline shot through my body. I pushed the photo away as I saw what looked like a younger version of Luke. I covered it up with the envelope as I thought about what the fuck I just saw. I pondered for a long time about if I should see it again. I said fuck it, because what worse could happen from it? As I picked the photo up a second time, I looked at his ice-blue eyes. They so reminded me of Luke that I blushed hard. I looked at his long blond hair that radiated from him. I liked that on Luke as well as I thought. What the fuck was I saying? I read the age as 16 and reminded myself that he was a child and I was an adult. Nothing was going to happen between us if I chose him. The freckles sprinkled across his face made me long for Luke. I missed him so much that I cried right then and there. I broke down so softly into small cries that it made me feel embarrassed. Why was he crying about some kid that looked like Luke in his lonely ass apartment? This was pathetic coming from him. He looked a final time at the picture and how happy the guy was in it. His smile radiated across the image and he had no visible scars on his face like Luke did. I put the picture back on the table and then silently thought about what to do. 

I silently cried myself to sleep that night. I felt terrible because Hermes did punish him. He punished him by choosing one of the four children he sent pictures of to him. What was he supposed to do? He didn't connect with any of them or they reminded him of people from his past. Sleep came over him as he thought about the last thoughts of this mess. He dreamed of hunting with Luke through the forests of Camp Half-Blood, he was so happy to see his best friend and chase with him after animals in the forest for a hunt. After they caught a rabbit and shot it, he embraced Luke and said he wouldn't ever leave his side. Then, a monster shot out of the forest and scooped up Luke. He screamed but it was no use as it broke his body in half. That's when I woke up with sweat collected on my face. I slowly remembered the dream that just happened and cried and cried until my eyes couldn't cry anymore. He needed someone to long for and have as a friend, and he didn't care how that boy looked in the picture like Luke. He was determined to choose him. He was going to train that kid and help him through the pains of his own life. 

I washed the tears off in the bathroom and then walked over to the table with pictures scattered on it. I picked up the one that looked like Luke and wrote THIS ONE with a red marker on the back of it. I put all four photos back in the envelope and closed it. I walked over to my apartment door and stuck it on the outside frame to send it back to the gods. I prayed to Hermes to receive my letter and woosh it was gone from the door. I watched in silence as I knew I had sealed my fate.