𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 - 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

✯¸.•'*¨'*•𝑶𝑵𝑬•*'¨*'•.¸✯

Percy's nightmare started like this. 

He was standing on a deserted street in some little beach town. It was the middle of the night. A storm was blowing. Wind and rain ripped at the palm trees along the sidewalk. Pink and yellow stucco buildings lined the street, their windows boarded up. A block away, past a line of hibiscus bushes, the ocean churned. 

Florida, Percy thought. Though he wasn't sure how he knew that. He'd never been to Florida. Then Percy heard hooves clattering against the pavement. He turned and saw his friend Grover running for his life. 

Grover was hauling a goat tail, holding his human shoes in his hands the way he does when he needs to move fast. He clopped past the little tourist shops and surfboard rental places. The wind bent the palm trees almost to the ground.

Grover was terrified of something behind him. He must've just come from the beach. Wet sand was caked in his fur. He'd escaped from somewhere. He was trying to get away from ... something.

A bone-rattling growl cut through the storm. Behind Grover, at the far end of the block, a shadowy figure loomed. It swatted aside a street lamp, which burst in a shower of sparks.

Grover stumbled, whimpering in fear. He muttered to himself, Have to getaway. Have to warn them!

Percy couldn't see what was chasing Grover, but he could hear it muttering and cursing. The ground shook as it got closer. Grover dashed around a street corner and faltered. He'd run into a dead-end courtyard full of shops. No time to back up. The nearest door had been blown open by the storm.

The sign above the darkened display window read: , ST AUGUSTINE BRIDAL BOUTIQUE.

Grover dashed inside. He dived behind a rack of wedding dresses. The monster's shadow passed in front of the shop. Percy could smell the thing – a sickening combination of wet sheep wool and rotten meat and that weird sour body odor only monsters have, like a skunk that's been living off Mexican food.

Grover trembled behind the wedding dresses. The monster's shadow passed on. Silence except for the rain. Grover took a deep breath. Maybe the thing was gone. Then lightning flashed. The entire front of the store exploded, and a monstrous voice bellowed, 'MIIIIINE!'

Percy sat bolt upright, shivering in his bed. There was no storm. No monster. Morning sunlight filtered through his bedroom window. He thought he saw a shadow flicker across the glass – a human-like shape. But then there was a knock on his bedroom door – his mom called, "Percy,  you're going to be late" – and the shadow at the window disappeared.

It must've been his imagination. A fifth-story window with a rickety old fire escape ... there couldn't have been anyone out there.

"Come on, dear," Sally called again. "Last day of school. You should be excited! You've almost made it!"

"Coming," Percy managed. He felt under his pillow. My fingers closed reassuringly around the ballpoint pen he always slept with. He brought it out, studied the Ancient Greek writing engraved on the side: Anaklusmos. Riptide.

Percy's mom made blue waffles and blue eggs for breakfast. She's funny that way, celebrating special occasions with blue food. Percy thinks it's her way of saying anything is possible. Percy can pass seventh grade. Waffles can be blue. Little miracles like that.

Percy ate at the kitchen table while his mom washed dishes. She was dressed in her work uniform – a starry blue skirt and a red-and-white striped blouse she wore to sell candy at Sweet on America. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. 

Sally looked over and frowned. "Percy, are you all right?"

"Yeah ... fine."

But she could always tell when something was bothering him. She dried her hands and sat down across from me.