BY fates design

Last day

Percy tossed in his sleep, his mind plagued by a nightmare that went like this.

The change in focus startled many of the magic users. They hadn't mentally braced themselves to follow someone else's life.

He was standing on a barren street in a small beach town. It was the middle of the night. A storm was blowing. Wind and rain rippled at the palm trees along the sidewalk. The windows of the pink and yellow stucco buildings along the street were all boarded shut. Past a line of hibiscus bushes the ocean churned.

Florida. He concluded, though he wasn't sure how he knew that. He'd never been to Florida.

Then came the sound of hooves clattering against the pavement. Turning, he watched as his friend Grover ran for his life.

Grover was hauling goat tail, holding his human shoes in his hand in the way he often did when he needed to move fast. He clopped past the little tourist shops and surfboard rental place. The wind came with such force it bent the palm trees almost to the ground.

The satyr was terrified of something behind him. He must have come from the beach. Wet sand was caked into the fur of his legs. 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 an aside street lamp, sending it bursting into a shower of golden sparks.

Grover stumbled, whimpering in fear. He was muttering to himself, "have to get away. Have to warn them!"

Percy remained blind to what was chasing him, but could hear it muttering and cursing. Each step it took closer caused the ground to tremble. 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 read: St Augustine Bridal Boutique.

Grover dashed inside, diving behind a rack of wedding dresses. The beast's shadow passed by the window in front of the shop. Percy swore he could smell the thing - a sickening combination of wet sheep wool and rotten flesh and the revolting sour body odour only monsters have, like a skunk that's been living off only Mexican food.

Grover shook behind the wedding dresses. The monster's shadow passed on. Silence except the constant hammering of 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, "MIIINE!"

Tension hung in the air, Adeline and Tom's faces where pale and riddled with shock. "What the hell was that?" Adeline questioned, her voice firm despite the obvious uncertainty of her body language.

The demigods all exchanged glances, realisation seeping into their expressions. "Perhaps someone should bring Lord and Lady Riddle up to date with the story." Thalia suggested sending a not so subtle look towards Annabeth and Ginny. Both girls sighed but stood, nonetheless,  and urged the two Riddles to follow them out of the hall.

Percy jerked upright, shivering in his bed. There was no storm. No monster. Only morning sunlight filtering through his bedroom window. For a moment he thought he saw a shadow flicker across the glass - a human like shape.

Then came a knock on his bedroom door - his mom calling out to him. "Percy, you're going to be late." And when he looked back the shadow at the window had disappeared.

It had to be his imagination, he decided. A firm story window with a rickety fire escape .... there was no way anyone was out there.

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