The Child of the Dead Sea (a Percy Jackson fanfic)

8. The True Story

KATE

"Mommy! I can't find my blanky!"

"Hey, hey. Mommy's sleeping ok? We're gonna let her sleep right?"

I nodded. "Blanky!" I squealed.

"Yes i know. Your blanky. Um, i think Mommy put it in the wash okay?"

"Upy upy upy!"

She hoisted me onto her back. She walked to the laundry room and set me down. She reached into the dryer and pulled out a sea green blanket with white polka dots.

"Blanky!" I squealed.

"Yeah my little Seastar." She smiled and picked me up onto her hip. "Bed time okay?"

"No!" I huffed. She rolled her eyes. Even at my age i could tell she was tired. Dark circles under her eyes. Her black hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. Her clothes were old and she hadn't had a showered in three days. But she did everything for me.

"Kate, you are seven years old, you go to bed early. What about a story?"

"Yes!"

"Okay then." She sighed setting me on my bed. She tucked me in and sat in the rocking chair next to it. "Once upon a time, there was a big mean giant."

"Acmal!" I spat.

"Yes." She giggled, i knew this story well. "Well this giant was really mean. He followed this girl-"

"Demigod!"

"He followed this...demigod...all the way to her house. But she had a secret weapon. This demigod had a skeleton army. And when that giant came, the skeletons attacked it and it screamed out, 'I will get you!' But the demigod just laughed because she knew that that giant would never bother her again because it would never come back from Tartarus." She finished.

"Who was the demigod?" I asked excited. Even though i already knew the answer.

"Well," she started standing up. She tickled me and said, "that demigod was our mother." I laughed along with her.

"Okay, Kate. I think it's time for you to go to sleep."

"Okay, Hope." I looked up at my sister as she walked to the door and turned out the lights. She was about to close to bedroom door when there was a scratching at my window.

Hope snapped on the light and grabbed me out of bed. She drew a sword out of one of the silver bracelets she wore and aimed it at the window.

"Mom! We have a problem!" She yelled as the window shattered to reveal three hellhounds.

I screamed and my mom appeared in the doorway holding a sword made out of shadows.

"Get her out of here." She told my sister and we ran.

We ended up on the street and our mom followed us close behind. Before i could scream a hellhound leaped out of the alley next to us and tackled Hope. I went rolling. I got up and my mom was standing between me and Hope, shielding me. She stabbed the hellhound and it turned to ash. But something was wrong.

"Sis?" I squeaked.

My mom scooped me up and started running. I got a look behind us and what i saw stayed in my mind forever.

Hope lay under a layer of ash. But i could see the blood. She was coated in it. Her eyes stared empty into space. My sister had died.

~~~~~~~~~

"Kate, you're gonna be okay. I'll be right back okay?"

"Okay, Mommy." I nodded. She smiled and left through the front door waving as she went. Makeup covered the bruises on her face. She did this for me. I couldn't help but feel responsible.