Book 1 in Olympus's Girls- The Arrow's Thief: A Percy Jackson (Heroes of Olympus) Fanfic

A Run-in with the Hydra

I walked down Manhattan with my hood up. I was used to being alone. I had been an orphan ever since I was five. My mother died in a strange accident. The orphanage was like a torture chamber. They had given up on keeping me in public schools because I always got expelled.

Most of it was by accident. During gym, I set the whole room on fire. When I tried to put it out, it got even bigger. Other times, it wasn't an accident. I got into this big fight with a girl in school. The girl ended up in the hospital with an arrow in her leg.

My dyslexia didn't help either. The teachers would pick on me all the time. I had this sarcastic attitude that I would spit back at them. I was almost sixteen and still considered an immature brat, according to my algebra teacher.

Often, I would climb out the window and shoot arrows at the painted on target. I was made fun of for creating poems that expressed everything that I stood for. My destination was the poetry slam. I loved it.

I took a deep breath and took off my jacket. Out of everything, I was obsessed with Greek mythology. My shirt had Artemis with her white stag in front of a full moon. It was a double shirt. On the other side, was Apollo. He was riding a golden chariot in front of the sun. It had their names in Greek.

At the poetry slam, I was greeted by everybody. I had some friends from there. None of them really knew me though. They didn't know that I was an orphan and that I was classified a troublemaker. I sat in my normal seat.

They were all the usuals. There was a strange boy this time. He had a mischievous smile and black hair. He looked at me. Did he know me? I didn't recall seeing him. I sighed and listened to him. His poem was great. It reminded me of my own.

After it was done, I put my jacket back on. It suddenly became colder. I shivered as I walked home. I had a feeling that I was being followed. I turned around quickly. The boy from the poetry slam was there.

"Hi!"

He didn't say anything. I backed away. Why on Earth didn't I bring my bow and arrow? He walked towards me. Then he began to transform. His skin turned to scales,and he grew two more heads. I knew what it was. This was a Hydra.

I blanked out on what I knew to defeat it. I turned and ran. I ran straight back to the alley next to the orphanage. I grabbed my bow and arrow. The Hydra entered the alley. I was trapped. I shot my arrow at its chest. The only thing it did was bounce back.

How was I going to kill it? It snapped at me. It stung like fire hitting flesh. I grabbed an arrow. I had to go under the scales. The only way to do that was to get closer to that. I may seem like a show off, but I never miss a shot. I inched closer. "I will get you demigod." it said in a deep voice.

"What?"

I continued to inch closer. Being this close meant another bite in the arm. I aimed up under the scales. I took a deep breath and shot. It screamed. "Olivia, demigod, I will kill you."

It dissolved into dust. I stared at it. Then, I dropped to my knees. My bites started to ache again. I saw someone arrive in a chariot. Two boys were in it, twins by the look of it. They looked at each other. "It seems we're too late."

I stared at them. ""Who are you? Why is this happening?"

"It would be better if we explained at camp."

He picked me up and carried me to the chariot. It flew back to the woods. There was an entrance to who knows what. They took me into the place. "She needs help!" one of them said.

I was taken into some sort of infirmary. I passed out on the soft bed.

I woke up to a face full of sunshine. the boy I saw from yesterday was sitting on the bed. "Here drink this."

I didn't bother to ask what it was. I instantly felt better. I sat up quickly. I looked him dead in the eyes. "Can you explain all this to me?"

He smiled. "You are a current resident at Camp Half-Blood. You know the Greek gods and goddesses?" I nodded. "They are still alive. We are their children. One parent is mortal, the other a god or goddess. You are one and will be claimed soon. I am Travis, son of Hermes. You will be assigned a cabin once you're claimed. Here, we train, eat, sleep, have fun, and become friends. You are never alone when you're here."

"Well that's a change. I've been so used to being alone. I've been an orphan most of my life, living alone, learning to defend myself by myself."

"A lot of us have. Don't worry, you'll fit right in." He smiled.

I smiled back. "I think I'll get lost." I joked.

"I will give you a tour."

He showed me each of the cabins. He showed me the training area, and I filled up with joy when I saw the archery range. I looked at every bow there was. My bow was in the infirmary. At least that's what I thought. Travis had my bow for me. "Unfortunately, you have no arrows. I didn't steal them so no accusations. We get known for that stuff, son of Hermes and all. They were lost at your fight."

I nodded. I looked at the arrows. There were various types. The bright gold ones caught my eye. "Am I allowed to take this stuff?" I said wide-eyed.

"Of course. The weapons are free for everybody. See, watch that kid take the sword."

I saw him grab the sword and start training. I turned around and took the arrows and slipped them around my shoulder. We continued the tour. He showed me where they ate. "We make sacrifices with our food to the gods at every meal."

"Oh ok."

We finally finished the tour. "It's time for the campfire."

"Okay."

"You will get claimed there so be prepared."

I gave him the thumbs up. I heard someone cursing. "That would be Mr. D." Travis said. "He's one of the camp counselor. There is Chiron, the other camp counselor."

I smiled at them. Mr. D came up to us. "Travis, what did you do to the bathroom?!"

"Nothing really, the toilets were broken so I replaced them."

"With toilets that squirt back at you?!" He mumbled something afterwards. It sounded like, "I hate my job!"

Travis snickered. "Are you always doing stuff like this?"

"Yep."

I nodded. We sat at the campfire. Chiron welcomed us and called me up next to him. "Tonight, she will get claimed!"

We waited for what seemed like hours. It was only five minutes though. Then a sign came up. I couldn't really see it. One of the cabins cheered. "Olivia, daughter of Apollo!"

I walked over to the cheering cabin. I met the head of the cabin. He was really nice. We sat and sang songs, it was amazing. I was lead to the Apollo cabin. It was beautiful. I sat at the top bunk of a golden bed decorated with arrows, the sun, and words from poems. They seemed to have a lot of fun.

We talked and talked all evening. When it was time to sleep, I never felt more satisfied.