The Skeletons In The Closet

Chapter One

Percy's POV

I was at the top of the lava climbing wall, believe it or not, when I received a summons to the Big House. I groaned, scaling back down. Leo was standing at the bottom, shielding his eyes from the sun. He had yelled at me that Chiron wanted to see some people.

We headed to the Big House, running into Jason and Annabeth on the way. "Piper and Katie ran to Camp Jupiter to get Hazel, Frank, and Reyna," Jason supplied. "I wonder what the deal is?" I thought aloud.

"Maybe you're in trouble," Rachel said, running up to meet us. "It's very likely," I said, studying the clouds for a sign, "but why call everyone in?"

My question was soon answered as we entered the Big House. Chiron was waiting for us in centaur form, the top of his head brushing the ceiling.

Will, Nico, Travis, Conner, and Clarisse were already waiting for us and a few moments later Katie, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Reyna, Calypso, and Thalia entered.

"So what are we doing here?" Leo asked casually. "Cause I'm kind of in the middle of a highly explosive project."

Chiron forced air through his clenched teeth and shook his head. "The gods have decided, or rather, the Fates have decided, that you should all journey back in time to, let's say, uncover the skeletons in your closets. They think it will be a great friendship building exercise—"

"They do?" Frank asked in disbelief. "No of course not. They want you to gather intel for a statistic on early demigod life. For some reason, I don't know." Chiron looked about as lost as we were.

"The original plan was just the Seven, but that plan was altered to accommodate the rest of you here. The visits were supposed to happen in order of when they happened, but the order got a little weird so it should be close, but not exactly accurate."

I wasn't even going to pretend I knew what the Hades Chiron was talking about.

"One more thing I'm supposed to inform you about. Time travel is a tricky thing—if one is not careful, one could alter the entire space-time continuum. So the Fates have decided it would be best if you just went as 'ghosts'. You will not be able to interact with anyone or anything you encounter. While you are gone, no time will pass. After viewing each other's pasts, you will see the most important parts of each summer Mr. Jackson has attended at Camp Half-Blood. It has been willed by the Fates."

A seed of panic planted itself in my stomach. We are going back in time, to the past, somewhere I never want to go. Hell, I used to find comfort knowing I'd never have to go back there to those times when my home life revolved around Gabe and his drunkenness. I'd kept it a secret my whole life and now what? I don't have a choice of how it gets out there?

I tried to put in a brave face. "When do we begin?" I asked. "Now," Chiron answered. The world began to spin and everything went dark. The air changed and strange sounds filled my ears. I opened my eyes and found myself standing in a place I'd never been before. The location popped into my mind. Italy.

Hey guys! This is the first chapter of my new book! I hope you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful day and remember to vote and comment! Love you demigods:)