Second Chances: Another Wrong Move

Chapter Three

**Percy Jackson**

I didn't know why, but my brain wanted to be anywhere but here. The apartment that I had woken up in even seemed more appealing. There were too many people staring at me with skeptical looks to really make me comfortable.

"I think I've changed my mind," I said slowly. "I want to go back to Sally and Paul's place."

I tried to ignore the wince that appeared on my guide's face. She didn't seem like one that would really care about how I addressed my so-called mother, yet her actual reaction told me she had more feelings than she let on. She reached out and held onto my wrist before I could bolt (and I had been thinking about it).

"Look, Jackson," she sighed. "Chiron told us that you lost your memory. It's our job to help you train your demigod powers before you get them back. You're powerful - we can't risk losing you."

"Clarisse is right, Perce," a voice spoke behind me, and I curiously turned to face them. We seemed to tug on one another's arms as she kept walking while I came to a sudden stop. "We've started fighting a war. This is the second one in less than two years, and our defenses and offences are low. We need all the help we can get."

"It sounds like Chiron told me to come here to fight a war," I glared at them suspiciously. "You guys don't even care about me getting my memories back, do you?"

I yanked my arm away from the strong girl holding onto it before trying to walk away. I nearly fainted when the other kid near us appeared directly in my field of vision. Between the looks, the crazy things happening, and the constant mention of war and memories, it was all beginning to become a bit too much.

"Percy, we want you to get your memories back," the boy promised.

"It doesn't seem like that," I bit my lip.

He sighed, taking another step closer while I took a step back. I ran directly into Clarisse. She put an arm on my shoulder, and I bit my lip hard as I tried to break free from her quickly tightening grasp.

"You can let him go, Clarisse," I heard the dark haired boy say.

"Do you want him to get away, Nico?" she replied, an eyebrow raised.

I looked at the person in front of me - who I finally learned was named Nico - and wondered why he seemed okay with me wanting to bolt. Clarisse slowly removed her hands from me. She waited for me to run off, but I simply stood there for a moment. If I was going to take off, I wanted it to be unexpected and surprise them.

When I didn't run, Nico took one more step closer. His hand reached for my upper arm, and I watched him place it there. My breath caught in the back of my throat.

"It's okay, Percy," Nico said slowly. "We want you to get your memories back, I promise. We just don't want you getting hurt when a monster attacks you."

I decided that was all I was willing to handle. There didn't seem to be a single person that didn't talk like they were insane. I began violently thrashing in Clarisse's arms, trying to break free. Before they could even process what was going on, I sprinted towards the place we had entered camp. The person that had escorted me into camp and the scary looking teenager with her both cursed loudly and tried to run after me.

I turned back to see how close they were to me, scaring the shit out of myself when I suddenly ran into something obviously taller than me and quite furry. I slowly turned my head, so it was facing the front of me again. I found myself face to knee with the biggest monster I had ever remembered seeing.

These people had drugged me. The person claiming to be my mother and my stepdad were leading the entire operation and Chiron was their henchman. I had been kidnapped, and this was some kind of camp for kidnapped people go to die. I tried to back away as Nico materialized on top of his head, feeling a scream getting caught in the back of my throat.

"Clarisse!" he yelled, grabbing the fur that laid behind the creature's horns. "Chiron needs to know that the minotaur has already gone through rebirth."

"Why don't we just let Percy fight it," she said, looking at me as if I wasn't totally going insane. "He's done it before, and he didn't have any experience the first time."

"Clarisse, just go get Chiron," Nico sounded annoyed, yet he looked at me anyways. "I've heard stories about the first time he killed it. It was raining - it's bright and sunny. He's not going to be able to do it."

I stared up at Nico with an incredulous look as Clarisse turned and ran back to camp. Why was act like rain would help someone fight a monster? The water would get my clothes wet, and I would be weighed down. I shook my head.

"Why the Hell should I have to fight some mythological creature with rain," I said breathlessly, "I'm obviously hallucinating. It's not real."

The look on Nico's face was more pitiful than annoyed, but I could easily see the frustration hiding behind all of it. He grabbed something strapped to his side. It took me a moment to realize the item he was grabbing was a weapon - a pitch black sword to be more specific. He dug it into the minotaur's skull as it thrashed around, trying to get the boy off of him.

The sound of angry roaring filled out heads as the minotaur began thrashing even more. His bulky arms started to reach up for me, and I struggled to get away before he could hurt me. The claws on his fingers violently brushed against my chest. I heard the fabric on my shirt tear, and the skin on the upper half of my body ripped and bled. The monster pulled away when he seemed satisfied with the amount of blood spilling out of me.

I looked up at Nico fearfully, but he simply disappeared into thin air. I tried to run away from the creature trying to kill me. With Nico gone, I had the full focus of the minotaur. It scooped me up in its arms, and I finally managed to let out the scream that had been trapped before.

I watched as Nico reappeared in the spot I had been, and I was able to clearly see the campers flooding out of camp. Chiron and Clarisse led the pursuit. The man who had previously been in a wheelchair was now standing on horse legs with a bow and arrow raised.

That was the last thing I was able to focus on as an eerily calm darkness started blocking the edges of my vision. The tight grip of the Minotaur's hands made it hard to breathe, and I wondered if it were possible to squeeze the blood out of someone's chest. I let that thought guide me the rest of the way to unconsciousness.

A/N: I had this chapter finished (and chapter four), and I had no idea. I am so mad at myself. Why did I not post this sooner?

1/26/19