Sign of the Times

Chapter 1

The small town came into view across the lake, buildings showing through the cracks in the trees and foliage. The road they were on would take them around the lake and into the heart of the town, where Will was destined to spend the rest of his teenage years.

That didn't upset him as much as leaving his parents did. But they had a trip to go on, had things to do, and this place was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen.

His cousin Poseidon was driving, having picked him up from the airport about an hour previously. Will would be moving in with him and his family until...well, he wasn't sure for how long. Until his parents got back.

Whenever that was. They had estimated a year or two.

"How do you like the quiet?" Poseidon asked. "Coming from a big city, it's going to be a change."

Will nodded. "A good change, I think. It's beautiful here."

As they wrapped around the lake and got on the main road into town, more buildings came into view. A church, a school, little shops and a gas station. Small dirt roads broke off and winded down into the forest, one in which Poseidon soon took. That's when Will saw the first houses, most covered by trees, their driveways just tire marks in the dirt.

Poseidon pulled into one and turned the car off, waving to his son on the porch before looking to Will. "Ready?"

The trees were like a blanket, everything felt at peace. Will didn't know why he hadn't moved there sooner.

"Ready."

They got out of the car and grabbed his bags from the trunk, the teenage boy from the porch running to help. Percy Jackson, Poseidon's son. Will had met him a few times in the past but never for long. Black hair swept from the wind, green eyes, tan skin despite the overcast of trees. He wore jeans and an orange T-shirt with a blue jacket.

"Will, long time no see," Percy greeted as he grabbed a suitcase. "Your room's right next to mine, and you'll have the same schedule as me at school."

"How'd you manage that?" Will asked, letting them lead him up the crumbling stairs and into the well-used house. Home. It smelled and looked like home and family and love.

"Dad knows the principle."

Percy led him up a small staircase that seemed squished against the back wall as if it was forgotten in the original plans and forced to fit. The wood creaked but didn't break like Will expected it to do as they walked up.

"Plus," Percy puffed as they got the bags to the top, "we never get new kids. Ever."

They seemed to have lost Poseidon somewhere in the move. The house was dark from lack of sunshine but the upstairs hallway was the worst. Percy threw open the door to what Will saw as the bathroom and flipped the light on, it softly illuminating their feet and the wood below them.

The darkness wasn't scary but made him sleepy. He could hear crickets and locusts.

"There's your room," Percy pointed to the last door in the hallway. "A little small, it was the little ones' playroom."

"Small is fine," Will assured. When they got back there, however, Will saw how small it really was. Tiny, more like it. Barely bigger than a closet or bathroom.

But that somehow made it more comfortable, tucked into the house, dark and warm, just his. His burrow.

He didn't realize he voiced this until Percy let out a loud laugh.

"The Burrow, that's what we're calling it from now on," Percy decided. He set Will's belongings on the floor and stretched. "You saw where the bathroom is, dinner will be in a little bit. I'll be in my room if you need me, but I'll leave you to get your things situated."