Back to the Sea

Percy

Maybe looking at the Earth wouldn't be as bad if it wasn't from a single square foot window hundreds of miles away from the actual planet. It wasn't like he wasn't grateful for the window -he knew that a lot of people didn't have one at all- but actually being there would be a million times better.

Percy Jackson lived on Walden, basically the short end of the stick when it came to the Colony. But he tried to look on the bright side: at least he was on the ship in the first place. At least he hadn't been left to die on the radiation-infested planet that he saw behind the thick glass of his window. And sure his life would have probably been a million times easier if he lived on Phoenix, but he tried not to think about that. He had to be content with the life that he already had, not the potential of another.

Percy had never known anything more than the uniform hallways and fluorescent lights of the ship, the familiar frames of the windows, the same view of the dull Earth and bright stars. The laws of the Gaia Doctrine had governed him since the day he was born, and would continue to until the day that he died. Sure, he could wish for some type of miracle, maybe the ship to find that Earth was suitable for human inhabitance again, or maybe even them finding an entirely new planet to call home; but Percy didn't much believe in miracles.

Except for Annabeth. She was his one miracle, the one person who was truly like him. They had been best friends for as long as he could remember, and it had blossomed into something more a year and a half ago when Percy had turned 16. They loved each other more than life itself, more than their shared dream to finally make it back to Earth (and that was saying something). As long as they were together, they swore that they could spend the rest of forever on the miserable grounds of Walden.

"Percy," the voice of his mom rang from nearby.

The boy looked behind him to face his mother, who had just come home from work.

Sally worked to harvest crops and food from the ship's limited setting of farmland. She told Percy that she chose to be there just because it was one of the only parts of the ship that didn't feel like it was caving in on her. It felt the most like Earth.

"What are you doing with the lights off in here?" Sally asked Percy as she flipped the switch to their apartment. Percy uncrossed his arms from the windowsill and looked fully over to his mother.

"Sorry, just thinking," he responded.

She gave him a small, comforting smile and walked to capture him in an embrace. He let himself go in his mother's arms, vulnerable in a way that most people usually didn't see.

"Here," Sally started, "I brought something special back for you."

Percy pulled back with a quizzical look on his face, "Really?" It wasn't often that they were able to give each other gifts. Money was tight, and so were resources on the ship in general.

Sally reached into the large pocket of her Walden-issued work pants to bring out a small square of cloth, bulging with something within. The cloth was old and frayed, Percy could tell, probably cut from an old white shirt or something.

The pair sat down at the small two-person table in the center of the room, and Sally laid the package on the table, opening it to reveal a handful of small, dark blue fruits.

Percy gaped at it, "You didn't." A grin began to appear on his face as he looked gratefully to his mother. She nodded with a loving smile.

Working in harvest had perks. Illegal? Yes, but Sally had a pretty straight record of not getting caught. Fruits were a luxury in the Colony, though, and especially on Walden, and so it was even more impressive than usual that Sally had smuggled blueberries into their living space.