Estelle

Chapter 9

Hi! 

I'm back. Sorry for not posting in awhile. I've been very busy.

This chapter will not have @JuanitaNightshade's OC, But next chapter will!

I am super exited about who's coming in this chapter! ;)

Thanks from Percyjacksonobsesed with one S!

Percy P.O.V

Paul stood over me with tears welling in his eyes and I immediately knew something was wrong. When he said my mother's name, my stomach dropped.

I jumped out of bed and raced out of my room. "Mom?!" I yelled frantically down the hallway, no response, "Mom?!" I yelled again, this time more urgent. My heartbeat quickened, "Mom?!!?" I screamed, now hysterical. I ran into the living room and stopped dead in my tracks.

I blinked a couple of times hoping that when I opened my eyes, I would see my mom comfortably sitting on the couch. With her warm smile that made anybody feel at home. And a twinkle in her eye as if she found something amusing and was trying not to laugh.

But I didn't. All I saw was a lifeless body laying on our once white rug, now stained red with blood.

Her eyes no longer had a twinkle in it. Instead, they were dull and lifeless like a doll.

Her smile no longer graced her face. Instead, there was a faint grimace as if she was trying to hold in pain but was failing.

I felt Paul's hand on my shoulder, and a part of my mind recognized that he was talking to me, probably trying to explain what happened but I couldn't really hear him.

I slowly made my way to the front hallway, my mind not even registering what I was doing. I grabbed a pair of keys off the hook and I opened the door. I left the apartment and walked, and walked, and walked. I had no idea where I was going but I trusted that my body would take me where I needed to go.

I walked for what felt like minutes, but it was probably hours. Everything was a blur, A hazy image distorted to fit what the gods wanted us to see. It felt like the world had no colour or meaning. Everything was pointless.

For years I had done the gods' bidding. And this is how they repay me. My wife was gone. My sister was gone. And my mother was dead. I was sick and tired of doing everything and getting nothing back.

I kept walking. I walked across sidewalks, roads, bridges, highways, until I wasn't even in New York anymore. But I didn't care. I would've walked until my feet bled. I would've walked until I starved. I would've walked until I died, but I knew I couldn't. It wasn't fair to my mom who died to protect my sister and me. It wasn't fair to Annabeth or Paul or Estelle or even me, but life wasn't fair, so I kept walking.

I walked across fields, rivers, leaves, and dirt until I finally stopped. I registered my surroundings for the first time in hours. It was late at night, probably 10 or 11 p.m. I was in the middle of a forest and there was a stream in front of me. I had no idea why I had stopped here. Of all the places I could have stopped, I stopped in a forest. A forest with a stream, in the middle of nowhere.

I was about to lean over to get a drink from the river, when I heard a branch snap. I immediately turned to the tree I heard the noise from. Years of training from Camp Halfblood took over. I slowly reached my hand in my pocket and felt the familiar ball point pen. I inched my way closer to the tree still keeping my hand grasped tightly around Riptide. I examined the tree and caught a glint of silver, but I was too late. The arrow came flying towards me and pierced me in the head. My vision blurred as I fought to keep consciousness, but I failed.

I opened my eyes, and my head was pounding. I felt as if someone had hit me in the head with an arrow. 'Whoops, that's exactly what happened.' I thought sarcastically. I rubbed the back of my head and tried to get up. A shot of pain went up my neck and I fell back down groaning. I guessed I wouldn't be moving any time soon, so I better make myself useful. The first thing I did was scan my surroundings for any threats, there were some tents but they looked empty, so far, so good. Next, pinpoint your location. I was still in the forest but in a different spot. I was laying in the middle of a clearing surrounded by tents. They seemed familiar, but with my headache I couldn't quite place what it was. There was a soft layer of pine needles covering the forest floor making it feel like I was laying on a giant pillow. There was no river nearby that I could sense, so I knew they must have taken me somewhere far.

Next, get into a safe position so that no one can ambush you. I tried to stand up again, but I ended up sitting (hey, I was making progress...) After that, figure out what time of day it is. It was sunny and hot so I must have slept through the night. I guessed it was about 11am. My head finally stopped pounding, so I stood up. I started getting dizzy, so I stumbled to the nearest tree, leaning on it trying to regain my balance.

Once everything stopped spinning, I let go of the tree and took a tentative step forward. I felt okay so I took another step, and another step, and soon I was full on walking without feeling like I was going to throw up (more progress...)

For about an hour I looked around searching for any traps or signs of my kidnappers. I didn't find my kidnappers, but I did find a trap around the perimeter of the tents. There was a microscopic layer of mesh going above the tree level. I could have summoned water to go above it, but I didn't know if I was in the condition to be using my powers. I thought maybe I could cut through the mesh, but at a closer look I noticed it was Celestial Bronze. 'Well,' I thought 'I guess there's only one thing left for me to do. Wait for my kidnappers. Yippee.'

Having ADHD, I got bored, so I started searching through the tents to pass the time. They all were the same, they had assorted fruits, meats, and vegetables. Everything looked very fresh and very healthy. Yuck. There were many weapons on the wall, mostly bows, but there were swords and knives too. Animal pelts covered the ground and hung from the side of the tents. There were bears, deer, foxes, raccoons... everything you can think of. Something was familiar about this place, but I couldn't quite figure it out.

As I was searching through the last tent I found something peculiar. There was a picture frame sitting on one of the pelts. I picked it up and before I could look at it, I felt something cold pressing against the back of my neck, something very, very sharp. I froze and a voice right behind me said "Kelp Head! I thought you knew better than to search through my stuff." I smiled; this was going to be a great day.