Chaos Rising |BOOK 2| Harry Potter x PJO |Alexandra Marine|

BONUS: THE DAY SHE FOUND HELP

Now don't ask me why I can remember all of this so well.

It happens when you have a hard life, ADHD and a photographic memory at the same time. You can't just forget it all.

Three days after I'd run away from home, the streets of London were filled with 'missing' posters. I changed my clothes, tucked all of my hair into my hoodie and stayed away from the streets of Islington, where I lived a long time ago.

Going back home was out of consideration. I was pissed off. Dad never understood my problems. He thought I was mad. He thought he should have left me on the streets. He thought my fear of spiders was completely irrational... the list just goes on. And then there was Irene, just giggling as my father spat rude words at me.

Ever since I'd stepped out, somehow, I'd met a lot of strange strangers. Some of them had fangs and purple eyes. Some of them seemed to sprout wings when they saw me. But the people around us either seemed to ignore the fact that they were straight up looking at an actual monster.

I'd lasted for a whole week against the monsters until I almost died.

I know. That's a record.

As I passed by the bridge on Thames at midnight, a monster charged at me.

Actually, scratch that.

It was three monsters, all with wings the size of large coats, claws as long as meat knives, eyes as red as rubies and bodies as big as elephants. They flew towards me at great speed, as though they were going to swallow me up.

But just before I could throw my hammer at the first one, they changed course, turning right and flying towards the bridge.

A woman was walking down the bridge, oblivious to the fact that three leather bats were trying to destroy her.

I threw my hammer at the first one at once.

And thank every god out there, it hit the monster right on the head and it fell to the floor with a small 'THUD!'

The woman did not turn around, however. She still seemed rather unaware of the monsters.

I ran after the monsters in a hurry. I pulled off my hoodie, and once I was close to one of the monsters, I wrapped my hoodie around it's neck and tied it really tight. The monster fell, choking.

The last one. It was the one farthest from me. Panting, I ran at it at full speed. I couldn't scream at the woman to run. All my energy just went in running. It was so close to her- a metre away-

And just as it was about to open it's huge mouth, I pounced at the monster, and in the process-

I fell into the river.

My first instinct was to swim. But it was a big shock for me. I couldn't move a muscle in my body. My eyes were just wide, and my teeth were chattering. I was panicking. I tried waving my arms and legs, but my body remained a statue. I used my last breath rather unwisely, trying to shout as I sank into the water. All that came out were bubbles.

The water entered my lungs, faster than air. It seemed to last an eternity. I kept swallowing the water. My eyes wouldn't shut, and I could see the water and all it's colors in full 20/20 vision. My lungs were burning. I felt like I was going to throw up my dinner- a packet of chips.

I was out of air. I tried looking outside at the moon, but I couldn't see it. Darkness clouded my vision as time passed.

And then, it dawned on me- I wasn't going to make it.

I was running out of air. I let out another breath of air, this one more copious than the others. My body went limp, my mind went blank and I gave up on all effort. I just let go, and my flaccid body just floated in the water for a few seconds. My lungs had more or less given out, and there was no pain, just comfort. At that particular moment, I was feeling damn pleasant, like everything is fine and maybe like I was high on sugar.

And then, a sudden surge of energy pulled me up from somewhere. I felt myself floating upward. I can't really remember much of it, because I'd passed out.

But when I woke up again, I was back on the bridge, wet and surrounded by water and vomit. I coughed severely, spewed out a lot of water and finally got to my feet.

"Well, I hope you're done," a voice said.

I looked up to see a woman grinning at me. She wasn't the one I'd saved, but one that I'd seen on the streets many a time. She was extremely tan, with bright blue eyes that twinkled like stars in the night sky, and her red lips were pulled into a smug smile. Her dark hair was tied into a bun, and she was wearing yoga pants and an oversized aviator jacket over her black shirt.

In her hands, however, the woman held the strangest thing ever. It was a glowing trident. I had to close my mouth shut with my palms. The woman smirked. She twirled the trident in her hand, and it became a shining bow. She extended another hand to me, and another shiny bow appeared, with a complete quiver of arrows, the tips glowing faintly blue.

"For you," the woman said, smiling.

Now, kids, remember, we DO NOT accept weapons from strangers. It's just a big no no. Okay? I don't want to see any of you taking even a toothpick from a stranger on the street until you've turned sixty. Okay, I had to put that in there.

I looked at the woman. Her face seemed like true bliss. I felt like I could stare at her all day.

"Come now," the woman said. "We don't have all day."

I took the bow and slung the quiver around my chest.

"Good," the woman complimented. "Now, let's tear those keres apart."

She turned around, and pulled her bowstring. An arrow magically nocked itself into existence. And that was when I realized what was at the other end of the arrow.

The leather bats had somehow woken up again. Although slower than before, they charged at us.

The woman turned to me. "You take an arrow, nock it, and aim," she said, demonstrating.

I followed, taking aim. And just as the bats came closer, I let go. The arrow went straight through the left eye of the first one in line.

And just as the arrow touched the bat, the latter burst into sawdust. I was shocked.

But the woman next to me was still aiming. The bats were not twenty meters away. Panicking, I nocked another arrow. And just as I was about to aim, the woman let go of her string.

The arrow pierced through the air at lightning speed. And just a meter away from hitting it's target, it peeled away into two, hitting both the monsters in the heart at the same time.

She turned to me, and winked. "The bow's yours, darling. Thank your mom for asking me to save you."

She turned around, walking away.

"Wait!" I called after her.

The woman turned around on her Reeboks. "What?" she frowned. "I don't think I've left anything out."

"Who are you?"

She smiled. "Oh, I'm Alex. And.... yeah, New York is the best place to be for people like you." She patted my shirt pocket, and I felt it get heavier. "The airport's just a taxi ride away."

She turned and walked away once more. But this time, she was gone by the time I'd blinked. I dug into my pocket. Inside was a large roll of cash. And a card with a name on it.

I squinted, trying to read. "Aster Brooke?"

I flipped the card. "He'll... help -you at... Heathrow."

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Alexandra helping out demigods is just really cute.