Holding onto Hope

Prologue

"Goodbye, Annabeth. I wish you well, but let's be honest, that's a lie. Don't find me, don't go looking for me." Percy said, while walking away from the shocked female, everyone was shocked on how he had dumped Annabeth right in front of everyone, both camps, in front of the demigods.

No one had words, no one knew what to say, they won the war, Annabeth lost her now ex boyfriend. Percy had disappeared from the mythological world, Annabeth knew Percy would return back to her, because she was the one that kept him alive, so he'd need her.

When a year passed and still no word on his whereabouts, Nico said that he wasn't dead so they had that, that their hero wasn't dead, they tried to Iris Message him but there was no connection, they sent him letters via Hermes, but even Hermes couldn't find him, so the letters went to Poseidon who kept them in his apartment that was on Olympus, the letters remained unopened, unread, everyone took that as a sign that they needed to leave him alone.

Olympus felt off, since Apollo was missing, there was no harmony, it didn't help that the sun was no longer warm. Everyone wondered why Percy had went no contact with everyone within the camps, did Annabeth betrayed him? That was their main thought but decided that the questions they had would never be answered, at all.

Percy had went home, to see his family but saw Hera standing there covered in his family's blood, his baby sister had been poisoned, his mother's throat had been silt from one ear to the other ear, Paul's throat had been silt too, Hera's stared at the former hero, she only said, 'a true hero as to lose everything, no one would believe you, if you told them I killed your family.'

That was what pushed Percy over the edge, he decided that the Gods weren't worth saving anymore, they took everything from him, and this was how they repaid him? Oh hell no. He turned his back to Hera before speaking up, it was a threat and a curse at the same time, "don't go looking for me, when you get a threat, because when you need me the most, I won't help you." Percy said, Hera had a glow about her, like the curse had been accepted or something like that.

No one knew that he went through Tartarus alone, no one knew that he was changing slightly, no one noticed that he once bright Sea Green eyes were slowly going a dark brown almost black like. Percy left New York City, without looking back, he took what he needed he had a backpack with stuff he would need, Percy was glad that he disappeared from that self-centered world, he struggled but managed, he knew that Annabeth would've made fun of him for sleeping on the streets but he was just so used to it.

It was when he realized that he was in Curlew Cove, he had three friends in the small Christian town, the small Christian town had one chruch that everyone went to, every Sunday. It was where gays weren't accepted, where people married their children into other families if they thought their kids would make a perfect couple.

Lisa and Liam were former demigods, a son of Athena and a daughter of Hermes, had called Curlew Cove home for years, they had told him that they would be more than happy to have him stay with them. Percy found them, and he was happier with being with them, he and Liam had made better friends than he and Annabeth had ever been, there was no name calling, Liam had never called him stupid.

For Lisa it felt like she was a third wheel most of the time, when Liam and Percy were together, both signed up for the military, both went overseas, both had been kidnapped and tortured by the Taliban. Both escaped only to be recaptured and tortured by the Taliban, only this time, there would be no 'both', the Taliban had been asking on how to restore Kronos to full power and that he was the true king.

Liam and Percy couldn't see each other, but both were stubborn, it wasn't long until he knew something was happening because he could see through the black hooded bag they had put over his head, "tell us! Or he dies!" The Taliban demand, Percy and Liam made eye contact with each other, "don't, Pierce, just promise me something? Yeah?" Liam said.