The lost sister: A Caspian Jackson story

Our next adventure with a... pink poodle?

That night was awful. We slept in the woods next to the highway and it was freezing outside. We stole some blankets from Aunty Em's, but it wasn't much, and we had to sleep in shifts; but they let me sleep extra because I was hurt. Not to mention the terrible nightmare i had while Annabeth was on duty.

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I was laying in the cold, heavy, sand and my body felt like it was being weighed down by a truck. I slowly stood up, shaking, and spit out the sand from my mouth. I looked around and saw a deep hole in the ground; with an eerie feeling. As soon as I noticed it, a voice spoke up.

"Little heroes..." I turned next to me, and Percy was panting. We made eye contact and i could tell he was just as scared as i was.

"Too weak, too young, but perhaps you will do." The sand around the pit began falling into it and i backed up. Percy grabbed my arm as I tripped; the vouice getting louder as i tried to get away.

"They have misled the both of you. Barter with me, i shall give you what you want!" I saw something shimmering in the pit; an image of Sally Jackson, frozen in time. She looked as if she was in pain and shouting for us to go; get into camp. Percy's face had tears streaming down it as he tried to call out. Something began pulling us towards the cliff and i screamed; grabbing his wrist, trying to balance my footing.

"Help me rise, children, bring me the bolt! STRIKE A BLOW AGAINST THE TREACHEROUS GODS!" Suddenly, everything broke loose. The dead screaming around me, the force becoming stronger as i held onto Percy. The picture of Sally was fading away and deep in the cave; i saw what looked to be glowing eyes. I shot up as something was shaking me, i hit my head but didn't care. I looked at Percy who also just woke up; he nodded and i nodded back. I saw Grover sitting with a pink poodle in his arms.

"Well, the zombies live!" Annabeth praised us as we got up and Percy seemed confused; clutching his chest as if that monster had punched him. He was pale and sweaty, shaking as he carefully stepped out of his pile of blankets. I doubted i looked any better; i felt my legs try and give out as i walked over to the fire.

"How long were we asleep for?" Percy's gaze was set on Annabeth as she threw a handful of sticks into the fire. Then, she walked to her bag and threw Percy a bag of Doritos.

"Long enough for me to make breakfast." She threw me a granola bar, and i was grateful she remembered my hatred for the chips. "And Grover made a new friend." She pointed to Grover and the pink poodle. Percy squinted and tried to focus his eyes on the dog. Grover was talking to the dog and Percy looked around nervously.

"Did you just speak to it?" I asked, causing the dog to bark angrily, and Grover frowned.

"That IT, is our ticket west; be nice to him." Percy asked the now obvious question.

"You can talk to animals?" Grover ignored his stupidity and stood up, with the dog in his arms. Then he walked over to us, the pink poodle began to growl.

"Caspian, meet Gladiola, Percy- Gladiola, Gladiola- Percy and Caspian Jackson." I turned to Percy who was staring at Annbeth, and I thought she would laugh at this silly trick, but her face stayed stern. Percy turned to Grover who seemed to be waiting, then i realized what he wanted.

"Hey Gladiola, nice to meet you..." It was very awkward, but if the dog can help us; then screw it. Annabeth glared at Percy, and he realized what he was expected to do now.

"I am not saying hi to a pink poodle." Annabeth took a deep breath and slowly turned to Percy; her whole body now facing him.

"I said hello to the poodle, Caspian said hello to the poodle; say hello to the poodle!" The poodle growled. Percy said hello to the poodle. After that, Grover explained how he found him and that Gladiola had run away from home. They were offering a $250 reward for his return; Gladiola didn't want to go home, but he said he would if it meant helping Grover. Although one question did stick out to me.