The Lightning Thief [Book One]

Persius Jackson.

She watched Luke, eyes wide in awe and admiration. She was only thirteen years old, hair black and curly, pulled back into a loose ponytail. The Hermes Cabin was in the arena, sparring with the average Celestial Bronze swords. Luke was nineteen, tall, and cute. Even Reagan who was too young for him thought he was cute. But she never saw Luke that way. She had a hard time not comparing Luke with the newest arrival, Percy Jackson. Despite the obvious age difference, Percy being a year under her, he was almost as good as Luke. Almost. Luke had fathoms of experience over everyone. But Percy was getting there. Percy was disarmed after a moment, and then Luke said they'd take a quick break.

Than Percy and Luke were back at each other. But this time Percy seemed more energetic. Their clashes were fierce, one trying to overcome the other. After long minutes of going back and forth, the children of the Hermes Cabin collectively gasped as Luke's sword clattered to the ground. Instead of being angry, Luke smiled broadly over at Percy. Why shouldn't he be angry? Luke was the best swordsman in the entire camp, bested by a puny twelve year old. Reagan remembered feeling a tinge of jealousy as Luke dismissed the Hermes Cabin from sparring practice, the young girl storming off angrily.

There were two hours of free time before dinner, the sun beating down on Reagan's back as she trained. The thought of Luke smiling at Percy like that made her blood boil, and her swings were ungraceful and angry, imagining that the blade was slicing through Perseus Jackson's face. Beads of sweat rolled down her face as she rolled, ducked, and jabbed at invisible monsters and Percy's, her hands becoming clammy and making it hard to grip the hilt of her sword. The sword was a bit large compared to Reagan, but she had trained with it enough to be adequate enough at sword fighting with it. She wore an orange camp shirt with the letters, "CHB," in bold print on the front with a pair of jean shorts that stopped at her knees. She swung the sword in a large arc, only to stop suddenly at the scream she heard near the forest. Reagan almost dropped the weapon before remembering that she might need it and took her sword with her.

Near the edge of the forest was a small girl around the age of nine, her body a heap on the ground as she cowered from a hellhound, foam dripping from it's maw. The tiny girl was shaking with fear. Reagan looked lost, torn from wanting to help but also wanting to wait until help arrived. After a split second, she made her decision.

The hellhound crouched, and she could tell by how the muscles tensed in its hind legs, ready to pounce and kill the half blood. A growl rippled through its throat, and lunged for the powerless girl. Reagan made an odd sound as she charged forward, the celestial bronze sword impaling the chest of the hellhound in midair as she jabbed at it like she has practiced so many times. Her eyes were squeezed shut, forcing the blade through the chest of the monster. The hellhound disintegrated, the remaining particles disappearing with the wind. Suddenly the sword was too heavy for Reagan, but instead of feeling scared she felt exhilarated, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she fell to her knees and dropped the weapon. The girl sniffled and uncurled from the protective ball she was in, tears streaking down her face as she sat there, mouth slightly agape as she stared at the older girl that had just saved her life. Another wail ripped through her lips, and this time she cried joyous tears and reached out, hugging onto Reagan for dear life. She was only nine, and had never even held a weapon before. Let alone experience troubles with monsters.

By than campers from nearby came running over, followed by Chiron in full horse mode, his hooves kicking up dirt as he trotted over to see what the commotion was. Reagan was on her knees still, weakly and awkwardly patting the nine year old on the back, a dazed look in her eyes and face.

"What happened here?" Chiron demanded.

Reagan's eyes snapped open. "I- There was a-"

"A m-monster attacked me," the girl spoke up finally, voice muffled from Reagan's shoulder and pulled back to look at the centaur with a tearful look in her eyes. "Sh-She came here and killed it to save me."

Chiron looked at Reagan. "Is this true?"

The thirteen year old girl nodded her head hastily, eyes wide. There were several campers there too. One being a Percy Jackson. Reagan couldn't help but to see red when her eyes landed on him at the thought of Luke appraising him earlier. But behind Chiron stood a girl with blonde hair and tanned skin, and Reagan instantly knew it was Annabeth Chase of the Athena cabin. The unclaimed Demigod stared at Annabeth, and their eyes met in a stare off.

"Go to The Big House for check up," Chiron said, this time his voice more gentle.

Reagan's eyes focused back on the large centaur in front of her. "I'm okay, Chiron. Really. I didn't get hurt at all."

His gaze was soft. "Just to make sure."

Knowing that his word was final, Reagan pushed herself up. Picking up the sword, she felt a surge of fresh energy at the thought of killing the hellhound and gripped the hilt of the sword and walked in the direction of The Big House.

"Will I still be able to take part in capture the flag tomorrow night?" Reagan asked eagerly as she sat on the front porch of The Big House, Chiron in his wheelchair once again and the Demigod in a rocking chair.

He sighed in exasperation and nodded, a small smile on his face. "You may, dear." Reagan smiled brightly and moved to get up, but Chiron stopped her with a hand raised. "Now tell me," he began, "are you sure you don't know what attacked you?"

Reagan's eyes grew frantic for a moment before relaxing and shaking her head. "No. I told you before, I wasn't really paying attention to whatever was attacking. All I saw was the girl getting attacked and I moved without thinking."

He nodded, a somewhat troubled expression on his face, but Reagan assumed she was seeing things because he soon smiled. "Right. Now go. Enjoy your day. I'm sure your cabin mates are excited to hear your heroic story."