Son of Crossroads (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter Three: Making a Choice

It was a cool night out. A breeze slowly drifted through an open window of the foster home. It was almost half past two o'clock in the morning, and Percy was wide awake. He couldn't sleep after learning what he had earlier that day in the park.

Greek gods and monsters were real.

Percy had never heard of the Greek gods before, but he did know that gods were very powerful people. The most surprising part though?

Percy was the child of one.

Jaimie had given him a choice. Come with him and Ximena, live with the rest of the people like him, like them. Or stay with Ms.Reagan in the foster home and try to live a normal life. Jaimie had told him to meet behind a bakery at the end of the street at three o'clock. He had given Percy the digital watch on his wrist and told him the basics of time telling. Percy now fiddled with the device as he tried to make a decision. On one hand he loved Ms.Reagan and the life he lived with her wasn't too bad. Life as an orphan wasn't the best, but it was better than nothing. And he just met Jaimie and Ximena! How was he sure he could trust them?
But on the other hand, Percy was different. He finally found people like him, that would accept him. They could teach him how to get rid of the monsters, and tell him more about the crazy world he was apart of.

Percy slid out of bed as quietly as possible. He padded over to the small dresser near the end of his bed, and opened one of its drawers almost silently. Some of the other children in the room shifted in their sleep, others snored loudly. He dressed himself in a pair of grey sweatpants and slid a grey zip up jacket over his night shirt. He hurriedly put his pajama pants in the drawer and then slid it back in its place. He leaned down and snagged his black sneakers from under his bed and tip toed over to the open window. He hoisted himself up and through the window and landed with a dull thud on the ground outside.

Percy then pointed himself in the right direction and made his way to the meet up point. No one he walked passed questioned why a young boy was out so early on his own. Not far down, at the end of the street was a bakery. It was small, unsuspecting and went by the name "Granny's." Percy turned down the fairly clean ally way behind the store. Just as he went to check his borrowed watch he heard a voice.

"Hey Percy. I️ knew you'd show up."
It was Jaimie. Still wearing his clothes from earlier. He was leaned against the wall with an easy going smile on his face. "I️ have a friend, he's like us, he wants to meet you. He's gonna be the one to get you out of that foster home."

A gust of wind brushed by and Percy shivered. "Okay. Where is he?" The younger boy then went to look around the alley for another person.

Jaimie let out a chuckle, before straightening himself and motioned to a pair of small metal doors laid in the ground. "Let's get you inside. He's waiting for you there."
Jaimie made his way to the doors and opened them both wide for Percy to see down the dark shaft it led to. There was an old ladder that led into the darkness below.

Percy turned to Jaimie, and for the second time that day he felt unrealistically calm and almost...lethargic. Jaimie offered the boy a small smirk. "Do you wanna go first? Or should I️?"

—SoC—

At the end of the ladder there was a dark hallway, which led to a door. Percy could see light leaking out from underneath. Jaimie walked ahead of him, seemingly unperturbed by the darkness and silence. The caramel haired boy opened the door at the end of the hallway and motioned for Percy to enter.

There was a small room that had vibrantly painted walls with splatters of paint where there was no graffiti. There were a two large dressers which Percy guessed was for storage. There were also sleeping bags in disarray on the ground and most importantly a small table against the wall on the left of the doorway. Sitting at the table was another teen. This one with mocha colored skin, dark curly hair that was blond towards the ends, deep brown eyes and gold framed glasses.

"Percy, meet Axle."

Axle looked up from where he sat sharpening his dagger and offered Percy an easy grin.

"Why don't you come sit down?" Axle's voice was rich and smooth. Percy felt compelled to take a seat at the table, and found his legs moving without permission from his brain.
Jaimie, after placing the young boy in Axle's care, left the room through the door he had just entered with.

"So, Jaimie here was telling me about how you are a demigod."
Percy nodded in agreement.
"Do you have a clue as to who your godly parent might be?"

"No. I️ don't have any parents," Percy rejected the notion.

"That's alright. Is there anything in particular you like to do, or that you're good at?" Axle's voice was like a sip of hot chocolate on a snowy winter day.

"No, not really." Percy has no idea why he answered the older boy's questions. He couldn't stop himself and even if he did want to he would find that his mouth was spilling out answers before he could stop it.

"Well have you done anything...special? Like using super powers or something?"

"Well, there was this one time. My teacher kept me inside until I wrote the sentence on the board ten times, but I can't read good so I didn't write them. But when she came to look at my paper she thought I wrote something, and then she walked away like a zombie." Percy rushed through his story, a story he hadn't told anyone. He didn't want people to think he was anymore of an outcast then they already did.
Axle sat back in his seat, a perplexed expression on his face. Here was a child, no older than seven telling him he could, potentially, manipulate the Mist. Was he just a clear sighted mortal with a strange and special ability, or was he...more? Axle had a gut feeling to bet on the second option. With a bit of willpower and a mental push, Axle compelled Percy to his wishes.

"Do you think you could do it again?"

"Yes."

—•—
Axle

I goofed up on his. Poena is not the Goddess of persuasion. His mom goes by a name I'm not bothered to look up.

But anyways, what other powers do you think Axle has, or should have?
Who else do you think should be in the group of runaways?
Let me know 😊

Lady_Hemera_