Reach for the Stars (Percy Jackson AU)

Chapter Two

Zoë skidded to a stop in front of her mothers house, and took off her helmet. Zoë took her keys out of her pocket, swinging them around her finger as she walked up to her home.

It was three stories, and painted a sky blue with the edges painting white swirls, so the whole thing looked like a sea breaking wave. And the best part- Zoë's mother had done it all herself. She was so much better then Nyx- Zoë's actual Mother. Nyx was a frightening women, around six feet, with dark black hair, obsidian orbs and pale skin . In Zoë's eyes, that women's eyes were made out of marble, it was impossible for something to be that cold and empty.

Zoë ran through her keys, finally finding the one that unlocked the door. She stepped inside her home, and layer her helmet and bag by the door, and wiped her black sneakers on the mat. She closed the door, then called out,

"Mom! I'm home!" Zoë walked through the hall, " Mom? You home!" She called, walking through the kitchen, which like the rest of the house was painted blue and green. She grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl before walking into the TV room.

"Mom! Thank the gods, I thought something had happened-" Zoë walked into the TV room to see Tethys- staring st the TV, her warm dark blue eyes widened, and her lips pursed in an 'o' shape. Per usual her long light brown hair was braided down her back until her waist, with a long silver pin pushing back her bangs. Tethys' hands were on the knees of her faded Capri jeans, and the long sleeves of her ocean shirt were pushed up as usual. Silver interlocking shell bracelets donned her tan wrists. But it was that frightened and pale expression that was painted on her usually happy face is what caused Zoë to drop her bright red apple on the ground with a 'thunk'.

"Mom." Soë said, her voice starting to shake, "Mom what's wrong!" Zoë was starting to shake, she hadn't seen her mother like this since-

Since Bianca had gone missing two years ago.

"Zoë, sweetie." Tethys stood up turning to Zoë. "Gods you're okay!" Tethys jumped up and engulfed Zoë in a hug so hard Zoë could have sworn her ribs cracked.

"Mom." Zoë made out, her heart starting to race, "What's happened." Tethys choked out a sob.

" I thought they were gone," Tethys cries, tears soaking into Zoë's sweatshirt, "They haven't struck for two years. Zoë not since you were a Sophmore. Since Bi-Bianca. I thought you were safe. I don't want you to be taken like your sister was when you were both juniors. I-I-" Tethys sobbed harder into Zoë sweatshirt.

A few minutes later after Tethys calmed down, Zoë's heart was still racing and she was nervous. Tethys dried her eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetie, it's just, well it seems like all of your old friends are getting taken." Zoë's heart nearly skipped a beat, she could hear it pounding in her ears.

Her old friends.

"ZOË WATCH OUT!" A voice screamed in her ears.

Zoë's breath caught, as pain flared in her side, her hand automatically went to the old scar that still ached.

Her old friends, she hadn't seen them all together since that night, the night she almost died.

She could barely hear her mother,

"Percy's gone too. He was a good kid, dated your sister back in middle school, before you came to live with me."

Before Tethys, when she lived with her sisters. When she lived with Nyx. The room spun and dark spots blinked in her vision. She saw Tethys dash out of the room, only to return with a big glass bowl they saved for whenever someone had the stomach bug.

Just in time, Zoë hurled into the bowl as her mother patted her back. It burned the back of her throat, but she felt a lot better. The slots disappeared and the room came back into focus.

Before she knew it, Tethys was tucking her into bed, in her star themed bedroom, underneath her silver covers, kissing her on the forehead, before turning off the lamp engulfing the room in darkness.

Until the stars appeared.

Silver glow in the dark stars that she had stuck to the ceiling when she first moved in. Zoë could remember how excited she was as Tethys and Calpso helped her tape them up. Zoë had a bandage wrapped around her side at the time, and back then she had let her hair spill lose around her shoulders and to the small of her back. A smile tugged at Zoë's mouth, as she almost forget about how Percy was missing.

And how she was the last one.

Her gaze made its way to the photo on her bedside table, next to the archey team pictures. Positioned only so Zoë could see it in bed.

Just the nine of them, all bearing orange shirts with one word on it. But that word meant so much more. Zoë thought about the ripped shirt at the back of her closet, untouched since her last year of middle school.

Zoë's eye lids dropped down as she rolled over and fell asleep. But that one word flashed in her dreams over and over again.

TAMED

Only it stood for so much more, but only the nine of them knew,

Just the nine, but that nine had dropped down since then,

Only one.

Just Zoë.

All alone.

Until she made it to the stars.

________

Hi guys!

How's them feels of yours, broken?

Thought so.

Anyways, sorry for not updating like anything, but I'm skiing with my family.

We got here on Friday, and it was pretty good until yesterday.

Call me Thalia because I skied off a ledge of snow and hit a pine tree head first.

I'm fine, had a helmet, they checked me out.

So don't worry, none of my story ideas were forgotten,

Though ever since I've had one Hades of a headache.

Anyways, I hope you guys have fun trying to figure out what TAMED is.

Jaz literally bribed me to tell her what it means, a serious IOU in spoilers.

But hats literally gonna drive Green insane cause she doesn't know.

Don't worry, that's Chapter Nine.

I've got the whole thing planned out.

Including the deaths.

- Tree Trunk Face