What do you mean?" asked you.
"This is a long story," Percy began explaining. "Longer than I'd originally planned, honestly."
Before Percy could finish, you noticed the outline of a huge building standing above the rest. There were three towers connected by a giant circle, forming a square.
"This is where we'll be staying," Percy announced. "My room is over there." He pointed to a large door near the middle tower.
"I see," you answered, nodding your head again.
Percy motioned for you to follow him into the building. After you entered the building, Percy turned to face you.
"Now this is where I live," he said with pride. "The inside is pretty neat."
He opened the double doors leading into his living area. Inside, everything seemed normal. Except the couch and coffee table had been removed from one wall, which showed a large opening in the floor with nothing inside.
"Wow, that looks like a secret passageway!" you exclaimed, jumping slightly in excitement. You couldn't imagine the idea of being so close to your mysterious benefactor, yet being completely unaware of his existence. "How come you haven' shown me the passage?"
"Oh, yeah." Percy scratched the side of his nose. "It's pretty much hidden away. No one has seen it except for me, and I haven't told anyone about it, besides you. Well, maybe my mom, actually, but I haven't talked to her since the day we moved here." Percy sighed heavily and slumped against the wall.
"Percy? Are you sure you're okay?" you questioned.
Percy looked back at you and smiled. "I'm fine, Percy. Just give me some space, alright? I promise, it will all make sense soon."
"Okay," you replied. You gave Percy a soft smile in return, then turned to leave.
"Wait," Percy called out. "Don't go. Stay for dinner. Mom will be back tonight, so I think you could use some company, y'know? Plus, I want to ask you a couple questions anyway. If it doesn't bother you too much, that is."
"Of course! Thank you, Perce," you said enthusiastically. You sat down on the couch as he joined you. Once seated, you started talking. "As far as I know, I've never heard of your village in Florida. How did you end up here? Do you have family here?"
"Uh, no. Sorry, I've never mentioned my parents," explained Percy, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "They were killed when I was young. But, um, it's fine. Now tell me something about yourself. I don't think you'd want to spend your whole life answering questions about yourself. So, what are you doing here in Beach City anyway? Why aren't you with your friends in Florida? Do you even have any friends?"
"Well, I guess you could say that," you said sheepishly. You weren't used to talking about your feelings in front of other people, especially when talking about personal stuff.
"What do you mean?" Percy asked. "Is there someone special? Did you meet him recently?"
"Well, he kind of died. And I haven't spoken to my friends for years because we both moved here for college. Our friends ended up moving to California together, and I decided to stay here with them. But we lost touch with each other. I still keep trying to contact him, but... I'M afraid he won't remember anything about me."
"I'm sure he remembers you," assured Percy.
You shrugged your shoulders in response. "I hope so, but I've been asking around for years. Maybe someday he'll realize who I am."
Chapter 2: A Story About Beach City
Percy Jackson
One Year Ago …
You awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside your window. You lay in bed for a few moments basking in the warmth of the morning sun. A sudden breeze blew the curtains around, causing a loud rustling noise. You rubbed your eyes and yawned. You stretched your arms above your head and then sat up in bed. Sitting in an upright position, you rested your elbows on your knees and buried your face in your palms. You felt exhausted from having gotten little sleep the night before. When you woke up this morning, you were surprised to find that the house was still dark. After spending the afternoon working on your journal, you knew you needed some shut-eye. You pulled your hair up into a bun and got out of bed.
Wandering around the kitchen, you grabbed a glass of water from the counter and took a sip. As you drank, you thought about the dream you had last night. You wondered if you would be able to recall it later today. As if reading your mind, your cell phone rang. You checked the caller ID; it was a number you didn't recognize. Curious, you picked it up.
"Hello?" you answered. "Hello?" There was no reply at the other end of the line. "Hello?" you shouted this time. Then a voice came through, but it didn't belong to anybody you had ever heard before.
"Where are you?" it demanded. "We've been waiting for weeks!"
"Who are you? What do you want?" you asked suspiciously. "And don't lie to me, I can hear your breathing."
"You wouldn't dare," growled the unknown person.
Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted nearby. Your body stiffened as you realized what just happened. You quickly grabbed your car keys from the hook by the front door and sprinted out of your apartment, hoping to reach the car just as another wave of explosions went off. Suddenly you fell face-first to the ground, the impact throwing your head backwards. Everything spun around and suddenly darkness overtook your vision. In the background of your hearing, you could barely make out shouting voices.
"Where are you? Where are you?"
"Come on, hurry!"
"I'm right behind you!"
"Hurry up, we need to get outta here!"
Then the voice came once more, although this time it sounded softer and more urgent. "Hey, are you hurt? Please answer me."
Finally, after a few moments, you managed to open your eyes. You tried to move your head towards whoever was talking. However, it felt too heavy. It took you a while before you could finally manage to lift it, but once you had, the sight before you left you completely speechless.
In front of you, two men stood with guns raised. They stared straight at you, their expressions cold and determined. You tried to stand up, but it wasn't enough. Slowly, you laid back down onto the ground.
"Stay down. We're not finished with you yet," snarled the first man menacingly. "Tell us where the boy is or we start blasting. We don't have time for games."
When you didn't respond, the man next to him cocked his gun, ready to shoot at any second.
You couldn'