A/N: this story was written with the help of Some_lazy_author on Wattpad, please check out their stories
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I always knew my brother and I were different.
From the day he was born, Percy —my brother— has always been special. Our mom says that when we were born Percy, came out screaming so loud doctors thought he'd set a record. The only thing that was louder than him was the hurricane outside. Doctors from across the hospital came to see him. Not even a minute old and he was already a beacon of excitement.
On the other hand, I wasn't that exciting. Mom said she almost didn't notice I was there the whole pregnancy, they only found out about me when the doctor saw my hairy head. The only thing that had shocked her was the fact that I was born with a chunk of snow-white hair —a condition called Poliosis circumscripta— and scales on my legs — which was just epidermolytic hyperkeratosis.
After Percy and I's birth things slowed down for me. I didn't cry, didn't make huge messes, I didn't even throw tantrums. I just went with the flow of things. I didn't stir things up for others and they didn't stir things up for me. My life was boring, the only real problems I had were with my stepdad.
Essentially, I'm boring.
Percy on the other hand is like a gyre, he just has to sit there and he pulls in a great Pacific garbage patch of chaos.
At his fifth-grade school, when his class went to the Saratoga battlefield, he had an accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I know Mom said he wasn't aiming for the school bus, but he blew a hole through it with the cannon. And of course, he got expelled. If that isn't enough, on his fourth-grade field trip to the Marine World shark pool, He accidentally hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and sent his whole class into an unplanned swim. And after that ... well you get the idea.
So, whenever I hear or see that Percy got caught up in some unexpected drama like a fight at school or accidentally releasing an army of eels on his history teacher, it doesn't surprise me. Yeah, I make sure he and the victims are okay, but it's so par for the course with Percy that I'm essentially desensitized.
Until the time I got the call from the police telling me that my mom and brother had been declared missing.
They were driving down the road and their car had flipped over. When the car was found it looked as though it had been hit by lightning, luckily no dead bodies were found. Unluckily, there were no living bodies either.
I was distraught. I had been on a call with Mom a few days earlier when they were telling me about how they were going to Montauk. I should've noticed something was off when it was Gabe who'd answered when I called the day they were supposed to get back, I thought they were just staying in a bit longer.
After that, things went downhill.
I couldn't get a ride home cause Gabe didn't want to pay for the ride back. He said, and I quote, "I don't need to waste money on your stupid plane ride, I already had to pay for your schooling in Indianápolis, you aren't coming back till the year ends and they tear your ungrateful orphaned body off the grounds."
Well, when he said it there was a lot more swearing. He also didn't pay for the schooling it was already paid for thanks to the school headmaster.
Anyway, after that all information about Mom and Percy went silent. It was silent for almost two months. I knew nothing, everyone was telling me that it would be better to let things go and live on in their memories. The only way I coped was by eating nothing but blue and baking my mom's favorite snacks in the communal kitchen.
I got sent to the nurse's office because my arms turned blue.
Things were dark. I was passing out in class due to lack of sleep, my grades were going from B's to D's, the only reason I was still passing was because of the school headmaster Mr. Augustine. He helped me into the depths of the night, even taking me to my room after I had passed out.
It wasn't until June 13th that I heard good news. It was the last day of school, and the whole sixth-grade class was gathered in the common area —seventeen burnt-out gifted kids who'd just spent all of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade learning advanced college-level academics, huddling around the only televisions they'd seen all year waiting for their parents to pick them up.
I was sitting near the entrance, watching as the cars drove by, waiting for Gabe to pull up. Would he pull up? He isn't required to, he only really talked to me when the cops called. Maybe he would send a friend over, it's only a ten-hour drive.
I planted my head on my suitcase, a low sigh escaping my mouth.
This is stupid. I could walk home from here. It's only eleven and a half days.
I sat there for a few more minutes, so deep in my thoughts I almost didn't notice the gasps of horror in the background. I sat up, turning to face the source of the noise.
What I saw was a horrific sight. The Saint Louis Arch was on fire, plumes of smoke billowed out of the building as crowds gathered around it. From there, it only got worse. The news anchor at the scene had been speaking, mouthing on about the cause of this terrible tragedy.
"Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And t h e boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."
Up on the screen appeared a blonde haired boy with blue eyes covered in scrapes as he ran out a bus with two other individuals.
I was at a loss for words. This couldn't be true, Percy wouldn't do this, he couldn't have. Literally, the guy knows nothing about how to build explosives. He doesn't even know algebra!
I began pacing back and forth, trying to make sense of the whole situation. Where was Mom? Did Gabe know about this? Did he put him up to this? Yeah Gabe's a bad person and hangs out with shady people, but he's too lazy to frame a twelve year old boy. Right?
I'm pulled from my dive into paranoia by a sudden hand on my shoulder.
I jumped in surprise, before turning to see who'd grabbed me.
"Get your shit Jimmy Neutron, we're going to LA," Gabe said, with a slimy laugh.
I gulped, not sure of what to do.
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Word Count: 1276