Chapter 5

What is Happening?

"Hey," I heard a voice yell from behind me. I had never been so thankful to hear anyone before, especially since I knew who it was. "Where do you think you're going?"

Levi turned around, jerking me with him, and faced Percy and a pale guy I didn't recognize. "This isn't your business, Jackson."

Percy pulled a pen out of his pocket and brandished it at Mark and Levi. "Emily's my friend. She needs to go to Camp Half-Blood."

I had stopped trying to figure out what was going on.

"We have our own plan. We need Emily's help with it."

"What would this plan be for?" the other boy asked.

"You don't need to worry about that," Mark said. He stepped forward and pulled out a long, thin sword.

The boy pulled out a black sword. "You guys are crazy," he said and charged at Mark. Their swords clashed together as they began to fight like a movie about medieval knights, only in jeans and tennis shoes. When I looked back over at Percy, he had a sword in his hand too.

Levi pushed me back, into the car, and slammed the door shut. I sat up and looked out the window. Levi had pulled out two long knives and he and Percy were locked in their own battle. Mark and the other boy were still fighting and it didn't look like Mark was doing so well.

I pulled on the handle, with both hands, to open the door. It wouldn't budge and I couldn't find the lock. I banged my fists against the window in frustration.

The battle continued outside the window. I couldn't believe this was happening. It seemed like a dream and not necessarily a good dream.

Another sound caught my attention. A tapping. I turned around to see a face at the other window. It was the older boy who had been at the wreck with Percy. I wasn't sure if he could see me or not but I was pretty sure that he knew I was there.

He put something to his lips, some sort of pipe. I wasn't sure what happened but I heard the lock click. He opened the door. "Come on," he almost whispered. "Were getting you out of here."

He helped me out of the car and pulled me toward the other end of the parking lot, ducking between the cars. I glanced over at the fighting. No one had noticed me yet but that was about to change.

"No you don't," I heard Levi scream. He must have seen me or the evidence of the empty car. I turned around to see him charge towards me. Percy was able to block his path and the fight started again, more intensely than before.

"Here," the older boy said, opening the back door of a white SUV. I climbed in and he shut the door behind me. "Let's move out," he yelled to the others.

The boy that I didn't know hit Mark in the side of the head with the broadside of his black sword. Mark collapsed onto the ground, totally limp. Sweet dreams, Creep. That kid ran over to the car, opened the back door on the other side from me, but then turned back around. "Hurry up Percy," he yelled. "We've got to go."

Percy didn't turn toward the voice like I would have done, he was focused. He blocked another blow from Levi's knives; he then hit Levi close to the hilts of his knives, forcing Levi to drop his weapons. Percy took this advantage by kicking Levi in the chest. Levi stumbled back a few steps clutching at his chest like he couldn't breathe. Percy ran over to the SUV and hopped in the front seat.

The older boy started driving before Percy finished pulling his door shut. We peeled out of the parking lot. It looked like Levi had caught his breath again because he was attempting to run after us with his mouth moving rapidly, like he was shouting curses at us. I couldn't hear it.

After we had gotten out of the lot and onto a main road, the boy next to me let out a whistle. "That was awesome," he practically shouted. "It has been too long since I've gotten to fight something living."

"Whatever," Percy said calmly.

This was insane. "What just happened?" I managed to get out, an edge of hysteria in my voice. Had I left one set of insane people to get caught by another?

The dark haired boy looked over at me like he'd forgotten I was there as Percy spoke. "Hmm. Where to begin," he mused. "I suppose the beginning. The driver here is Grover Underwood. Nico di Angelo is sitting next to you."

"What just happened?" I repeated, a little more controlled this time.

"I think you had better start with the big picture before you get into the details," the boy, Nico said. "And before we get to that"-he cut the rope around my wrists and pulled my swim bag from the back-"we saved this for you."

They then told me about Greek gods and how they were in the US for the 21st century and how the Titan Kronos had tried to destroy the world. "That's a nice little story," I told them when I thought they were done, "but, supposing I believe it"-which I wasn't sure I did-"what does that have to do with me."

"Some of Kronos's followers willingly came back to the side of the gods once the war was over, some were put into special prisons," Percy explained. "Others have gone a bit crazy, believing that they are still working for their old master, but haven't been caught yet. Levi and Mark were one of those half-bloods."

"Crazies," I muttered. "Why did they want me?"

"Good question," Nico answered with a shrug. "We can't know what they were thinking. Maybe they were trying to recruit more half-bloods?"

"So…I'm a half-blood like you guys?" Percy nodded at me. "What happens now?"

"We'll go to Camp Half-blood," Percy said. "You'll train to survive, get some type of weapon and figure out who your godly parent is." He stopped to think. "The time limit for the gods to claim all of their children hasn't been reached yet, so nothing bad should happen with you."

"First off, bad? Why would it be bad?" This worried me.

"For Percy's wish, he wanted all of the gods to claim their children before their thirteenth birthday," Nico explained. "You're already fifteen or sixteen but they had a year before they had to have claimed all of their children. It's hard to say what would happen if they hadn't claimed you by then."

"FYI, I'm fifteen and that sounds like a good thing," I said, nodding. "My second question, what is this about a camp? Don't I get to pack or anything? And what about school?"

Percy sighed, seeming exasperated by all the questions. "You want to go get some things to take with you. Okay, but you'll have to be quick about it." He told Grover to turn onto a road and then how to get to my apartment building. I vaguely wondered how he knew where I lived but looked past it. "As for school," Percy continued. "You will be able to go back home whenever you want, as soon as you learn how to defend yourself."

I sighed. "Do I actually get any choice in this matter?"

Percy pretended to think then said, "Nope."