Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series. If I did, you would see pictures of monkeys on each page.

Fire's Pride

Chapter 1

I listened to my bare feet slamming against the snowy street as I ran. Looking back I checked to see if anyone was following me. I slowed down and stopped. I sat on a bench and strangely, it felt nice and warm. I felt like sleeping on it. Despite the fact it was almost the end of December. Despite the fact it was Christmas Eve. Despite the fact I was running for my life. Despite the fact I just escaped from a mental hospital. I groaned. Way to think positive, I thought bitterly. I stood up and still felt warm even though I was wearing the type of dress robe you wear when you just finished an operation. I walked down the dark street and stopped in front of a clothes store. Stealing a few things won't get me in much trouble.

I lifted my hand to the door knob, but it turned before I touched it. I quickly backed up as the door opened. I narrowed my eyes to the person at the door. It was on old lady. I put on my best scared face, thinking she'll let me get some clothes for free.

"My granddaughter saw you from her window. Were you planning on stealing?" She said, her voice sweet, but stern.

"No Miss. I just need some clothes" I said to her, trying to sound like I couldn't be able to steal anything. She looked at me for a long moment. Then, she beckoned me inside. I hesitated then followed.

"Pick anything you like, you can change in the change room to the right." She said and went up dark stairs. When I heard the footsteps fade the lights turned on, blinding me for a second.

I looked around the place. Wasn't too bad it was actually kind of nice. I'd say it was about 40 feet by 40 feet. One side was pink for the girls, the right, and the other side was blue for boys. I went to the boy's section. I picked out a plain white shirt, and basketball shorts, and Adidas slippers. I changed in the fitting room and figured it was decent. I awkwardly looked in the mirror. My red hair at weird angles, my blue eyes looking darker than usual. I had bruises on my arms, and a long scratch on my right leg. I touched it and it seemed to be…disappearing! I covered my mouth with my hands to keep from making any noise. I did it to my bruises and those disappeared too. Weird!

I heard loud whispering coming from upstairs. People arguing. I tried listening to what they were saying, but their voices sounded muffled. Then I heard someone say, "I'm still going down there!" And the mystery person went down the stairs. It was a girl. She had brown shoulder length hair, a little messy if you ask me. Well ,you shouldn't ask me. She had brown eyes that seemed to look at me suspiciously. She was wearing a pink long sleeve and purple sweats. She was very pretty.

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice trying to sound braver than she was.

"James. Who are you?" I said, with an edge in my voice when I said 'you'

"Madison Starmp" She put out her hand. I didn't shake it. "It's a hand. You shake it, a greeting in most cultures."

"I know that!" I snapped. "Why should I trust you?" I said bringing my eyebrows together.

"It depends. Why should I trust you?" She simply said. I shook her hand. "Now that we have that covered, what's your story?" She said and leaned against the wall. She eyed me warily. I felt uncomfortable.

I studied her for a moment. "I just escaped from a…mental hospital. I'm not crazy, I just see stuff like monsters trying to attack me. But, someone is always there killing it and it turns into dust. Afterwards, everyone pretends like nothing happened" I looked at her expression. Wasn't disgusted so she didn't care if I was crazy or not, and wasn't pity. It was more like curious.

"How old are you?" She said

"Sixteen. I'm guessing you're fifteen?" I raised an eyebrow. She nodded. Just then someone else came down the stairs. The footsteps seemed heavy. A man. I guessed he was Jessie's dad. They looked nothing alike though. He had blondish hair, green eyes, and looked like he could break me in half in under a second. He put her arms around her protectively.

"This my dad. Dad? This is James" She said looking down

"Does he know yet?" The man said to her.

"No" She replied.

"Do I know what?" I said

"Should I tell him?" She asked her dad.

"Tell me what?!" I yelled at them. They're having a conversation about me and I'm right here!

She glanced at her dad, then at me. She started shifting from foot to foot. "Well it's kind of obvious. You a half-blood." She said looking down.

"A what?" I asked.

"A half-blood." She repeated. " It means your half human and half…god. Like me."

I looked at her stupidly. "You mean like Greek gods?" I said. "You have got to be kidding me!"

She clenched and unclenched her hands. Her look was…murderous. "I am not kidding." She said through gritted teeth then cleared her throat. "My dad is human. My mom is a Greek god. My mom is Aphrodite." She looked at me as if to challenge me to argue with her.

"You mean like goddess of love and beauty?" I said. That must explain why she looks so pretty. "I believe you., but me? A half-blood?" I sat down on the floor and leaned my head on the wooden wall.

"Which one of your parents do you know?" Her dad asked me. I was surprised because he was talking to me for the first time.

"Oh, um, my dad. Wait, does that mean my mom is a goddess?" I replied

"Yep." she leaned off the wall and sat next to me. She looked up at her dad. "I can take it from here dad." she said to him. He looked at me as if saying, 'Don't do anything bad or I'll hurt you' then walked upstairs.

"You've met my grandmother and my father. You still have to meet my step-mom and half-brother. I rather you not though." She said. She sat down, put her head against the wall, and closed her eyes. "How long were you in a mental hospital?" She asked, her voice almost inaudible.

"Five years." Why was I telling her this so easily? I looked at her. I guess she felt me looking at her because she opened her eyes and looked at me, so I looked away. "Does that mean the monsters I saw was real?" I said. She nodded.

"Then what are we doing here? Aren't we suppose to be fighting them off?" I said standing up.

"Yes we are. There's a camp. Camp Half-blood. It's a place where half-bloods train and occasionally live. It's in Long Island. I've never been there though, I want to go and my dad wants me to go too. But, he doesn't want me to go alone. Mortals aren't allowed there. And he has to take care of the store. So, I was wondering." She fiddled with her fingers. "Would you like to come with me?"

My eyes widened in surprise. Her eyes were pleading. I looked down and thought for a moment. Camp Half-blood. Sounds like a decent place. But, what if it was a trap? She wouldn't pull a prank like that though. I have no where else to go, so I guess I have to go. I cleared my throat. "I'll go"

Her face lit up and she hugged me. I was surprised, I never hugged a girl before. She let go and stood up awkwardly.

"Sorry" Then she grinned, "I better go tell my dad!" she said and ran upstairs. I looked at her go upstairs. I rubbed my eyes and leaned against the wall. What am I getting myself into?

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So, how'd you like the first chapter of Fire's Pride? I'll continue it if people like it. This was kind of like a Prologue but, at the same time it wasn't…Please review!!