Hi! I`m back! Thank you to all of you people who reviewed, especially the ones that bagged on Nico. ParkBomFan, I do the same thing to Nico, but he`s read the books and knows who he is. The funny thing is, my Nico actually looks like how they describe Nico diAngelo. Creepy right? Anyway, I don't own this stuff, yada yada yada and all that junk. I`m sorry if there`s some bad grammar in this chapter, I`m watching the Hangover Part Two at the moment. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

~Lucky

I-naturally-landed in the middle of the savanna. Oh, joy. At first I was a bit confused by my surroundings, and completely flipped out when a deer thing passed me. What are they called-Antelope?

Anyhow, after my panic attack and much threating with a twig that was about three inches long, the antelope got annoyed and left.

"Stupid deer," I muttered. The antelope apparently heard me and took offense to that, because it rammed me in the a-I mean butt, with it`s horns. I let out a yelp and pulled out my twig. It was pulled from my hand and devoured my wooden weapon.

"Oh, dude!" I moaned, "That was so unnessisary!"

"You were poking it." Someone said.

I stared at the antelope. "Excuse me?"

There was a laugh and a boy about Percy`s age-oh, gods...I should really call him later...Usually I see him at least a few times a week. He`ll probably think I`m dead.

The boy broke me from my thoughts by saying, "Don't worry, I don't bite. Your lucky you didn't get bitten though. Lions, snakes. All over around here."

I shook my head. "Um, who are you?"

The guy had light brown hair and tanned skin, which I found weird because...It`s Africa...

He stuck out a hand. "James. And you are...?"

"Nico," I said, shaking his hand.

He smiled. "Nice to meet ya! So...You wanna tell me what your doing way out here?"

"What`s it to you?" I snapped. Wow, I really need to work on that, "Your out here, too."

James nodded, laughing. "So I am. You're on vacation, I`m guessing?"

I nodded.

"It`s probably not the best idea to hand around out here," James continued. "Oh, by the way, have you seen a little black and brown dog? Well, she`s not really little, but..."

I shook my head. "Sorry. I`ve only been here a minute."

"How would you-"

"Doesn't matter!" I covered, "Where`s the nearest town?"

James glared at me for a minute but finally said, "I`m headed there right now. Your welcome to come, but I`ve gotta find my dog first."

As if on cue, a fluffy, black and brown dog bounded up. She started barking and drooling on me.

"Ah! There she is." James said happily. "Nico, this is Flick."

Flick? Who would name their dog Flick? (And just in case you have a dog names Flick, don't take offense. I had a dog named Flick.)

"Nice to meet you, Flick." I muttered.

The fluffy mutt licked me right in the face. Gross.

"Anyway," James said, "Lets get back to the village."

"Woah, wait a minute." I said. "Village? Wasn't that like, a hundred years ago?"

James raised an eyebrow. "There`s villages all over the world. Poor places like Africa. Indonisia."

"Ohhhh."

"Let's get moving. It`s almost dark."

Sure enough, the sun was setting. It was a real Discover-Channel scene. A single tree stood in front of us, and though it wasn't a pine tree, I thought about Thalia. I wondered what she was doing right now. Mabye hunting somewhere in the U.S? At Camp Half Blood? Mabye she and Percy were wondering why I hadn't stopped by the Jackson house for a snack. Did my disapearance even phase them?

James`s jeep was parked on the other side of the plain. I was about to hop shotgun, but Flick took my seat and I was forced to ride on the back.

"Where are your parents?" James asked. Wonderful question, James.

"No clue." I answered honestly.

He raised and eyebow. "You don't know?"

"Nope." I said, popping the P.

"How`d you get out here?"

I hesitated. "Uh, flew in with my parents. They kinda ditched me."

"They...left you?" He asked, disbelievingly, "Seriously?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It`s alright though. I`m used to being alone."

It wasn't a lie. I was always alone. Exept for when I was hanging out with my cousins. Call them when you get to the town. I reminded myself.

However, when we got to the village, with it's wooden shack-homes, I ate dinner with Jame`s family, and didn't hesitate to accept when they offered me a place to stay the night.

As I lay in the bed, Flicks soft snoring and thoughts of my family kept me awake. I suddenly felt guilty, leaving without so much as a goodbye. Tommorow. I thought as I drifted off, I`ll call tomorow.