Hi guys! Sorry for the wait. I had so many tests and exams. Each day to be more precise! But I'm back now, for the time being, and please review my story!

Note: This chapter might be really boring, mostly about the tape and Ruth's abusive family. The next one will be better.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson & The Olympians and The Kane Chronicles and any of their characters as they all belong to Rick Riordan.

I only own my OC Ruth Hayes, some minor OC characters and the plot.

Chapter 5 Recordings and Preparations

When Ruth stepped out of the bus, she was already gritting her teeth. Her fingers dig so hard into both palms that her hands turned white while her body stiffened up like she saw a tiger or something. She couldn't stand the thought of living with those brats under the same roof! But if she ran away, the police would surely track her down, and after that the Hayes were gonna kill her, maybe literally. And even if she was successful in escaping the police's clutches, where would she live?

Thoughts rang through her head as Ruth walked to the door and unlocked it(the key was hung around her neck) and found Aunt Linda and three women probably the same age as her chattering (or maybe gossiping) in the hall.

"Ruth!" Aunt Linda exclaimed as she shot off to her feet from the sofa from where the three women were seating. "Why are you home so early?"

"There was some weird rhino attack in school. Call the principle and he'll tell you the same thing. I'm going out if you don't mind. With your friends in the house, I do not want to disturb your …chat." Ruth said in a fake sugary voice.

Aunt Linda shot her an angry glance before replying. "No, no, I don't mind! Now off you go. Bye bye." She pushed Ruth out of the house and slammed the door in her face with a loud bang! and could hear the resuming chatter and laughter that had paused from her arrival.

Where would she go? Her hands immediately fell on the package which was bulging from her bag. Of course, Ruth thought, then walked off to her destination.

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It only took like 15 minutes to reach the neighborhood library. As Ruth stepped in, she was greeted by many people waving their hands at her as she was quite a common sight. She went to the usual librarian who was at the counter.

"Hey Teri, any spare radio with a headset? I need to use it."

"Oh yes Ruth, over there. Do help yourself." The old librarian replied, her eyes twinkling away. Ruth had made friends with all the librarians and the usual readers in the library. Almost everyone in the library, including Teri, successfully pulled Ruth out of her dyslexia after hearing her problem as she usually go to the library to solve her problem since she was seven. For that, Ruth was forever grateful to them.

Ruth made her way to the radio. She quickly sat on a chair that was accompanied by a desk. She settled on the chair, her bag laying on top of the desk while fishing out the parcel and unwrapping it. Slipping the tape in to the radio, she placed the headphones on her ears and listened to the whole recording.

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Ruth was smiling the whole time during the recording. It was after the recording she looked at her watch and realized it was 4'o-clock pm! She had been sitting there four hours straight!

She got up from the chair, wrapped the tape and the letter into original state and put them in her bag before walking away briskly out of the library, thoughts wheezing away in her head. Most of the people had a confused expression painted on their face. Ruth usually bade them goodbye when she left the library.

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The three women were still at home when got back. She nodded politely to the four of them (of course including Aunt Linda) and went to her room.

It wasn't much of a room, it was actually the attic. Ruth threw her bag on the floor, not caring if the sudden movement would startle the four women downstairs. She laid on her bed and thought of the recording. She believed the Kane siblings; Carter and Sadie, everything they said, that Egyptian mythology was real. She could feel her blood tingling away. In her mind, she was analyzing many ways to escape her prison, but she knew that she should relax for a while and not be so tense.

Sighing, she took her classical guitar off its stand. The guitar was a gift from Aunt Linda's old grey-haired mother, or Grandma Poppy, as Ruth was instructed to call her. Grandma Poppy did not know of Ruth's cruel treatment and considered her as one of her grandchildren much to Aunt Linda's hidden displeasure. At seeing how much Ruth wanted to play the guitar when she was eight, Grandmother Poppy gave her one, along with a tuner and a Learn How to Play the Guitar book. From then on, Ruth kept practicing the guitar for fours years, never regretting to have interest in the musical instrument. She passed away a year ago from cancer; and Ruth had never been more sad and surprised to see Aunt Linda break down in tears at the news of her mother's death. How a woman who was so cruel, yet seemed to love her own mother so dearly. Another surprise was that the Hayes never took or destroy or vandalized Ruth's guitar, not that Ruth knew why but was glad they never did anything to it.

Despite that, there were always people around Ruth. In the library, readers and librarians alike were always willing to her in her studies and at school; Ruth was one of the best musicians and since she was in the school's band, she was a guitarist and a singer everybody in her school said that the band would not be able to win competitions without her. Aunt Linda and her family would usually taunt her by saying that her singing and guitar skills were terrible but Ruth knew that they were only trying to make her feel low, which she wouldn't. With so many so many people around her, Ruth never felt so touch.

From her pocket she out a piece of crumpled paper which she opened it up. In it was full of musical notes. Ruth was writing the song over the past few days but have yet to write a single word in it. She took a pencil from her bag and placed the paper on it so that she could write the lyrics down (which was difficult with a guitar on her lap). Finally when she was done, Ruth started playing the song on the guitar. A beautiful melody filled the room.

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"Whose playing that music, Linda?" One of Linda's friends asked. "It's beautiful."

"I don't know, Clara dear. Probably my niece playing the radio too loudly. I'll go up and check on her." Linda replied. She turned her face away so that her friends could not see her steaming face as she went to the attic.

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"Stop that extremely awful music now you brat! My friends are complaining about that disgusting song."

Ruth looked up calmly from her guitar. "What do you expect me to do," she asked. "I have nothing to lose."

Aunt Linda turned red with anger, but Ruth looked at her straight in the eye coolly as she was waiting for the repeated pattern.

"You ungrateful whore!" Aunt Linda shouted as she raised one hand and dealt a stinging blow on Ruth's face. Ruth turned to look at her spotted and tarnished mirror that Aunt Linda bought at a junk store. A red palm print appeared instantly on her cheek. Aunt Linda marched away from the attic while saying "No lunch, dinner and breakfast for the next day, you freak." before slamming the door the door in the youth's face and locking all seven locks, like the first book of the Harry Potter series (I think, correct me if I'm wrong).

Ruth rested on her bed and heard the resuming chatter. Apparently Aunt Linda was stupid enough to think that Ruth would starve when she first locked Ruth in the room and still have. Linda would usually give Ruth ten dollars as pocket money while she gave her flesh-and-blood each thirty dollars! Now people would think that was too much to give a ten and eight years old children but Aunt Linda always said, "They are my precious children, how could I not give them?" Ruth would save the money and only use them when needed but Maxwell and Crystal (the Hayes' second and last child) were always spending unnecessarily. Ruth thought of the whole of the whole Hayes family; Maxwell, who was always giving her dangerous pranks, Crystal, who usually taunt her of looking bad when she herself was an overweight for an eight-year-old and loved pinching Ruth. Lastly, the Hayes couple. Uncle Harold with his big beer belly always told her that she was a big burden to his family and together with his wife, the worst of the four, enjoyed torturing her and giving the girl all the pain she had for her entire life.

Thinking of the worst people she knew, Ruth tightened her hand into a fist. She really hoped that she was a magician so she could escape the torturous Hayes family, go to Brooklyn and study Egyptian magic. The Hayes family, stop thinking about them, she told herself, you only get angry.

First things first, Ruth grabbed a worn out backpack and started packing for her escape. A wad of cash, a canteen of water, just a few things more and Ruth would be done. She decided to creep off quietly at night when the family was sleeping, having the key to the front door. She could hail a cab to bring her to Brooklyn and later rely on herself to find the 21st Nome. It was the only way, and since Ruth received the package, she probably was a magician.

Once she was done with her preparations for her new trip, Ruth looked at the locked door and gave a creative curse. She did not think of the door of her little room, her only obstacle of one way escape to freedom. She then threw herself on her bed, thinking of ways to get pass the door but got a little too sleepy to think about it. The only thing Ruth remembered before dozing off was thinking I'll get out of here. Brooklyn House, I'm coming for ya.

That's chapter 5 for you readers!Hope you enjoy reading it, even though it's kinda boring because there's not much action in this one.

Perrolson News: I coming up with a new fanfic for Princess Mononoke, how surprising is that! And I thought I would only have one fanfic. I'm still in progress though, so I don't know when it will come out and for those who never watch Princess Mononoke before, go watch the anime, it's really brilliant and I kept pressing the replay button.

Before ending off this AN, I would like to ask if any of you readers would like to become my Beta reader. I have read of Beta readers and I'm interested in having one so you know, can discuss with him or her the plot of my story and he or she can edit it. Please PM me if any of you guys want to be my Beta reader, and I'll consider about it. You got to teach me what you Beta readers do though, cuz I'm kind of new and nervous about the entire thing yet excited.

So here am I about to sign off. I would really like to see you readers' comment on how Ruth is gonna get pass the door and please review my story!

PEACE OUT!