Prologue

Find it! Find it now! A voice chanted through Annabeth's mind. She didn't know exactly when the new homeowners would be arriving, but she knew it would be soon. She had to find her red food coloring before they got here, so she could make the paste. She found it strange how no one had bothered to investigate the sticky red goo further, but didn't question it. She knew that their fear was pretty much all she had left to live by.

She prayed fervently to whoever would listen that the people moving in next door would be exactly the same as all the others. That they would come, see her display, be terrified, and leave. Or, even better, not come at all. That's what she hoped. A small feeling down in the pit of her gut told her it was not to be.

Annabeth growled in frustration as the small bottle of red dye continued to evade her. "Where is it?" she shouted, kicking her way through the old furniture and shuffling through debris. She often talked to herself. It wasn't that she was crazy; she was just very, very lonely. She had gotten used to it, of course, but she was only fifteen. There were somedays when she craved the comfort of other life forms.

She looked out the window of the east side of her room, the side that was facing the new house. Its plastic real estate sign moved slightly in the wind, causing the SOLD sign to rattle. Annabeth took a deep breath. She didn't want them to come. They might be someone she knew, or worse; someone who knew her. She couldn't afford people recognizing her. Not now, after all these years.

Annabeth had lived alone in the big abandoned mansion all alone since age eleven, when she had escaped from the foster system. She doubted that her foster family had even reported her missing, which was the one thing she was truly grateful towards them for. If they had, there's no way she would have been out here on her own.

She stiffened as she heard the sound of a vehicle rolling down the road.

She leaned closer to the dusty glass, pushing back the tattered curtains to clear her vision. A U-Haul truck pulled into the driveway of the new house, and behind it a navy blue Chevy pickup truck. When Annabeth saw that truck, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. She had never seen one like it, though she had imagined one just the same a million times.

A man stepped out of the U-Haul truck with a grin on his face that looked almost too happy. A woman got out of the Chevy and stepped beside him, also looking wildly joyful at the prospect of their new house. The man put his arm around the woman as a little boy got out of the back and sprinted over to them, a little LEGO trinket in his hand.

Annabeth almost laughed out loud at the scene. They seemed like a picture perfect family. Wonder how long they'll last, she thought.

Then, someone she wasn't expecting joined the picture. A tall boy, maybe about fifteen or sixteen years old, got out of the car, headphones in his ears, starring down a his phone. His dark hair fell in his eyes in an I'm-Too-Cool-To-Care sort of way that made Annabeth instantly despise him. His parents tried to get his attention, but he was obviously too attached to his phone screen to care about his surroundings.

The little boy walked towards the house, somehow managing to look excited while fiddling with his toy at the same time. The man and woman followed, appearing to be almost as eager to see the interior. Only the boy stayed behind, leaning up against the truck and finally putting his phone down to observe the scene around him. He looked around a bit before his green eyes rested on the mansion. He didn't seem frightened. He didn't seem intrigued. He just seemed to see right through it, like he couldn't care less whether or not it was there. That was, until he saw the East Window.

Annabeth was never sure if he saw her or not, but she moved away too quickly to find out. As she did, she stepped on something small and plastic. She picked it up and grinned. Throwing the red dye into the air and catching it, she began to walk down the hall. "I'm going to have some fun with this," she said aloud, although she knew as well as anyone that the walls would not reply.

Hope you enjoyed the first installment of Ghost Girl!

Let me know if you enjoyed it by leaving a review!

(This is my first PJO multi-chap, so nothing too harsh, please)

-Rebel