Chapter [11]
"I'm not going to hurt you Chloe, I was sent here to help you." Percy said softly.
"You're lying. You're going to hurt me just like my uncle did." Chloe whimpered.
Percy sat in his spot looking sadly at the girl's trembling form hidden behind the chair.
"Chloe, your Mom sent me to take you away from here. She didn't know what was happening but as soon as she did, she sent to me take you somewhere safe." Percy said slowly.
"Your lying. My mommy is dead. She died before my Dad died." Chloe replied back shakily.
Percy shook his head, "That's not true Chloe. Your mommy is very special. She is so special that she wasn't allowed to be around you or your Dad. But she sent me to bring you to her sister. She has a group of girls that are just like you."
"What do you mean special?" Chloe asked as she peeked out from behind the chair just a bit.
Percy gave her a warm smile, "Your Mom is a goddess. But gods and goddesses aren't allowed to visit their kids. That's why they send people like me to take them places where they can be safe."
The little girl looked at Percy critically, her grey eyes analyzing his words to see if she could pick up on any lies.
Percy's stomach twisted painfully. The girl was analyzing him exactly like Annabeth used to.
"Do you promise you won't hurt me?" Chloe asked timidly.
Percy nodded, "Are you hungry Chloe?" Percy asked as he looked at the girl's skinny frail body.
Chloe's eyes widened before she slowly came out from behind the chair and took tentative steps toward Percy.
"What do you like to eat? What is your favorite food in the world?" Percy asked softly as the girl sat on the ground warily a few feet away from him.
"Macaroni and cheese." Chloe whispered back.
Percy nodded and smiled before he clapped him hands together softly.
A large plate of macaroni and cheese appeared in front of Chloe along with a fork and a tall glass of water.
Chloe's eyes shot wide open, "How did you do that?"
Percy smiled, "I told you, your Mom is a goddess just like my Dad is a god. But I have a special job where I help find people like us and bring them places where they are safe. Because of my job, some of the other gods and goddesses gave me special powers to help. That is one of those powers."
Chloe watched Percy warily as he spoke. She tentatively grabbed the fork before taking a bite of the food.
A small smile appeared on her face before she began to eat faster. Percy felt good when the girl's face contorted into a smile as she ate the rest of her food.
Once she finished, Chloe looked up at Percy again.
"So what happens now?" She asked nervously.
Percy smiled, "Now I bring you to your aunt. She is a very nice lady who dedicates her life to helping girls. After that, you can either stay with her or go to a camp for people like us."
Chloe nodded, "What about you? Where do you go?"
Percy looked at her a little surprised, "I find someone else to help."
Chloe's face dropped but she nodded.
Percy looked at her sadly, "Hey Chloe?" She looked at him questioningly.
"My name is Percy. I want to do something to help your face. It might seem a little scary at first but I promise I won't hurt you." He said kindly.
Chloe looked at him nervously but nodded. Percy pulled out a water bottle from his pack. He uncapped it and willed the water out of the bottle.
Chloe's eyes widened and she crawled back a few feet.
"I won't hurt you Chloe, this will help your face but you have to trust me." Percy explained.
Chloe looked at Percy closely before nodding. Percy crawled over next to the nervous girl.
He slowly brought up his hand and touched the side of her face as he willed the water to heal her cuts and bruises.
After a minute Percy sent the water out the broken door and onto the porch.
Chloe reached up and touched her face tentatively.
Her face contorted into a look of awe before she lunged foward wrapping her tiny arms around Percy's neck and buried her face into his shoulder.
Percy smiled. He slowly stood up and carried the little girl out of the house.
He decided she had had enough surprises for one day and they would make at least some of the journey on foot.
For the rest of the day Percy carried Chloe towards Chicago. After a little while, Chloe lost her nervousness and climbed onto Percy's shoulders as they walked.
Percy explained everything about the gods to her which she took surprisingly well. Percy learned she was only seven years old and that her father had been an author but died in a car accident.
After her father died, she was sent to live with her uncle who was nice for the first year but after the money he received from his brother's life insurance ran out he became mean and cruel.
He started drinking heavily and then started hitting Chloe, blaming her for his not having any money or a wife.
Percy was relieved to find out he had never touched her sexually.
They stopped for the night a near the borders of Colorado and Kansas. Percy made a campfire and ate dinner with Chloe.
After dinner, Chloe fell asleep leaning against Percy. Percy scooped her up to put her to bed when an Iris Message appeared behind him.
"Perseus?" Artemis called to him, nearly giving Percy a stroke.
Percy looked up wide eyed to see Artemis looking at him questioningly.
"One minute Artemis. Let me just put her to bed. I'll be right back." Percy said quietly. Artemis looked at him strangely before nodding.
A minute later he came back out to a waiting narrow eyed goddess of the hunt. "What?" He asked confused.
"You said you would be here today. What happened?" Artemis asked.
"Oh, sorry. It took me some time to get her to trust me. She wasn't in good shape when I got there. I didn't want to overwhelm her by teleporting in a flash of flames so I decided to walk for the day and then show up tomorrow. Sorry." Percy explained.
Artemis looked at Percy curiously, "Is she alright?"
Percy nodded, "Yes, she was pretty bruised and battered when I got there. Thankfully nothing else though."
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