Chapter Three: Worst Beach Trip Ever

[DGW: To clarify, this is a fanfiction. I do not own any characters except my oc's. 

•Percy Jackson and the Olympians belong to Rick Riordan. 

•Amazon's The Boys belongs to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The show is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios. 

•Invincible belongs to Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Stegman.

Even though he is a femboy the main character does have a darker skin tone.

Please critique and comment about my work so I know how to do better in the future.]

[This has also been uploaded on Wattpad]

GG's Pov:

"Nooooooooo!"

           The cry's of two four year old children echoed throughout the group home as they clung to my legs.

           "We don't want you to leave," said Marco.

           "You promised to watch Sonic Underground with us," said Baker, Marco's identical twin brother.

           "We don't know how to use the computerrrrrrr." The two twin trouble makers cried, their deep blue eyes staining their rosy cheeks with tears.

I smiled and knelt down to the two brothers, caressing their sandy brown hair.

           "Don't worry you two, I'll be back in three days, we can watch the show when I get back," I tell them with a smile, "have I ever broken a promise?"

The two twins looked up at me, shaking their heads no.

           "Right, so what makes you think I'd do that now?"

They looked at each other. Their little four year old brains are trying to think up a reason as to why I'd lie to them. You could almost see the smoke coming out of their ears.

Finally they answered.

           "I don't know," they both said.

           "That's right, now run along you two, I think Mrs. Butcher needs some help setting up for the media shoot."

           "Okay!" They shouted, running along to try and help Becca. 

I smiled and turned back  to my bed,  suitcase and backpack ready to go. But I couldn't get rid of the feeling I was forgetting something.

           "…wait, I gotta socialize with people now."

I placed my head in my hands and groaned in anguish.

Why didn't I just act like I didn't see Percy? I don't wanna socialize with more people. What if they hate me like the others?

No, wait, stop that. Just stay calm and remember to not brick wall them and you'll be fine.

I inhaled then exhaled, doing my best to calm down. Picking up my backpack I looked through it, making sure I packed my medication and make up.

If I'm gonna suffer from an unstable mind I might as well look good doing it.

Sorting through the bag I found everything  I needed. Hoisting my bag over my shoulder, I grabbed my suitcase and put on some sunglasses. Finally done I exited my room and headed down the stairs to the car.

The car ride was insanely awkward.

I don't know what it was but that Grover kid seemed to have some problem with me. I mean like a personal problem, not like the normal hatred or envy kids at school had for me. It was like I had genuinely disgusted him.

When I walked up to him, his face sorta scrunched up as if he smelled something bad. At first I thought it was just Gabe's car, but when I sat next to him he scooted far away. I don't know what I did but I didn't mean to make him uncomfortable.

Percy sat up front with his mother. The two were chattering about how great this trip will be. They looked so happy. But they were both lying about something. It was obvious in their body language.

Percy's lips were pursed, cheeks slightly flushed as he fidgeted with his seatbelt. Every sentence Mrs. Jackson said ended on a high note as her face flushed the same color as her son's.

I would've asked if something was wrong, but I think that would be over stepping.

           "-G, GG!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked forward. Percy had been calling my name for who knows how long.

           "Sorry, I was thinking about something." I said, rubbing my drowsy eyes.

Percy smiled at me, "don't worry, we were just wondering what you wanted for dinner when we get to the beach. Currently we're stuck between Chinese food and Mcdonalds."

I shrugged, I didn't really care what we ate, as long as it wasn't grapes.

           "I'm fine with Chinese food," I tell him.

        "Yes! You're gonna love the place we're going too, it's this restaurant called Shagwong and they make the best seafo–" Percy continued to rave about the restaurant, his sea green eyes and medium blonde hair glistened in the light of the setting sun.

It was cute seeing him so happy about this trip, it reminds me of when Mr. Milk took the younger kids on a trip to see The Great Lawn and Turtle Pond.

Percy's eagerness was so infectious that I almost didn't notice how Grover and Mrs. Jackson kept looking out the window nervously, as if they were watching for some sort of attack.

          "Actually Percy, I don't–" Grover began, only for Mrs. Jackson to cut him off.

           "Sorry Percy, but Shagwong closes at five," apologized Mrs. Jackson.

           "Oh–" Percy hummed– "well we'll still get to the beach house on time. It's just at this turn."

I turned my head, looking to see a sign that said 'MONTAUK LODGING, TURN RIGHT'.

Only Sally didn't turn right. Instead she kept going straight, her car picking up speed. The sky was starting to turn dark from storm clouds.

          "Mom–" Percy said confused– "where are we going? We passed the exit."

Sally clenched her teeth, her knuckles gripping the steering wheel as she pressed her foot on the gas.

          "Mom, where are we going, why are you driving so fast?" Percy asked, his tone full of worry.

Sally's eyes flickered from the road to Percy, worry in her eyes.

          "Mom."

            "I have to send you away, Percy." Sally finally said, her eyes welling up.

And that's my cue to leave. Sadly a door is blocking my exit… damnit.

          "Sally we shouldn-" Grover tried to say but was interrupted by a shocked Percy.

          "What? Why?" 

Mrs. Jackson's face was full of sorrow as she looked towards the road.

            "Because you don't want me around?" Percy asked, instantly regretting the words as soon as they were out.

           "Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."

           "Because I'm not normal," Percy said.

           "You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe." Sally told him as she turned the car down an empty road.

           "Safe from what?" Percy asked.

I really shouldn't be here.

Wait, why am I  hearing mooing?

          "I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," Percy's mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But with what Grover told me, there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And even if I just…I just can't stand to do it, I have to, now."

           "My father wanted me to go to a special school? Wait– Grover?" 

           "Not a school," Mrs. Jackson said softly. "A summer camp."

The clouds above us thundered like crazy. Roaring like drums of war.

           "I'm sorry, Percy," she said, glancing over to him and seeing the look in his eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I have to send you to that place. Even if… if It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."

           "For good? But if it's only a summer camp…"

She turned toward the driver's side window, and even though I couldn't see her, I knew from a glimpse of her expression that if any of us asked her any more questions she would start to cry. It seemed Grover and him had the same thought. But, that didn't stop her from speaking to me.

          "GG, I'm sorry to you as well, this is all so sudden but, from what Grover told me, you'll need to go to the camp as well."

I looked at her in confusion. Is that why I was brought along? Why would I need to go to some camp I've never even heard of? Did my parents want me to go to it? Did Sally know my parents? 

What did Grover tell her? How does Grover's word mean she's got to kidnap me and drag me to some secret camp? Is this child trafficking? Am I going to get experimented on a–

           "You're half donkey?!"

Percy's shout ripped me from my thought's as I turned to look at Grover who- WHERE ARE HIS PANTS?!

Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!"

I'd heard any living thing make that sound before.

           "Goat!" he cried.

            "What?" Both Percy and I said.

           "I'm a goat from the waist down. There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"

           "Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like…Mr. Brunner's myths?"

           "Who is Mr. Brunner?!"

           "Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"

           "Wait- Old Ladies? Like the old ladies I tried buying fruit from? Also, what is a Mrs. Dodds?!"

          "Former Math Teacher—" Percy told me before turning back to Grover— "So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" 

           "Of course." 

           "Then why—" 

           "The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."

           "Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"

The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. It finally downed on me that whatever was making that noise was chasing us. And it was right on our trail.

           "Percy," Mrs. Jackson  said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you and GG to safety."

           "Safety from what?" Percy asked as he leaned forward.

           "Who's after us?" I asked, not sure if that was towards Mrs. Jackson or Goat Boy.

           "Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions, and I wouldn't say 'us', at first I thought it was Percy but from your smell GG, it could be either of you."

           "Grover!"

           "Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

My face dropped. 

Are you kidding me?! Eleven years of having no biological parents, being hated by every school I ever went to, and that stuff with my old English teacher. And I'm possibly being hunted down by HADES?!

Gee. Thanks mom or dad or whatever ever you are.

Mrs. Jackson made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.

           "Where are we going?" Percy asked.

           "The summer camp she just told us about." I said.

           "The place you didn't want me to go."

"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."

 Percy's mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. 

           "Because some creature I already killed attacked me." Percy said, likely referencing Mrs. Dodds.

           "And because the Fates cut the string," Grover interrupted.

           "The fates?" I asked.

           "Wait— you mean the old ladies at the fruit stand?" Percy said confused.

           "Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."

           "Whoa. You said 'you.'"

           "No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"

           "You meant 'you.' As in me."

           "I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you."

           "Guys! Boys!" Said Percy's mom and I.

She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.

           "What was that?" Percy and I asked.

Outside,nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island.

As we drove farther down the street the clouds thundered louder than ever. The hairs on my neck seemed to stand up on their own. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom!, and the car exploded.

I remember feeling weightless, like I was fighting against Mr.butcher while being taser and hosed down by a fire hydrant.

I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat. In front of me  Percy let out a minuscule, "Ow."

           "Percy!" His mom shouted.

           "I'm okay... ." Percy muttered in pain.

           "So am I." I said, getting up somehow unharmed.

The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.

Lightning. That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"

Both Percy and I scrambled to help him.

He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my only friend's best friend and I don't want you to die!

Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.

           "Percy," Mrs. Jackson said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.

I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His raised hands made it look like he had horns.

I heard a loud gulp from Percy as he saw the sight as well.

           "Who is—"

          "Boys," Percy's mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."

The three of us tried getting out of the car. Mrs. Jackson threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. Percy tried his. Stuck as well, the crash caused the lock to be jammed. My heart was beating out of my chest like a piston. I don't know how I did it but I punched the door off its hinges, flying out the car as I dragged Grover out with me.

           "Climb out the passenger's side!" Percy's mother told me. "Boy's—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"

I didn't listen to her, adrenaline flowing as I dove back in the car and ripped them from their seats.

           "What tree," I asked, my vision blurry. 

Percy pointed towards the woods and what his mom was talking about.

Another flash of lightning, and in the distance I saw the tree they meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.

           "That's the property line," Percy's mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door. GG, please don't let go of Percy."

           "Mrs. Jackson/Mom, you're coming too." Percy and I said.

Her face was pale, eyes full of sorrow.

           "No!" Percy shouted as he got down. "You are coming with me. GG, help me carry Grover."

I complied, picking up Grover bridal style.

"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.

The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he couldn't be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns …

           "He doesn't want us," Percy's mother told me, before turning to face her son. "He wants you. Besides, I can't cross the property line."

           "But..."

           "We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please—"

It was my turn to interrupt, as I grabbed Mrs. Jackson's wrist, flipping her onto my shoulder.

           "Sorry to say this Mrs. Jackson, but you dragged me here, meaning you don't get to leave."

Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear—I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms—which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.

His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.

I recognized the monster, all right. He was from that 2017 show Theseus and the Minotaur. 

           "That's—" Percy began.

           "Pasiphae's son," Percy's mother said. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."

           "But he's the Min—" I tried to say.

           "Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."

The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.

I glanced behind me again.

The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.

           "Food?" Grover moaned.

           "Shhh," I told him. "Mrs. Jackson, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"

"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."

I regret putting on perfume now.

As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.

Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying.

Oops.

           "GG," Percy's mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

           "How do you know all this?"

           "I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping Percy near me."

           "Keeping me near you? But—"

Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.

He'd smelled us.

The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and the adrenaline in my system was starting to run low.

The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.

The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.

Percy's mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "GG, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."

I refused to listen, instead I took Percy and laid him on top of Grover, preparing to run straight towards the Tree.

Until the Adrenaline fatigue hit.

[DGW: To clarify, this is a fanfiction. I do not own any characters except my oc's. 

•Percy Jackson and the Olympians belong to Rick Riordan. 

•Amazon's The Boys belongs to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The show is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios. 

•Invincible belongs to Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Stegman.

Even though he is a femboy the main character does have a darker skin tone.

Please critique and comment about my work so I know how to do better in the future.]

[This has also been uploaded on Wattpad]

[Word count: 3,455]