"Bye mom! Bye Paul! I'll be back for Christmas, don't worry!" I smiled and waved at them as I walked out of the apartment. They waved back at me as I shut the door behind me. I was excited, I just spent the week here for my birthday and now I get to go back to camp and see my Wise Girl, who knows I'll be back there today. I hopped into the drivers seat of my car when I got outside, playing my music loudly as I left the city. Manhattan wasn't really my home, even if my mom is here. Camp half-blood is where I belong, even if I do tend to get attacked on the daily basis. That might be a tad bit of an exaggeration, maybe not, who knows. Anyways, whoever you are, my name is Perseus Jackson, but don't call me that, call me Percy. I am a demigod, son of the sea god Poseidon, you could probably guess that though, I'm a replica of him basically.

     The city streets were busy, lunch rush hour was always the worst time to start driving, but I managed regardless. I didn't have much experience on my side, but clearly enough to pass a drivers test. Some of you might wonder how I even had time to learn how to drive, well, I am only a "Demi" god, I have time for human things too. Who am I talking to, anyways? Regardless, I focused on the road, sighing with relief when I finally got out of the hectic city, and towards Long Island. I turned the music down as nerves suddenly took over me, something is wrong. I came up over a winding hill, and that's when it hit me. No, seriously hit me.

    A girl in a large white truck came speeding down, over the centre of the road, I moved closer to the side to try to dodge her, and I slammed my breaks, but me moving seemed to make her think she should too, she steered right at me, hitting the side of my car, sending me flying, right down a small cliff. As I fell, my air bag blew up and hit my face, but it didn't stay inflated long because I hit my face on the steering wheel a moment or two later. I cried out, trying to undo the buckle, trying to get out but it was broken and I couldn't undo the clip.

Annabeth's pov

     I paced camp nervously, Percy said he should be here around noon but it's almost 4, he even sent me a text saying he was leaving at 10:30. He should have been here by now. Maybe Jason can go fly and try to find him? That was that, I ran to look for him, and when I found him, he and Piper were talking, they were clearly worried too, everyone knew when he was supposed to come back because we were throwing a surprise birthday party for him here because he went to his moms to celebrate with his family.

    "Hey, Annabeth, did you try calling him?" Piper asked worriedly and I nodded.

    "Blank screen, he isn't in Manhattan anymore so I don't know where he is. I also called Sally and she said he left a while ago. Jason, can you fly and see if you can find him? Maybe he's battling some monsters and got held up." I explained, Jason nodded wordlessly, and left in a rush.

    "I hope he's okay." Piper said, walking with me around camp to try to calm down. "It's Percy, he usually manages." She tried to reassure me, and I smiled, yeah, it's Percy, worst case scenario is he got caught up battling monsters, but to be held up by fighting monsters? Shouldn't take four hours.

      "Yeah, maybe he passed out after battling for to long." I suggested and she nodded in acknowledgment, and probably agreement.

Jason's POV

    I flew along the road, stumbling across a car crash, but it was only one vehicle off of the cliff, maybe a drunk driver? I landed, the car was smashed, one of the doors were dented in, looked like it was pressing onto the person inside. I recognize the vehicle, but where from? It was sitting on the roof of the car, glass laying everywhere around it. I stepped hesitantly, walking to the drivers side, and that's when I saw the bloodied face of one of my best friends. "Percy!" I screamed, he was unconscious, I quickly checked for a pulse, he was alive but barely.

     "Oh fuck how does the iris message work again? Annabeth told me this." I mumbled stressfully. "I don't even have mist! Iris, do me a solid this time please!" I yelled, and a message showed up and I sighed in relief, quietly saying a thank you. "Call Annabeth!"

   "Jason! What's wrong?" Annabeth asked, but she couldn't even keep questioning me before I started yelling.

     "Get Will, get every medic over here now, tell Chiron to bring them, I don't care how they get here but quick! And Leo too! And some stronger kids I don't know. We need to get him out!" I ordered, and Piper, who was with her ran to get everyone I told her to get, and Annabeth went pale.

     "Tell me what happened!" Annabeth demanded, although her voice wavered, she was scared, I looked over at Percy's slumped, unconscious body, he was hanging upside down, he's been here for at least 4 hours, probably closer to 5 if I were to guess. "Jason!" She yelled, there was a commotion behind her, everyone scrambling for a reason they don't know, all they know is something bad.

    "Car crash, rolled down the side of a cliff, he's injured and unconscious but alive. I can't leave him right now so grab one of Leo's cars and stack as many people in here as possible!" I said, "I'm not far, maybe a mile or two I'm not sure!" After that I swiped the message, I don't want to try to wake him up, he'll be in shock.

     Will and Chiron got here quickly, both gasping at the wreckage in front of them, but Will quickly got to work on checking his pulse and trying to do what he could while Percy was in there. It was about 10 minutes for 3 vehicles to pull up and work to try to get Percy out. "Jason!" Annabeth called out, jogging next to me, she didn't know how to help, neither did I. "How did this happen?" She whispered and I shook my head.

   "Somebody probably hit him off the edge." Malcolm said, looking at the dent on the side of the car, "and then ran because they didn't want to get in trouble." He explained and I nodded.

    "We don't have everything we need at camp, someone call 911 and get an ambulance." Will gulped, although he tried to hide it.

   It took about half an hour for the ambulance to get here, somebody took photos of the wreckage as the paramedics got Percy in and hooked him up to an oxygen mask. Part of the door that wasn't sawed off was left in his leg, it was lodged in deep, I wonder if he'll be able to walk again. He was covered in cuts, big  and small, blood covered his face. Will seemed to recognize one of the paramedics and talked to him, he was probably a demigod as well.

    Leo messed around in the wreckage, finding a phone. "Guys, his phone is recording!" He called out, grabbing the phone and ending the video, clicking onto it, "it's four and a half hours long, probably turned it on after he crashed!" He said, playing it as Annabeth, Piper and I circled around him.

   It was Percy, he looked fine, it was before the crash. "Something is wrong, I can feel it, I know you guys know what I'm talking about, or maybe you don't. Anyways I thought I'd record just in case." Percy huffed nervously, staring at the road, the next minute was in silence, but then another vehicle was heard, Percy's face shifted to one of nervousness, he was seen turning the wheel and moving his leg, probably hitting the breaks by the way his body flew forward a bit. That's when the impact was heard, and the phone went flying, but we saw a few times where Percy was hit, his grunts and cries while the car rolled down the hill. Many curse words came out of his mouth when the car finally stopped moving.

     "Jesus fucking Christ, stupid stupid people. Fucking drunks, this is what Dionysus encourages, god damn!" He cursed, trying to unbuckled his seatbelt hopelessly. When Percy realized he couldn't do it, he grabbed his phone and smiled softly, like it would be his saviour. Well that's what it seemed like until he frowned, "no reception, go figure, my luck, right." He mumbled and we all frowned, Leo turning up the volume.

   "Uh right I'm recording, sorry for the language, if anyone finds me anyways, I could iris message, where are those drachmas?" Percy mumbled, slowly turning his neck before crying out, "okay, no moving neck. That's probably broken, okay, I can't really move, what to do what to do." He clicked his tongue, looking at the camera. "Is this like one of those things where I'm left to live for a few minutes and be able to confess something? Like the movies where someone is so clearly dying and they have some last minute confessions because they don't want to bring it to their graves?" He pondered, Annabeth frowned, reaching for the phone before she stopped and rubbed her face.

    "Stop the video." She whispered, but Leo ignored her, and I agreed with him.

   "Well, not a chance, I'll bring my stuff to my grave and to the fields with me, or wherever I go, they'll stay with me. Oh Hades, that is impaled in my leg." Percy gasped, pointing the camera to the door impaled in his leg, blood splattered on it and dripping. "Will would probably have my head if I took it out, I already learned my lesson so I'm not taking it out. I'm trapped, great." Annabeth fidgeted while watching the video, we were all nervous, even Chiron came over to look. The ambulance left while we were watching because there wasn't anything we could do. We gave our statements and the police left.

    "Oh right! It was a big white truck that hit me, I knew the driver, oh what's her name again? She went to high school with me, she's in Paul's class. Samantha King, I think? She's a year younger than me, that way someone can find her and make sure she's okay." Percy sighed, his eyes were drooping, he was falling asleep. "Dam, I'm getting tired, but I probably have a bad concussion, falling asleep is a horrible idea." His eyes continued to drop anyways, but he hit his face a couple of times, yawning.

   "Why would he want to make sure she's okay?" Piper whispered, Annabeth shook her head and I bit my cheek.

    "Her dad died recently I heard, from a drunk driver hitting him while he was walking home. Oh isn't this kind of ironic? It was his funeral, she was probably mourning and got drunk, got angry and thought it would be fine to drive. I'm assuming she drove off because she didn't notice me or something." Percy shrugged before grimacing tightly, crying out. Leo paused the video and sighed looking away and looking for Will.

     "We know who did it now, someone needs to go to the police station or get in contact with one of his doctors or something." Leo said, and I nodded, most people already left in vehicles, all that was left was Chiron, Leo, Annabeth, Piper, Will and I. I would fly back and Chiron can run back.

    "Keep playing the video, Leo," Annabeth demanded, I could see how nervous Leo was, he didn't like this, none of us did. He listened to Annabeth regardless and pressed play. He skipped to when Percy next talked, which was about 20 minutes later.

    "Maybe no one will notice me until it's to late, if I die, I don't want to be in this much pain, maybe in a hospital bed and unconscious. Dying in my sleep would be better, so I just got to fight until then, and obviously not let myself die after that. I feel like a documentary, like I'm talking to someone who'll listen to this, and somebody might, if I'm found anyways." Percy rambled, it was the only thing keeping him awake.

    "Maybe I'm starting to see a point of the whole confession part. It's not because they don't want to bring it to their grave, but because they don't want to die with such a heavy heart. I could start rambling about some deep dark secrets but why would I do that when I'm trying to stay alive, maybe I'll make it. If I die, tell her I said she could tell you guys, she knows." He chuckled, shaking his head as tears streamed down my face. What deep dark secrets? "That's only if I die though, and clearly I don't want to do that." He joked, moving his eyes to try to look around, to stay awake. He moved his arm, and the music started going.

     "How is he worried about music right now?" Annabeth whispered with a small smile, a few tears rolling down her face. That's when Percy sung quietly, trying to stay awake as tears streamed down his cheeks.

    "Being upside down is really starting to hurt my head, but it's probably helping me from bleeding out so, I guess it's a good thing. Pain means I'm alive, that's been my motto for a long time." He chuckled, then continued to hum to some other song, a sad one, I think I recognize it but I'm not sure. Singing is probably keeping him calm, he's pretty good at it, I could listen to him all day long, other than the fact it's obvious he's in pain.

    "Since I was a kid. I was-" he stopped, forcing his head to look out the window. "Nope, you aren't getting me this time," he chuckled and I shook my head, we all did. "When this physically vulnerable I guess it's easier to be emotionally, too, I doubt anyone would look for my phone, much less watch a video that's like, what, half hour ish now?" He continued. "I never let myself be vulnerable, Annabeth could vouch for that," he admitted harmlessly, he didn't act scared, he acted like this was inevitable. "I never cried, that's a fun fact. Not when Zöe died, or Bianca, or Luke, not anyone really. Maybe a couple tears in the moment but, never actually grieved, I wasn't lucky enough to have the time." Percy said bitterly, shaking his head as he wiped the tears, although it looked like it hurt him.

    "My boy," Chiron mumbled sadly, it upset us all, I never knew anyone he named but they clearly meant something to him, considering he was so upset about it now.

   "I'd rather be angry at myself, I'd rather blame myself then to take the time and grieve. I blame the gods, too. We have been left to fight their battles. They say they can't intervene but I don't believe it for a second. They are to scared to fight their own battles so they make us. Because we are disposable to them, they will just make more of us." Percy growled, working at the seatbelt again, trying to get out. "Of course id never attack camp, personal loyalty sucks, I could never attack my home. Although I hate it, it's my home and everyone I love is there." He admitted. Trying to reach riptide, which apparently flew out of my pocket.

     "He hates the gods? I never thought he would considering he fought for them willingly." Annabeth whispered, we all silently agreed.

    "Stupid gods played me like I was their pawn, and I was. My mom was taken, I had friends lives on the line, I lost my memory, and more lives were on the line. I never did anything I did for the gods. They could know that, Zeus is a fucking wuss, Hades hides until he has to come out and do something other than sulk, Poseidon only cares when it affects him, Athena only wants to win, Ares only wants to fight, everyone is selfish!" Percy was very, clearly angry, I don't think I've ever seen him like this, clearly Annabeth hasn't either because she looked just as surprised. That's when Percy couldn't stay awake, his eyes closed as he let out a small breath, his arms falling.

     "Let's go to the hospital." I sighed, Chiron decided to run back but the rest of us hopped in the car, and we were all surprised to see Nico in there, sitting in the passenger seat.

    "What did I miss? Everyone was gone when I came back?" Nico asked, looking at Will, he was clearly tired from stress.

    "Percy was in a severe car crash, he was hit by some drunk girl in a truck. We're going to the hospital now." Will said as he hopped in the drivers seat and we all cramped into the back, luckily it was a big enough vehicle for us. The rest of the ride was silent as we sat nervously, we didn't talk at all, all we did was occasionally glance at each other.

Percy's POV

    All I could hear was an obnoxious beeping, it's a stupid Sunday morning, who has their alarm on? I moved my arm to the side, reaching for the alarm, before I was met with intense pain. "Arg!" I cried out, bringing my arm to my chest. I opened my eyes, and I was met with a white ceiling, white walls, I sat up quickly, grimacing tightly, I was in a hospital bed. No one was in here. I took off the blanket and stood up, or started to, I fell over. "What the hell?" I groaned, looking at my feet, or foot. I rolled up the hospital gown, where I noticed my leg was gone, cut from the middle of my thigh. "What the hell!" I shouted, looking around crawling to the nearest wall and leaning on it, looking around rapidly, closing my eyes. I was in a car crash, the door stabbed through my leg.

     "Sir! I need more people in here!" Someone called as I shook, cradling my head in my hands as the images popped into my head. "Perseus, I need you to listen to me, you need to get back to the bed so I can help you." She was calm, but I wasn't, I couldn't control my heavy breathing, her hand rested on my shoulder, and she pushed an oxygen mask onto my face. It felt strange, but oddly helped me catch my breath, but I was still scared, terrified.

    "Where, where am I? Where's Annabeth?" I asked, the doctor frowned.

    "You're at the Manhattan hospital, who's Annabeth? Was she in the car with you?" The doctor asked nervously, but she was relieved when I shook my head.

    "She's my girlfriend! Where is she!" I shouted, leaning on the wall and trying to get up, before cursing when I couldn't, so I stuck to dragging my body to the door.

    "Percy!" I heard someone shout, it was Annabeth and the rest of my friends, I sighed with relief when Annabeth ran and slid on the floor, hugging me tightly. "It's okay, you're okay, I'm here." She whispered as I hid my shoulder in my face, trying to control the pain I was in. "We need you back on the bed, okay?" She whispered, and I nodded. She got up and Frank and Jason helped lift me as I hopped to the bed, sitting down, staring at where my leg should have been.

     "What, what happened? I can't really remember." I mumbled, and Jason sat next to me.

    "You were hit by a drunk driver on your way back, your car went down a cliff and you were severely injured. After you were gone for to long, I went to look for you and you were unconscious." Jason said, but he couldn't look at me, he probably blames me.

    "My leg, why don't I have my leg?" I choked, closing my eyes as I tried not to cry. Jason had a hard time trying to talk, probably guilt, definitely guilt. They all looked guilty, but for what? They didn't do anything wrong, it was the driver, whoever it was.

    "The door broke and impaled your leg, it must have been to deep and the doctors probably had to cut it off to save you." He explained, Annabeth rubbed my other leg as she sat in front of me.

     "I'm just glad to be alive," I smiled softly, "my leg is nothing compared to the rest of my life." I smiled, it was a lie, of course I wanted my damned leg, but they already feel bad, I don't need to do that more. "What happened to the other driver?" I asked, and Annabeth looked surprised.

    "You really don't remember, do you?" She asked, and I shook my head, what is she talking about? "You knew the driver, Samantha King or something." She said.

    "Yeah, she and I used to be alright friends, her dad died recently, it must have been his funeral, he loved the beach according to her, so they had it near there, closer to the top in order to have a good view of it. She did this?" I asked, and Annabeth nodded. "Paul thought of her as a daughter, her mom wasn't a good person so she came over often because she thought of Paul as a second father." I mumbled, although it was hard to remember, everything was blurry.

    "Hello, is this a good time?" The same doctor from before asked, and everyone moved out of the way so she could do her job. "Unfortunately you all have to leave." She said as she gestured for the police officer to come in.

Time skip 3 months

    I sat on stage in the auditorium, looking at the hundreds, maybe even a thousand kids sat in the gym, whispering to each other and pointing at me, as if they recognized me. I grabbed the microphone as Paul gave me a thumbs up. "Hello, everyone. Some of you might recognize me, my name is Percy Jackson, I used to come here." I said, clearing my throat nervously as everyone hushed their talking. Some were on their phones, not really caring. "I'm here to talk about impaired driving, as you can probably tell by the screen here." I chuckled softly, but cleared my throat as I could tell no one cared. I scratched my ear who looked at Paul, who nodded at me.

    "Obviously I had little to no time to prepare for this, Paul, or Mr Blofis gave me little to no warning, more like he woke me up and told me I had a presentation to do." I smiled, some kids chuckled so at least some are listening. I grabbed the remote and changed the picture, it was one Jason took of me hanging upside down, covered in blood in a destroyed car. Some kids gasped in shock.

    "That's you?" Some kid shouted, and I nodded, I avoided looking at the image.

    "Yes, three months ago about. I was driving to meet with some friends, I was coming back from my parents because I was celebrating my birthday with them. Then, a girl who was driving came down the windy hill, over the centre line, when I tried to dodge and brake, she thought it would be a great idea to drive towards me, or she jerked or something, I'm not to sure what she intended to do, but her truck rammed into my passenger side and I went over a cliff. She drove off, she was caught, her worst injury was a hangover." I scowled, shaking my head.

    "Did you know her?" Someone asked when they saw I paused, and I nodded.

     "Yes, I did, I'm not allowed to say who she is because of the law, but you guys, some of you anyway also knew her. She was grieving, so she decided drinking while being angry and then driving would be a good idea, which caused me some serious injuries. Driving drunk is never a good idea, it typically doesn't hurt you, but it can hurt or even kill others." I said sternly, grabbing my knife and stabbing my leg, the one they think I have anyways, and they gasped in shock, and then I cut off the jean leg, where they realized I was missing a leg. "My leg was amputated and I was left with a serious brain injury, I lost a good amount of my memories, I honestly don't really remember coming to this school, Paul keeps reassuring me I did so I hope he isn't laughing at me for thinking I came here." I chuckled, and Paul smiled at me, shaking his head.

    I switched it to the next slide, which was an image of me in the ambulance. "As you can see here, serious injuries, you can see what impaled my leg, and then here," I said as I switched to the next slide, it was a picture of Samantha after the accident, her face blurred out. "This is what she looked like after she was arrested when I woke up and gave my statement." Some people were whispering, they're probably trying to figure out who it was. "She was charged with driving under the influence and a hit and run, 6 years in prison, paying for the medical bills and then 300 hours community service and she's no longer allowed to get a licence until 2 years after getting out of prison." I said, and that's when they kind of realized who it was, especially her friends.

     "You're the one she hit? Aren't you Paul's step kid?" One of them stood up and shouted, and I nodded.

    "The one and only. Anyways, I'm still in recovery, never walking again as far as I'm aware unless a robotic leg gets made. Doctors say I'll always have an issue with my memory, but I get paid by the government because I have a disability so you win some you lose some." I joked lightheartedly as everyone sat silently. "Any questions?"

      "How is that really a presentation?" Someone asked sarcastically, ah, yes, Samantha's ex boyfriend.

    "Don't drive drunk, it shouldn't need a presentation. You want me to show you videos of what happens, sure, I'll show you what happened." I raised my eyebrow, and I played the video, "I recorded this because I felt like something would happen." I said, and showed it, obviously I edited out  the stuff about the gods and only showed until after the crash and some other bits that showed my injury. Some kids gasped and pointed. "Or do you need to see how I reacted when I found out I lost my leg? I'll show you that too." And then the footage I got from the hospital showed my hysteric reaction. "Or do I need to show you the countless times I had to ask my friends what their names were, or using the wrong names on people, or being asked about my childhood and drawing a blank?" I asked, and everyone was silent.

     "Hey, it's okay." Paul whispered and I nodded.

    "If that doesn't convince you, the girl is in jail, it's on her criminal record, when she applies to collages and university's, they will see it and ignore the application, same with scholarships, same with jobs. It's easy enough to find records on people, it could ruin future relationships, her family relations, I know her mom didn't help her with the lawsuit, she kicked her out. You want to drive drunk? That's what happens. Lives get ruined, if you want to ruin yours I couldn't care less, but don't hop in a car because that will likely hurt others more." I growled angrily. Someone's hand raised, and I nodded at them.

    "Do you really forget your friends?" The girl asked, I might've known her, hard to say, but I didn't care much anyways.

    "All the times. I could see how upset it makes them, when I call one by the wrong name, or ask their names nervously, or I just avoid saying their names unless I absolutely have to." I nodded and some people whispered.

   "What else happened to you after the accident? How else did it mess you up?" Some guy asked and I frowned.

    "Nightmares is a good one, I've gotten diagnosed with insomnia," I started, looking at Paul to make sure I had the right word and he nodded, "I got lovely pills to get me to sleep, I also don't go in cars anymore, I go by public transportation if I have to go anywhere, I was given the okay to drive but I haven't hopped in a drivers seat and I don't plan to. What else," I pondered, I couldn't really remember, everything is blurry, I can't remember. "I can't really," I mumbled, some kids laughed, and my face turned red. "Any other questions?" I asked, I just wanted to leave now, I hated being a joke to people.

     "What was the worst thing you had to deal with?" Someone asked.

     "Either being pitied or being a joke to people, there's not really an in between anyone. I used to be highly respected, actually, not that I can truly understand why, but everyone loved me. Now they either laugh at me or feel bad for me." I said, and everyone stopped laughing. Some cleared their throats and slumped in their seats. "Some people don't realize that just because I have issues with memory, that that doesn't make me dumb, or oblivious. Now, time to wrap this up, I can go for some McDonald's." I said, and the lights switched on, and everyone walked out.

    "You did good, Percy." Paul smiled softly and I frowned, turning back to the video I recorded, but this time not the uncensored one, after everyone left obviously.

    "I never watched this, mom probably edited it for me." Paul frowned deeply,

    "She did, you asked her too." He said, and my heart sunk. Of course I forgot, I keep forgetting. "Let's go, I took the rest of the day off." Paul said, I decided I would rather use my crutch, considering this school wasn't very wheel chair accessible.

   When I hopped out of the auditorium, I saw two kids fighting, Samantha's ex and some other kid I didn't recognize. The ex seemed to notice me, so he pushed the other kid at me, who tumbled onto me, and then repeatedly apologized.

    "It's fine." I said and got out from underneath him,  and he looked at me in shock. "I'm sick of people like you, making a joke out of people like me." I growled angrily.

    "You sure you weren't the one driving like an idiot but painted her out to be the bad guy." He growled, of course, he doesn't want to think she messed up.

    "Percy, you can't fight anymore, don't try to." Paul reminded me gently, and I growled.

   "I can beat this guy with one leg and a crutch any day, make the first move, I dare you." I growled, reaching out my powers to the water fountains, that's when we swung at me, and the fountains burst the water slamming him against the wall.

    "Percy!" Paul shouted, grabbing me, "watch out!" He said, he's playing it off so it seemed like an accident, at least the fountain was angled right at him so it could seem like it was an accident. Once I stopped the water, I hobbled over to the ex and hit him with my crutch, smiling. 

     "Told you so." I smirked, controlling the water once again and making a fake leg with it, it holding me up. His eyes widened in terror as he backed away.

     "Perseus!" I heard someone shout, and I turned, seeing a familiar face. "Go ahead and tell them the secret," he smiled. I looked at him in confusion and he sighed, showing his trident, oh, right. 

      "Grouchy pants might kill me if I do, father." I said, and Poseidon shook his head.

    "Fates gave you permission." He said and I smiled, turning back to the kid.

     "Don't mess with the son of the sea god." I grinned as I controlled the water to crash over him, obviously not letting him drown.