Parker's POV-

I look around at my friends and the strange guy. "Where are we?" I ask yet again.

"The future," the other guy, Octavian, says slowly. He mutters something and I walk over to Reilly.

"This must be a dream!" she says really loudly, pacing.

"Pinch me," I tell her. She pinches some of my skin and I yell out in pain. "Not a dream."

"Its obviously not!" Octavian yells. "I helped make this! I don't know why. Well, I kinda do. They were offering me my life back and I wanted to come back to see. . . someone."

He turns away from us ashamedly. "I messed up in my life and I wanted to make it up."

"Seriously?" Andromeda says. Octavian nods.

"It-I was really bad," he says. "Now, I just want a second chance."

"Oh whatever," Meda says to him. "Go run off and leave us alone so we can talk to each other."

Octavian looks down at his feet before walking away. "Do you have to be that mean?" Holt asks her.

"Do you literally believe him?" Meda retorts.

"He sounds reasonable," Reilly says.

"Oh gods," Meda says while shaking her head.

"Let's go walking around and see where we are at," I say, trying to break the tension.

"We'll talk about this later," Reilly adds. "Let's split up. I'll go with Andromeda while Holt and Parker are together. When should we meet back?"

"How about when the sun reaches its peak," Holt says pointing to the sky.

"In other words, when the sun comes up fully," Reilly says.

"Correct," I say. Holt and I walk to the right while the girls walk to the left. I smell something really good so I start walking toward it. All around us is grass and bushes and in front of us is a glass building that looks like a flower.

"This place is really cool!" Holt says as we sidle up to a vendor booth.

"How may I help you boys?" a teen girl asks us. Her brown hair curls over her shoulder and her bright blue eyes stare right into mine. In other words, she is beautiful.

"What type of food do you have?" Holt asks, not loosing his cool like I did.

"We have fried greens, roasted cashews, baked chicken-" she starts off before I interrupt her.

"We'll have the baked chicken!" I yell. Holt looks over at me and I grin sheepishly. "I mean, we'll have the baked chicken," I say in my normal voice. The girl smiles at me while turning around.

"Weirdo," Holt says to me while punching my arm.

"Whatever." We wait for a few seconds and she turns around with chicken on a stick. "Thank you," I say to the girl and she giggles. We start to walk away but the girl clears her throat.

"Money," she says while sticking her hand out.

"Oh, uh we don't" Holt starts to say but a girl runs in front of us.

"Hey guys! Sorry I didn't meet you here on time," she says, out of breath. She hands the other girl a bill that I don't recognize and she takes my hand and Holt's hand. She drags us around the corner and she let's go of us.

"Thank you," I say to her.

"I help people when I think they are in trouble. It was not a problem," she says while sticking her hand out. "The name's Hadley Oliver, by the way."

I shake her hand while saying, "I'm Parker Grace. And this is Holt Prescott. We have other friends with us but they are somewhere else."

"How did you guys get here?" she asks. "No one is welcome in this town, only the residents."

I look over at Holt and he nods. "We are from the past," I tell her. She starts sprinting down the street and Holt follows her. I start running after them and I quickly catch up to Holt. "What is she doing?" I yell.

"I don't even know!" he says.

"I have an idea!" I yell. "Whenever we meet new people here, let's tell them we belong and are not from the past!"

"Great idea!" he yells back. Hadley rounds the corner and I follow her. Holt and I stop running when we realize that we trapped her in an alley.

"How can I trust you guys?" she asks crossly.

"I don't know," Holt says. I smack his arm and he grunts a little.

"What's the date?" I ask her instead.

"Adylon 42nd," she says like its a normal thing.

"What the Hades is Adylon?" I say.

"It's the month," Hadley says to me.

"What year is it?" Holt asks her.

"4505," she says simply.

"Woah," I whisper. Suddenly, I hear bells jingling and Hadley goes pale.

"Come on. We got to go," she says quickly. She grabs our hands and she drags us inside a building. We run into the shadows underneath some stairs.

"What's happening?" I ask her.

"The king is here," she whispers. "He kills anyone he sees out on the street."

"So that girl out there will die?" Holt asks. Hadley nods.

"All of the people have to watch it as well," she whispers. She closes her eyes tightly as if remembering a bad time.

"Can we save that girl?" I ask quickly.

"If you want to die," she snaps.

"What about Andromeda and Reilly?" Holt asks quickly.

"Oh no," I say quietly. "They don't know about the rule you told us."

"I-I don't know what you guys should do," she says. "But I will help you. Is anyone else with you?"

"Yes," Holt says. "A guy named Octavian."

"What?" she hisses. "But he's the King!"

"Nuh uh," I say. "Oh, of course he is. Grandma and Grandpa Zhang and Grandma and Grandpa Grace told us all about him and how he was evil."

"Grace? All of the Grace's are dead," Hadley says.

"No," Holt says. "Parker here is one."

"Well, I don't know how he is here when they rest of the Grace's are dead," she says. "Let me tell you the history. OK, it all started when the legacies and demi-gods walked on the bridge. Carpo, Auxo, and Thallo then was destroyed by Octavian and he killed all the legacies and demi-gods. He took over this place and here we are."

"He's been alive for all this time?" Holt asks her.

"Yes. I don't know how though," she says. "He killed all of my family and-and I work for him."

She whispers the last part but I still hear her. "What?" I ask. "You aren't leading him here are you?"

"I only work in the stables," she reassures me but I hear a lingering sad tone to her voice.

"How?" I ask. "How did he kill them and why?"

"I don't know how," she hisses. "He told me that they stole from him but I don't believe it."

"HELP!" a girl yells.

"Get off of ME!" another yells.

"Parker, does that sound like Andromeda and Reilly?" Holt asks quietly.

"Yep," I say dread washing over me. I feel a poke on my back and turn around to come face-to-face with Octavian. Our Octavian.

"We need to save Reilly and Andromeda," he says deadly serious. "Save them from me."