Published: August 15, 2021

Edited: May 18, 2022

'•'

"Spiders.." I panted fearfully, rounding the corner of an overflowing dumpster and jumping behind it. "Can NOT be this bad!" Annabeth just shook her head, too out of breath to speak. It had been three days since we had slipped away in the night and monsters kept us on constant alert. Annabeth had acquired a big mallet to fend off the creatures and me a short section of white PVC pipe.  The giant creature raced past, too stupid to realize that he had rushed right past us. I was about to stand up when Annabeth dragged me back by my tattered sleeve.

"If it realizes we're not up there, it might come back here!" She whispered fiercely. I thought that was unlikely but decided not to say so. 

I sat down behind the smelly blue dumpster in a 'crisscross applesauce' position like we used to do in Kindergarten. To give my jittery fingers something to do, I began to try and untangle my wavy black hair. I tried to control my shaking, trying to look braver than I felt. Something growled and my head shot up at lightning speed, looking for the monster that had made the sound. I whacked my head on the back of the metal dumpster and yelped in pain. Then I slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle the sound. Beside me Annabeth shifted uncomfortably, her blonde hair flashing reflectively in the late afternoon sunlight. 

"'Dia it's okay, that was just my tummy." She murmured, folding her arms over her torso. I blushed, embarrassed at my clumsy startle. Both of us were exhausted, hungry and scared. The  one and a half smashed granola bars in my jacket pocket hadn't lasted past the first night and we weren't yet desperate enough to be eating out of trashcans. 

'•'

Annabeth and I stayed cramped behind that disgusting dumpster until the sun had nearly set. Then Annabeth motioned for me to follow her as we crept out from our hidey-hole. We raced across two busy streets into an seedy looking alley with a dead end. Annabeth held out her arm to stop me.

"What? More monsters?" I hefted my pipe, nearly thrown off balance in the process. She shook her head, the matted blonde hair dancing.

"No, we need to stay here for the night." She spoke certainly, looking around at the dismal courtyard. I crossed my arms nervously, still not convinced that Annabeth wasn't crazy. The blonde had claimed that a woman's voice was speaking to her, giving her advice on where to sleep and which direction to go. We had speculated that it might be her goddess-mom talking in her head.

"The voice again?" I asked half-hopeful, half-annoyed. It was comforting to think that someone was watching us on our scary journey to no-where, but it was also annoying that my sister and best-friend was either crazy or had a goddess for a mom but said goddess couldn't do anything other than tell us to sleep in dingy alleyways.

 Annabeth nodded uncertainly, probably hoping I didn't think she was nuts. But, as I had told her the night before, I was willing to follow her where ever she lead, as I had no magical voices giving me advice. I shrugged. There was no one there at the moment, but it seemed to be a popular place for homeless people to hang out. There were old, patchy sleeping bags lying around and a stack of boxes made a kind of fort around the place where a truck would unload. A door nearby was slightly ajar and a faded sign above it read something like: RCIHONMD IORN WRSOK. 

As I had learned to read in kindergarten, It had been hard. Before the school year ended, both Annabeth and I had been diagnosed with dyslexia. I didn't understand what that meant but I knew it messed up words so I couldn't read right so it probably said something different than what I saw. 

"Watch for monsters while I make a house." Annabeth ordered me. I nodded and grabbed my pipe which I had dropped earlier. 

I watched for monsters while Annabeth rushed around. She grabbed some sleeping bags and dragged them out of my line of sight. Then a dull scraping mad me cringe as she pulled a large piece of metal over to the preexisting structure of boxes. I walked over to see what she was doing just as she straightened up. A small shelter had been crafted on the loading dock. A pallet had been covered in a sleeping bag and three more added - two rolled up as pillows and a third stretched out as a blanket - with a roof and sides made out of wooden boxes and a large trashcan lid  leaned on the front like a door. Annabeth grinned proudly and I clapped in delight, finally a real house! I moved the lid-door and crawled in, Annabeth right behind me. We were just getting settled under the blanket when  an older voice, a girl's, echoed down our alley.

"Are you sure?" She said, sounding doubtful. I looked at Annabeth and her big gray eyes stared back at me, wide with fear. I reached out and pulled my pipe slowly through the entrance, making the trashcan lid quiver with a sound like a cymbal being hit. Next to me, Annabeth gripped her hammer. Then another voice, a boy's this time, answered.

"Something down there." Footsteps echoed softly as someone neared our small house. I nodded at Annabeth, my whole body shaking as I prepared to face more monsters. We both crouched, ready to spring. 

Then the footsteps stopped.

 As quick as lightning, something pulled the metal sheet away from the entrance, flooding our small area with the red light of sunset. I sprang at whatever was out there. Nearby, someone said: 

"Woah!" 

Then I was met with the face of a terrifying silver creature with snakes on her head. My terror increased and I raised my pipe, banging the thing straight on its face. Its head rolled away with a metallic clang and revealed a slightly stunned girl with short black hair, electric blue eyes, and punk clothes standing there with a spear. I yelled and bashed her with my weapon. But the blow never hit her, she blocked it with her spear shaft and sent me flying backward. I landed on my butt behind Annabeth who was being restrained by someone else, a guy with sandy hair and sky blue eyes with slightly elfish features. 

"No!" Annabeth cried, struggling from whoever had her wrist. "No more monsters!" I growled and seized Annabeth around the middle to pull her back away from the boy who held her. She toppled back on top of me as the boy released her wrist. 

I scrambled back to my feet, looked for my pipe. Then I realized it was three feet away and frustrated, terrified tears gathered in my eyes. I couldn't do anything to the two people with weapons so I stood in front of Annabeth protectively until she could get her footing.

"GO AWAY!" I screamed at them, stomping my foot and trying to look scary. The boy noticed me starting to cry and put away his knife. I looked at him warily. 

"No, it's okay..." He turned to the girl and snapped, "Put up your shield Thalia, you're scaring them" I watched warily as the girl tapped her scary silver snake-head and it spiraled away and disappeared. I relaxed by a marginal amount. The girl also dropped her spear and kneeled so she was on our level. 

"Hey, it's all right, we're not going to hurt you, I'm Thalia," she motioned to herself. "And this is Luke." She motioned to the boy. I drew back so Annabeth and I were level.

"Monsters?" I asked warily, still slightly crying. Luke shook his head, also crouching down.

"No," he promised, "But we know about them, we fight them too." Beside me, Annabeth spoke up, sounding suspicious.

"You're like me?" She asked, her eyes hopeful. I looked between them as they both nodded warily. My eyes widened comically.

"You're mommy is a goddess too?" I asked curiously. They both stiffened and Luke's face became guarded.

"Our dads." Thalia said shortly. I looked between them, they both seemed uncomfortable.

"Oh, okay." 

"What about you? Is your mom or your dad the god?" She asked me quietly. I shook my head. 

"Neither, but they didn't want me. Helen and Fredrick adopted me. Then the spiders came for Annabeth so she ran away. The monsters come for me too so I came with her because we are best friends." I finished, slightly winded. 

"So where's your family?" Luke asked, perplexed by my ranting. Annabeth raised her chin defiantly.

"They hate me. They don't want me, so I ran away." The older kids exchanged looks.

"What're your names?" Luke said kindly. I exchanged looks with Annabeth.

"I'm Annabeth and this is Neridia." Annabeth said, her head tilted slightly. Luke smiled gently.

 "Mermaid." He noted, still smiling. I smiled at him cautiously and nodded. 

 "Yes." I agreed. Then he turned to Annabeth.

"You've got a cool name too. Here," He held out the hilt of his knife and she took it, looking delighted. "This is better than a hammer. Knives are only for those who know how to fight well, they don't have the strength or reach of a sword but if you're clever you can find weaknesses in your opponent's armor. You seem clever." Luke ruffled her already mussed up hair. Annabeth seemed to glow with pride.

"I am." She said sweetly. Then Luke looked to me. 

"You both seem like quite the fighters, I'm sorry I don't have anything for you-" He started, looking truly sorry but Thalia interrupted them.

"She has something, something celestial bronze, in her pocket." Thalia said with narrowed eyes. I tilted my head, a bit confused but I reached in my pocket all the same. All I found was the pen I had gotten on my birthday. Thalia held out her hand, silently asking me to hand it to her. I placed the pen in her palm which she closed. Then Thalia clicked the top of the pen. With a 'shink' a bronze sword almost as tall as me appeared in her hand. 

"GAH!" Thalia dropped the sword and it shrank back into a pen with a 'click!' I stared in shock at the pen lying innocently on the pavement. Who on earth gave me a magic sword for my birthday. Thalia picked it up gingerly between two fingers.

"That's one hell of a weapon Mermaid, where'd you get it?" Luke asked with raised eyebrows, taking the pen from Thalia and looking at it closely. I shook my head in bewilderment.

"It was a birthday present, I think it follows me." I explained. It must have followed me because I certainly hadn't had it when Annabeth and I left the house. Luke frowned, tracing a finger along the side.

"Whirlpool." He noted, "Odd." He handed it back to me gently. "Here, it might be a bit big for you now but it suits you." I took then pen back and tucked it in my pocket. 

"We need good fighters like you two, would you like to join us?" I looked at Annabeth then back to Luke and Thalia. I nodded. Thalia smiled.

"Come on, we've got a safe house along the James River, we can get you some new clothes and food and teach you both how to properly use a blade." Luke called, already at the entrance to the alley. I reached in Annabeth's homemade shelter and grabbed my jacket before standing up, ready to go. 

We crept out of the alley and followed Luke and Thalia until we reached a river. We walked up the bank for a few minutes before we reached a grove of trees. Thalia pushed aside some vines to reveal a clearing with a cooler and sleeping bags. A few weapons and a coil of rope were nearby. As we staggered in, I collapsed onto the nearest sleeping bag, exhausted. Annabeth curled down next to me, tired as well. Thalia and Luke left to another area, their voices growing quieter. I closed my eyes, listening to the crickets and birds, waves of weariness washing over me. 

'•'

I was dreaming. A little black haired boy of about my age was on the floor of a dirty kitchen. Heaving sobs racked his entire body as tears and blood pooled around him. The boy's head was bleeding heavily from a cut on his temple. An ugly man was yelling at him and waving around a broken glass bottle. Then he struck again and pain seemed to flare on my back, just where her stuck the boy. The pain and the boy's sobs cut through my heart like Annabeth's knife and I began to cry. 

Then I was screaming and flailing, struggling against heavy blankets that tried to pin me down. The dream faded and Thalia sat with my head in her lap, stroking my hair. It had been maybe a month since we had found Thalia and Luke and this was our third safehouse. We were in Maryland right now and the wind bit into my skin, freezing my scalding tears to my cheeks. It was the third time this week that I had dreamt of the black haired boy. Always, the ugly man was hurting him. I could never have said why those nightmares affected me so much but they did. It was regular routine for me to wake up to Thalia and Luke hovering over me as I screamed. I broke down cried in Thalia's arms as she held me close and whispered comfortingly to me. 

"It's okay Neridia...shh-shh, I'll always be here for you. We'll be a forever family, you and me and Annabeth and Luke...shh" Thalia's voice was always so melodic and calming. She rocked me side to side like a mother would do to her child, still whispering calming things. I sniffled as my tears subsided. A forever family sounded nice. Really nice. I nuzzled my head into Thalia's shoulder, breathing in her comforting smell of pine and bonfire. This is my family.

'•'

Word Count: 2365