Poseidon's Daughter; A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Call to the Wild

"The point is that I can give you some advice. If you haven't yet found the monster when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the old man of the sea," Apollo advised. "He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my Oracle." 

"Wow. Something helpful for once. Thanks," I mutter and stare out the window at the passing landscape.

"Y/n, I think there's something else we should talk about," Apollo put forth. "Something more personal."

"What now?" I groan.

"You see that? What you just did there? As soon as I mentioned talking about you, you put up walls to protect your emotions. Your friends might not have noticed, but I did. You're afraid of something. What?"

"My powers," I answer. "I'm afraid of my powers."

"Why?" Apollo pushed. "I thought all you've ever wanted was to be able to gain a sense of control over water like your father. And like Percy."

"I do," I confirm. "You of all people should know that powers and emotions are closely connected. And with everything that has been going on, I'm all over the place. Towards the end of this past summer, I almost drowned four kids on canoe lake cause they wouldn't follow my instructions. At Westover Hall, I caused the pipes in the dormitories to explode because I had a bad dream. When Annabeth was taken, I was going to hurt those mortals in the helicopter. I wanted to develop my powers so that I could use them for good. But now I'm just scared. I'm scared that one quick change of emotion is all it's gonna take for me to seriously injure someone."

"Have faith in yourself, Y/n. That's what's gotten you this far, right? Without believing in yourself, you would not have accomplished half the things you have. I have a feeling you'll get the hang of things," Apollo confessed. "Maybe sooner than you think. Now, I think you need some rest. But do not forget what I told you about Nereus. Goodnight, Y/n."

When I woke up, we had arrived on the outskirts of a small ski town nestled into the mountains. The sign read "Welcome to Cloudcroft, New Mexico." It was even colder here, and I shoved my hands in my pocket as we walked through the valley. Snow was piled up on every roof and on the sides of the street we walked down. In the middle of the town, you could see practically everything: the school, tourist stores, cabins, a cafe, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia grumbled. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out." 

"There's a coffee shop!" Grover pointed out. "We can get drinks. And pastries!"

"Grover and I will go get food," Zoe offered. "Thalia, Percy, perhaps you can check out the grocery store?"

"Sure," Thalia gave in. "Come on, Percy."

"I guess that leaves just us," I say to Bianca as the two of us took a seat at a picnic table. "So, how do you like being a Hunter so far?" 

"You're not mad at me for joining them, are you?" Bianca asked.

"No," I respond. "Why would I be mad?"

"Percy was. Still is," Bianca corrected. "Well, I'm not actually sure. I haven't really talked to him about it."

"Percy is a guy. They know practically nothing when it comes to the Hunters," I declare. "I think he's just worried about you. And he has the right to. We all do. I, for one, don't think you should have abandoned Nico that quickly. He's your younger brother, and you two just recently found out about demigods and everything. But it's not my business, so I'm not gonna get involved."

"Nico didn't understand my decision either," Bianca murmured. 

"Oh. Well don't worry about him. He'll be all right," I assure her. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. I was one of them. And I promise I'll look after him. He needs someone to show him the ropes. You know, he actually needs someone like Annabeth."

"I hope we find her," Bianca admitted. "She's lucky to have a friend like you." 

"All I did was get her captured," I disagree.

"Don't blame yourself, Y/n. You risked yourself to save Nico and I," Bianca reminded me.

"Percy was there too," I chime in.

"Yeah, but he's not the reason I feel comfortable leaving Nico at camp. You are," Bianca stated as the rest of the group rejoined us. Grover handed both Bianca and I a cup of hot chocolate and a muffin. I was starving, so I ate the muffin pretty quickly.

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe proposed. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"

"I think so. I just need to-" Grover cut himself off as he froze. Suddenly, a warm breeze blew past me. The scent of fresh air and flowers came with it. But it was winter. So how had this breeze appeared here? From there things got even weirder. The little birds that decorated our cups flew off the paper. The rubber rat Percy jokingly bought from the grocery store came to life and scampered away. And then Grover collapsed.

"Get him up," Thalia ordered, her spear already in her hand. "We have to get out of here."

We made it safely to the edge of town, but that's when we encountered the first two skeletal warriors. They stepped out from the trees on either side of the road, stopping us from going any further. The ghouls had transparent gray skin and creepy glowing yellow eyes. But the worst part was, they had guns. I summoned my sword, but I doubted it would match the power of their weapons. From behind us, three more warriors appeared, fully trapping us.

"It's near," Grover moaned. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."

"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia insisted. "Five of them. Five of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover that way."

"Fighting these things just seems like a bad idea in general," I input. "But I don't think we have a choice."

When the first skeleton fired off a shot, I deflected the bullet off the blade of my sword. I couldn't see the bullet, but I felt its path when it neared me. Once the bullet wasn't an issue, I charged the warrior in front of me and swung my sword. The blade cut straight through the skeleton's shoulder, chopping his arm clean off. The bones and gun clattered to the ground, but almost immediately, they began to reassemble. As my skeleton reformed, I glanced over to see Bianca stab a warrior in the chest, and it burst into flames.

"How did you do that?" Zoë quizzed. 

"I don't know. Lucky shot?" Bianca guessed. She tried to do it again, but the other skeletons were weary of her now. They pressed us back towards the town, where we had nowhere to go. Behind the skeletons, the trees shivered, and I could hear the sound of branches snapping. And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig I had ever seen came crashing into the road. The wild boar was at least 30ft tall with a huge pink snout and tusks the size of rowboats. It swatted the skeletons aside, and they went flying over the trees, smashing to pieces against the mountains. Thalia raised her spear at the boar, but Grover stopped her.

"Don't kill it!" Grover yelled.

"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoë realized. "I don't think we can kill it." 

"It's a gift. A blessing from the Wild!" Grover clarified. 

"Then why is it trying to kill us?" I question and dive out of the way just before the boar could smush me under its hooves.

"It's wild," Grover replied.

"Y/n, you're usually our expert on this stuff," Percy brought up. "How do we defeat this thing?"

"I d-don't know," I stammer. "My brain is so scrambled right now."

"Then we have to get it immobilized," Thalia announced and grabbed Percy's arm. "Come on, Percy."

The two of them led the boar further down the road, and the rest of us followed at a safe distance behind. I watched as Thalia and Percy lured the boar towards the mountain, and at the last minute, they jumped to the sides, allowing the boar to crash into it. Snow piled down on top of the boar, leaving it trapped.

"This was a blessing. We must use it," Zoe spoke. 

"Hold up," Thalia interrupted. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing." 

"It's our ride west," Grover answered. "Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel? Now come on. Climb aboard."