Charlotte Jackson and the Year of Truth

Chapter 2

"No way. That's impossible! The gods are fictional. They're just myths, and they're characters in the Percy Jackson world," I say stubbornly.

"They may be in a book, but who says it's fiction?" Mom remarks. Dad just stands there, staring at me. He slowly raises one hand, and I gasp. Water comes from the sink in the kitchen and surrounds him, moving as he dictates, and he never gets wet when they collide.

Not knowing what else to do, and terrified for my sanity, I sprint out the door. They don't try to stop me, and they don't even come after me. Before too long, two men deep in conversation step out from the shadows ahead of me, complete opposites of each other. One is pale with dark hair and black clothes while the other is tan with blond hair and happy clothes.

As I approach, they stop their chatter and turn to watch me. "Charlie?" Blondie asks.

"Who wants to know?" I wonder.

"My name is Will, and this here is Nico." Blondie answers, pointing at him and his buddy in turn.

"Of course you are. I suppose that my parents sent you after me? Told you to pretend to be characters from my favorite books?"

Will looks at Nico, confusion etched all over his sun kissed face. Nico, however, looks at me in understanding. He nudges Will, whispering in his ear. Will nods and walks a bit away from us while Nico steps towards me.

"They told you, didn't they?" The way he phrased this made it seem like he knew they answer already. Maybe he did. "Percy and Annabeth told you that they're half-bloods."

"This joke they're playing on me is getting ridiculous right now. They're trying to make the books come to life. They're trying to make a mockery of what I grew up with. I grew up knowing the stories of Percy and his friends better than I knew anything else. And now they're trying to ruin it, playing these jokes on me."

"What would it take to convince you that this is real? That my name is Nico di Angelo and that that man over there is Will Solace? That the people who raised you are the Percy and Annabeth from the books?"

"Proof." I answer. "Proof that I'm not insane. Proof that I can see with my eyes that I can't explain away. Something solid, concrete."

Nico nods and walks to Will. They whisper and argue, and all I manage to hear is something like, "doctor's orders". Eventually, Will nods and walks past me, back towards where I came from. Nico grabs my wrist. Then everything is dark and cold, and it feels as if my skin is coming off because it goes so fast.

When I reopen my eyes that I didn't know I closed, the first thing I see is a giant hill. I almost faint, but instead, I look at Nico. "No way." I mouth, unable to actually say the words. He gestures towards the hill, telling me to climb it. I do.

There are people walking around, all of them in orange T-shirts that read "Camp Half-Blood" on them. There are pegasi flying above us, people shooting arrows at the archery range, and sword fighting in the arena. This is exactly how I imagined it.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," is all Nico says before he disappears again. I walk towards the arena, dying to try my hand, when somebody grabs me from behind.

"You're back! I can't believe you're back!" I feel like I know this person, but I don't know who it is or how I know them. The arms release me, turning me around. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else." With that, they walk away. That was soooo weird. I think to myself.

A pegasus lands right next to me, another following. "Looks like we got ourselves a new camper."

"Who are you calling a new camper? Wait, why am I talking to a flying horse? Okay, that's it! I've officially lost it!"

"You can hear me? Are you a Poseidon kid?" The pegasus talking to me is all black, not an inch of white on him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Not even an hour ago, my parents told me something completely insane. Then I ran out and met some guy named Nico, and he brought me here and left."

"Guido, go tell the boss we need to see him. I'm Blackjack. What's your name, kid?"

"My name is Charlotte, but everyone calls me Charlie. In fact, I'm probably sleeping right now, dreaming this whole thing, making it up in my mind."

"Hate to tell you this, Charlie, but your not dreaming. This whole thing is real, and you are about to meet someone very important." The boy walking up seems so very familiar but I know that I've never met him, and least, not when he was this young. His unruly jet black hair looks just like my dad's, and there's even that streak of gray. It's his sea green eyes that make me think I know who it is because I see those every time I look at my reflection.

"Who is that?" I inquire.

Blackjack greets him, ignoring my question. "Hey, boss. Got a special one here."

"Would you quit talking about me like I'm not here? You know I can hear you. What do you mean special? And don't ignore me this time."

"He means that you can hear him. There are very few demigods that can talk to pegasi. I'm one of them myself."

It takes me a second before I realize who this is. "You're Percy Jackson? Oh my gods, I am definitely dreaming. There is no way I am talking to the Percy Jackson, the son of the sea god. No way. Not happening. That Percy is a fictional character that Rick Riordan made up for his kid. There's no way you're real."

The boy looks so confused by the way I'm acting. "My name really is Percy Jackson, and you're not dreaming. Who's Rick?"

"Rick Riordan is an author. He made up the book series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus. Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Will, Leo, Calypso, Guido, and even Blackjack here are all made up. Fictional. Born of Rick's mind." I find myself constantly drawn to Percy's eyes.

"I can assure you that we are not fictional. And I don't know anyone named Leo. I have met Calypso, though she was trapped on an island."

"Yeah, but that was before. Ogygia was the name of the island. And wait a minute, if you're Percy Jackson, why do you look like you're the same age as me?"

"How do you know about Ogygia? And I'm only sixteen, so that's why I look as old as you, because I am as old as you," Percy responds.