ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : The Exit by Conan Gray
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
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I sat on top of the kitchen counter tossing a ball from hand to hand while my mom was making something, when Percy walked out of the bathroom I was about to say something before he put his index finger over his lips telling me to be quiet then walked over to our mom and tapped her right shoulder and standing on the other side of her when she looked over to her right, mom chuckled and Percy smiled at her then looking at me and laughed.
"I found the good marshmallows. Ones that don't burn so easy." Mom said with a smile on her face
"I don't think it was ever the marshmallow's fault I wasn't paying attention," Percy said after her, and then we all exchanged looks with a moment of silence. "Mom... I need to talk to you and Elena about something."
Mom nodded and we all sat in the living room next to the fireplace, with the fire going it made little 'crick' sounds from time to time.
"I'm used to feeling weird. I'm used to the world feeling weird to me, like a puzzle with half the wrong pieces. I try to pay attention. I really try, but...then I'm daydreaming." Percy spoke "I can't help it. But lately...it hasn't felt like daydreaming. It's felt..."
"Real...more real than just daydreaming...too real," I said, Percy and Mom looked at me, and then Percy spoke again
"And then we were at the museum and..." His voice trailed off
"You saw something." Mom spoke with a soft tone. "Something that felt real to you, but no one else could see?" Percy nodded
"...Ms. Dodds..." I muttered quietly
"What did she say to you?" Mom asked Percy, I looked up at her and Percy did the same but with a bit more confusion on his face
"She? How did you know it was a she?" Percy asked Mom, she looked up at the ceiling
"Do you know why we come to this cabin every year?" Mom asked
"Because it's near the septic tanks, so it's cheap. Mom, how did you know about that thing we saw?"
"We come to this place every year because this is the place I met your father."
"Our dad?" I asked
"What does our dad have to do with this?" Percy asked as Mom wrapped her arm around my shoulder, then used her free hand to brush Percy's hair out of his face.
"A long time ago, I...met a man, here on the beach. He was wise and brave, and kind and...noble. From the moment I first saw him, I knew that...that I had never met a man like him before. And then I realized he was unlike any man I had ever met before...because h...he wasn't a man at all. He was a god." Mom looked down at me and then looked at Percy
"You fell in love with God? Like...Like-- like Jesus?" Percy asked
"Not God. A god. Percy..." She cleared her throat "...the stories...that I have told you, and your sister about Greek gods and heroes and monsters, they are real."
"Mom-"
"In those stories, I have told you about how gods and mortals would sometimes have children together..."
"Mom, please, stop," Percy asked
"Children called demigods..."
"Mom!"
she started to speak faster "And sometimes they are known as half-bloods."
"That's what the monster called me," Percy responded
"And that's what the man in my dreams called me..." I said
"Mom, what's happening?" Percy asked
"You're both half-bloods. And half-bloods are not safe in the world. Once they reach a certain age and they begin...to understand what they are, terrible forces are drawn to them, driven to harm them before they can become strong enough to fight back. That is what you have been feeling or dreaming. It has always been a part of who you are, it was always coming, I just-" Percy cut her off
"Why are you telling us this?"
"Percy, Elena- I know that this is hard to understand, and, but you have to believe me that this is real."
"This is crazy!"
"No, Elena's right this is crazy. Okay? Elena and I aren't gods. There is something wrong with our brains! I understand that I'm weird, and Elena understands that too, believe me, we get it, but I'm afraid that there's something really broken."
"Oh, baby, no-"
"And- and now you're telling us stories like it's gonna make it okay? Well, we're not babies! We know there's no such thing as monsters, we know there's no such thing as gods, and we know for a certain that there is no such thing as demigods." Percy said with an angry tone, I stood up and put a hand on his shoulder
"Percy relax-" a loud knock on the door cut me off
"Who's there?" Mom asked all three of us turned our attention to the front doors where...Grover was looking through the window...wait, Grover?
"Mrs. Jackson? It's Grover." His voice slightly echoed
"Grover?" Percy asked
"This is a little time-sensitive. Could someone maybe open the door?" Grover spoke with the rain in the background
"What is he doing here?" I asked
"We don't wanna see him. Wait, Mom-" Percy said as she opened the door
"I asked to have the night, you said we could all leave in the morning." Mom said to Grover, Percy and I looked at each other in confusion
"Sorry, I'm early, but I didn't have any choice. Things have changed, this is all developing a lot faster than we anticipated."Grover continued
"Early?" Percy said pretty loud, Grover walked in and stood in front of us "You should have asked us before you- whatever it is you're gonna say, we don't wanna...hear it. Grover?" I looked down at Grover's legs- there was half a goat in his pants...
"Percy. Elena. Okay, so something's coming..."
"Grover." Me and Percy said at the same time
"...and I know that sounds really bad..." Grover continued
"Grover?" Percy asked
"...but the important thing is not to panic."
"I'm not panicking," Mom said
"Grover!" I slightly yelled
"Great! I'm also definitely not panicking. I feel very good about how we're doing so far-"
"Grover!" Me and Percy yelled
"What?" Grover asked and turned to us
"Grover, why is there half a goat in your pants?" Percy asked
"Oh, it's...oh! Oh, boy, she didn't tell you about...You didn't tell them about me?" Grover questioned turning to face mom
"You're early." She responded
The room went quiet when Grover turned to face me and Percy again.
"So the important thing is not to panic." Grover slightly shrugged with a half-smiled, half-panicked look
"Don't panic?! Grover, you have goat legs!" I kind of yelled
"We'll continue this in the car. Let's go." Mom said before opening the front door.
Percy and I glanced at each other then looked at Grover again who shrugged again with a half smile half panicked look.
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We've been in the car for a while now, Mom obviously driving, Percy in the passenger seat, Gover and I sat in the back, most of the car ride so far I just looked at him as he explained all this stuff that I for some reason understood.
"My job had been to guide you both to this moment. It's always an emotional rollercoaster for a young demigod, so providing a support system is really-" Percy cut him off
"Who are you?" Percy asked
"I'm Gover. I'm your best friend and-" Then I cut him off
"In fact what are you?"
Grover took off his hat, he had these small horns on his head "I'm a satyr. And I'm your protector."
"You're our protector?" Percy said in confusion
"If I hadn't gotten you both kicked out of school, you'd have never survived the night. And what's chasing us now would have found you there easily," he answered
Percy looked away from Grover and sat up in his seat.
"I'm sorry. Usually, I can sense danger coming a mile away, but this time...Well, none of us saw Dodds coming."
Percy looked back at Grover "So you knew. That thing that Dodds turned into, you saw it happen? why didn't you say anything?"
"I saw some of it. The Mist kept her hidden even from us until it was too late."
"Mist? What's a mist?"
"The Mist. It's the veil that hides the magical world from the human world. My legs. Dodds' wings. Even Dodds' absence but it isn't supposed to hide things from me. That never happens. Something powerful is at work here. The sooner we get you both to camp, the better off you're...you told them about camp, right?"
"Not yet, no," Mom responded sounding slightly annoyed
"I'm sorry...camp?" I asked
Grover turned to me "Camp is a sanctuary for half-bloods. A safe space where you can learn who you are and what the world is like on the other side of the Mist. uh, it's not far, actually, just a little ways past the bend up there."
"Mom, what else haven't we talked about?" Percy asked, "What else haven't you told us?"
Suddenly there was this loud-ish bang sound, I looked back out through the back window of the car and a streetlight exploded...that's 100% normal.
"Is that the Minotaur?" Percy's voice cracked
"So you're telling me more of those things are gonna, come after us?!" I looked at Grover who was also looking out the window
"Yes, but I think we should be fine- so no one panic."
"Well, I am so panicking right now!"
"Once the attacks start, they never let up. Okay? Dodds was just the beginning. He is next. He- he is brutal. He is relentless." Grover ranted
"you just said not to panic Grover!"
"He is still wearing underpants." Percy pointed out
We could all hear the Minotaur's hooves thudding on the ground and its growling, and thunder flashed through the sky.
"The Mythomagic cards were training. Everything has been training for what's still ahead of you both."
"What's ahead of us?"
"Kids." Mom sounded panicked
"Yeah?" Me and Percy said
"I'm actually 24," Grover said quickly
"What-"
" Hold on, please." Mom had her eyes on the road, thankfully. But imma be honest this is the most focused I've seen her in a long time.
The Minotaur growled again then Grover yelled and clung onto my arm, the Minotaur kept growling, sounding like a sick hippo or something.
Mom turned the car right hitting the Minotaur which I'm pretty sure just made it really mad, Then the Minotaur slammed it's self again the car and broke two window's the glass went everywhere, and a truck horn started blaring, mom screamed, and tried steering away, the truck kinda hit the car but it probably crashed, then mom lost control of the wheel and we crashed and it all went black.
Rain was pattering and thunder rumbled, I squinted and saw Grover was banging on a window, after a couple of minutes of him banging on it he got it off and crawled out, and then Percy rolled down, I got out after him, Grover was panting.
Grover had one arm around my shoulder and one arm around Percy's shoulder, we were helping him stay up. We walked around to mom's door and Percy opened it and she got out.
"Is everyone okay?" She asked
"Yeah, I'm okay," Percy answered
"Me too."
"Okay. good" Mom turned on a spare flashlight she had in the car and shined it and looked around. "This way!" Mom yelled. We walked a bit away from the car before Grover let go of me and Percy and walked a bit in front of us, he had a limp,
"We're here. That's the boundary. No momsters can cross it. Percy and Elena will be safe on the other side." He turned around and looked at Mom.
"'Percy and Elena will be...' But won't all of us be safe?" Percy asked looking at Mom before she walked up to Grover.
"Grover, I am entrusting you to protect my daughter and my son, my only children."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Jackson, they'll be totally safe at camp-"
"Swear it."
"Mom..." I muttered
"What's happening?" Percy asked
"Swear it, Grover! Keep them safe from anyone or anything that comes for them, that wants to do harm, that looks at them the wrong way. Do you understand me?"
"I swear!" Grover yelled
We heard the Minotaur growl again, and we all looked back in the direction of the car. Mom stood in front of me and Percy.
"I gotta go now, Sweetheart."
"Go? What do you mean go?" Percy asked angrily
"I can't go with you"
"Why not?" I asked
"She's human," Grover said, all three of us looked at him and he turned his head the other way.
"You two are gonna have to be brave now. Remember what I taught you. Remember the stories I told you. Especially the stories, they will tell.." Me and Percy started talking over her and she started talking faster
"No."
"Mom, We're not leaving you!"
"...You everything..."
"No way! Mom, we're not leaving you!"
"Perseus and Yelena! Listen to me." She put one of her hands on my cheek and the other on Percy's "You two...are not broken. You are singular. You're miracles. And you are my children. Hold fast. Brave the storm. I love you."
The Minotaur started roaring and Mom gasped.
"We need to move." Grover sounded panicked
"Give me your coat." Mom said to Percy
"Why? What are you gonna do?" He asked taking off his coat and handing it to her
"He smells half-blood, that's what he's tracking, yeah?" She looked at Grover
"That's right."
"So if he smells you in two directions at once, maybe I can confuse him, buy us both a little time to get away."
"Mom, pleased, don't-" Percy started
"Hey! It'll be okay."
"But what if it doesn't go the way you plan?" I asked
"I promise, it'll be okay."
"Mom-" I was cut off by the Minotaur roaring again. branches cracking, The Minotaur growled before it pushed through a couple of trees and started walking towards us, it was big, had bug muscles, a long beard, long hair, and big black horns.
Mom kissed Percy's forehead then kissed my cheek and hugged me tight then pulled back "Go! Now!"
Grover put his arms around me and Percy again and we started walking not exactly fast but at a good enough speed, we heard the Minotaur growl, we had to help Grover get over a fallen tree, and he was panting.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no-" he watched Mom and the Minotaur
"Percy, what are you doing?" I said trying to help Grover get up off the ground
"Mom!" Percy yelled, I looked over to where he was looking at the Minotaur, it had picked up Mom "Mom!" He yelled again, and then in that very second she disintegrated in the Minotaur's grasp. I looked down at Grover and he looked back up at me
"No, no, no, no..." I muttered repeatedly, I felt warm tears roll down my cheeks.
my mom just vanished right before my eyes...
"I'm sorry, El...I'm so sorry..." I heard Grover's quiet voice.
I looked at Percy he had a pen in his hand that changed into a sword and Percy got into a fighting stance
"Per- Percy! Percy, no!"
"Percy!" Grover yelled at him, the Minotaur looked over toward our direction and charged at Percy and he ran towards it.
He slashed it with his sword and the Minotaur and he both hit the ground, Percy got up and ran at it again and hit the Minotaur's horn, it growled and threw Percy to the ground again, and his sword fell out of his hand and landed next to a tree, the Minotaur got up and picked up the bottom of a tree and threw It at Percy, and Percy rolled away from it, and got up and tried climbing the Minotaur's back, which he somehow managed to do.
I couldn't watch anymore, I closed my eyes, and Grover hugged me tighter, the Minotaur continued to roar and growl before it all went silent then nothing.
⛭⛭⛭
"Are they okay?"
"Alone?"
"How is that possible?"
"yeah."
"Yeah, he's okay."
I heard muffled chatter
"They must be the ones."
I squinted and saw this tall figure standing next to a shorter person
"Hush, Annabeth. Their waking. Everyone, give them some space, please. Parker, tell your father that our new arrivals are waking up."
"Of course, Chiron."
"Welcome to camp, Percy and Elena Jackson. We've been expecting you two."
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