A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: Hay guys! I read a story by When Turtles Fly called flying sea. That put a lot of ideas in my head. I didn't want to rip off any ones fan fic though. Then I Read a story by Seaweed Skull called Silence is bliss (both versions) and I realized that this Idea was common enuf that I could right my story without being the dick weed that rips off a fan fic. That being said, if you like my stories you would LOVE theirs.

Basic Set Up: The gods don't exist in this story. The half bloods are jest regular people. Percy stands out though. (This is where I thought I might have ripped off When Turtles Fly.) Percy is in the worst situation I can think of. He is a Dyslexic mute. Trust me on the Dyslexia descriptions in the story as I actually have it. The only reason this is legible is spell check. Even then there will be minor spelling errors. You have been warned.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: My life, or lack of it.

I sat alone on the front porch of the orphanage. Yes I am an orphan. My mom died in a car crash when I was four and my dad walked off the side of the Brooklyn bridge a year latter, leaving me alone with no one to take care of me. I watched him jump. I would have stopped him if I could, but I couldn't. There was a cop a few hundred feet away but he was looking the wrong way. I would have screamed to the cop to get his attention but I couldn't. I was in the car when my mom was hit by a tractor trailer on the belt parkway. I don't remember much of the crash but I do remember seeing my mom's lifeless eyes and a large chunk of mettle sticking out of my throat. The doctors said I was lucky to be alive, but the fact was that my vocal cords were shredded beyond any hope of repair. So when my dad took the sort cut off the side of the bridge, all I could do was watch.

After bouncing from orphanage to orphanage I finally settled into a routine at Half-Blood Orphanage. Ok, that's jest the nick name given to the orphanage by the kids. It might as well be the real name though. More blood is spilt here per day than in the Roman Coliseum. It's all because of this jock Luke castellan. He beats the shit out of any one who disagrees with him. Which is every one. He's an anarchist. The only goal he has in life is to beet up people for not disagreeing with every thing. Some kids have tried to play it off like their on his side jest to avoid the beating but he sees right through it and beats those kids twice as hard. He has a small gang of the meanest kid in the orphanage though. His girl friend, Clarisse, is a real bitch jest likes to cause pain to smaller kids. Even right now I can hear the two of them beating the snot out of some poor kid. I lean my head back agents the wall of the orphanage. I want to help the poor kid but that will jest make things worse.

Luke and Clarisse hate me most of all. They think in simple or something because I don't talk. They really are Nazis. They think that any one of a different ideological view or has a mental condition should be killed. The only reason I'm still alive is that I'm smart. I can out smart them a million times a day. And at night I lock my door.

Yeah I know, It's like that movie Sines. All their strength and might, all the people in their gang and they can't get through a simple wooden door. I mean who woulda figured the door would have a lock on it ass hole. So as you can figure out, Luke's not the sharpest tool in the shed. I would say I made some friends here but that would be a lie. The other kids are ether too scared of Luke to risk it or they think I'm simple too. My guidance counselor at school suggested I right down what I have to say or I learn sine language but my spelling is so bad that even if I did either of those no one would be able to understand what I was saying. I did learn some hand sines that mean words but I gave up when I realized no one knew sine language anyway.

My life pretty much sucked. The adults were no help either. My orphanage's care taker, Gabe, didn't care about us enuf to help. He actually took all the money the government gave him to help run the orphanage and spends it on booze and poker. We have to go to the local homeless shelters to get our meals. A brave kid stood up to Gabe once but wound up in the hospital. Gabe lied and said the kid tripped down the stairs and the police bought it.

My school life was no better. The teachers were convinced I was a lazy good for nothing and their low salaries didn't make them care if the kids were bullied. My inheritance from my mom and dad would have seen me through collage if Gabe hadn't stolen it and lost it in a game of poker. So my life sucked. You couldn't even call it a life. Life is full of good and bad, Sorrow and joy. The only memories I have are of pain. Mental and physical pain. I was only sixteen but I had considered subside a few times. Then I realized I was being stupid. There was a hole world out there and I could jest leave.

So I ran away when I was ten. Yeah, I know what I said before this. You herd right. All eight of my subside contemplations and all three of the attempts were before I turned ten. Any way. When the cops found me and brought me back Gabe beat me until I was blacked out.

"You little shit!" He screamed. "this could have resulted in an investigation!" He roared. "I ain't going to jail!"

That jest shows you Gabe. A kid runs away and all he cares about is what might happen to him. That's when I realized my mistake. I ran away without a plan. Ever since then I have been trying to plan the perfect runaway plan. One that would result in Gabe getting arrested and Luke as well. So far I had nothing though.

My thoughts were interrupted by a car pulling up in front of the orphanage. I watched it calmly as the driver got out and walked around the car to open the shot gun seat door.

Is this a surprise inspection? I thought. Maybe Gabe will finally be arrested for child endangerment and Luke might be sent off to juvie. The thought of the two of them rotting an a jail cell brought a small smile to my face.

When the door opened though I was disappointed to see it was jest another new kid. Her eyes were puffy, like she had been crying. She had obviously jest lost her parents.

Fuck. I thought to my self. She jest lost her parents and they sent her hear. She's dead meat for shore.

"Young man." The driver called to me. I looked him in the eyes to show him I was listening. "Can you go get the care taker please?" He asked. I nodded and went in side. I found Gabe in his office with the door open. I knocked on it to get his attention off of his i-pad.

"What?!" He demanded, not taking his eyes off the screen. I was unable to talk so I knocked again. He glared up at me with a 'I'm gona kill you' look. "What?" He demanded again. I waved my hand in a follow me gesture. His jaw set and I thought he was going to beat me but instead he rose and grumbled. "Stupid retard."

I led him back out side where the driver was waiting with the girl.

"Take her inside to a spare room." Gabe told me before approaching the driver to make some sort of conversation.

I waved her over in a follow me gesture and showed her inside. I would have helped with her bags if she had any but she only had the one back pack. As we were walking up the stairs to the second floor Luke stopped me.

"Hay stupid." He said in mock friendliness. "I see we have a new member of our little family." He was talking to the new girl now. "So what's your name blondy?" He asked.

The girl still looked like she was about to cry. "Annabeth." She said in a small, almost crying voice.

Please. I thought to her. If you want to survive here you will act a little bit tougher.

"Annabeth." Luke repeated. "Well, Annabeth, let me give you some advice." He said in a sincere voice. Then he pointed at me. "This little punk will get you into a lot of trouble so I would stay away from him." He finished.

Annabeth frowned in confusion before Luke hit me hard in the stomach. I doubled over in pain and rolled down the stairs. He laughed and walked over me as a lay on the floor at the foot of the stairs clutching my stomach. Annabeth stood on the steps in shock. She starred at me for a second. Then she ran down the stairs to help me. She hoisted me into a sitting position which hurt a lot. My face grimaced.

"Are you ok?" She asked. Being unable to respond with my voice, again, I nodded. I had taken harder hits that that. Annabeth stared at me for a second. "Are you shore?" She asked. I slowly got to my feet and nodded.

I continued to climb the steps with Annabeth behind me, looking nerves.

"Who was that kid?" She asked me when we reached the top of the stairs. This was the only good part about not having friends. I didn't have to try and find a way to communicate around my condition. When I didn't answer her, Annabeth asked again. "Who was that boy on the stairs?"

By this time we were at the spare room that would be her room. I gave her a small, lightly apologetic smile as I opened the door and waved my and at the entrance in a 'well, here you are!' type way.

"So, this is my room?" She asked. I nodded. I was about to leave her to unpack when she asked me another question. "Can you talk?" She asked.

My mind froze. I was quiet shore but I had only known her for a few minutes and she was already asking that question. It usually took people a half hour or more with me to figure that out. Normally people jest assume I am anti social.

I frowned at her to signal my curiosity as to why she asked that question.

"You haven't made a sound." She said, as if laying out evidence in a court case. "Not even when that kid punched you and you fell down the stairs." Her head tilted a little. "And then there's that scar on your neck."

My hand flew to my neck to cover the scar where the chunk of mettle had imbedded itself in my neck when I was four.

"I was jest wondering." She said, starting to loose the confidence she had shown a second ago.

I waved her into her bedroom and entered after her. Once the door was closed I turned to face her with a analytical stare. Her storm gray eyes were starring back at me. It dawned on me that we were analyzing each other. That she was trying to figure me out as well.

"You never answered my question." She said. "Can you talk?"

I shook my head. She nodded, clearly trying to think.

"Do you speak sign language?" She asked.

I held out my index finger and thumb to say 'jest a little bit'. What she did next shocked me.

'Do you know what I'm saying?' She asked with her hands. My eyebrows went up in surprise. I immediately started to sign back.

'Yes.' I said. 'You know sign language?' She laughed and nodded.

"They taught us it at my last high school." She said aloud. "Never thought I would actually use it though." She laughed and I smiled. It was the first full smile I had had since before my dad jumped.

"So who was that boy?" She asked as she put her backpack down on the bed and started to unpack. She looked at me to see my response. I lifted my hands to sign a response when I realized I didn't know how to spell Luke. Phonetically I thought It was Look but I figured that was probably wrong. Eventually I just gave up.

'Look' I signed.

"Look at what?" Annabeth said after a few seconds. I frowned. Look and Luke were two different things but I still couldn't think of a way to spell it that wasn't phonetic.

'His name, Look.' I signed. I knew it wasn't proper english but I had trouble forming the words with my hands.

"His name is Look?" Annabeth asked slightly taken aback. I shook my head.

'I can't spell.' I signed. She frowned at that and started to stroke her chin in confusion. My face was becoming redder by the minute. This was the first person I could communicate with in a long time and I was fumbling my words like an idiot.

"Do you mean Luke?" She asked. My eyebrows went up and I nodded vigorously. She laughed a little. "Luke is spelled L-U-K-E." She said spelling out his name on the second Luke. I shrugged.

'I have bad reading.' I signed. Annabeth's eyebrows went to gather as she tried to understand what bad reading might mean. 'Can't sign it. letters get messed up. I spell how they sound.' When I finished Annabeth's face hit a look of realization.

"You spell Phonetically?" She asked. I nodded.

'bad reading makes me.' I signed. She frowned as she put the last of her clothes in the dresser.

"Bad reading?" She asked, almost to her self. "Bad reading?" Then she got that look of realization again. "Do letters move on you when you try and read them off a paper?" She asked. I nodded and knew she understood I was dyslexic. "A Dyslexic mute." She said in amusement. "That's gota be a first." I shrugged and looked around her room.

It looked jest like mine. One bed below a window across from the door. One dresser on the left wall and a small desk on the right. I realized she jest went through a very tuff time and now she was here. She was thrown into the worst orphanage I could think of.

'I am sorry you are here.' I signed. She frowned.

"What do you mean?" She asked. The way she looked at me with that quizzical look made me feel weird. like I was exposed. I didn't mind it though.

'You are an orphan.' I signed. 'I am sorry that you must be here." I wanted to say more but didn't know how to frame it into words.

"Oh," She said. "Thanks." she was speaking so quietly it was barely above a whisper. She sat down on the bed in back of her and dropped her head into he hands. Her eyes were focused on the floor but looked up when I moved my hands to sign.

'Why are you here?' I signed. She looked back down.

"My step mom burned down the house trying to cook last week." She paused. "I was the only one to make it out of the house." I nodded sympathetically.

'What about your mom?' I signed.

"Never met her." Annabeth said. "My dad said she ran off with some other guy a few weeks after I was born and he hadn't herd from her since." A glimmer of hope rose in me.

'You don't have to stay here.' I signed quickly.

"What?" She asked in confusion. I wasn't shore if it was because of the statement or I signed to fast for her to read.

'Your mom.' I signed. 'She can get you out of here. You don't have to stay here.'

"She abandoned me years ago." She said. "Why would I want to find her? Much less live with her." I shook my head.

'Any where is better than here.' I signed. Annabeth shook her head at that and I watched her blond hair fall over her shoulders.

"I don't think so." She said. "Not any where."

'You will see.' I signed.

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: Thanks for reading guys. If you like it and want to read more than post a review or PM me and I will update the story. 1 Review or PM gets you 1 chapter. If two of you review than thats two chapters of updates I will post. Simple system.