"Get inside," she urged. "Quickly now! You need to get inside."

Those words, haunting my mind in the day, dogging my footsteps like an ugly shadow...they curled and wormed their way through my dreams, no rest even while asleep.

I didn't know it at the time, didn't realise until it was far too late, but those words were the last I heard of my mother.

I have never needed pity, nor comfort. When you've had as long as I have to come to terms with your lot in life other people's sad, awkward comments only antagonise the issue. Three years of wandering, running, fighting where necessary. Three years...gods it felt like an age since I saw her face, creased with fear. My classmates shunned me, my conversations always felt stunted, like I was far too old for my own mind. You could say I had a rough childhood. You could say the sun is fairly warm as well, for as accurate as that would be. Shunted and shifted between orphanages and foster homes, I'd yet to spend a whole year anywhere before having to leave. It's not always their fault either, Mr. Blofis was kind and helpful, but then I saw one of the hounds stalking through his backyard and knew it was time to move on.

I couldn't seem to get away from them, no matter where I hide or run. They always follow. It was usually the hounds, It seemed as if they tracked my scent. I got into the habit of washing regularly to throw them off, but it hadn't helped much. The monsters always showed up again. Once in a park I was almost caught by a towering man with one eye in the centre of his cruel face. I had to fight him, like I had to fight the first ones. I had fought and fought and fought, I thought I was prepared. Not like before. Those hounds; I can never forget the way they burst through the windows, blood around their snouts. I grabbed whatever came to hand, vainly trying to fend them off. Then I saw it, my mothers only gift from dad (other than me, she always said). It gleamed as if it knew what I was thinking. The bronze dagger shone like starlight, and still shines now.

I wandered far, but I always wandered with an aim, never straying too far from the path. One of my strongest remaining memories of my mother was her telling the story of how she met my dad, on a beach in Long Island. She always loved that story.
And so there I was, pacing down the sea shore, marching, determined in my goal. It had been three long years but at last I had made it, to the only place my mother said was safe. As I walked my pace sped up, until I'm suddenly sprinting across the sand as fast as my tired legs can carry me. And then I feel it, as if I have passed a barrier, run through a gate and closed it behind me. I finally felt home, like the wind at my back will defend me more than any four walls could.

Suddenly, drifting upwind, ragged and disrupted, I catch a snatch of conversation. How long has it been since I heard a voice that wasn't my own? Must be since that weird lady tried to sell me some hamburgers in a garden emporium. I know better than to trust people like that though. It had been far too long.

I call out to them, getting their attention. No one in this haven could be a threat right?
"Hey! Over here!"

I wave and jump, to get their attention. Two people appear over a rise, a nervous looking boy moving with an odd gait, and a girl with blonde hair, stormy eyes and an intense expression. It seems they weren't out here to enjoy the sea air, rather to have a serious conversation.

'Ah...I've already messed up and I just met these people.'

"How did you get in here?" The girl shouted, frowning at something.

I try to explain, fumbling my way through a retelling of the last 10 minutes. I waited apprehensively, as they discuss my story.
"Annabeth...he might be the one I went to find, he smells familiar."

"Do you think? But who could his parent be?"
This was all too strange, maybe I shouldn't have come here. Why can the boy smell me? I washed in a stream just the night before.
Something told me that I needed to stay however, that I could trust these people. I hang around until they make a decision, awkwardly shuffling in the sand while they plan my fate. They suddenly walk off, heading back over the dune they just appeared from. I stare in shock, they're just leaving me here? My mouth is left agape, until the boy turns around and asks, smiling,
"Well? Are you coming or not?"

Left with little other choice, I hurried to catch up. 'Maybe', I thought, 'this place will last.'

•••••

A/N

I know this is short right now, hopefully chapter lengths will increase as we get into the story a bit more. This is my first piece, so any advice would be helpful, but as stated on my profile I don't care for hate. This is kind of the intro, and will hopefully set up the world fairly well, you'll have to wait for some explanations though.