NOTE:

This fan-fiction is dedicated to all those ancient scholars who documented Greek Myths and to Rick Riordan for his refreshing take on them. And to the Muses, I suppose.

CHAPTER 1

"So, are you free this evening?" he asked, for the nth time. Doesn't he ever get tired of it?

"No."

"This night?"

"No."

"What? You spend it alone?"

"Bad joke."

"Oh come on, say yes, damn you!"

I continued walking.

"I need help with my English grammar," he said.

"Isn't Heather an expert on that?" I quizzed.

"Oh, Heather is just for fun you know,"

"Hmm," I noted. "You better tell Heather that."

"I know, she takes this relationship way too seriously. Not like you."

I choked. "We've never had a relationship."

"And whose fault is that?" he shot back.

"How many times should I say 'No, I'm not interested'?"

"And how many times should I say 'You'll never know until you give Brad Rain a chance'?"

We both turned round and breathed hard in each other's faces. There was something lurking in his eyes, a strange, fierce expression; that made my tummy do back-flips and made me want to run as fast as possible.

"You take me for granted, you know," he said solemnly. "You think I'm going to be here forever, running behind you all the time. . ."

"You've been doing it since middle school," I interrupted smugly. "Your father even got conveniently transferred so that you could continue to chase me."

"But one day, one day, I shall be gone and you will be all alone in this world," he finished dramatically.

I stared defiantly back at him but then, I realized he was not far from the truth. He was the closest thing I had to a friend. Apart from this annoying scene every evening, he's helped me loads of times. He was the only person who knew me as someone other than the-girl-who-kicks-hard-at-your-arse.

Something prompted me to do that crazy thing I normally would never have done. And I'm glad I did it.

I hugged him and said, "Robert, you are my best friend in this world."

And as he stared dumbfounded at me, I went into my house.

I reclined on the sofa in my room, with a glass of cold coffee, when Mom prodded my outstretched leg.

"Pack your belongings."

"What?"

"You...we must leave."

"Where? Mom I have an exam tomorrow!"

"Never mind. Do as I say."

Mom. She expects discipline in the most absurd ways. She doesn't mind me picking up fights with rouges on the street. Neither is she bothered by the fact that she has to keep changing schools because I land into . . . something. She does not mind my average grades in science and math. She doesn't mind boyfriends either, but I don't have one. I've never had one. Now don't count Robert.

Anyway, she gives me absolute freedom over all these things. Under a condition. I obey her whenever she wishes without questions. However strange her requests are. Like now.

I'm pretty fast at packing and this is not the first time this has happened. My favorite black jeans, three tops to go with it, a comb, toothbrush, pajamas and my favorite book. Over. Slinging my backpack, I walked out of my room. And froze.

"Hello, little one," drawled a menacing baritone. "Looks like you're ready to come with us."

It was a broad-shouldered guy who spoke. The one who was choking my Mom with a sword at her throat. The others, ten in number, were equally menacing; with scars, rippling muscles and blotted skin. I wasn't very surprised or intimidated. This was a lonely part of the country, and burglars always took advantage of a single mother, especially a very pretty red-haired single mother. One of those occasions I was glad I wasn't beautiful. I had faced more scary-looking guys, but these ones made me shudder. There was something about them, a rancid smell and and an alarming feeling that made my hair stand on end.

"O.K. Let's talk it over quietly." I said. "There are two thousand dollars in cash with us. If you let us go, we'll give it to you."

The one holding Mom looked offended. "Do I look like a common burglar to you?"

One among his men shook his head gleefully. "Big mistake, baby."

"I am NOT A BURGLAR!" he roared, shaking my mom like a rag doll. "I am MENOETIUS, the Titan Lord of oww!" he yelped.

"Yes, you insufferable idiot, say everything!" said one of his men, squashing his leg with his spiked sneakers. "Does secrecy mean anything to you?"

"I had a punch-line coming you know? Just like you to spoil it!"

"If you remember, Coeus told us to come as fast as possible. NOT TO WASTE TIME OVER PUNCH-LINES! And he also said that if you mess this up. . ."

"Thrown to Tartarus, don't remind me!" he said, turning two shades pale.

"Well," I butted in. "What do you want?"

"Your mother," he said, relinquishing his hold on her. "And you."

"What for?"

"Don't ask too many questions, girl," growled a man nearby, swinging his hand like a baton over my head. I ducked and kicked his groin. Removing the sword at his belt, I rushed at Menoetius.

Mom had already knocked him out. She pulled me away outside. The men now were roaring their throats out. Gulp. They weren't even men now. They had grown way taller, their left hands were broad and flat, like a shield and their right hands were sharp and long like swords.

"Get in!" she said, pushing me into our car.

I fastened my seat belt for the first time and thanked the Gods that our house was on the outskirts of town. Mom hit the accelerator. Immediately, our house caved in, taking out five of them (but that doesn't even make any sense how?). She left to the road with a will.

Menoetius was the first in the chase and due to his stride, covered the distance in a very short time.

"Mom, he's getting close!" I yelled, turning to the front. "MOM!"

She was driving straight at the large Redwood tree in the street. The trunk was at least four feet wide. Let alone escaping from these monsters; our car would be smashed to bits if we ram at this tree.

"Mom, are you out of your mind?"

"Stop yelling Zhalia, I know what I'm doing!"

Just before she hit the tree, she spun the steering wheel wildly. The tree itself seemed to bend to avoid the collision. After a few tense minutes, the tree was out of sight. I relaxed.

But no such luck for Menoetius. His face hit the tree with such force that we could hear the bones in his nose break. "Oooh, nose-cut!" I said with relish.

The one with the spiked sneakers was giving chase now, with four of the remaining monsters. Mom drove like mad; at one instance, the situation in front scared me more than the monsters at the back. Eventually, we shook them all away and mom hit the break. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. It was a highway, with dense dark woods on both sides. Rather intimidating.

"So; we gave them the slip!"I said joyfully.

"Yes and no."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Is this why you told me to get ready?"

"Sort of," she said thoughtfully.

"Mom, they are way different from the ones who chased us two years back."

She nodded. "More vicious."

"Did I see right or did they seem like monsters?"

"They are monsters. Did you notice how they look?"

"Like...like Gigantes or Curetes."

"The Titan Lord's personal army. You learnt your Greek Mythology well."

"You didn't leave me till then." I grinned.

"Are they led by Menoetius?"

"Yes, as he so helpfully announced."

"Do you have a plan to escape him?"

"Yes. You're going to Camp half-blood."

It took me a while to process it.

"But I'm not a half-blood!"

"No you're not," she agreed. "But you're still going. I asked Locke to come here at four. He should be here by now."

"But mom, the name screams 'Demigods only!'. How can I go there?"

"Did you gain anything by objecting to my crazy ideas except unnecessary tension?"

"No," I agreed.

"So relax. Ah, he's here."

I looked in the direction she was pointing. A satyr was approaching us, unashamedly showing off his goat-legs in knee-length pants and waving cheerily with his reed pipe.

"That's Locke?" She nodded.

"He's not even human!"

"So what? Go. He will take you to Camp."

"What about you?" I felt a sudden chill. "I can't leave you in this mess!"

"I . . . ." She never got to complete her sentence. A rock, the size of my fist, smashed the glass, landed on the leather back seat and began billowing green smoke. I saw the grin of the still far-off Gigantes as he gloated over his aim.

"Out!" she yelled, throwing open the door and kicking me out. Sand filled my mouth opened in protest. I ran decisively towards her, but the vines of a tree deep in the woods caught my legs and pulled me inside ferociously. I struggled in vain to reach her as I saw my mom wave goodbye. When the Gigantes was near the car, it burst into flames as the Greek fire devoured the monster . . . and mom.

Author's note:

MENOETIUS (Menoitios): The Titan god of violent anger and rash action as his name would suggest. Zeus blasted him into Erebus with a thunderbolt, where he became a bondsman of King Hades.

COEUS (Koios): The Titan god of the intellect. He was also known as Polus (the pole) and probably presided over the axis of heaven in the north around which the constellations revolve. Coeus was one of the four Titan-brothers who conspired with Kronos in the ambush and castration of Uranus. At the end of the Titan-War, he was confined by Zeus in the Tartarean pit. Coeus was sometimes described as leader of the Gigantes, who rebelled against Zeus.

GIGANTES: The War of the Giants and its combatants the Gigantes were frequently confounded by the ancients with the Titans and the Titan War. The Gigantes were represented as soldiers in the army of the Titan-gods, or as rebellious supporters of the deposed Titan Kronos.