Prologue to the Son of Neptune (Link:Son of Zeus)

Prologue
Percy Jackson awoke in a ruined mansion in the middle of the woods. He sat up clutching his head; he really did have a wicked headache. He looked around him, realizing he had no idea where he was. In fact, he had no idea who he was himself. Suddenly he heard a low, angry, yet very remotely friendly growl from behind him, like a pleased dog. The sound made him jump instinctively to his feet, ready to confront this un-seen animal.

Uh-oh, thought Percy. The last thing he needed with no memory was a big dog to take care of.

“Welcome Percy Jackson. I have been expecting you,” echoed a feminine voice from the same spot of the growl. Percy slid a ballpoint pen from his pocket and uncapped it out of an impulsive instinct, and the pen grew into a three foot long bronze sword. He spun it around in his hand like he had done it many times before and wheeled around, ready for battle, but he found himself face to face with a larger than life she-wolf. She was seven feet tall at the very least, and she had chocolate-red fur and misty silver eyes.

“Who are you?” asked Percy, and the she-wolf grinned, if that’s what she was trying to do, because wolves really can’t smile to save their lives. It came out more like a snarl.

“I am Lupa, the immortal guardian of Rome. You would do well to follow my guidance,” she said, and Percy could tell she was somebody you did not want to mess with.

“Where am I?” Percy asked, and the wolf who called herself Lupa sneered so fiercely it gave Percy the feeling that he really shouldn’t be here at this burned down house.

“This is our sacred place. Where my pups begin their journey. Where I determine if they are strong enough to train or too weak so that they must be... disposed of,” the way she spoke about the place being hers, it really made Percy think again ‘Uh-oh’.

“Do you know who I am?” asked Percy.

“You should ask fewer questions. Instead, put that energy towards honing your skills. And yes, I do know who you are, Percy Jackson, son of the sea god,” Lupa growled. Percy’s mind raced, like it jogged a faint and familiar memory. Son of the sea god? That sounded pretty accurate, now that she mentioned it.

“What do you mean son of the sea god?” Percy asked cautiously, just to confirm suspicions, or to spark more of a memory.

“Follow my teachings, and you will understand. You must to sharpen your senses and perfect your skills and you will find your way to your new comrades, or your new enemies,” the she-wolf taunted. Even though Lupa thought she was explaining herself, all she was doing was making Percy’s brain hurt. He kept trying to remember something, anything, but his memories just kept slipping away. He was really staring to get rather aggravated, a combination of his lost memory and how vague Lupa was being.

“Why should I trust you? I’ve only just met you, and you won’t tell me anything. Plus you’re some supernatural larger-than-life wolf. For all I know, this could just be a dream,” he snarled, and the wolf snarled back, which made Percy take a cautious step back and raise his sword higher in a self defence stance.

“You should trust me because I currently hold your life in my paws. If you do not cooperate, I will eat you just like I do with every demigod who comes here and is not worthy to join the legion. Right here, I decide whether you go on to Camp Jupiter and save the world from the waking enemy, or tear you to shreds right now,” she growled, but then she did her funky grin/snarl thing. “I also hold the key to your past.”

“You mean you can tell me where I come from, what this means?” He tugged at a leather necklace around his neck that had four strange clay beads with different designs painted on them strung on it, and his orange t-shirt that may have had writing or symbols on it at one point, but it was faded away so it couldn’t be discerned. Percy felt an unnatural connection to these items, but he wasn’t sure why. This whole ‘no memory’ thing was really starting to annoy Percy.

She snarled with disgust at the sight of the necklace and shirt. “Yes, I know where you come from, and I know who you are. Juno told me everything, just to make sure I wouldn’t eat you for who you are. I can show you how to follow your instincts to lead you to your destination. Now you will choose to cooperate with me, or you will choose to be killed. The choice is yours, son of Neptune.”