i.
Drew looked around the cabin. She didn't understand anything. Even that orientation film wasn't much help either. Her hands shook, holding her backpack. Her ringlets were tied up in a ponytail. She pushed through the crowds.
She found a bed, empty, and sat. She examined it. She never had a bed before, since her dad made her sleep on the floor whenever she spoke without permission. She touched her cheek and almost flinched like it was a minute ago.
No. She chided herself. You're safe, he's gone.
She separated from her backpack and opened it. The goat boy told her to pack little. She stared at her pink toothbrush.
"Hey," a hand touched her shoulder. It was nothing but gentle, though Drew still winced. She wasn't used to being touched so carefully. She looked at her back. An older girl with beautiful, ginger hair was looking at her with a frown.
"Are you okay?" The girl asked. She sat on Drew's bed. She didn't complain. She was warned never to.
Drew nodded and started to unpack her things. Avoid eye contact.
"What's your name?"
Drew's head snapped upward. She had never heard those set of words in that order. She gulped. No answer. Nothing.
"It's okay, you can talk to me." She said, smiling. Drew felt like a warm breeze hit her. "I'm Erica, by the way." She held out her hand. Drew recoiled at the gesture. Erica's hand retreated. But she's still smiling.
"I'm Drew."
Barely a whisper.
ii.
Tears. Horror. Nightmares. Pain.
She cried every night. Only Erica would listen. Only she would notice while everyone ignored the screaming. The terrified movements. The salty tears.
"It's fine." She would say, wiping Drew's tears. "You're okay."
Smiles. Whispers. Safety. Hugs.
The only things to stop her from crying. To stop her from screaming. Erica would put her warmest smile on. No noise. Drew would drown in silence.
Erica was holding Drew closely as she strokes her hair. Drew wiped a tear with her sleeve. "I'm afraid." She said with her whispery voice.
Erica looked at her half-sister with her hazel eyes. "Of what?"
"The war. Reality." She stared at Erica's eyes for a long time. "Losing someone you really care about."
"I'm afraid, too. But remember, we have each other. We'll do this together."
Drew smiled and buried her head in Erica's red hair.
iii.
The daughter of Aphrodite's scream was more piercing than the blade. It pointed at her like a finger. She had tears in her eyes as she stared at Erica, trying to ignore the spear impaled through her left chest.
She grabbed a dagger from the fallen and threw it. In sheer luck, it impaled the dracaena in the chink of its armor. It exploded, covering Drew and Erica in monster dust.
Her half-sister fell on her knees before she felt hands on her shoulders. Her blurry eyes scanned Drew and she smiled.
"Don't leave me."
A ring in her ears.
"You're the only one who noticed me."
It was almost inaudible.
"Please don't."
Darkness. Numbness. Silence.
The monsters circled a dead girl and a broken one. Their faces looked cruel. Each monster seemed merciless, but, after what just happened, Drew became merciless too.
"GO AWAY!" She screamed.
Some of the monsters retreated. Some stayed but they looked very hesitant. Drew's face was covered in tears from her closed eyes. "You deserve to go to Tartarus!" She shouted. She squeezed Erica's arm. It was cold. She heard a poof then opened her eyes.
Small hills of dust circled her. The smell of sulfur mixed in the air. Monsters were dead and all Drew did was speak.
iv.
Drew walked over to the lying body of Silena Beaugard in a distance to hear but not to be seen. She didn't know why she was hiding but she did anyway.
"Percy…" Silena croaked.
Drew's lips closed like a perfect line. Silena and she were never close. But Silena did acknowledge her a few days after she arrived at camp.
A ray of thin light almost blinded her but she made fists when she saw the bracelet. The scythe bracelet.
Her teeth clenched as tears pooled in her eyes. She wasn't crying for the counselor. She hated her. She was the reason Erica died! Drew turned and wiped her tears. Silena was never a hero! She never will be!
After the war, when Drew was promoted as head counselor of Cabin 10, she stared at her half-siblings. It was cold and merciless. She smiled with her new found ability. "Things are gonna change around here." She shouted. "And I expect you're going to listen."
vi.
She rushed out of her cabin and got to the beach. She readjusted her curls and looked at the new campers.
One was a Latino elf. Another was a blonde boy who sure looked like an Aphrodite child (Drew hoped not). The last one—
Drew took a shaky breath, she couldn't afford to look weak. Instead, she glared at the girl. The girl who almost reminded her of Silena.
I hope you liked this! I feel like Drew was not a well-developed character so I made a reason.