I recently found out why my life has been one weird occurrence after another. My dad isn't really my dad, my brothers and sister are only half related to me and I seem to shock everyone who touches me. This is how I found out who I really am. This is how I saved my father, my family, and the world. My name is Allan O'Riley, and I'm going to decide the fate of the world, but I just don't know it yet.
"Allan! Get your ass up bud, you're going to miss your bus if you sleep any longer... And for God's sake, spray some air freshener in here, it stinks!" Comes the voice of your older brother.
"Get out of my room... And I've already told you, that's just how I smell, clean or not, I can't change it." I say as I drag myself out of bed so I can get ready for school.
My day seems like it's going to be just as uneventful as the last, with the exception of last Tuesday, that day I had an eagle fly up and land on my outstretched arm while I was talking to my friends. Oddly enough, I was talking about how hard it is to train birds, so my friends were pretty freaked out when a wild bird acted like a trained pet around me. I thought I heard the bird say something when it clicked it's beak, but it quickly dipped it's head and took off again. I tried to explain my encounter with the eagle, but I just couldn't say why it acted like it did.
"Hurry up slow poke, the bus will be here any moment!" I hear my father call from downstairs.
"Coming." I reply.
I quickly grab a pair of jeans and a tee shirt from my favorite punk band, as well as my black leather jacket while I put on my socks before quickly jumping into the bathroom in the hall. I take a look in the mirror and see myself staring right back. My jet black hair looked like I just got hit by a hurricane. I take a good look and see that it looks a bit messy, but it doesn't look bad either. A sort of, messy but unique looking. My eyes are as bright and blue as you could possibly imagine, kinda like the sky, only... More electric like. I quickly brush my teeth and turn out the light, but as soon as I flip the switch, the bulb explodes and sends glass across and into the shower.
"Mom! The bulb broke again!" I call out.
"Again? I guess I'll have to go pick up some more." She calls back.
I head down the stairs three at a time, yet my steps were still very light. My father and mother are sitting drinking coffee and watching tv while my siblings finish their breakfast.
"Do you want some-"
"No time dad, gotta go!" I say as I grab a piece of toast from my older brother's hand and run out the door.
I glance up and down the road and see your bus turning the corner a few blocks down. I know I missed the bus, but I'm not about to skip a school trip, even if it is boring, so I adjust the straps on my backpack and take off running. As I run, I feel like the wind shifts direction and pushes against me from behind to speed me up while I chase after the bus. I see the light turn red ahead of me and cars starting to cross the road, so I do what any normal kid would do and keep running straight through the intersection. When I reach the road, the last car is crossing, so I take a running jump and clear the car completely. I didn't even go over the hood or anything, I went straight over the middle between the doors. I stumble a bit as I land but I quickly regain my balance and keep running. I turn a few corners and soon see the bus ahead of me. I quickly catch up as the bus stops at a red light and knock on the door so the driver can open it and let me on.
"Missed my stop, sorry." I tell the driver as I climb aboard.
I take my seat at the back of the bus next to my friends as the bus starts back up and takes us onwards.
"Damn you're fast! You caught up that quick? Must be those new shoes you got." My friend jokes.
"Or I'm just fast." I reply.
"Or that. So, Toronto, how do you think the trip will go?" He asks.
"It had better be good!" My one girl friend says. "I'm just going to take off and shop if it gets boring."
"I hope we go to the C.N. Tower, I haven't been there since I was little." My other friend says.
I just sit in between my friends as they talk back and forth about what they want to do once we reach Toronto. Me and my best friend are absolutely going to the C.N. Tower and I'm certainly going to do the edge walk around the top of the tower. I can just imagine the view and the feeling of the wind at 1,800 feet in the air. I almost slip into a daydream until the bus quickly stops and my face goes into the seat in front of me. When I sit back up, I hear the driver saying things about a "stupid dog" and how he could have hit it. That's when I look outside and see the dog, and I'm surprised at how the driver didn't hit it. The "dog" was six feet tall and had a face the size of my tv at home. It catches my eye as the bus passes and it starts to growl at me before we turn off the road and on to the highway. I see the "dog" snarl a little more before bounding of down the road and out of sight.
"Did you guys see the size of that dog? It was massive!" I say to my friends."
"Dude, your vision okay? It was tiny, thin that is. It must have been a stray."
"It was taller than I am!" I say back.
"Uh... No. It was small bro, it wouldn't even reach up to my waist." He tells me.
I became perplexed at what I saw and how my friends didn't see what I think I seen. I tell my friends that I need some fresh air, so I head up the rows of seats to where the open windows are behind the driver. I plunk myself down in an empty seat and put my head back as the breeze from the window blows across my face. The wind seemed to clear my mind and allow me to think properly about what I just saw. The thing I saw was as big as a hummer and about as scary as the monsters in a kid's nightmare. It looked into my eyes and it looked angry, like it wanted to attack me. Whatever it was, I didn't like it.
"Hey kid." I hear the driver whisper over his shoulder.
"Hmm?" I reply.
"You saw that hellhound, right?" He asks.
"Uh... The what?" I ask.
"The hellhound. That huge black dog I nearly hit a few minutes ago, come to think of it, I probably should have, it would get rid of it for a while." He tells me.
"Um, yeah, I guess so. Why was it so big? It looked like a monster." I say.
"That's because it is. Now, unless you're just gifted at seeing through The Mist, then you're exactly who I thought you were. I would turn and bow, but I'm kinda driving a bus here." He tells me.
"Turn and- what the hell are you talking about? Monsters and mist? Are you high? I don't want a high bus driver." I reply.
"No no, I'll explain more once we reach the city, so try and keep your head and voice down. There's a reason why you saw what I saw and the others didn't, but I'll tell you more later." He says.
The next hour is spent by me putting the hood on my jacket up and my back against the window before I put my headphones in and listen to some music. Multiple other times during my trip, I glance out the window across from me and see an assortment of odd things. First was the woman in a passing car who had a forked tongue like a snake's, the next was a large figure far off in the passing trees, and lastly, what looked like sea lions in the lake next to the highway, Lake Ontario to be precise. The animals had the bodies of sea lions, but the heads of dogs. They kept staring at me whenever they surfaced, but the driver quickly told me not to look at them.
"Damn monsters are all over the place now... Go back to the pit you cretins." He said at one point.
"Um... Are we safe?" I ask.
"Not in the slightest." He replies.
"So... What do we do?" I ask.
"Well, with you on this bus, they'll be gathering to attack, so we've got to get away at some point... How is the real question though." He says.
"Whoa whoa, wait. They're after me? Why?" I ask.
"Give me a bit of time, then I'll explain. Here, take this and send a text to the first contact saying "Toronto bus terminal, emergency transport needed."" He says as he hands a cell phone over his shoulder to me.
I do as the driver asks and send the message before handing him back his phone. We soon arrive in the city of Toronto and pull into the terminal just as a black car pulls into the parking lot also. I see a man step out in a black suit, hat, and shades. He just stands at the door with his arms crossed as my bus stops nearby. As the driver opens the door, everyone on the bus stands up and starts to leave. I tell my friends that I'm going to stay in there for a bit, and I tell him to text me later. I see the man from the car start to wave at everyone on the bus as they get off, but what I really notice is what looks like a faint haze coming from the man's hand out over the crowd of students and my teacher. As soon as that haze went over them, the seemed to enter a slightly sleepy sort of state, but they soon left without saying another word.
"What just happened?" I ask the driver.
"Good old Argus over there just threw some Mist over your classmates to make them forget you even exist. That way, we can get you to camp without having them interfering and asking questions." He tells me.
"Wait, now they don't know me? And what camp?" I ask.
"Lots of questions, but I'll answer them in the car, now go." He tells me.
The man named Argus just looked at me through his shades before opening the back door of the car to allow me in. He gave a bow as I entered, which I found a little strange, but I just went with it. My bus driver quickly got in the front beside Argus and soon enough we're driving off down the road. I soon realized what I've just done. I just got into the back seat of a dark car with two people I really don't know, and now we're driving off towards some camp that I don't even know the location of.
"Okay, now answer me, I'm starting to get mad." I say forcefully.
"Okay okay, keep it cool. My name is Gerard and I've been tasked with protecting you for years. I bet you've seen me every now and again, but never really thought about it. I had to act a bit mystical back on the bus, but that was only to get your attention and to believe me. I've been able to smell you from 100 miles away, and you smell strong."
"Gee, thanks buddy." I hiss.
"No no, you don't stink, it's just the power you hold, it radiates off... Smells a bit like ozone, even the mortals can smell it." He says.
"Mortals? Aren't we all?" I ask.
"Well, technically yes, but there are some who aren't." He tells me.
"Oh yeah, who do you know who's immortal?" I ask.
"Plenty! Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Ares. You know about the gods right?" He asks.
"But they're just myths!" I reply. "You're not going to tell me that they're real are you?"
"Well... Yeah, they are. And wether you like it or not, you're a demigod. A child of a mortal and an immortal god. Do you know if it's your mother or your father?" He asks.
"Neither! Both my parents are at home or at work by now. I know neither of them are gods though." I reply.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but one of them isn't your real parent. I guess no one will know until you're claimed at camp." He says.
"Claimed? What camp?" I ask again.
"Camp Half-Blood. It's full of kids just like you. Half mortal, half god. You've got the bullying Ares kids, the nerdy Athena kids, that loner kid Nico... His dad is Hades... Yeah, creepy as his dad, that one. We'll train you at camp until your skills start to shine through, then hopefully you'll learn to use those skills until your parent claims you as theirs. Maybe your dad is Apollo, I like him, or maybe your mom is Aphrodite... Nah, you're not attractive enough." He says.
"Oh... My... God..."
"Gods."
"Whatever... Just... Let's get to this camp, where is it?"
"Long Island."
"New York? That's in The States! We'll have to cross the border, and I don't have my passport."
"No worries, Argus is pretty good with The Mist, so much so that we're coming up on the border right now." He tells me.
I look outside and see the scenery racing past the window at the speed a fighter jet would be traveling. I notice that I can still focus on everything outside as clearly as if we weren't moving at all.
"Yup, thanks to The Mist, we went from Toronto to the border in under twenty minutes. Pretty cool, huh?"
I see Argus wave his hand in front of him towards the oncoming border guards who simply step aside and allow us to fly past without even a second glance. Within another half hour, Argus pulls into a stretch of abandoned road before quickly stopping in front of a large hill topped by a magnificent pine tree. I step out of the car as I see a group of five approaching from over the hill. I see three normal looking people, two boys and a girl, as well as what looks like a half goat half human hybrid, as well as a... A centaur.
"Is this more of that mist stuff?" I ask as I rub at my eyes.
"Nope. I see that Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Grover and Chiron are here to welcome you. Better head over and say hi." He tells me.
"Welcome to Camp Half Blood! And who might you be young man?" The centaur asks me.
"Um... My name's Allan O'Riley... And I have no idea what is going on." I admit.
"He's strong, I can fell it." The one boy in all black whispers to the taller boy in a bright orange tee shirt.
"I'm strong? Not really..." I say.
"I whispered... You heard me?" He asks.
"Yeah, you weren't that quiet." I reply.
"He spoke to me, and I barely heard him... You must have good hearing." The older boy says.
"I'm Nico." The boy in black says. "And this is Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Chiron."
"Hello..." I say.
"Let's get you within the borders before we continue. We don't need monsters coming and attacking us while we sit and chat." The centaur Chiron says.
The group leads me over the hill and beyond an old stone archway with the name of the camp etched into the stone. I look down and see a large field with a multitude of small buildings of different sizes and shapes around a large fire pit in the middle. The 12 largest buildings formed a U shape around the fire with the smaller ones beyond them. Off to the side lays a massive forest and a large house just on the outskirts. I see some people in a training area fighting with swords and spears while other try and climb up a rock wall that continuously spewed lava at random locations.
"For the time being, you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin, that one right there. You'll only be there until your godly parent claims you, so don't get too comfortable, that is, unless your godly parent is Hermes." The girl Annabeth says to me.
"How will I know who my real parent is? I've grown up with both my parents my whole life, and now I'm faced with the fact that one of them isn't really my parent." I say.
"Well, first of all, you'll start to show certain traits that correspond with a certain god, like brute force and weapons expertise or skill with a bow, stuff like that. Then at some point or another, your parent's symbol will appear above your head and you'll move into their respective cabin." Grover tells me.
"Yeah, and hopefully your skills shine through soon. Tell me, do you have any special skills as is?" Chiron asks.
"Well... I run really fast." I say at a loss for words.
"Maybe Hermes it is. Anything else?" He asks.
"Not really... I don't know if this is a talent or not here, but if I want to, I can shock people pretty badly. Also, when I get angry or upset, it usually ends up raining... But I think that's just a coincidence, right?" I ask.
"Right, that can't possibly be anything more than coincidence." Nico says in a falsely confident voice.
As we reach the training areas, I lift up a stray sword and give it a few swings. The blade felt so natural in my hand and it went through the air so smoothly. It's almost like I was meant to use a sword.
"You're in luck, we play capture the flag once a month, and it's going to be this weekend, so you'll get to fight and swing that around all you like." Percy tells me.
"So who are your godly parents?" I ask the three demigods in front of me.
"Athena." Says Annabeth.
"Hades. Don't worry, I won't touch you and kill you like a reaper would." Nico says.
"Poseidon." Percy says. "And as it stands, Nico and I are the most powerful demigods in camp, so don't mess with us." Percy says with a wink.
"Pfft, you don't look so tough." I joke back. "I could take you any day."
"Maybe we'll hit the battle grounds later and test that theory." Percy tells me.
"Here's the Hermes cabin." Chiron tells M me. "Go in and make yourself at home. Lunch will be at the sound of the horn, so try not to be late."
I enter the cabin as the others head off towards the big house. I notice a few sleeping kids on bunks around the cabin, which was about as big as a gymnasium on the inside, but about as big as a normal cabin on the outside. Without anything to use to claim my bunk, I decide on one close to the door that receives a nice breeze through the window. A few people come and go and some even stop to introduce themselves and welcome me to camp. I'm starting to feel like this isn't all bad, all this gods and goddesses stuff. If this is true, one of my parents is a powerful immortal being who rules over some aspect of the world. I accidentally shock a few people as they stop to shake my hand, but I brush it off as the static I got from the carpet. After a little while of laying in my bunk, I get up and decide to go wander around outside. The climbing wall looks fun but deadly, the training area is full of big buff soldier looking kids, so that's a nope, and the woods looked quite imposing, so that's out of the picture. I decide to go over to the training area, but I don't get too close because the kids there look pretty mean.
"Yo, new kid, come on over." One of the big guys calls out to me.
Reluctantly, I walk over and stand in front of him as the rest circle around me. Soon I'm surrounded by twenty or so strong teenagers who are all carrying weapons of some kind. I see a strong looking girl work her way to front of the crowd, and when she got there, the rest of the kids backed off a few steps.
"Initiation, new kid. Rights of passage." She says as she levels her spear at my chest.
I see a currently of electricity spark off of the end and notice that this weapon might be enchanted to do so, something I wouldn't even have considered yesterday. I back up a few steps and grab an abandoned sword off a bench near me to defend against this girl who's threatening me with her spear.
"Bad move dude, Clarisse will mess you up." The first guy says.
I take a better stance as the girl Clarisse takes a quick swipe at me with her spear. Acting upon an instinct I never knew I had, I raise my sword and parry her spear head away from me. As my blade makes contact with her spearhead, a shower of sparks and a current of electricity courses through my sword and into my arm. I notice that my arm didn't feel any worse, in fact it actually feels better and stronger.
"Not a big enough shock, eh? Try this on for size." She says with another stronger jab.
I quickly sidestep and deflect her spear away again and feel the electricity jump from her spear into me. I don't know what kind of energy it's using, but it's making me feel stronger and faster. Clarisse takes a few more jabs and swipes until I again act on impulse and knock her spear away until I level my sword at her neck. I hear a collective gasp from the crowd and assume I did some good fighting since the rest of the guys back up from me some more.
"Those shocks should have sent you to the infirmary! How in Hades did you keep fighting? And how did you do so good? You're the new kid, you shouldn't be able to fight so well right away." She tells me.
"You little spear there? It's weak, I didn't feel a damn thing from it." I tell her.
I lower my sword and begin to walk away when I see the guys in front of me quickly getting out of the way. I turn just in time to dodge Clarisse's spearhead before grabbing onto the shaft and feeling the current travel through me again. I give Clarisse a quick kick to gut which sends her backwards into the dirt. I stick her spear into the ground and walk away before anyone else tries to kill me.
I start to think about why Clarisse's spear didn't electrocute me to death. Why did the electricity make me stronger? Which godly parent could bless me with that?... Hephaestus? No, that would be fire...
"Oh my gods... Did I just say "gods?"... Is my parent...? No way... It couldn't be..." I ask myself.
I don't even bother to consider the danger as I enter the forest. Hey, I feel great, plus I have a sword now, what could go wrong? I keep a keen eye on my surroundings as I delve deeper into the forest with my sword in your hand. I see some large masses moving in the distance, but nothing too close that I won't be able to outrun. As I walk, I see a particularly dark part of the forest just up ahead. It looked like the branches of the trees deflected almost all light from reaching the ground, since nothing was growing and it was almost too dark to see. There's a faint glow coming from the sword in my hand, which I thought was extremely weird, but I just held it out to try and illuminate my surroundings. As I come close to a clearing in the darkest part of the woods, I see an altar with dark blue flames glowing in the torches. As I work my way around through the trees, I come to see that there is a person kneeling at the altar presenting what looks like a cut open pomegranate. Then I hear a familiar voice from earlier and recognize it as Nico's. That makes sense because I now remember that Nico's dad was Hades and he was represented by the pomegranate. As I approach I accidentally step on a fallen branch and snap it, making a loud crack in the process. Without thinking, I leap to the side and duck behind a large boulder. I watch as I see Nico walk over to the branch and look around.
"Hello? Who's there?" He asks.
Not wanting to make him think I was spying, I remain silent and hope he just goes back to his altar. That's when I notice where I am. From where Nico stood at the broken branch and the boulder I now hid behind, it must have been about thirty feet. I couldn't have jumped that far in one go, and it only felt like a small lunge to the side. How could I possibly have gone so far so quickly and quietly? Nico took a few more seconds to look around before packing up his things at the altar and heading out into the woods. When I'm sure he's far enough away, I stand up and try my jump again, this time with a little more effort. I take a few steps and launch myself forwards and into a tree, except I didn't hit the truck, I hit a branch ten feet off the ground. I cling to the branch to stop myself from falling before climbing up into the tree.
"Okay... I can jump pretty far...maybe Hermes can do that with his winged sandal things... Only... I don't have winged sandals on..." I say to myself.
"Let's try this again." I say as I stand near the end of the branch.
I steel my nerves and take a jump off the branch, but I stop myself before I can fall and hurt myself, except I'm not on the branch anymore. I take a look down and see that I'm ten feet off the ground with nothing below me to hold me up.
"What the... Am I-" I say before I drop the ground.
I land with a thud as my sword flys out of my hand and into a bush.
"Okay, I'm officially weirded out." I say as I walk over to the bush to retrieve my sword.
"I was just-"
"Flying? Yeah, you were." I hear from behind me.
My sword jumps the last few inches back into my hand as I spin around and find Nico leaning against a tree a few feet away. How did he know where I was?
"I knew someone was here, so I kept shadow walking all over the place until I found you. As I was walking, you jumped right over my head into that tree." He tells me nodding towards the tree I was in.
"Shadow walking?" I ask.
"I almost forgot that you were new here... Children of Hades can use the shadows to move undetected, that's how I like to get around, but it only works in the dark. Brightly lit places hurt my eyes though, so I don't like being in those places as much anyway. So, flying, that's pretty fun I guess. I'm guessing you've already figured out who your godly parent is?" He asks.
"Yeah... It's Zeus... By I have a dad at home, how can Zeus be my father?" I ask.
"My only answer is that your dad back home isn't really your dad, otherwise you wouldn't even be here right now." He tells me.
"Are there any other children of Zeus here at camp?" I ask.
"I only know of two others, one to be technical. Her name is Thalia, but she joined the Hunters of Artemis years ago and has been with them ever since, so she doesn't stay here at camp. Geez, I'm barely even here, I'm usually in the underworld with my father." He tells me.
"And who's the other one?" I ask.
"His name is Jason, he's Thalia's brother, but he's Roman, so he's staying at Camp Jupiter on the other side of the country. Looks like you're the only one who'll be here from now on." He tells me.
"Oh my gods... Damn it, I did it again... I really need to speak with my parents about this." I say to no one in particular.
"No need, Chiron already sent a message with one of our Hermes kids explaining the situation. They know you're safe and they also know why you're here, well your mom always knew, but your step dad didn't. Chiron will explain later, but for now, let's keep working on those flying skills, I want to see you be able to keep yourself up indefinitely." He suggests.
"Wait... If Zeus is my dad... That means that I must be really powerful, right? Doesn't that mean that I'll be a target for those monsters and stuff who'll want me out of the picture?" I ask.
"Well of course you're powerful, maybe even more so than Percy or myself. You'll be hunted by monsters your whole life, the only reason you haven't been killed yet is because your protector has been watching over you and taking care of the monsters whenever they show up. You remember your bus driver? Well he's actually a Satyr. He's been taking care of the monster for as long as you've been alive." He explains.
"Okay... Can you promise me something?" I ask.
"I'll swear on the River Styx that I will keep my promise." He replies.
"What?"
"It's how we say that we're true to our word, because if we swear on the Styx and break the promise, then we die."
"Oh... Well, don't tell anyone who I am until I'm ready, okay? When I'm good and ready, I'll make it known who I am, until then, keep it on the down low." I say.
"Deal." Nico replies.
"Okay then, uh... Where should we start?" I ask.
"Just try and concentrate on lifting yourself in the air. Children of Zeus have control over the winds and the weather, so imagine the air beneath your feet solidifying and lifting you upwards or in whatever direction you'd like." He instructs.
I take a few steps back and look downwards at my feet. I close my eyes and imagine myself rising slowly off the ground, and when I opened my eyes again I see that both my feet and the rest of my body was floating a few inches off the ground. Before I fall again, I concentrate on keeping myself up and in the air. I got overjoyed that my childhood dreams of actually flying are becoming a reality. I tried flying when I was little, but I only managed to jump off my shed and hit the ground pretty hard. I can remember that it took a little bit longer for me to start falling, but I never considered that I was starting to fly at such a young age. I look up at Nico who's staring at me with an impressed look on his face. For someone who looks like a walking skeleton, he sure looked pretty alive. I tried to move forwards by taking a few steps, but soon realized that to be pointless since there was nothing beneath my feet to step on. Then I remembered the way super heroes in movies moved when they were flying, so I lean forward and feel myself start to drift towards Nico.
"You're learning quick! Keep at it, you'll be like Superman in no time." He says.
I decide to take myself higher, so I look up and imaging that I'm rising, and before I knew it I'm up in the highest branches of the trees. Getting accustomed to moving when I'm flying is pretty hard to do, but it seems like second nature to me now that I'm actually doing it. I take myself just above the treeline and look around until I spot the camp in the distance. From where I stood... Floated, I can see the back of the big house and the cabins beyond that. I see people wandering about, going to and from the lake (which you see Percy having some fun in with some other campers) and also the training areas where I can see the same group of Ares kids jostling some other campers when I hear a horn ring out from the dining hall. I see the campers starting to make their way to the dining hall as Nico calls up from below. I lower myself in a classic super hero style but stop myself before I touch the ground, I want to keep flying for as long as possible.
"Come on, let's go get some lunch, then we'll come back and I'll start to train you to fight."
"I can already fight... I think. I knocked some girl named Clarisse flat about an hour ago." I tell him as I start to drift towards the edge if the woods with Nico following at my side.
"Really? Well I'm not surprised, us kids of the Big Three have naturally better skills than the other demigods. Percy took out Clarisse as well when he first got here, and I created an opening to the underworld to swallow some monsters that we chasing us a few years back, plus both Percy and I fought in the battle of New York as well as taking on Gaea, which I kinda helped with. You'll find that your instincts will take over during a fight, maybe with your skills you'll even use the winds to your advantage." He tells me.
"I haven't tried controlling the winds yet... Maybe now?" I ask.
"Nah, save it for later, or even tomorrow. We can have you call in a storm to practice your powers, that way we can train all we want and no one will be any the wiser." He says.
I finally stop my levitation act when we reach the edge of the woods. I touch down and follow Nico to the dining hall while he explains what you're to do at meals.
"You'll have to sit with the Hermes cabin until Zeus publicly claims you as his child, then you'll get your own table. Everyone walks past the fire and puts the best piece of food the have into the fire as an offering to the gods. In your case, I'd send a silent prayer to Zeus thanking him for your powers and hoping that he'll claim you soon. Then we just sit down and have our meals before going back to whatever we were doing." He explains to me.
I climb the few steps into the dining hall and join the line behind the other campers. I take a plate and start loading it full of baked potato, two steaks and some corn on the cob. As I pass the fire, I use my fork to lift the larger of the two steaks and toss it into the fire.
"To the gods." I say out loud and silently I say "and to Zeus, thank you... Father. If I could ask a favor, please claim me when I'm at my best around the other campers, I want them to see me in my best light. Thanks again father."
I leave and join the largest table in the room which Nico tells me is the Hermes table. Nico leaves and goes to sit at his own table, the smallest one in the room, only able to seat up to four people, but it didn't seam like he had anyone else in his cabin with him. A few of the people from the Hermes cabin earlier recognize me and start chatting, asking how my first day was going.
"Well, I got up this morning thinking I was only going to Toronto for a field trip, but now I'm in a camp full of demigod children I didn't know I was a part of." I tell them.
"Toronto? You Canadian?" One asks.
"Yup."
"Oh, cool, there's not many Canadians at camp, we're mainly all from the States. How'd you get here?" Another asks.
"Uh, I got to Toronto by bus with the rest of my class, but I immediately left with a guy named Argus and my bus driver who is apparently a satyr to come here. I've just been roaming around since." I lie a little at the end.
"I notice you had a sword earlier, where's you get it?" A girl asks.
I left my sword just outside the dining hall since I don't think it would be too nice to bring it inside with me.
"Oh, I got it off a bench over in the training area. I had to fight off some girl named Clarisse. She kept trying to run me through with her spear, so I side stepped, grabbed her spear and kicked her to the dirt before taking off."
"Wow... Didn't you get shocked from her spear?" The girl asks.
"Nope, I didn't grab the blade obviously." I tell her to try and hide the fact that I did actually get electrocuted, I'm just immune to it.
"How in Hades did you beat Clarisse? She's one of the best warriors we've got!" Another tells me.
"She wasn't so tough, you could probably take her on and win." I tell them.
"I have! She broke my shield with a single swipe from her spear, the electricity made my arm numb for a week! You must be a naturally good fighter then, maybe you're an Ares kid. If you are, it'll stop Clarisse from picking on you in the future." They say.
"Maybe I am..." I say as I continue to eat.
I quickly finish my plate as some of the other campers finish theirs and start to head back out into the camp grounds. I meet back up with Nico after I retrieve my sword and follow him back into the woods when no one is watching. I take to flying again as Nico leads me to a nice big clearing deep in the forest.
"Let's work on your sword play. If you're going to help your team win capture the flag this weekend, you'll need to be quick on your feet and swift with your sword." He tells me before turning and pointing to the ground.
Exactly where Nico points, a small fissure opens in the earth and several zombie like creatures crawl out in full Greek style weapons and armor. They just stand there while I freak out and Nico explains his training game plan.
"I'll keep summoning enemies and you're going to keep fighting. The enemies will keep getting harder and harder until you can't overwhelm them, at which point I'll clear them out and we'll head back to camp, you ready?" He asks.
"No." I reply truthfully.
"Good. Attack!" He says to the zombies.
As soon as Nico gave the order, the zombie warriors started advancing towards me. I raise your sword to defend yourself as the first soldier raises his to attack. I jump away from his swipe and hit him over the head with the pommel of my sword, causing him to fall down.
"Don't just injure your opponent, kill them! You need to kill the monsters who attack you, otherwise they'll kill you! Just make sure you don't kill any campers during capture the flag, we might just have to kick you out if you do." He calls over to me.
I raise my sword and bring it down on the zombie's neck, taking it clean off in a single swipe. As soon as his head fell off, his whole body, sword, armor and all disintegrated into a dull yellow poof of powder that quickly got blown away in the wind. I deflect the next attack and swipe my sword across the chest of the next causing him to disintegrate also. As quickly as I kill them, Nico keeps summoning them. The warriors keep getting better and better like Nico said. Soon the enemies were able to anticipate my attacks and deflect them also. I had to amp up my attacks to compensate for their improved tactics.
"Don't just rely on skill with your sword, use your powers to your advantage." Nico tells me.
I take aim at the next warrior and with a swipe through the air with my hand, the warrior gets sent flying backwards into a tree.
"Well done! You're really getting the hand of those wind powers. Try using your flying to your advantage." He says.
I take to the sky and start dive bombing the warriors until there's none left. The last one I actually run straight through with my sword before lifting him into the air with strength I didn't know I had. I used the winds to throw him into the air where he landed and exploded into a cloud of yellow powder on the far side of the clearing.
"Yeah!" I yell as a bolt of electricity shoots from the end of my sword and leaves a scorch mark on the ground.
"Let's practice the electricity tomorrow, okay? Then we'll focus on your flying. You're getting the hang of it, but we should make you a master by the weekend. Capture the flag might even be interesting with you in play." He tells me.
"Dude, this is so freaking cool! I feel like I could take on an army!" I tell him.
"Be that as it may, we don't need you to get cocky and expose your powers prematurely. Just save your big show for whenever you like, I kinda want to see how you do it." He says.
"I have an idea, but I'll have to think about it some more. If all goes well, I'll be able to pull off something major this weekend." I tell him.
"Well, whatever it is, try not to fry anyone with your electricity. Other than that, have at it." He says.
I thank Nico for the lesson and tell him that I'm going to take a few laps around the forest to get more used to flying. He reminds me not to get seen before turning and disappearing into the shadows. After he leaves, I take to the air and start off going away from the camp. I take a Superman stance and notice that it does actually help make the flying easier. I gain some speed from who knows how, I just will myself to speed up and I do. I'm soon going so fast that I'd easily outrun a sports car. I take myself a bit higher then allow myself to start to fall. I start flying again before I hit the tree tops and take off yet again. I keep looping around and around until flying becomes as easy as walking on my own two feet. Being in the air feels even more natural than being on the ground. The feeling of the wind on my face makes my mind as clear as the sky above my head. This is my domain, I have control here. My power over the sky is unrivaled by all but three others.
I look to the sky and raise my hands. I imagine some clouds starting to form and that's exactly what happens. I make them inconspicuous though, since the day had been super clear up until now, so I only make a few here and there. Then with all the speed I can muster, I rocket into the sky until I'm level with the clouds. Not knowing what to expect, I 'land' on one of the clouds. Surprisingly enough, I find that I can stand on the cloud and not fall through. I decide to sit and peer over the edge at the camp far below. I can barely see anything from as high up as I am, but I can make out the shapes of the cabins and the other notable landmarks of the camp. I stay up on my cloud sun bathing and relaxing until the sky starts to darken, which means it's pretty late, since the sun sets later the higher up you go. I look over the edge of my cloud and see long shadows across the forest and across the camp. I can see that someone has already tended to the campfire, since it's shining bright below me. I get up and stretch before taking a flying leap right over the edge of the cloud. I let myself plummet knowing that I have complete safety in the air. No one can see me because of the dark, so I fly myself over the forest until I'm at the edge of the camp. I quickly land and waltz out of the trees as some campers pass me by.
"That forest is dangerous new kid, be careful if you're going in there." The one person tells me.
"I brought a sword, don't worry." I tell them as I show them the sword in my hand.
"Okay then, we just don't want to have to come in after you because some hellhound made you their chew toy." They say before walking away.
I make my way to the dining hall and sit with the Hermes cabin again while I eat dinner before heading back to the cabin for some rest. I prop my sword against my bunk and climb into bed. Someone had come by and left some pajamas on the bunk, so I changed into those and quickly fall asleep.
The next two days are spent off and on from the woods with Nico to the lake, to the climbing wall and regularly in the dining hall. I even took my new skills to the arena to test against some other campers. I bested a few of them but I let some others win so I don't look too suspicious. My lessons with Nico only improved when I started using the winds and some electricity to defeat more opponents. Nico even stepped in and fought me one on one at one point to test how I've progressed. Me and him sparred for hours practicing my skills. Nico was only barely able to keep up with the speed of my attacks (thanks to the winds for helping me move faster) so that at one point I clashed swords and sent a shock through his arm making him drop his sword to which I leveled mine at his face. He congratulated me again as us two made our way back to the camp after a long day of training.
"We'll get you some better weapons and armor after capture the flag. Once everyone knows who you are, you'll be sure to get a few... gifts, like magical weapons and whatnot." Nico tells me.
"How will they be magical?" I ask.
"They'll transform from one thing into another. Take Percy for example, he has this pen that when he uncaps it it turns into his sword. His cyclops brother also made him a shield that transforms into a watch that he wears at all times. Stuff like that." He explains.
"Awesome... I like those ideas... Maybe I'll think of some for myself. Like, if I zip up my jacket, it turns into my armor." I tell him.
"That... Is actually a good idea..." He admits.
"Also, how do they transform? Surely it's not mechanical." I ask.
"Oh no, the smiths in the Hephaestus cabin are pretty good with The Mist. The mist is what hides the mystical from the ordinary, that's how a pen is actually a sword. If you were to start flying around a mortal, they'd probably think you had a jet pack on or something." He tells me. "Come to think of it, your powers should give you a very strong control over The Mist. Here, imagine that my sword is say, a cellphone. Imagine that really hard."
I watch as Nico pulls out his Stygian iron sword and holds it in front of me. I picture in my mind that he's just holding his cellphone, then I wave my hand and see that familiar haze come from my hand and envelope the sword. I see its shape start to waver, as if it were a hologram until all that was left in Nico's hand was a black flip phone. Certainly impressed with myself, I wave my hand again and disperse The Mist until Nico held his black sword once again.
"I should try and remember that, it'll help if I come into contact with mortals." I tell him.
"Usually you won't have to use The Mist, since the smiths put some pretty heavy layers on as they're forging weapons and armor out of an already magical substance called Celestial Bronze. That's what your current sword is made of, that's why it glows a bit in the dark." He explains.
"So that's why it cuts so smooth." I tell him. "It's a magical metal."
"Yup, you shouldn't worry about celestial bronze ever breaking or dulling much, since the magic in it makes it pretty hard to destroy once it's forged. Stygian iron on the other hand, well, let's just say it's made from the river Styx itself. One stab and a monster, or person's essence is literally ripped from their body... It's pretty fun to watch." He tells me.
"It doesn't sound fun." I say.
"It is for a child of the underworld. I'm more powerful around death, so I like it when stuff dies." He says.
"Anyway, when will capture the flag be tomorrow, I want to practice a bit more." I ask.
"It'll be later in the evening this time. I guess I get a bit of an unfair advantage though, so don't tell anyone." He says.
"Maybe I'll call in a storm, that way I get a power boost also."
"And Percy too, water makes him stronger." He tells me.
"Oh yeah... Well, I'll make sure I'm on a team that has at least one of you on it." I say.
"Anyway, see you tomorrow, I'm so tired I could drop dead at any minute." He tells me.
"Unfair, that would probably make you stronger than ever." I say.
"Ha, you might be right, but I don't really want to die today, so I'll see you tomorrow, maybe in battle, maybe as allies. Later." He says as he once again disappears into the shadows.
I take a short walk around the cabins until I stop in front of cabin one, Zeus's cabin. The walls and columns were made of pure white stone that shone even in the dark. I can see high ceilings and hammocks hanging from the ceiling when I look in through one of the windows.
"Don't get your hopes up, that one's almost always vacant." I hear from behind me.
I turn and see Percy standing behind me with Annabeth beside him.
"I just thought it looked nice..." I mumble.
"Oh it does, Thalia let me in one time, it's even nicer than my cabin, but I still prefer mine, perfect view of the lake." He says.
"Don't you get tired of lugging that sword around all day?" Annabeth asks.
"No, not really. I may not look like it, but I'm pretty strong." I tell her.
"Maybe, but with some brains you would have thought of getting a sheath." She replies.
"Calm down Annabeth, the kid's new here, he's still getting used to the fact that he's a demigod, right kid?" He asks.
"Yeah, and my name is Allan." I tell them.
"Well, Allan, we're playing capture the flag tomorrow, so you'd probably get some rest. Any idea who's team you want to be on?" He asks.
"Hopefully the one that has a child of the Big Three on it." I say even though I know that whatever side I choose to enter will obviously have a child of the Big Three on it.
"Well, power isn't everything, you need to balance power with strategy." Annabeth tells me.
"And I have a strategy. Go in, get the flag, get out." I reply.
"If only it were that easy. Well, goodnight Allan." Percy tells me before giving Annabeth a quick kiss and going into the cabin to the immediate right of Zeus's. I watch as Annabeth crosses the field and enters an intricately constructed cabin on the far side. Campers from all over the place start to file into their cabins to get a good nights rest before duking it out tomorrow for capture the flag. I walk over to the Hermes cabin with an extravagant idea brewing in my mind. What if the only children of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades were able to hold off the entire rest of the camp and still come out victorious? Maybe that's how I'll show everyone who I am. I'd come in with a bang... Yeah... That'll be fun... That'll be fun...