I Arrive At Camp Half-Blood

A man slashed at me with his sword. I dodged and stuck out my foot, making him trip and fall. Three more men charged me. I flipped over one and side kicked another one in the head, knocking him unconscious. The remaining two ran at me. I ducked under both their slashes and punched them both in the gut, before knife handing their necks. "My lord, your mother awaits you in her chamber." I nodded my thanks and stopped the training. I walked through the corridors of valuable rock and made my way to my mother's chambers before walking in. I found my mother sitting at her elaborate desk made of ebony and African black wood.

"Mother, you summoned me?" I asked, curiously.

"Yes, my little destroyer," she replied, "The plan needs to initiate now. You remember the plan, don't you?"

I nodded, "Of course, Mother." You only had me go over three times a day for the past five years.

"Good," said Mother, "Leave as soon as you pack your stuff."

"Yes, Mother. May I go pack now?"

"Yes. Go pack. Bill will take you." Bill was the chauffer that Mother hired.

I nodded and left. I went to my room and looked at it. I would miss this place. I grabbed a backpack out of my closet. I grabbed my favorite clothes and my favorite books and threw them into my backpack. I swung my backpack onto my back. Then, I put my leather gauntlet on my left arm. Mother enchanted it to turn into a shield when I tapped it. After that, I made sure my necklace still hung on my neck before I walked out of my room. Then I remembered something. I ran back in my room and grabbed the package of ambrosia and the bottle of nectar I kept on my shelf. Finally, with a last look at my room, I walked out.

I found Bill at the car. I nodded hello to him, put my backpack into the back seat, and hopped into the passenger seat of the dark green, convertible Mustang GT. "To Camp Half-Blood," I announced. He nodded and drove off to Camp Half-Blood. A couple things about Bill: he is a son of Hermes, so he knows Camp Half-Blood is in New York and he drives very aggressively, so when he drives, I grin as it sends a thrill up my spine. We got close to Camp Half-Blood when I heard a weird noise. Something like a burp, sneeze, and the sound cows make all rolled up into one. I knew that sound anywhere, The Minotaur. "Bill, stop the car." Bill nodded, understanding, and pulled over. I got out of the car and saw the Minotaur. It came charging at me, arms spread wide, like it was trying to make itself bigger than its already eight foot tall frame. I spread my arms; expecting what would come next. The Minotaur gave me a big hug. I scratched it between its horns, "Nice to see you, too, buddy!" I laughed, "I have some apples." I reached into the trunk and threw five apples to him. "There you go." The Minotaur gobbled them up and walked away. I waved and got back into the car. "I'm ready to go now, Bill." Bill nodded and drove me the rest of the way. I got out of the car, "Thanks, Bill." I handed him three twenties. "There's your tip." He nodded and drove off. I conjured up a Nemean Lion statue made of rock and had it charge me. I pretended to slam my shield into its mouth and kill it before falling unconscious. I waited on the ground, pretending to be unconscious. I felt two pairs of arms grab my arms and drag me into the camp. I heard whispers from the other campers, such as, "Did you see that? He killed the Nemean Lion!" I smirked inwardly. After the two campers picked me up and put me into a bed, I pretended to become conscious again. "Wh-wh-where am I?" I asked.

A blonde girl with stormy grey eyes replied, "Camp Half-Blood."

"So I made it?" I asked.

The girl looked at me in surprise, "You knew to come here?"

"My mother told me about it, she said it could protect demi-gods like me," I responded.

"Actually, unless you lived on Olympus, only Camp Half-Blood can protect you," the girl corrected me.

If only you knew how wrong you are. "What's your name?" I asked.

"I am Annabeth Chase," the girl replied, "What's yours?"

"I am Noxtos Stone," I replied.

"Why Noxtos?" Annabeth asked curiously.

My mind raced, trying to figure out an explanation, "Well, my mother likes dark things, like the night. Also, because my father doesn't pay attention to us, my mother said I had to the protect the family. When she named me, she combined the Greek words for night and guardian to form the name Noxtos."

"Interesting," said Annabeth, "So your dad is an Olympian?"

"Nope," I replied.

"Oh, so your mom raised you. Which Olympian is she?" Annabeth asked.

"She isn't an Olympian," I replied. I felt, right then, that Annabeth just lost a ton of respect for me.

"So, she is a minor goddess?" she asked, disdainfully.

"I guess," I said, outwardly calm. On the inside, I was boiling over. How dare Annabeth assume that my mother is a minor goddess? My mother is a primordial goddess, more powerful than all the Giants, Titans, and Olympians combined. Then a voice sounded in my head, Hush, my son. The arrogant daughter of Athena doesn't know of me. I replied, Ok, Mom, I'll calm down. She answered, Good. Then I felt her presence leave my mind.

Annabeth said, "I guess you will be claimed at the camp fire tonight, if at all. It is rare for demi-gods to be claimed, only the best of us are claimed. It is even more rare for children of minor goddesses to be claimed." She walked off.

I stood up and saw a centaur, who I assumed was Chiron, trot up to me. "Hello, young hero. What is your name?"

"Noxtos Stone," I replied.

The centaur nodded, "Hello, Noxtos. I am Chiron and I am in charge of training the heroes here."

"Hello, Chiron," I replied, "Where do I put my stuff?"

"For now you will live in Hermes cabin, until you are claimed, if you are claimed," Chiron replied.

I nodded, thinking, Sheesh. They really know how to raise a demi-god's hopes. I followed him to Hermes Cabin.

"Before we go in, I will warn you that you should keep your most treasured stuff on you or in your hands," Chiron warned.

I nodded and made sure my dog tag and leather cuff were on. Then, I walked in. No one was there. Probably training somewhere, I thought.

Chiron stated, "Currently, the Hermes Cabin is busy training. Would you like to get set up?"

I nodded. Chiron then said, "After you are set up here, come see me at the Big House."

I nodded again. Chiron left and I started getting my stuff out. I found a camouflage sleeping bag and put all my clothes in it. I took out my book and placed it in the sleeping bag. Then, I looked around to make sure no one was looking and made the earth surround the sleeping bag. The earth surrounded it and sunk back into the ground with no trace that the sleeping bag was ever there. I took my ambrosia and nectar, mashed it all up, and placed it into my backpack. Then I put the backpack on the counselor's bed and put a note on it that read: Dear Luke, I adore you so much. Love, a secret admirer. P.S. The backpack is for you. I did not really know who this Luke person was, but I assumed that it was the counselor's name because it was on his bed. I also knew that the Hermes cabin would accept me immediately for pulling a prank so quickly. Bill had once told me, "The faster you prank someone in Hermes cabin, the more respect you will gain." Once I was done there, I walked over to the Big House.

I entered the Big House and the first thing that caught my eye was a stuffed leopard head that turned. It was clearly alive. That's interesting, I thought. The next thing that caught my eye was the fact that Chiron was in a wheel chair now. I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Chiron, how do you fit?"

"It is magical, Noxtos," Chiron replied, "Also, the leopard is named Seymour. Mr. D had pity on him and brought him back to life."

"Mr. D?" I asked, knowing who Mr. D was.

"The god of wine and madness," answered Chiron.

"What is he doing here?" I asked, again, knowing why he was here.

"He is on probation for chasing a nymph that Zeus declared off limits," answered Chiron, "As a result, he is here for the next one hundred years and can't summon himself any alcohol."

"Interesting," I said, "Why did you ask me to come here?"

"I show an orientation video to every new demi-god who comes," said Chiron, "Come with me to the theater and I'll show it to you."

I nodded and followed him into the theater. I sat down in one of chairs. Chiron pressed play and the orientation video started. It began with the words Camp Half-Blood scrawled across the screen in Greek. After that, a deep voice spoke. It said this, "Since the dawn of the Ancient Greeks, Camp Half-Blood has existed. It has travelled with the Olympian council." As it spoke, a video of Camp Half-Blood changing throughout the years played. "You, young demi-god, are a child of one of the Greek gods. As such, you will fight dangerous monsters, cruel people, and your fatal flaws. Learn your fatal flaw quickly or it will truly prove fatal." Then the video ended and Chiron led me out of the theater. "Do you want to go see the Hermes cabin, now?" Chiron asked.

I nodded, "Sure."

Chiron took me to the arena, "Luke! A new demi-god as arrived."

The teenager, who I assumed was Luke, asked, "Regular or undetermined?"

Chiron responded, "Undetermined."

The Hermes cabin groaned, "Not again."

Luke took me by the arm, as Chiron left. "Let's see how good you are at fighting."

I nodded and tapped my gauntlet. My camouflage circular shield with a black serpent on it appeared on my arm. Luke unsheathed his sword. Luke looked at me confused, "Do you have an actual weapon?"

"No, but I used my shield the most when I trained with my mom," I answered.

"Is your mom a demi-god?" Luke asked, even more confused.

"No," I responded.

"So she must've been a minor goddess," Luke said confidently.

"I guess," I said.

Luke charged me with his sword. I brought my shield up and stopped the blade. Luke stepped back, "You have quick reflexes." I only shrugged. Luke slashed at me. I ducked and hit him in the stomach with my shield. He let out a gasp of pain. Then, I swept his feet out from under him and punched him in the nose, making it bleed. "Do you want to continue, Luke?" I asked, innocently.

"No," he gasped out, painfully.

"Then I win?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered, still in pain.

I nodded and walked back to where the rest of the kids from Hermes cabin stood. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"No one has ever beaten Luke before," one of the boys said.

"Well, I guess I was just lucky," I said. I tapped my shield and it turned back into my leather gauntlet. I walked back to where Luke was. "Want help to get to the infirmary?" I asked.

Luke nodded. I helped him stand up and supported him as we walked to the infirmary. On the way there, I heard kids whispering. Apparently, word had already gotten out that a new kid had just defeated Luke, the best fighter in the camp. We got to the infirmary where some kid named Will Solace from Apollo cabin took Luke and got to work.

I left the infirmary and wandered around. I was on my way to a lava-spewing climbing wall when I heard people shouting. I looked over at the camp entrance. The Minotaur was there. He was battling some demi-god. The Minotaur made the kid's mother disappear. Then, the kid, by some stroke of luck, killed the Minotaur. The kid stumbled into Camp Half-Blood and two kids took him to the infirmary. I was raging on the inside. That kid had just killed my best friend. I saw Annabeth walk over to the infirmary. I wonder if that is her job, to see all the new demi-gods that come to Camp Half-Blood. Then I heard the conch horn for dinner.

I walked over to the Pavilion for dinner. I sat at the Hermes table and the wind spirits brought me a cheeseburger and a Sierra Mist. I ate and then walked over to the brazier and pushed some of my burger in and mumbled quietly, so no one would hear me, "For my mother." I left my dishes in the kitchen and walked to the campfire.

Once everyone had gotten to the campfire, Apollo cabin started leading the camp in songs. The Chiron, in centaur form, announced, "Today two new demi-gods arrived. Which of you would like to go first?" The kid and I both stood up at the same time and glared at each other. I increased the intensity of my glare and the kid sat down. "I am Noxtos Stone," I said before I sat down. The camp cheered. Then the kid stood up, "I am Theo Kelton," he said. As he sat down, a holographic trident appeared over his head. The camp cheered even louder. Then Chiron announced, "All hail Theo Kelton, son of Poseidon." Chiron and all the campers kneeled. I just sat there and didn't budge. A girl next to me elbowed me, "You have to kneel. Otherwise you will be tossed out of camp." Grudgingly, I knelt.

After staying kneeled for about a minute, everyone stood up. Then, deciding to get revenge on Theo for killing the Minotaur, I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "So we have a child of an oath-breaker here." The silence that followed was deafening. The fire turned black and was small. Theo looked at me and said, "What do you mean by child of an oath-breaker?"

"Oh, did no one tell you?" I asked, "Your father swore an oath on the River Styx to never have a kid again."

"Liar!" Theo accused.

"Am I really a liar? Ask anyone here," I said, smirking.

Theo looked at Annabeth, "Is it true?"

Annabeth nodded, "It is, Theo."

Theo stormed off. Annabeth followed him, brushing past me, "Look what you've done. You are only jealous that you weren't claimed."

Connor and Travis Stoll, who took over as counselors of Hermes, while Luke was in the infirmary, said, "Hermes cabin! Let's go now." I followed them, along with about four other kids. We walked into the cabin. Immediately, all the kids noticed the backpack, "Should we leave it there?" asked one of them. Connor nodded, "Let's leave it and see his reaction later." I had to sleep on the floor because there weren't enough beds, but I was ok with it. The closer I was to the ground the better.