Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters along with the places associated with the Percy Jackson series. I do, however own the characters that I have created with this crazy mind of mine.
Introduction:
With long chocolate brown hair and light hazel eyes, Cassandra looks in the mirror and sees an ordinary seventeen year old girl. She goes to the local high school, studies for tests, hangs with friends, and fights the occasional monsters that happen to grace her with their presence. She does not know why these creatures have had such a great interest in her but she will soon find out...
Chapter One:
"Cassandra!" My mother called from the kitchen. I excused myself from my friends and made my way through the crowd towards her.
"Yeah?" I asked leaning against the counter and picking some pieces of fruit from a bowl.
"I need you to take out the garbage. I didn't know that you were going to invite so many people so now cans way too full." She said stirring the pot of boiling pasta.
"Why can't Catherine do it? I don't want to get any nastiness on my dress." I whinned.
"Because she is busy packing for college."
"But it's my birthday. Can't she just pause on the packing and come hang out for awhile?"
"Cas, she has pushed this off long enough. Just go take out the trash so you can get back to your friends and out of my face." She teased.
"Oh you love me." I said kissing her cheek before walking out the door with a bag of garbage in each hand.
"Wait for me!" Alexis called out with empty bottles of soda in her arms.
"Ooooh, is some afwad of the dawk?" I pouted.
"Shut up. A girl tells her best friend about one stinking nightmare and has to hear about it for the rest of her life." She said rolling her honey eyes.
"You know I love you." I said smiling at her.
"Of course you do." She said dropping the bottles in the recycling can. "And besides, maybe you should be afraid of the dark too. Remember what happened last week?"
"Don't talk about it, not tonight. Tonight is the one night everything has to go right." I shivered at the thought of those...those monsters who terrorized my dreams.
"I'm just saying that you should be more careful. There are worse things out there."
"I know that but what I don't know is why they would even want to come after me." I whispered as we got closer to the backdoor.
"You'll know soon enough." She sighed, as she so often did.
"You always say that." I whined.
"Because its the truth. Now, enough with the heavy. Let's go back in there and party!" She said reaching over and fixing my dress. I looked towards the siding of the house and saw my shadow grow darker and darker as a light behind grew near.
"Look out!" Lexi screamed as she tackled me into the ground.
"What the-" I questioned looking behind us. My eyes grew wide as I realized what the light was. It wasn't a simple light. It was a fire ball from yet another creature that was getting ready to launch another attack.
"Move!" She yelled grabbing my hand and dragging me across the lawn.
"What the hell is that thing?!" I breathed.
"You tell me!"
"How the hell am I supposed to know?!"
"Look at it! Really look at it!" Lexi shrieked as she pulled me away from another attack. I looked back and studied the creature. This thing had the body of a lion, the head of a snake on the end of its tail, a weird looking goat head sticking out of the middle of it's back.
"It's a Chimera." I breathed.
"Good job. N-"
"Why isn't anyone coming outside? Don't they see this?" I said motioning to the monster lurking around my backyard.
"They can't see it because of the mist now move it or kill the thing."
"Shut up. Gods you're useless. Find-"
"How do I kill it?" I asked as Lexi pulled us into cover behind a rock with a dumbfounded look on her face.
"Are you serious? I was just kidding. You don't have any training! You'll be killed before you could even draw your weapon and if you haven't noticed, you don't have one." We both flinched as her fire singed the front of the shed.
"HOW DO I KILL IT?" I repeated.
"You have to stab it with lead or suffocate it or something like that but whatever you do, DO IT QUICKLY!" She yelled as the Chimera came around to attack us. We swiftly dodged the flames as I tried to think of a way out of this mess. I scanned my surroundings to see if I could find a weapon.
What could I find to kill a mythological creature from Greek legends in my backyard? I ran to the corner of my yard and picked up this huge rock.
"Hey dragon breath over here. Come an' get me." Her shaggy mane shook as she turned her face towards me. She prowled a little closer.
"Come on girl, open that big ugly mouth of yours." I taunted. She growled but she did exactly as I wanted her to. She opened her mouth wide and prepared to attack. I chucked the large rock into her gaping mouth and she started to choke.
"Bulls-eye!" I cheered.
"Hurry up and stab the thing!" Lexi said hiding behind a tree. Oh crap, didn't think of that. I looked around for yet another weapon.
"Stop looking stupid and move!" I sprinted back toward the shed where my step-dad stored all of his pointy work tools. I closed the door and dug through all of the crap. Where is it? Ah, there it is. I pulled out his special lead hacksaw blade and ran back to the beast.
"Have fun in hell." I stabbed it and it whimpered in pain but then suddenly it faded into the ground in black mist-like substance.
"I gotta say, that was pretty awesome," Alexis said as she came out from behind the tree.
"Yeah, I know but one thing I don't know is how I knew what that thing was." Her long black hair covered her face as she looked down then she looked back up at me with a worried look on her face.
"I can't explain it all now. We have to get to the camp."
"What camp?" I asked confused as she grabbed my hand and led me back into the house. She scanned the room, swerving through couples and other various groups of people until we reached my mother.
"Ann, we need to go." She said in a tone that was not her own.
"What do you me- What the hell happened to you two?" My mother asked, smiling nervously.
"There's not enough time. She needs to go to the camp. This has gone on long enough. She's in too much danger here." My mom grabbed our arms and dragged us into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her.
"There's no way she's leaving now. She has a house full of people."
"Send them home." Lexi said with sour look on her face.
"I can't just do that! It's rude!" My mother half whispered.
"You can and you will. Cassandra needs to be taken to the camp and so help me, I will take her without you."
"You will not! I am her mother and I say when she leaves!"
"Well I'm her protector and I'm going to do my job and protect her, no matter what you say. Now, are you coming or not?" There was a moment of silence before my mother groaned and waved us off. With that, Lexi grabbed my hand and dragged me up the stairs.
"Lexi, what do you mean your job is to 'protect' me?" I questioned but she ignored me and filled my duffle bag with clothes.
"Alexis tell me…" I was cut off by my mom knocking on the door.
"I'll do it." She said taking a deep breath before beginning. "They aren't myths Cas. The Gods are real. The creatures are real. Everything you know about your life is about to change but first we need to get you to camp."
"WHAT CAMP?"
"Camp Half-Blood."
"What the hell is Camp Half-Blood?"
"It's a camp for the children of the gods, demigods. It's a safe haven and a training camp for them."
"But I'm not a…no way...this isn't funny. If I'm getting punked, I'll kill you both."
"Yes way. Now stop talking and get in the car. We need to go before another monster attacks." Lexi opened the car door and pushed me inside. What the hell is going on?
We stopped to pick up my father, who had the same sullen look on his face as the others did. They began talking about trivial stuff like the weather. This, however, didn't stop me from asking questions.
"If I'm a kid of a god, than who's my real mom or dad?" My 'parents' stopped talking and got silent for awhile. I started to grow impatient.
"Well, is anyone going to answer me?" Then my mom started.
"Sweetheart, we are your real parents. It's just that, we had a little…help. You see, I was unable to get pregnant after your older sister and we were not going to go through the pain of fertility treatments again. But something miraculous happened and you were conceived. The weird thing was that when you were, we were sleeping in different beds. We weren't doing anything that would lead to a baby. This made your father to believe I was cheating on him, but this wasn't true. When I was far enough into the pregnancy, I got a DNA test. It turns out you weren't your fathers…nor were you mine. The doctor couldn't explain it and neither could we until the day you were born. One of the nurses helping me deliver you was unlike any other. She had long chocolate braided hair with gold ribbons. She had this motherly aura about her. She said to me, 'This beautiful little girl is destined for greatness, but it will not come easy to her. You have to hide the odor of her blood or horrible things will happen."
"The odor of my blood? Blood smells like blood."
"Not exactly. She continued with 'You must take care of her until her seventeenth birthday. Then you must send her to a special camp. You will learn more over time but until then take care of my da-…your baby girl.' She then picked you up and held you with a sad look in her eyes. She seemed almost reluctant when she handed you to me. Suddenly, she was gone. Your father and I were completely confused. We tried to make your life as normal as we could concerning the fact that you were different from us, especially your sister. You were always so happy and joyful, especially around other children but your sister was dark and gloomy and hated being around kids. When your father and I divorced, I was unsure that I could do it alone. That's when I met up with Roger again. I remembered what the woman said to me about hiding the odor of your blood so I decided to be with him. I pretended to be happy with him and not be able to smell his extremely disgusting body odor but I was truly terrified. Thankfully Alexis showed up. She explained everything. She said that she was your protector and that she will take you to camp when the time was right. I just didn't know she'd have to take you on your seventeenth birthday. This is all just happening so fast." My mom looked away, then back at the road.
Even though I still do not know the identity of my real parent, (The godly one that is) I was still hurt from the news. I pulled my knees to my chest and lowered my head. I don't understand. How could I be theirs'…but not? Then the weird lady who helped with my birth…I wonder what she knew. I wonder if she knew anything at all.
"We're here Cassandra. Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141 Long Island, New York…" Lexi said placing her hand on my back, getting my attention. At first it simply looked like a strawberry field on a huge hill.
"Are you sure?" I turned around and asked.
"Look harder." Lexi said. I shrugged my shoulders and turned back to the field. Then the scene changed. I saw stables, a huge Greek styled building. I saw what I presume are cabins. Each had their own style and they were all in a 'U' shape. The two at the top of the 'U' seemed larger, more luxurious. I saw a huge arena (I wonder what that's for…) I saw a…a lava wall? Anyway…there were stables and a mammoth-sized amphitheater. Everything seemed like it should be in ancient Greece…not in New York.
"Cas!" my mom called to me. I didn't realize it but I walked almost all the way down the huge hill. I ran back up to talk to her.
"Why couldn't you go down the hill with me? What's wrong?" I asked curiously. She swallowed hard to keep herself from crying.
"Honey, even though we may not be your 'real' parents…whatever that means…you have to know that your father and I love you so much. We did everything we could and we will continue to try to give you the best life we can. I'll see you when the summer is over. I love you." She kissed my forehead and pulled me into a hug. My dad walked over to me. He simply kissed my forehead as my mother did and held me close. I felt my eyes start to form tears.
"Kick some butt for your old man okay? Oh, and stay away from boys. I'm guessing they are even worse when they are half god. I love you Cas." He pulled away and looked back at me with tears in his eyes. I just realized. That will be the last time I see my family for a whole three months.
"We should hurry. Chiron and Mr. D are probably expecting you," Lexi turned to my parents.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of her." She hugged my mom and took one of my bags. We started to walk down the hill but when I reached the bottom, I had to turn around.
Looking at the top of the hill, I saw my dad soothing my weeping mother. I started to cry again, but this time there were more tears. The crying turned into a sobbing. Alexis hugged me as she whispered in my ear.
"You'll see them soon." I knew she was right but I didn't want to leave them in the first place.
We continued to what Lexi called the "Big House" When we arrived, we were greeted by two men…things.
"Ah, Cassandra, you have finally arrived. Welcome to Camp-Half Blood. I am Chiron, one of the camp counselors and the activities director. Anything you would like to say Mr. D?" A half horse, half dude said to me then turning to the man at his side. His 'horse half' is a white stallion while his 'man half' has brown hair, a matching brown beard. His eyes are also brown. The other man was kind of short and chubby.
"My name is Dionysus, but call me Mr. D. I'm the camp director…blah blah blah...just stay out of my way and you will keep your head. Got it Alexandra?" Oh this guy is gonna be fun to deal with for three months.
"Uh, sir…my name is Cassandra" He looked at me annoyed.
"Do I look like I care? No, didn't think so. Now, on to more important matters…Chiron, do you care to play a 'friendly' game of pinochle?" Chiron shook his head.
"Forgive him. He doesn't really enjoy being around campers. I was going to show you around the camp myself, but a game of pinochle sounds good right about now. Let's see if I can find someone who will escort you…" He looked behind me and scanned the surrounding area.
"Ah, Percy. Can you come here for a moment?" I turned around to see a boy who looked about my age. I studied his appearance as he came towards us. He had short black hair with almost sea green eyes and a light tan that painted his skin. He wore an obnoxiously orange tee shirt, like all of the other campers seem to be wearing, that had the words 'Camp Half Blood'. There was a picture of a centaur with a bow and arrow on the front. A confused smile spread across his almost god-like face.
"Yes, Chiron?"
"Percy, this is Cassandra Adams, Cassandra, this is Percy Jackson. Percy, will you show Cassandra around the camp? Mr. D just challenged me to game of pinochle and I cannot refuse."
"I'll do it but I'll need a pass from Monster Assault Techniques with the Hermes Cabin." Hermes Cabin? So those twelve cabins are for….wow…took me long enough…
"Don't worry about that Percy. Just bring her back in time for Volleyball. Now, I bid you two a farewell." Chiron trotted away leaving Lexi and me with this Percy kid.
"I guess that's my queue to go…I'll put your things in the Hermes cabin. I'll see you later Cas" She backed away slowly and then ran off.
"But…wha…damnit…" I cursed under my breath. I get to get a tour of a camp for demigod children with a guy who I don't know. (At least he's cute.) Still, I got torn away from my parents because monsters are after me since I'm a half god…But if I'm not really from my mom or dad…wouldn't that make me a…god?