Thomas sprinted as fast as he could, sparing a look back as a roar ripped through the air.
"Keep running, Lockwood!" his best friend, Birch, cried from a few feet ahead. A tree flew past his head, causing his heart to flip in his chest with fear. If the thing chasing them was big enough to chuck a tree as if it were made of paper, he didn't want to think about what it could do to him.
"Birch, where in the world are we going?" he yelled, clamoring over a boulder and dodging another tree.
"I'll explain everything when we get there, which we almost are. A couple more yards and we'll be safe," the other boy called back.
"Safe from what?" Thomas shouted desperately, glancing back to see a hulking form rip yet another tree from the ground and raise it over its head, aiming directly at his head.
"Just a bit farther," he heard Birch huff as he climbed over a boulder. Wait a second, were those hooves? He shook his head, racing after the boy and telling himself not to look back.
Then it appeared. At the top of the hill was a large pine tree, looking very out of place in the middle of the New York summer. He saw what looked like a golden cowhide hanging from one of the lower branches. And wrapped around the trunk of the tree was a... Dragon? Hold up.
"Birch, what the-" he started.
"Lockwood, not now!" Birch yelled, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the tree. Another roar reverberated through his head. Only a couple more feet until-
He tripped over a root. Rolling over, the figure loomed above him. It was huge, it's head oddly distorted.
"You're mine, handsome demigod," it said, voice deep and resonate.
"Birch!" he cried, scrambling to get up.
"Your friends can't help you now," the creature told him, giving a gravelly chuckle.
"Good thing I don't have any," he snapped, picking up a stick and throwing it as hard as he could, directly at the center of the thing's face. The creature shrieked, clutching at the place where the stick had hit, and stuck. He stood there for a moment, looking on in shock as the thing stepped into a patch of moonlight, showing that the stick had landed in its eye. That's right. One eye.
"Holy-"
"Lockwood run!" he heard Birch order. Without thinking he sprinted as fast as he could towards him, barely registering that his best friend now had furry legs. He heard the monster stomping after him, but as he passed the tree, he heard a loud thud he turned to see it picking itself up from the ground. After recovering for a moment, it turned and lunged for him. But before he could brace himself, it shot backwards. Looking around in bewilderment, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," Birch announced cheerily, as if they hadn't just been chased for three miles by a giant, one-eyed monster.
"You have thirty seconds to start explaining before I throttle you," Thomas growled, glaring daggers at the newly furry-legged boy before him.
"He, he," he chuckled nervously.
"Twenty-five," Thomas warned.
"Your half-god, half-human. When I say god, I mean Greek god. That thing that was chasing us was a Cyclops. You're at a specialty camp created for people like you designed to keep you safe. You just passed the border that keeps monsters out and let's demigods in," Birch explained rapidly, looking very nervous.
"I'm sorry, what?" he challenged. But before Birch could respond, he saw several people running up the hill towards them. They were all wearing pajamas of some sort, looking like they had just gotten out of bed. Another boy with furry legs and what looked like horns poking out from his brown curly hair came running up to Birch.
"Birch, you're alive. And on your first mission!" he congratulated, gripping his shoulder and giving him a grin.
"Is someone going to tell me what the heck is going on?" Thomas yelled, silencing all the murmurings and whispers.
"Now, now, let's not get our tempers raging," he heard from above the crowd, making him look up. At first he saw nothing, and then there was a streak of orange falling from one of the higher branches. A girl straightened up, wearing a bright orange t-shirt displaying a Pegasus below the label Camp Half-Blood, and a pair of cut-offs. Her long brown hair was wild and tangled, held back from her face with an orange bandana, and her green eyes were bright. It was a type of bright that made him feel like he was about to get robbed blind and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Who are you?" he demanded, hoping his voice didn't give away how unsettled this girl made him feel.
"You're worst nightmare," she answered with a smirk, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side.
"Trey, come on," Birch interceded, trying not to smile.
"What, I can't give newbie something to worry about?" the girl shot back sarcastically, those mischievous eyes remaining locked on his.
"He just escaped a Cyclops and discovered his life is a lie. Can't you wait until everything's settled in?" the boy with horns asked with exasperation.
"It took three weeks for Wes to 'settle in.' What if I don't wanna wait that long again?" she demanded, finally looking away.
"At least wait a couple of days. Don't start the moment he crosses the border," the boy replied. She groaned, her shoulders slumping as she rolled her eyes.
"I'll go get Mr. D and Chiron," she muttered, obviously irritated and disappointed. As she trudged toward the large, sky-blue farmhouse, the boy with horns stepped in front of Thomas.
"Hey, my name's Grover," he greeted, holding out his hand.
"Lockwood," he replied, taking the hand reluctantly.
"Cool. I'm happy to see you got here alive. I guess Birch was better than we thought," Grover declared.
"Why wouldn't we get here alive?" he questioned with alarm, but Grover dismissed the question with a wave of his hand.
"We should get you to the Big House so you can watch the orientation film, then to the Hermes cabin so you can get some sleep. I'm sure you're exhausted," he said quickly, gesturing for Thomas to follow as he started down the hill.
"But-"
"Just go with it," Birch whispered, trotting after Grover. He stood there for a moment, mulling over his options. Then he shrugged, and followed the goat boys.
"Newbie! Come on! Up and at'em!" Thomas heard as if from a distance. Then he felt something strike him hard across the head.
"What the hell!" he exclaimed, shooting up automatically and smacking his head on the upper bunk.
"Ow!" he groaned, rubbing his head ruefully.
"Time for breakfast, so get a move on," a boy with brown curly hair and bright blue eyes ordered, ripping the sleeping bag from his body.
"Hey!" he proclaimed, trying to cover up the fact he was wearing nothing but his boxers. The efforts earned a snicker from the boy, who turned and gestured to someone behind him. A moment later, a shorter version of the boy peeked his head over his shoulder. He took one look at Thomas and burst out laughing.
"Word of advice, rook, sleep with your clothes on," the first boy said through the peals of laughter. Giving them both a dirty look, Thomas reached over and plucked his jeans off the wood floor, carefully getting out of the bed and yanking them on. He looked around for his shirt, and upon not finding it, glared at the two boys still chuckling slightly at discovering his pajamas.
"Where's my shirt?" he growled in irritation.
"It was filthy. It's getting cleaned. In the meantime, you can wear this," the first one replied, holding out a rolled up orange t-shirt. Thomas assumed it was the same as the one the girl had been wearing the night before, and the same that the two boys were also wearing. Snatching it from the boy's hand, he wrenched it on. When they didn't go away, his annoyance rose another caliber.
"What do you want?" he challenged.
"Woah now," the first replied sarcastically.
"Respect your camp counselors, bud," the second one finished, gleeful expression on his face.
"Camp counselors?" Thomas asked warily.
"Well, you are at Camp Half-Blood. I'm Travis Stoll," the first one introduced.
"And I'm Connor Stoll," the other one added.
"And we're the Hermes cabin leaders," they finished simultaneously. It took a moment for that to sink in, and he remembered the orientation film he'd seen last night. They were children of Hermes, god of thieves... Among other things, and he was a child of some other god. He just didn't know which one yet. Glancing around, he saw several other kids bustling about the cabin, getting ready for the day. He saw a streak of orange and light brown rush by, bumping into Travis' shoulder.
"Watch it Williams!" Travis called after the streak, who stopped and flashed a sly grin. Thomas recognized her to be the girl from the previous night before she sped off again.
"Who was that?" he asked. He had to admit, she piqued his curiosity more than any other girl might. She wasn't like the girls he would chase after back home, with her crazy smile and blazing eyes. She wasn't even all that pretty. But after Chiron had shown him where he'd be sleeping and he'd crawled into the bunk, he'd fallen asleep thinking about her smile. The last thing he remembered before drifting off was how she'd said "you're worst nightmare" instead of telling him her name.
"You'll find out sooner or later," Travis answered with a smirk. Obviously this girl was well known around the camp.
He followed all the other Hermes kids to a pavilion where a ton of other kids around his age were sitting at tables and eating. Everyone else sat next to their siblings, laughing and having a good time. Meanwhile Thomas just stood there awkwardly, looking around. And then he heard a whistle.
"Yoohoo! New boy!" an unfamiliar voice called, making Lockwood turn. There was girl standing there, with long, dark hair and pretty hazel eyes. She was cute, with an impish smile and pink cheeks. He stepped towards her almost without thinking. She held out a hand.
"Hi, I'm Sadie," she introduced. Thomas took her hand and shook, not noticing the mischevious glint in her eyes.
"Lockwood," he said in reply. She smiled wider and gestured to an empty seat.
"Have a seat," she invited, and he obliged.
"Are you undetermined?" he asked. He couldn't believe that this girl was a child of Hermes. She was simply too nice. But she shook her head.
"Nope, Hermes kid, tried and true," she said.
"She'll rob you blind, this one," a new voice chimed in from across the table. Lockwood turned, coming face to face with the girl from last night.
"You flatter me," Sadie responded in mock bashfulness. The girl grinned, taking a platter of pancakes from a passing nymph and piling some onto her plate.
"So, newbie," she said as she drizzled some syrup over the stack. "What did you want to be when you grew up?" Lockwood blinked with confusion.
"Um, a U.S. Marine. Why?" Instead of answering, the girl grinned at Sadie. An expression which Sadie returned. It gave Lockwood an uneasy feeling.
"What's your favorite movie?" Sadie asked.
"Star Wars."
"Favorite book?" the other girl asked.
"I don't read much." He didn't know what these questions had to do with anything. But the way the two of them were smiling, they apparently did.
"Drachma if I'm right?" the girl asked simply. Sadie grinned.
"You're on," she complied.
"Care to tell me what you're talking about?" he asked suddenly. But they just grinned identical, elfish grins and finished their breakfast in silence.
Lockwood found Birch shortly after breakfast, skipping rocks on the lake. The goat boy-satyr, if you wanted to get political about it- looked moody.
"What's up, man?" Lockwood asked, coming to stand beside him. Birch gave him a sidelong glance and skipped another rock. They remained in questioning silence for a long time.
"I'm being sent out again," Birch finally said, just as Lockwood was beginning to worry.
"Well, what does that mean?" he asked.
"There's a halfblood in New Mexico who sent a distress signal several hours ago. By this time tomorrow I'll be on my way there," Birch answered. Lockwood didn't know how to respond to that.
"Isn't that a good thing? That means your good at what you do," he said, trying to cheer him up.
"Yeah, too good. I just got back, Lockwood. You just got here. I thought I would be here as you got acclimated, you know? Someone familiar; someone that you can talk to when things get tough. Now I'm going to the other side of the country, leaving you here on your own," he replied, finally looking Lockwood in the eyes. He looked sad. But Lockwood put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Birch, you're my best friend," he told him. "But I got by just fine before I met you. So go save that halfblood who needs your help. I think I can do this on my own." Birch gave him a weary look.
"Camp Half-Blood isn't like high school, Lockwood. Making enemies here could be life threatening. Falling in love here could have much the same effect. If there's a problem, you can't just go to a teacher to work things out. You hold a grudge and wait till the next time you have a chance to maim them in an activity. Everyone knows everything about everyone else, and at the end of the day you can't just go home and pretend everything's okay when it isn't, because this is your home now. Don't you see? You're not prepared for this." Brich's lack of faith in him made him take a step back. If anyone had been there for him in the past year, telling him he could do anything he could set his mind to, it was Birch. And now he was telling him that he couldn't get by on his own. He didn't know what to say. Birch sighed.
"Don't take that the wrong way, Lockwood. It's just that, the world of gods and monsters just isn't one you know how to navigate. You understand the mortal world. You were practically king in high school, but here, nothing is as simple as it used to be. And I just need you to be prepared for that." Lockwood felt himself nod. After all, Birch was simply looking out for him. He clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll keep that in mind, Birch."
Shortly after this conversation, Chiron asked Connor and Travis to familiarize Lockwood with the camp and his schedule. After a tour of the camp, which was still apparently under construction, the guys took him to the arena, where he would be having his first sword lesson.
Standing in front of a large group of campers were two guys who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. One was tall and lean, with hair darker than Lockwood's own and sea green eyes. The other was shorter and more muscular, with a mop of sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. They were addressing the group, each with swords in their hands.
"Percy Jackson and Jason Grace. Those guys are awesome," Connor told him in a whisper.
"Sons of Poseidon and Jupiter, they're two of the most powerful demigods out there," Travis added in an identical hushed tone. That's when the one with the dark hair- Lockwood assumed that one was Percy- saw the three of them standing at the entrance.
"Connor, Travis, why don't you bring our newest camper down," he called with an easy smile. All the campers turned to see who he was talking about. Lockwood caught sight of Sadie and the girl from breakfast, standing next to a guy he didn't recognize. He had dark brown hair styled to perfection and liquid, laughing brown eyes. He was very tall and very skinny, with a large smile that was directed right at him. Then he leaned down to the girl and whispered something in her ear, something that made her giggle and glance at him as well. Lockwood noticed they were holding hands.
Connor and Travis lead him towards the front, where Percy and Jason were waiting with matching smiles.
"Alright, newbie," Jason said in a teasing manner. "Why don't you introduce yourself?" Lockwood nodded, and turned to the group.
"I'm, uh, Lockwood. I got here last night with Birch, and I'm undetermined," he glanced over at Jason, who nodded and stepped forward.
"Alright everyone, today, in celebration of our new camper, we'll be doing free play," he announced. A cheer rang through the arena. Jason and Percy took the opportunity to step closer.
"Hey, Lockwood, I'm Percy," Percy said, holding out a hand. Lockwood took it and gave it a brief shake, repeating the action with Jason after he introduced himself.
"So, have you ever handled a blade before?" Percy asked, leading him off to a wall decorated with all the medieval weaponry one could imagine. Lockwood shook his head. Jason pulled a long, gleaming sword from off the wall.
"Try this on for size," he said, holding it out for Lockwood to take. He grasped it unsurely, shocked by the weight when Jason let go. The point fell to the dirt, and Percy gave him an understanding smile. He taught him how to correctly hold it, and how to carry the weight in his hand. Then they told him that for today, he would just be watching as everyone else was sparring.
"What's free play?" he asked before he went and sat down.
"Basically, all weapons and magical objects are fair game. As long as no one gets killed, you can do whatever you want," Jason answered. Lockwood nodded, keeping his shock to himself. They were using real blades, which meant a real chance of getting hurt. Birch was right. He didn't know how to handle all of this.
He was watching the Stoll brothers as they sparred when he felt someone slide up next to him. It was the tall boy from earlier, his large grin showing off a set of gleaming white teeth.
"Hey there, handsome," he said in a low voice, which confused Lockwood. He blinked at him instead of answering. His smile grew wider. He held out a hand.
"I'm Logo, Logo Quinn," he said, brown eyes sparkling. Lockwood took his hand, which was very soft. His fingers were long, and sort of knobby at the knuckles. Lockwood didn't know why he noticed this.
"Lockwood," he replied automatically.
"I know," Logo said.
'Who names their kid Logo?' Lockwood thought to himself. He was about to ask, when a laugh rang through the arena. A laugh that made Lockwood's stomach flutter out of both nervousness and excitement. It was a laugh that was part endearment and part mischief. He glanced to the source, finding the girl from breakfast sparring with Sadie. He turned to Logo.
"Who is that?" he asked, stealing Logo's attention. He had been focused on the same girl. His eyes lit up when he realized Lockwood was asking about her, though.
"Oh, Trey? She's probably one of the most infamous campers here," he said with a twinkle in his eye. If Lockwood had doubted their relationship before, he didn't didn't now.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, let's just say, Travis and Connor's roles as the Head Counselors of the Hermes cabin are numbered," Logo answered, his attention on Trey.
"What, so she's better at stealing stuff?" Logo laughed.
"It's more than that. She can slip under everyone's radar. She can practically disappear. Even Rachel can't see her coming, and Rachel's the Oracle. Also, unlike most Hermes kids, she's beyond talented at combat. She could take on an Ares kid, no problem," he replied. Lockwood looked over at Connor and Travis.
"Those two seem to be holding their own," he mused. Logo shrugged.
"Yeah, but that's after years and years of training. Treyanna only got here last year, and she's already passed them when it comes to skill level," he told him. So that was the mysterious girl, notoriously talented.
"Although, her sister Sadie is no joke. She told me to give this back," Logo said, holding up a familiar looking watch.
"What the hell?!" Lockwood exclaimed, looking down at his wrist and finding his watch gone. Then he remembered Sadie shaking his hand this morning. Somehow, that must have been when she had slipped the watch. He took it from the other boy and slipped it on. He looked back up into the laughing eyes, and found his curiousity piqued.
"Who's your dad?" he asked. Logo's eyebrows arched.
"My dad is Victor Quinn. He's a street performer in Dallas," he answered. "I think what you meant to ask was who's my godly parent. And the answer to that would be Aphrodite." Lockwood nodded. The goddess of love? For some reason he just assumed she would only have girls. Though why he would just assume that he didn't know. He wasn't sexist, last he checked. He heard a yelp of pain and turned to see Sadie with a hand on her upper arm, her face a mask of pain. He saw Treyanna looking panicked.
"Oh my god, S.J. I'm sorry! Are you okay?" she asked, dropping her sword to the ground and rushing to her sister. Lockwood watched as Sadie pulled her hand from her arm, her hand painted red. He swallowed thickly when he realized it was her blood. Logo was up and across the arena in seconds, catching Sadie just as she swayed and began to fall. Then Percy was there.
"Someone get Will!" he yelled, and Lockwood watched as Connor and Travis sprinted from the arena. They laid Sadie gently on the ground. Lockwood went closer, seeing that the cut itself wasn't deep, and she wasn't losing much blood.
"She's just in shock," he said loudly, causing all the hushed murmuring to cease. Percy looked up from his crouched portion beside her.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Lockwood pushed past a couple more people and knelt next to her. Against everyone else's protests he started helping her sit up.
"You're fine. You just saw the blood and it caused your body to go into shock. All you need is some antibiotics and bandages and you'll be just fine," he said in a low, soothing voice. Sadie nodded robotically just as their was some shuffling of the crowd. Lockwood looked away from her as boy with long, blonde, surfer hair and sky blue eyes descended upon them.
"What happened?" he asked, studying the wound. Treyanna stepped forward.
"We were sparring, and something distracted her. She was executing the block perfectly, but suddenly she lost control. Our swords were pushing against each other, and when her grip loosened so drastically, it caused mine to lurch forward and hit her arm," she said quickly, looking close to tears. Will sighed and pulled a water bottle from his shorts pocket, splashing it over the cut to clean the blood.
"It's just a graze. Some ambrosia and bandages and you'll be right as rain," he told her, helping her stand. "I'll take you to the infirmary to patch you up, but you should be fine to finish your schedule afterwards." Sadie nodded, eyes still a little glassy, and went with him. Lockwood turned to Treyanna and Logo, who were hugging each other tightly.
"She's alright. You didn't kill her," Logo said, sounding like he was trying to cheer her up. She nodded and buried her head in his chest without saying a word. Lockwood turned away, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. And when he did, he saw a girl with dark hair and glasses talking to Connor Stoll. She was short and curvy, with pretty pale skin and her hair held back with a white headband. As if sensing him looking, she looked over at him. Lockwood took a step back.
Her eyes were a bright, piercing blue that almost glowed. He could see them with perfect clarity, even from the other side of the arena. He felt his heart stutter nervously, caught under her scrutinizing expression. But then her lips spread in a smile, and she turned and walked away. Leaving Lockwood to wonder why, after just those few seconds, his breathing had already become so heavy.
Author's Note: Alright guys, this was so much harder than it needed to be. Anyways I hope you like! As always, constructive criticism is welcome!