You know, I never asked for this.
I never asked to be the child of some unknown deity, to have to live with other abandoned half-god children in a camp. I never asked to not know my real father, to be abandoned even by my adoptive parents.
But mostly, I didn't ask to be stuck sitting between Ash and Belen at lunch.
The two sons of Enyalius, god of war, sat on either side of me at the crowded outside cafeteria table. They shouted and yelled at each other, sandwiching me tightly between them and pushing me back and forth as they yelled nonsense at each other. My food shook and crumbs dropped on the table as I picked up my tray to stand.
Pulling myself up and out of the small area between the much taller boys, I tossed the rest of my lunch into the garbage can and flipped my dark brown hair back. The pixie-cut style hair brushed in front of my eyes again before I clipped the bangs back with a small silver hairclip in the pocket of my ripped black skinny jeans.
Most of the other demigods ate lunch in the outside cafeteria or in the House in the centre of the Euboea Base. The warm yellow sunlight stretched across the pure green grass and shimmered on the silver-blue lake.
"Everything going okay, Calixia?" A soft voice spoke form behind me. Aurae, the Base Leader stood next to me. Her shiny white hair blew past her face, but never seemed to catch in her eyes or mouth. I felt a cool breeze follow her body as she approached.
"Yeah," I replied quietly, standing under the much taller nymph at only four-foot-eleven. Her long legs reached out past her shorter silver dress as she began to walk away.
"Okay, be careful, and make sure you get some working out in today."
The Base had always been strong on working out and training. Demigods were trained to be soldiers, to fight for protection and save others from beasts and evil. They weren't allowed to just waste their life away, lounging around the comfortable security of the Base. Not that we didn't get plenty of days off to ourselves, of course.
I sat on the grassy edge of the lake coast, swirling my fingers in the clear lake. The water made small movements to my manipulation, and I felt more at home as I sat near the water.
"You there, dad?" I began trying to talk to the deity again, not that he ever listened. "You know, I'm turning fourteen in a couple weeks. I thought that maybe... Maybe I could see you. I've never met you... Well, obviously... But maybe you could visit us? I know you're probably busy and everything... Doing... God stuff."
I trailed off, knowing I was still just talking to myself. Why would a god even listen to what someone lesser than them had to say? Even if it was their own child?
"Calixia! Calixia!"
My head snapped up at the unusually distressed sound of Aurae's voice.
Bang!
Bam!
The earth shook and I fell to my knees as I tried to stand.
Bang!
There was a loud sound that imitated shattering glass, and small shakes began before abruptly stopping.
"Calixia, get away from the water!"
I stood frantically, taking a pen out of my pocket and holding it as if I would stab someone with it. Something large moved about quickly in the water, approaching from far away. The once clear water quickly began turning black, as if someone had poured in the world's largest bucket of ink.
I scampered up the small hill quickly. Nothing lives in the lake, nothing can live in the lake. It was put under a spell, part of the protection shield of the Base.
As I stood in the middle of the field, surrounded by cabins, I ripped off the black wooden cap of my pen. The body became a large black bow, longer than my torso and curvy like a garden snake. The cap became a leather black quiver filled with arrows with shining tips.
The ground shook again. Demigods and centaurs came from fields and cabins and the forest to stare at the water. Some held swords, others had bows, a few had knives, and some even nunchucks holding a magical aura. I carefully aimed an arrow at the lake.
With a boom and another shake, a large beast erupted from the water's surface. It looked like a snake the size of an airplane. Slimy grey skin, gills, and fins. The most terrifying parts were the muscled legs coming out of the water and the full set of sharp teeth in its mouth.
"Leviathan!"
There were instantly loud screams and running. People panicked, and many tried to shoot at it. The arrows and bullets and spears looked like needles and breadcrumbs on its huge body, and only made the beast angrier.
A loud roar erupted from its mouth in rage, and the rest of its body began climbing out of the water. There was no way it would fit in the field, even as big as the grassy clearing was.
"Go! go," Aurae shouted at campers. "Go! Find somewhere safe, move! Get out of the Base!"
I shot a single arrow, aiming at its huge beady black eye before turning as quickly as humanly possible and running.
"Take care of yourselves! Go," Aurae kept yelling, trying to help the younger kids find someone to run with or be carried. She held two infants in her arms, but there was no way for me to help her.
The Leviathan chomped at the ground, picking up a screaming boy. It swallowed the boy like it was a speck of dust, roaring and biting at others.
I bolted across the Base and through the trees. A small group of cabins in another small clearing sat only several hundred feet away from where the Leviathan stood. The cabins of the Megáli Treis. The Great Three.
I ran as quickly as possible into the middle one, a relatively smaller cabin, but larger than I needed as I was the only one who lived inside.
I yanked my black leather slouch bag off the bed, accidentally ripping the pocket on the bed post. Filled with emergeny supplies and clothes, I slung it over my shoulder next to my quiver. I gripped my bow tightly and ran out the back door, leaving the Base, probably forever.