Camp Journal

1/10/15

I got to camp today and was asked to keep a journal, not like I'm going to forget what's happened to me so far. But whatever, here goes.

So, my friends were all huge fans of the Percy Jackson books. I never bothered to read them but I basically knew everything anyway. My best friend, Marcie, is totally obsessed with them. She said that in the first book it says if you start to find similarities with yourself and characters you should stop reading. Well, my friend started comparing me to one of the characters, I totally didn't take her seriously.

Until I saw a giant golden dragon in the sky. That's when I started freaking out. At the time, I was in seventh grade. I was in the girl's bathroom, looking out the window, and I could not believe my eyes. That's when I noticed it was windy in the bathroom. Windy, and there were no windows open, not possible for it to be blowing toilet paper everywhere and my hair whipping around. The wind got so strong that it tore a mirror off the wall and shards of glass were now flying around the bathroom. At that point I knew I needed to get out of there.

I got down on my knees to crawl out, but then noticed that the debris was altering its course and circling my body without harming me. Slowly standing up, I inched my way through the windstorm, wary of the large pieces of mirror millimetres away from my skin. The wind danced through my hair and it was almost calming, like I belonged in the storm. I stopped in the middle of the bathroom and watched the mesmerising whirlwind. Dancing pieces of glass bounced light off of each other, shining rainbows on the walls. Droplets of water merged together and then split apart, almost like a horizontal rain.

I felt perfectly safe.

Then I realized I was floating a few feet of the ground. I let out a scream and then suddenly myself and everything else came crashing to the ground. That was the last time I ever went to the bathroom alone at school.

Four years later I was walking home from school, now a junior, with my boyfriend. His name is Nathan and he is the best thing in my life, only second to my mom. We were walking home together when a car swerved off the road and crashed at the curb.

"Holy shit!" I said and ran over to the car with Nathan right behind me. Inside there were three teens that looked about 18 or 19 years old. They all tumbled out, stood up and one of them kicked the front wheel.

"Gods! Jason, you are such a bad driver!" said the guy with black hair and the orange t-shirt, wait, they were all wearing orange t-shirts. The other guy, Jason I guess, glared at him and said something very crude in what I later learned was Greek.

After a minute or two of bickering amongst themselves, they finally realized that Nathan and I were standing there, staring at them. The girl with the brown hair smacked Jason's arm, directing the group's attention to me.

"Hey, I'm Piper." she said, sticking her hand out. I tentatively shook it. I looked back at Nathan and I took his hand in mine. "This is Jason and Percy." she said. I didn't say anything at first and then I managed to stammer out,

"I'm Monique. A-and, this is Nathan."

"You're Nathan?" Piper blurted out.

"Yes." Nathan said, shifting his stance and folding his arms.

"This is going to be so much easier than I thought. We've already found him!"

"What do you mean, you found me?" he asked. Piper started to talk but Percy cut her off.

"Why don't we go somewhere, um, less, open. And exposed. And less likely for monsters to attack. I mean, we've got two super-powerful demigods-"

"What do you mean, two?" Jason interrupted.

"You know, Piper and I. Two powerful demigods."

"Okay, that's the last straw, Waterboy, let's go."

"Go where? To lunch? I'd love to but, I'm already married."

"Jackson-"

"Okay, stop! What is going on here?" This time it was me who broke up the oncoming fight.

"Sorry, we'll explain as soon as we can. Do you know anywhere we could talk in private?"

"My house." Nathan offered. I turned and looked at him. He was acting really strange.

"Are you sure?" I asked, "What about your step-dad?"

"It'll be fine. Trust me." he said, took my hand and started walking towards his house, the others following close behind.

When we got to his house, Percy's mouth fell open.

"Gods, Annabeth would love this house!"

"Uh, thanks." Nathan said awkwardly. So, Nathan's mom, Florence Camille Andersen, is really rich, she was a model for this wine company that his dad owned. That's how they met. Anyway, now she is retired at only 36. His step-dad, David Kent Markus, owned a computer company before he sold it for way too much money than any one person should have and then retired at 42. His mom and his step-dad met 5 years ago and they got married right off the bat. Nathan loves his mom, but he doesn't really care for his step-dad, obviously. I've always got along with his mom. I've been really interested in modeling lately and she's going to hook me up with a modeling agency once I graduate.

When we got to his house, we walked up to the front door, Thomas, the butler opened the door.

"Mr. Andersen, welcome home. I see you brought some friends along." he said. Nathan shook his head and walked inside. Thomas nodded to me as we all paraded inside and up to Nathan's room. Thomas cringed as the others walked past, their shoes leaving faint dirt marks on the pristine white carpet. When we got to his room we all sat in a circle on the floor. His bedroom, well it's more of a suite, is actually huge. Nathan shut his door and locked it, then came and sat next to me, putting his arm around me.

"Ok, you are probably wondering why we're here. Um, Nathan, why don't you start by telling Monique about your dream." Piper said. I looked up at him.

"Your dream?"

"A couple nights ago, I had a dream. And this blonde girl was in it. She said that something was cloaking our existence which is why we had survived this long without monster attacks. She also said that she and some others would be coming to find us." Nathan said.

"Wait, us? And what do you mean monsters?"

"Monique, calm down." Piper started. "So, the blonde that Nathan saw in his dream was Annabeth. And yes, something is hiding you. We don't know why, all we know is that it took a long time to even figure out that you guys were in Canada. Which is really unusual for demigods. We're just really lucky that we stumbled upon you guys today."

"Why isn't Annabeth with you? She said that she would be coming." Nathan asked. Percy snickered and Jason rolled his eyes.

"She's pregnant. That's why." Piper said.

"Sorry guys, that was my fault." Percy said, barely containing his laughter. Piper punched him and Percy quickly shut up.

"Anyway, so do you know the Greek myths about gods and monsters?"

"Yes, I've taken Greek History classes ever since seventh grade. Why?"

"Well, they're real."

Suddenly, Nathan's window exploded and Nathan grabbed me, shielding me from the flying glass. When I looked up, there was a girl in a ratty cheerleading outfit standing on his desk. I did a double take and realized she had flaming hair and two different legs. What the flying moose heads was going on?

Percy stood up and pulled out a pen. A lot of good that was going to do. But then he took off the cap and it turned into a sword. Piper pulled out a knife and Jason suddenly had a long spear. Where did all that come from? I was sure I was going crazy. The crazy cheerleader smirked.

"Well, well, well. Percy Jackson. Am I glad to see you."

"I've defeated you once demon and I can do it again." Percy replied. The girl pouted and put her hand on her hip.

"Ouch, I'm really hurt. Don't you remember my name? Kelly?" Percy growled and lunged forward but Kelly dodged his blade and pounced on him, knocking his sword out of his hand. "Nobody move." she demanded, "Or I kill him." Percy struggled but Kelly just laughed. Piper took a step forward and Kelly hissed and dug her claws into Percy's arm.

"Put away the spear Jason, pretty please?" Jason nodded dumbly and his spear disappeared, an old coin now in his hand. I turned my head slowly and noticed that I was next to Nathan's shelf of big football trophies. Seeing as I was standing directly behind Kelly, hoping that she hadn't noticed me and I grabbed one of his trophies and whacked her solidly on the head, making a loud thunk. Apparently I hit her really hard because she was out cold. Percy pushed Kelly off of him and stood up, reaching for his sword but Piper stabbed Kelly in the back and she exploded, gold-yellowish powder settling on the perfect white carpet, which wasn't perfect anymore. I had no idea how Nathan was going to explain how his floor looked like someone had taken some gold spray paint to it.

"Well, thanks for the quick thinking Monique." Percy said.

"Holy shit! What was that?" I yelled.

"That was Kelly."

"Well no duh, I kinda picked that up. What is really going on? Am I going crazy? What are you guys even doing here? Am I really supposed to believe some shit about magical dreams, monsters and crazy greek gods? Really? Are you kidding me? I-"

"Mo!" Nathan shouted, cutting me off.

"Oh, now you? You really believe them? Well, thanks for that! I'm out of here." I stormed out of his room, slamming the door behind me.

When I got home, the smell of butterscotch brownies was drifting through the house. I sighed and walked into the kitchen where my mom was just taking a fresh batch out of the oven. I love my mom, she's always been there for me. She is a meteorologist, and she specializes in thunderstorms and also has a minor degree as a culinary chef so she makes the best brownies. We look nothing alike, she has brown hair and hazel eyes. She always says that I look just like my father. I've never met my father, when my mom got pregnant he just up and left. If I ever met him I think that I would give him a sound slap and demand why he left her. She turned around and smiled, placing the brownies on a cooling rack.

"Hey sweetie, how was school?" she asked.

"Fine." I said.

"You're late today, what took you so long?"

"Hey mom, do you know anything about greek mythology?" I asked, trying to make it sound like an innocent question. My mom looked up from cutting the brownies with a startled look.

"Why?"

"Well, something kind of weird happened today.." I trailed off, not wanting to reveal too much.

"It really is real, isn't it?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"My great-grandmother told me she was a daughter of Venus but I never believed her. How could the gods be real? Then I met your father and I thought, maybe, but then he left and I told myself that it was crazy and it couldn't be real. But it really is, isn't it."

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"Mo, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Greek and Roman mythology is real. It isn't a myth. I could never believe it until now. Yes, Great-Great-Grandma Lucienne was a daughter of Venus. Your father is a greek god. I don't know which one, he never told me, but yes, it's true."

"Mom, stop. What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about Monique. This is real and you are in so much danger now that you know." she turned around and began opening cupboards and rummaging through their contents. "Which one is it?" she muttered and pressed her finger on the inside of one of the cupboards. "Ah!" she said and I walked over and stood next to her. A panel had slid open to reveal a small door. She opened it and pulled out a golden dagger in a leather sheath and a silver bracelet.

"Here, I want you to take these. They were your grandmother's. Even though I was never sure about the truth, I kept them anyway." She handed me the dagger and showed me how to strap it around my waist. She also gave me another strap which she told me was for keeping the dagger in my boot if I needed to.

"And this," she said, putting the bracelet around her own wrist and motioning for me to step back, "It's a shield." She pushed a small bead on the bracelet and a huge shield spiraled into existence.

My jaw dropped. She closed the shield and handed the bracelet to me.

"Now, you have to hurry and find whoever it was you told you about mythology. Please, hurry and be safe." she said, rushing me to the door. "I love you Monique. I know this is a rush, but you aren't safe here anymore." she said wiping away tears. Still shocked, I didn't know what to say. She gave me a hug and then opened the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot." she said and ran back into the kitchen, coming back with a Ziploc bag with five brownies inside it. "Here sweetie. I'll miss you. Be safe."

"Mom, wait. I-I-"

"Monique, just go. Please. I just want you to be safe. We'll see each other again, I promise."

"Alright. I'll do my best." I said, and walked out the door. Little did I know, I was leaving my whole life behind.

I called Nathan when Thomas informed me that he had left with Percy, Jason and Piper.

"Mo! Where are you?" he yelled through the phone when he answered. I pulled the phone away from my ear, wincing.

"Nathan, I'm on your porch, where are you?"

"Mo, just stay there and we'll come and get you. You aren't safe, we aren't safe."

"You mean, you're like me?"

"Yes, but no time to explain. Stay put!"

"O-okay."

"I love you, bye."

"Bye." I closed the call and sat dejected on the porch steps, waiting for Nathan to arrive.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" I heard a metallic voice say. I turned around and saw three women that looked like they were made of gold. All of them carried sharp knives that glinted in the bright sun, momentarily blinding me. I stood up and shielded my eyes.

"W-who are you?"

"We are the Kourai Khryseai. Made by Hephaestus but banished by Hera. We are here to destroy you!" they all said in unison. I think I made a strangled sound that probably sounded like a puking cat and pulled out my dagger.

"Um, no? I actually prefer to stay very much alive."

"Ug, the ignorance of demigods." the first one said and then charged forward, the other two in hot pursuit.

"Shitballs!" I started sprinting and I ended up running into the backyard where a large pool was. I stopped a few feet away from the pool's edge and turned to face the Kourai Khryseai. I parried the first one's sword, I didn't even know I could do that. And then I somehow managed to stab her in the side, disintegrating her just like that crazy cheer girl, Kelly.

Before I could recuperate however, the second golden lady lunged and stabbed me in the abdomen. When she pulled her sword out, I fell backwards onto my butt near the pool's edge. I struggled for breath and dropped my dagger. I pressed my hand over the wound, trying to stem the bleeding, while scooting slowly back and away from the monster..

"Ha, ha! You were never a match for us weakling." she cackled and raised her sword to finish the job. Then a strangled yelp sounded and she whipped around to see her other sister explode. She yelled and charged Piper, the one who had killed the other and they fought, Jason helping her.

"Mo!" Nathan shouted and ran over to me, pulling his t-shirt over his head and pressing it against my wound. "Percy! She's hurt! Can you do anything?" he asked. My vision started to go black around the edges as Percy rushed over to me and without a word, shoved some gooey stuff in my mouth that tasted like lemon bars.

Instantly, my vision cleared and the bleeding slowed. My abs still throbbed like hell and there was still a gaping hole. This really made me evaluate what I was doing with my life. Jason grabbed some medical wrap and wound it tight around me, Nathan's t-shirt still wadded up against the wound. Nathan was holding my hand and I may have cut off his circulation I was squeezing so tight. When he was done, they helped me stand up, I cried out and almost fell over again, but Nathan caught me and picked me up. I put my arms around his neck and cried quietly into his shoulder. I was so confused and it hurt so bad. We started walking away but I looked up.

"Wait, my dagger. Where is it? It's my mom's." I said.

"I have it." Piper said, holding my dagger up, the gold metal glinting in the sun.

"Is that Imperial Gold?" Jason asked, holding out his hand. Piper handed it to him and he inspected it closely. "Yep, it is. This is high quality Imperial Gold. Monique, where did you get this?"

"My mom gave it to me."

"Who's your mom?"

"Why?"

"Do you live with your mom? Or, have you never met her?"

"Of course I live with her, she's my mom. Can I have my dagger please?"

"Yeah, here." Jason handed me my dagger and I put it back in its sheath.

"Okay, so we need to get you two to camp. You guys haven't been claimed yet, Monique-" Piper said.

"Mo, you can call me Mo." I interrupted. Piper grinned.

"Mo is hurt and we don't have very much ambrosia left."

"Where are we going?"

"Have you heard of Camp Half-Blood?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's like that, but in Utah."

"Utah! The state full of crazy Mormons? I don't even have a passport!"

"Who says you need a passport?" Percy said. And with that, we were off.

On our way to the camp, which took about a week, we encountered a ton of monsters which you would expect. I really don't care to share what happened, but anyway, I'm at camp now. And that concludes my first entry.

*This story began as a collaboration with some of my close friends. Claire, a character not yet introduced in this story also has a journal available with her side of the story: Claire's Camp Journal by claireivm*