I woke up in a room which wasn't mine. I looked around and a couple of girls my age wearing orange shirts and a centaur unmistakably. I gasped. No way. Seriously?
"Where am I?" I asked. I sat up and felt a slight throb on my forehead. Then I recalled the door attacking me. Right.
"You're in Camp Half-Blood", answered the centaur.
Camp Half-Blood. The orange shirts. A centaur in front of me. Am I dreaming or something? I looked at the centaur. He was a big guy who also happens to be a white stallion waist down. Chiron, I thought. Questions filled my head. Is this really happening? I thought of Ms. Ricks.
"Ms. Ricks. She's…she's not a mere mortal, is she?" Mortal. I never thought I could use those words so casually. And now, if he answered me as though I asked a fair question and didn't make me wear a straitjacket, this would officially be the best dream in my life. Okay. Maybe not the best. My dream number one would have to be that dream I had wherein I was with Percy dancing a slow dance. In that dream, Annabeth Chase did not exist.
"She's an empousa, my dear", he answered.
Empousa. Kelli? She's a vampire? This day just gets better and better. Going back to Ms. Ricks, so she's an empousa. How can I not know this? She was going to suck blood out of me and I couldn't do anything about it. If that guy, whoever he is, didn't come to my rescue, I would have been dried fertilizer by now. Wait. That guy.
"Who was that guy who saved me? Was he Percy by any chance?"
"Why in the name of Delphi do all new campers look for a Percy Jackson?" he said doing a face palm.
"What? So Percy isn't real? You're not Chiron?" That dream wherein I was dancing with Percy along slow music crumbled down under my feet.
"Yes, I'm Chiron. Still training heroes. But I have never heard of that Percy before", answered Chiron sounding a little irritated.
"You act as though she is the first one, Chiron", interjected a young lad with messy blond hair and purple bloodshot eyes. He had a wonderful smile that was enough to make the world go round. Plus, he was 6 feet tall.
"Do handle this one, Pollux", said Chiron. He was about to leave but there was something I needed to ask.
"The drawing!" I yelled after him before he could get out of the door. And he did look back.
"Pardon?"
"The drawing! Ms...I mean the empousa. There were two men heading towards the Underworld as though it was their last resort. She was scaring them. She told me it was all true. What was that about? How did I know about that?"
"I'd take care of this one", Pollux retorted before Chiron could say anything in reply.
Chiron nodded and headed out. Pollux then looked at the other campers who were with us in the room. Like Chiron, they looked at me, turned to Pollux, nodded and left. I couldn't help stare at Pollux' eyes. They were bloodshot and I found myself what made them look that way. I have green eyes and blond hair which is probably common around here but I've never seen purple eyes. It's natural, isn't it? If it is, then I can officially say he's beautiful.
"Some stories say the empousa scared Dionysus and his slave Xanthias down the underworld. In some stories, Dionysus came down there to bring Semele back to life. Dionysus is my father, by the way", he said smoothly.
I tensed. Not the best topic to acquaint each other. Then I managed to ask, "So what cabin is this?"
He laughed a little, much to my amusement. "We're in the Apollo Cabin. They have treated you here. Are you feeling alright now?"
"Oh, uh, thanks for saving me back there."
"I was destined to save you. No big deal." He was destined to save me? Oh my gods! (I learned that expression from Annabeth Chase. Just thought I'd give it a try) Destiny? It made my heart pound. Its beating so fast I feel like disintegrating in front of him. Wait, am I really supposed to think of this kind of things right here, right now? I must be out of my mind. He's like my cousin or something! But then again, the concept of family never is something that concerned me my whole life.
"So, can you tell me why I'm here?" This question is serious. I am confused, anxious, crushing and nervous all at the same time. It's like flipping a pancake in front of the guy of your dreams and suddenly the pancake is either stuck on the ceiling or right on top of your head and you wouldn't bother look because you know whatever the answer is, it's still embarrassing.
"You're here then maybe you're part of the Great Prophecy. How old are you?" He answered as though he was so used to answering this kind of questions.
"I'm 15. What's the Great Prophecy?"
"And you haven't been claimed? Oh, boy. Maybe tonight, at dinner or around the campfire. I'm not sure you're ready to hear that. It'll mess up your head", he explained patting me on the head. My cheeks burned red.
He walked away and took a peak outside. A few more moments and the children of Apollo came back in.
"Would it be okay if I showed her around?" he asked.
"Yeah, she's good as new", answered a girl with long brown hair and hazelnut eyes.
He extended his hand towards me and he gave me a tour around the camp. The cabins were arranged forming the last Greek letter omega like in the book and it's pretty much the same thing. The camp borders, climbing wall, dining pavilion, stables and all the rest are there. For our last stop, we went to the armory. He's going to make me choose a weapon that I will carry around with me or make someone from the Athena Cabin to do the choosing for me.
Sure enough, there was a blond girl with gray eyes by the armory. She wore the same orange camp shirt and a beaded necklace. Could she be Annabeth Chase? Oh, great. This world didn't grant me Percy but it left the perfect Annabeth Chase with me. But then she had hand-and-a-half swords instead of a knife with her.
"Who...who are you?" I forgot about my manners.
"I am not Annabeth Chase. My name is Annalisa Caught", she answered in an irritated tone.
I apologized and her frown turned into a smile. "No big deal. I get that a lot. It seems as though Rick had me in my mind when he wrote about Annabeth."
"Rick?"
"Yeah, well you see, the creator of that book that brought has twice as many demigods from around the world, is also a demigod. Rick Riordan is a son of Apollo. You see, demigods have been attracted to the series because their instincts tell them of what they really are. When a demigod reads the book, someone in the camp dreams of that demigod and his location. When a mortal reads it, well nothing much happens", explained Pollux.
"But demigods were supposed to be dyslexic. They won't bother reading it much more understand its contents!" I protested.
"Oh no, we're not dyslexic. It was just something Rick added for the sake of his child who had dyslexia and ADHD", answered Annalisa.
"But for the record, Greek is used in his stories. Somehow, when you read about Percy Jackson's stories, you're subconscious brain is given the message to contact the camp. And that is why campers have dreams that lead us to finding children of the Greek gods. However, the number of demigods to be rescued have increased too much that satyrs are no longer enough to handle it so some demigods like me help", added Pollux.
"You okay?" asked Annalisa. She probably noticed confusion in my face.
"I really wish I could begin from scratch understanding these things. I mean, sure, the novel's great and it helped me keep up but differences really blow my mind up", I confessed.
"I'm sure you are. Do you have some kind of question that you'd want to ask before I choose a weapon for you?" Annalisa said sweetly.
"Yeah. Pollux? You said you were destined to save me and this is all part of the Great Prophecy. How did you know it was me?"
"Well, I dreamed of you. But not as whom you are now. I dreamt of you with the goddess of wise counsel, Phoebe", he retorted.
"My name is Phoebe."
