"Oh my God," I gasped. The creature crept closer to me by the second. I dropped the rod I had been meaning to whack it with. My face twisted to one of horror. It was coming for me. And there was nothing I could do. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for the pain that was sure to come before the end. Instead, I felt a shove and I fell to the ground, my eyes flying open as I made impact.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but it's best if you run. Like, right now. Quickly!" a girl's voice, above me. I looked up. A boy stood over me, hand extended, offering to help me up. Behind him, a girl was facing the creature, armed only with a knife. She threw a glance over her shoulder, her eyes meeting mine.
"Go!" she shouted, "Just go! Percy, forget me and take her to safety!" The boy shoved his hand at me urgently.
"Come on!" he shouted, a single tear streaking down his face. I grabbed his hand, scrambling to my feet. He pulled me along after him as he began to run. His sword glinted ahead of him, even through the dark halls.
"I don't know where I am!" I shouted, panicked, "I don't know where I am!" The boy turned, pausing in his tracks.
"You're in safe hands. And we really need to go, because my girlfriend may have just sacrificed her life to save us. Now, just follow me," he said, another tear snaking down his face. I squeezed his hand tight as we began to run again. I followed him blindly, stumbling along. We stopped in front of an old vent and he pressed a hand to it. A blue triangle glowed against the metal and the vent fell away. A girl stood right inside, armed with a flashlight.
"Careful," she warned, "The Labyrinth is meant to deceive." Her flaming red hair caught in the flashlight beam, casting an eerie shadow on the wall.
"I have to go back for Annabeth," the boy told her, "I can't just leave her there, alone. Take her back safely, then come back for us." He ran back the way we had come. The girl exhaled, blowing a few strands of hair away.
"This way," she said, motioning the flashlight beam and reaching for my hand. I took it, glad for the small comfort it provided. She led me, following an invisible trail, it seemed. At a crossroads, she didn't hesitate, but turned accordingly. At one wall, she stopped.
"Press your hand here," she instructed me. I obeyed, gingerly pressing my fingers to a mark on the wall. It glowed blue, just like the triangle from before. A panel slid open in the wall.
"Go," the girl told me, "When you get to the end of this tunnel, you'll be in a forest. Call for Chiron. Tell him what happened. Tell him Rachel went back for Percy and Annabeth. Good luck." She turned and ran back the way we had come, leaving me in darkness. I felt around the wall, to the entrance of the tunnel. With a sigh, I began to climb.
A stark daylight greeted me at the other end of the tunnel. I sat, blinking, trying to get my eyes to adjust. Sure enough, I was surrounded by trees. A forest. I stood, spinning in a slow circle. I raised my voice and shouted.
"Chiron!" my voice echoed through the trees. Nothing. I heard a faint sound. Shouting and the pounding of hooves. "Chiron!" I yelled franticly. The pounding drew nearer and something emerged from the woods. At first glance, I thought it was a man riding a brown stallion. But that wasn't right. The man was seated too far forward to be riding. He was one with the horse. A memory alighted in my mind. A centaur, half man, half horse.
"No," I gasped. The centaur stepped closer, slowing to a halt.
"Did you call me, child?" his voice was deep and ancient. Almost like he was thousands of years old. Looking up into his eyes, I was met with the same feeling.
"Um, yes," I managed. "Rachel sent me. Something about staying safe. But she said specifically to tell Chiron that she had gone back for Percy and, um, Annabell, or possibly Annabeth. But I'm not entirely sure if any of that is correct," I rambled off, glancing at the crowd of teenagers gathered around me. The centaur's tail flickered.
"Well, you've found the right place," his voice trailed off. Suddenly, he turned intently to me, "How old are you, child?" I was startled by the question, but managed to answer him anyway.
"Fourteen." His eyebrows knitted.
"Yet another promise broken," he mumbled.
"Not as such," a boy beside him said, "Technically, Percy asked for 13 through 15. So she's fine, but now that she's here, it could happen any time."
"Until then, she'll be in Cabin 11. Will, show her around the camp. Let the Stoll boys take over at the cabin." The boy from before nodded and turned to me.
"Will Solace," he introduced, sticking out a hand. I shook it. "'Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. What's your name?" he asked.
"Sierra. And I have absolutely no idea what is happening. Except, I noticed the centaur. Chiron, right?" I asked him. He nodded. "But that's impossible! He'd have to be thousands of years old!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands into the air for emphasis. Will chuckled.
"He is. Now, come on."
The camp was beautiful. It had gotten its name from the species that lived there, half-bloods. They had half the blood of a human and the other half was ichor. That is to say, the blood of the gods of Ancient Greece. These half-bloods, also called demigods, were the offspring of a human and an ancient god, all of which were apparently real and still around.
Will told me I took it all surprisingly well. That is, finding out my father was a god. I told him it just made my family easier to handle.
About halfway through our tour, the campers began to shout excitedly and rush to the forest.
"What's going on?" Will asked a passing camper.
"Percy and Annabeth are back! They've brought a new demigod!" the camper shouted before rushing to join the crowd.
"Come on," Will said, following the camper.
The crowd had gathered around the two kids who had saved me earlier. Between them stood a very confused boy.
"Hey, guys!" Percy yelled to the crowd, waving. Annabeth waved too. The boy in the middle whispered something into Percy's ear. Percy nodded.
"This is Darius. We rescued him from that building we were scanning for monsters. I need someone to show him around camp," Percy announced. Will's hand shot up.
"Yo, Percy. I'm already taking the girl you rescued on her tour, so Darius may as well join us. Come on, man," Will motioned to Darius. Darius came to walk beside Will as we turned back to the camp. He kept muttering about rainbows. Will asked him a couple questions and explained the demigod thing, just as he had done for me. We reached Cabin 11 and two identical boys greeted us.
"Travis Stoll," one introduced.
"Connor Stoll," the other greeted.
"And welcome to Cabin 11," they said together. They opened the door and led us in.
"I have archery practice now. But I'll catch up with you later, Sierra. And Darius," Will said before turning and walking away.
The inside of Cabin 11 was dark, and incredibly messy. Every possible inch of floor was covered. With trash, socks, shirts, blankets, pillow cases, you name it. I sniffed. The place smelled like moldy Cheetos. I crinkled my nose.
"This is the happy home of all children of Hermes, Greek god of thieves, healers, travelers and UPS. And we welcome all new campers who have yet to be claimed. So, uh, welcome to your temporary, or permanent, home," one of the Stoll boys said. I hoped not.
"Do we, uh, have to stay in here right now?" I gulped. The Stoll boys both shook their heads.
"Right now, it's free time, so campers are free to roam the grounds," one of them explained. I turned towards to door of the cabin.
"Well, then, see you," I called, making a mad dash to escape that place.
Later that night, we had dinner in a huge pavilion in the center of camp. I had to sit with the kids from Cabin 11. One of the Stoll boys had given me an iPod as a welcoming gift, which I was listening to during the meal. I had the headphones pushed deep into my ears, singing along quietly to the songs. It wasn't until one song ended and I was greeted with loud applause, that I realized the campers were listening. I looked up, surprised at the sudden noise. Loud whistles of appreciation and yells echoed through the hall.
"It wasn't that good. I wasn't even trying," I whispered, blushing from the applause. A golden glow covered the faces of the campers around me. A collective gasp escaped their lips and then a cheer erupted from one of the tables.
"Seven, seven, seven," the table chanted as the glow faded.
"What does that mean?" I whispered to the camper next to me.
"It means you're the daughter of Apollo. Greek god of music, drama, poetry, archery, healing, truth, prophecy, light and the sun," the camper told me.
That night, I moved into Cabin 7. It was full of guys. Apparently, Apollo didn't have very many female children. They had converted a massive walk-in closet into a bedroom for me. There was a bunk bed, a small dresser and a shelf. I threw my few possessions onto the bottom bunk and followed my siblings. They told me it was a tradition to have a campfire every night here. We gathered around the fire pit and my cabin broke out the lyres and the box drum.
We sang funny songs like "Putting on Grandma's Armor." I laughed too many times to count at the funny moves my brothers were doing along with the song. It was strange to think of those boys as my brothers, but it was the truth. The feeling was nice, having so many smiling faces around me. And knowing they were all family. But the feeling didn't last. Soon, the happiness would be shattered. The hero of the camp taken away. The peace of the night would last but a moment.
The next morning, I woke to sobbing. Heart wrenching sobs. I sat straight up, throwing on a camp shirt and not even bothering to change out of my pajama pants. I rushed outside to see a crowd gathered around Annabeth. Her face was flushed and tear streaked. Chiron stood next to her, a hand resting on her shoulder.
"He's gone!" her voice was hoarse and choked with tears. "I don't understand. Where would he go? His cabin is empty. No Percy, no Riptide. I don't understand," she sounded hysterical. Her shoulders shook with sobs. And no one could console her. The only person that ever could had vanished into thin air.
"Back up," Will yawned, "Give her some air. Come on, guys." He pushed his way to the front, trying to clear space for Annabeth. "Okay, hun, I need you to breath. Inhale, exhale. That's it," he spoke in a soothing tone, inserting pet names often. "All right, give me a deep breath in. And out. There you go, sweet." He had slowly calmed her down, with his smooth voice and gentle touch.
"Show's over, folks!" I called to the crowd, "Back to your cabins! Get ready for the day!" The crowd slowly dispersed, throwing glances over their shoulders back at us.
"Let's get you inside, with a nice cup of tea," Will was saying, "Then you can tell us what happened. All right?" Annabeth managed to muster enough strength to nod. Will patted her back and motioned me over. "I need you to walk with her so I can put on a shirt," he told me. I glanced at him, noticing how he hadn't even bothered to put on a shirt over his pajama pants. I laced an arm through Annabeth's, gently whispering sweet words in her ear.
"It'll be okay," I whispered, "We'll find him. He's probably just gone swimming in the Sound." She smiled a little at that, and I was proud that I had managed to coax one out of her. But it didn't last. Her cheeks were still glistening from fallen tears, some still falling, though silently. We walked side by side, her clinging to me, all the way to the Big House, as the farmhouse where Chiron lived was affectionately called. I sat her on the couch and slowly lowered myself next to her. Will burst in and kneeled in front of Annabeth. He looked up at me.
"Go to the kitchen, down this hall, last door on the left. On the top shelf of the first cabinet from the door, there is a box with tea packets in it. Make a cup for Annabeth, please," his voice was lowered and he slowly rubbed soothing circles on Annabeth's arm. I nodded and strode down the hall.
I took my time making the tea, figuring Annabeth would be better off with Will. I brought back a tray with three mugs, each filled to the brim with a sweet smelling tea. I had dropped just a cube of sugar into each mug. I placed the tray on the end table and handed a mug to both Annabeth and Will, who was still sitting on the floor. I took my spot on the couch next to Annabeth, warm mug in hand. We sat like that, in silence, for a while. I was startled from my dozing by Annabeth's tentative voice.
"I didn't used to like him. When we first met, I was jealous of him. He got to venture out in the world, and I was stuck at camp. So I made him take me on our first quest. We got to see the Arch, in St. Louis. It was fun. We became best friends, despite our parents hating each other. I was kidnapped in his third summer at camp. I realized just how much I missed him while I was in captivity. I realized that I actually liked him. Like a crush," she sighed, "When he rescued me, I realized that I really needed him. That I couldn't live without him. I was 15, and I couldn't see any life without him. Then, just this summer, we started dating. On his 16th birthday, in fact. He always joked that that was the best birthday present ever. He was supposed to go back to school in September, but he stayed here so he could spend more time with me," she gave a half-hearted laugh. Then she took a shaky breath and fresh tears began to fall. I sat my mug on the table and wrapped my arms around her. She leaned against me, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Her mug dropped to the ground as she clenched her fists. The tea splattered on the carpet, splashing onto Will. He didn't shout angrily at her, or raise his voice at all, he didn't say a word. He just stood, carefully brushing the droplets off his shorts. He went down the hall and came back with a towel, slowing dabbing at the tea on his shorts. He threw the towel over the spilled tea and sat on it. Annabeth continued to shake next to me.
Days passed, and quests ensued. Hundreds of campers were arriving every day. Construction was started on a couple more cabins to fit all the campers. But Annabeth rarely left her cabin. She had fallen into a state of semi-depression. She spoke rarely and only got excited when Percy was brought up in conversation. By the second day, the entire camp was worried sick. We began sending out search parties. Each time we went out, we went to another part of the country. Each time, the parties returned empty handed.
On the third day, I was awoken by a loud squeal. I sat bolt upright, squinting at the bright daylight. I pushed my glasses onto my face just as my door burst open. Annabeth stood, her hair unbrushed, a line of drool trickling down her chin, her shirt crumpled. I stared at her. She didn't seem to notice her disheveled appearance. Instead, she smiled.
"I had the best dream!" she told me. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Then she spun in a circle, arms out. "Hera was there, not that I trust her, but she said that I would find him in the Grand Canyon. That I should find a guy with one shoe, and he would have the answer. Oh! What if it's him? I have missed him so much! When we find him, I am going to kiss him so hard," she sighed, "I love him." Her smile was huge as she told me the story. I smiled.
"That's lovely, Annabeth! Though you should probably, um, tidy up before you go," I told her. She looked down at herself, seeming to notice her appearance for the first time. Her cheeks reddened.
"Oh." She hurried away. I smiled and sank back onto my bed.
By midday, Annabeth was ready for her quest. She had borrowed a chariot from my cabin and had help hooking up two pegasi. Butch, from the Iris Cabin, was to accompany her, so he could steer the pegasi. She looked the best she had in days. Her shirt was freshly laundered, her jeans freshly ironed, her Yankee's cap tucked into the back pocket of her jeans. She looked so happy as she made final checks on the chariot.
"Don't mess up our chariot, Annabeth," Will warned. She grinned as she stroked the pegasus beside her.
"I'll try my hardest," she joked. She gave me one final hug before climbing into the chariot. She waved as the chariot took off. "When I return, Percy will be back. Safe and sound." Her smile was massive as she faded into the sun.