Chapter 2: I Become a Wanted Fugitive

POV: Skyler

We walk into the camp. It was destroyed. "It used to be beautiful." Maddie says as I walk up to a cabin. "Cabin…" I start. I brush off the dirt covering the plaque. "Cabin 1." I say. "That would've been your cabin back in the day." Maddie says.

I curiously walk into the cabin. "It hasn't been touched." I say. There were tons of beds on the sides of the golden plated walls. In the back was a shrine with golden decorations and coins draped along it.

"We can stay here for now." I say. "Yes, but we can't stay for too long. The government or the police might find us." Maddie says.

I sit down on one bed. "So, you said that you'd explain more when we got here." I say. "Oh yeah…" Maddie says. "What do you want to know?" she asks me.

"How is it possible that the gods are real?" I ask. "They've always been." Maddie says. "They just move around from time to time. They're in America right now. Olympus is above the Empire State building, and the underworld is by the Hollywood sign."

"The…underworld?" I ask uncertainly. "The home of spirits and Tartarus. Hades' domain." Maddie says. "Have any other questions?"

"Well…" I say. "Who were we running from?" I ask. "Oh…that." Maddie says. "Um…the government." She says quietly. "The government?!" I ask, shocked. "Why would we run from them?!"

"Because they want to kill us!" Maddie snaps. I'm guessing this was a touchy subject for her. I sit there in complete silence. "Sorry about that…" Maddie says shyly. "No… it's alright." I say.

"They killed my family when I was young." She says. "I've been living here ever since." I nod. "They think demigods are horrible creatures that want to kill the human race." Maddie says.

"Why?" I ask. "How could they come up with that conclusion?" Maddie sighs. "It was He." She says. "He? Who is He?" I ask.

"We don't know. He keeps himself hidden in a black cloak. He convinced the humans that we were monsters. They have an even bigger grudge on children of The Big Three. They know everything." She says.

"The Big Three?" I ask. Maddie sighs. "Children of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades."

"Then, they hate me because I'm a daughter of Zeus?" I ask, now that things were starting to make sense. Or as sensible as this can be.

"Precisely." Maddie says. I nod. "So…I'm a wanted fugitive." I say bluntly. "Pretty much." She says. I look down at my feet. How am I even believing this? I think to myself. How can I?

"Is this place even safe?" I ask Maddie. "Yes. It is the only place the humans haven't found yet. A bunch of other demigods live here too. They will probably be back tomorrow." Maddie responds.

"How do you know all this?" I ask her. "Because I've lived here in camp since I was five." She says. "I started seeing you when a friend told me he had found who your parent was." I nod. "You can meet him when he comes back." She says. I look up at the sky. "It's getting pretty late…" I say. "Yeah," Maddie nods. "You should probably get to sleep."

I wanted to talk more, and try to process what exactly was going on, but I was too tired to argue. I curl up into a bed, and fall asleep.

POV: Maddie

I sneak out of the cabin while Skyler is asleep. Man, she can snore… I think. I sit on a boulder lying across the landscape. I sigh and take in the fresh air. This was about as peaceful as a demigod's life would be in modern times.

Then, I hear a rustle come from the bushes. I jump up, and take my dagger out from my pocket. It was my aunt's favorite weapon. I look around, alert. I can't let them get Skyler already.

Then, a familiar voice comes from the bushes. "Woah, calm down girl. It's just me." A boy's figure comes out from the bushed. I relax my breathing and sigh heavily. "Oh, it's only you Bryce." I say, relived.

"I thought you were supposed to come back tomorrow with the rest of the campers." I say. "I decided to come back early to see if you were back." He says. "I didn't want you to fall off a rock or something." He jokes. "Shut up, Goat Boy." I say.

He just laughs. "Well, it's good to see you again." I say. Then, his face becomes serious. "Did they find you?" he asks. I shake my head. "No, but I got back safely with a new demigod." I say. "Parent?" he asks. "Zeus." I say.

"Zeus?!" he asks, completely shocked. "You mean you actually got her here safely?!" I nod. "She's in Cabin 1, sleeping." I say. "Oh…" he says. "Well, you should get to sleep too, Wise Girl." Bryce says jokingly, yet serious. "Ok…fine." I say as I walk into the cabin. "'Night." I say. "Goodnight." Bryce calls back.

POV: Skyler

I wake up to a bunch of screaming and clanking. "What is going on here?" I ask myself as I walk out of the cabin. There were loads of kids, maybe about 15, who were sword fighting, practicing archery, and others. Most were around my age, some older, and a few younger.

Maddie spots me from the corner. "Hey Skyler!" she yells over the noise. She gestures for me to come over. "So…" I say. I look around. "Are these the campers that you were talking about?" I ask. "Yep!" she says excitedly.

She looks around and yells, "Everyone! Report to me! Hurry up!" I look at her shocked. Soon, every kid who was training stopped everything and gathered around us. "We've got a new camper!" Maddie yells. She looks at me and smiles.

"Everyone, welcome Skyler!" she says. Everyone starts yelling excitedly, like I was some sort of god. (Hehehe. Get it? God?) "Who's her parent?" someone asks from the crowd. Maddie smiles. "Zeus." She says. The noise gets louder. "We haven't had one of those in a while!" someone yells excitedly. "We haven't had one before, Iron Head!" another yells.

"Be sure to help her, as she is new to all of this, as you once were. Teach her the ropes if you have her during practice. Meeting dismissed!" Maddie yells and everyone resumes their training. I was shocked.

"Did they just…take orders from you?" I ask her, shocked. "Well, duh!" she says. "I am the leader around here. After all, I've been here the longest. When I arrived, only Bryce was there." She says, pointing towards a kid with goat legs.

"But, isn't he the person who's been here the longest?" I ask. "Well, he's a satyr. I'm the demigod who's been here the longest." She says. "A satyr." I repeat. I was completely overwhelmed. "Why don't you look around the camp some more?" Maddie says and pushes me into the mass of campers.

Sorry I took so long in posting this chapter. I was sick for the past couple of days and I've almost recovered. This chapter is sort of a filler, so it will be shorter than the others. Otherwise, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

-A-HGaming