Chapter Two
Beca
This better be worth it, I think to myself as I reach the top of the hill, panting slightly. I do not do cardio, especially not on a day as hot as today. I emerge from a cluster of trees to find a clearing the size of a soccer pitch. In the centre, a large pine stakes its claim over the empty land, warding the other trees back with a thick swathe of deep green branches. I'm not entirely sure why but I'm hesitant to walk toward it, and as I move towards the center of the clearing, it's almost as if there's a force pushing lightly against me, keeping me back. Don't be ridiculous Mitchell trees are inanimate objects. The heat must be getting to me more than I thought. As I walk across the clearing to the tree I suddenly hear voices. Instinct tells me to hide and I duck behind the pine clutching my laptop bag to my chest. The tree seems displeased by my presence; it's branches raking my hair and scratching my arms, but I stay put. It is the right decision as two figures suddenly appear, seemingly out of nowhere..
"Are you sure you heard someone Don?" A male voice, questioning and wary. This guy is tall, tanned and wearing some kind of weird vest made of leather. There is a bow casually slung across his shoulder. One arm lies at a quiver by his side, stocked full of arrows. He looks strong and even from where I'm crouched hiding I can make out broad shoulders and the thickly corded muscles of his arms. I have no idea what they teach at this camp, but it seems to revolve around military re-enactment or something.
"I'm sure Jesse, you know I don't lie about these things, ever since I got my protectors license from the council I've been extra diligent" replies a deeper male voice. This belongs to the guy stood next to the one called Jesse. Don's wearing the same leather vest as Jesse and has arms similarly threaded with muscle but there's a timidity in the way he carries himself which makes him look less like a warrior. That paired with the weird furry trousers he's wearing. What is this place? Is everyone here this shredded? Fuck, I am not gonna fit in. I glance down at my baggy hoodie, black ripped skinny jeans and my vans. Yeah, I definitely don't fit in with the aesthetic here. Looking at them more they look like drawings from mom's Greek mythology books. I had a decent knowledge of Greek mythology as mom used to teach classics at the local college when I was growing up. I haven't looked at the books for years though, and I'm pretty sure they're slowly decaying in the storage room of the apartment in Seattle. I'm snapped back into reality by the sound of a twig snapping, and a third figure emerges from the treeline.
"Can I please stop hiding now, there's nothing here and it's boiling. It's worse than the time me and some Aboriginals did Fiddler on the Roof in high school, it was hotter than hell then too" whines the figure. This one is female, and not quiet either, her voice slicing through the tension in the air like a blade. There's an accent to it too, and I can't quite figure out where it's from, if I had to guess I'd say Australia based on the aboriginals comment. She steps out from the shadows of the trees and into the light of the clearing and I can now make out her appearance. The girl is tall, taller than me, with medium length blonde hair pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. She is the only one wearing normal clothes. The sight of a Ramones T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts fill me with the relieving thought that I might actually be in the right place after all, and that I am not surrounded by crazy people. The girl is large and curvaceous, and stands with her hands boldly on her hips, seeming indifferent to the fact that the guys stood in front of her are dressed like crazy idiots and that one of them has a bow and arrows. They all look around the same age as me, and I begin to wonder if they were sent there to greet me. Something still keeps me from emerging from my hiding spot and I'm not sure what. I just get the feeling that there's still something weird about this place, like where is the camp? Where are the other people? I can't even hear any voices in the distance, so god knows where these guys even came from.
"Amy! I said stay hidden! There could be anything out here and you can't defend yourself yet" barks Jesse, a look of annoyance on his face as he crosses the clearing to stand closer to the defiant Aussie.
"Ha! Yeah right mate, I'm supposed to believe that you and goat boy over there-"she jabs a finger in Don's direction "-are going to protect me? I've wrestled crocs and dingos simultaneously, so I think I'll be fine. Also, it's Fat Amy to you ya dingus". Goat boy? I wonder, looking at Don's furry trousers. They are strange, who would wear something like that in the middle of the summer? Amy was right though, they do make his legs look like a goat's.
"Hey, the politically and historically correct term is Satyr" Don replies, sounding hurt. "And my name is Donald".Satyr? As in the Greek goat/man thing? Man, these people are into some weird cosplay. They better not try and get me to join in.
"Yeah, whatever goat boy" Fat Amy chuckles, a toothy grin spreading across her face.
"Don, it's not safe for her here, we fought them off yesterday but I don't think we could handle another attack today, get Fat Amy back to camp. Take her to the big house, I'll find Chiron once I've had a scout round out here and meet you there" Jesse's voice, clear and authoritative cuts through Amy's laughter and she falls silent, a frown worrying at the corners of her mouth that had only been smiling a second ago. What could possibly be worrying this girl? She seems so fearless. And what the hell did they mean about it not being safe? I swear to god if I've come all the way out here to the middle of nowhere to be killed by a bear or something I will not be happy. There's so many questions swirling around my mind, none of which I have the answers to. I see Don nod to Jesse and then walk towards the trees taking Amy with him. It's just me and this Jesse guy now. What do I do? I could emerge from my hiding place and go ask him what the hell is going on but something about the way his eyes are scanning the clearing and the sure way his fingers grip the bow he's holding keep me frozen in place.
I've been crouched here for so long now that my right leg has started to cramp up. I'm going to have to move. I shift, moving agonizingly slow to try and avoid drawing any attention to myself. I shift my laptop bag into the crook of my left arm and lean against one of the sturdier looking branches on the lowest bough of the pine. I stretch out my leg, wincing with pain. The relief is overwhelming as I move, the cramp subsiding, and I sigh happily. I don't get to enjoy it however, as half a second later the branch I thought was sturdy breaks with a large crack under my hand and I lurch sideways, my laptop bag tumbling to the floor. Ah shit I mentally curse, freezing in place, unable to do anything. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. There's nothing I can do except crouch there helpless as I hear Jesse's footsteps growing closer. I can feel my heartbeat slamming in my chest and my mouth dry as parchment. I'm probably just going to get laughed at for hiding and dragged to whoever the leader of this camp and shouted at for being late or something, but inexplicably I feel like something worse is going to happen. Before I know it, the patch of sunlight above my hiding spot is blotted out and I'm staring up into eyes the golden hue of sunset, blazing with indignation. In the time it takes me to blink, his bow is in his hand, an arrow knocked to it and steadily trained over my heart. My eyes widen and I gulp, frozen like a deer in headlights. I've been in many fights, even once with a guy who had a knife, but that guy didn't know what he was doing. This guy clearly does. My fear quickly disappears however, replaced by anger that this weirdo is pointing a bow at me in the first place.
"Who are you and where did you come from?" Jesse demands, looking at me with equal parts curiosity and wariness in his amber eyes.
"I could ask you the same question" I reply levelly, returning his gaze with a stony glare. "and why the fuck are you pointing that thing at me?" I wave my hand angrily in the direction of the bow.
"You're the one hiding behind this tree, I have reason to be concerned". He hasn't lowered the bow and doesn't look as if he plans to anytime soon. "Answer my questions" He's getting angry.
"Answer mine" I say through gritted teeth, pins and needles shooting through my right leg as I use the remainder of the branch I had just broken to pull myself to my feet. Jesse's bow follows me, his aim not wavering, even for a second. Jeez this guy takes camp archery seriously. "And can you please stop waving that bow at me, I've been to enough summer camps to know that half the kids there can't use those things. You could kill me!"
"I've been at Camp Half Blood since I was 8 years old. I think I can handle it" Jesse snorts.
"I think you need to come back to camp" he lifts the bow, making it clear that this isn't a request.
"Camp Half-Blood?" I ask. Jesse's eyes widen in shock and disbelief.
"How do you know that?" He demands, stepping across the circle of dead grass towards me.
"Whoa, easy. My mum just left me a letter saying that I needed to come here. I'm guessing this is some summer camp for misfits considering you almost fucking killed me with that thing" I gesture angrily towards his bow.
"I guess you could say that" he smiles slightly, one corner of his mouth quirking upwards. I think this is the first time I've seen him smile. Honestly, I'm shocked he even knows how to smile. At least I know I'm in the right place now.
"Was this just some really fucked up camp initiation? Because there was no need for that" I shoot a glare at him.
"No, it's just what happens when an idiot decides to hide rather than making themselves known" he glares back. Before I can open my mouth to retort a deep growl reverberates through the trees, making both of us jump. "Come on let's go, quickly before I actually have to use this thing" he gestures with the bow and arrow towards the trees where Donald and Fat Amy had gone through earlier. He looks wary and tense, his eyes scanning the treeline.
"They let you kill bears?" I ask, shocked.
"It's not a bear. Now stop talking and let's go before it catches our scent".
"But what-"
"Hurry up we've got to go!" he cuts me off mid protest. He sounds serious. I'm still scared about what's just happened and I still have so many questions but I hoist my duffel further up my shoulders and retrieve my laptop bag, cradling it to my chest for a moment. It's my one piece of hope for the future and holding it I'm more determined than ever to not mess this up. Deciding to not test Jesse further, I step forwards and begin to follow him towards the trees.
It's pretty safe to say that my life has taken a sharp turn towards crazy in the past few hours. I thought I was getting dropped off at a normal summer camp but here I am following a guy in full greek armour who not long ago pointed a fucking arrow at me. So this doesn't seem like a normal summer camp. I don't know what the hell I'm in for. All I know is that I'm longing for my bed back in Seattle where everything is safe rather than out here where there could very likely be bears. I can picture Uncle Eric driving home, probably singing along to Aerosmith with his gravelly voice and I feel a pang in my chest. I realise how much I miss him already. Maybe I can call him once I get to camp. I'm broken out of my reverie as I pass between two spruce trees and step into a smaller clearing. What has snapped me out of my thoughts is a magnificent marble archway that seems to have sprung up out of nowhere in front of us. I crane my neck upwards, bringing my hand up to my eyes to screen them from the glare of the too-hot sun, and try and make out the words etched in the marble stretching across the two pillars. Just like with the sign at the side of the road I'm certain the letters are ancient greek. What the fuck? I blink, squeezing my eyes tight, and when I open them the letters are in clear English, spelling out Camp Half Blood. This is the second time this has happened today. This heat is making me crazy. I shake my head and look over at Jesse, who is looking up at the archway with something akin to pride shining in his eyes and a small smile playing at his lips.
"Where's the camp?" I ask, staring through the archway and spotting not so much as a pathway indicating where the rest of the place is.
"You can't see it?" Jesse looks over at me, one eyebrow arched and a smirk creeping in at the corner of his mouth.
"Um, no?" I glare at him. This guy is making me feel stupid right now and I hate feeling stupid. I clutch my laptop bag closer to my chest and take a step backwards.
"This'll be fun" Jesse chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding his head towards the archway "walk through the archway"
"No, why should I? I'm not here to amuse you" I retort, squaring my shoulders and meeting his amused glance with a defiant stare.
"What's wrong, you scared?" Jesse's grin is growing larger and with it my annoyance. First he makes me feel stupid and now he's telling me I'm scared. I have no idea who this kid is but I sure as hell know he's annoying.
"Of course not" I huff, tossing my hair and stalking past him, straight towards the archway. I grit my teeth and close my eyes as I walk under it, preparing to feel slime pouring down my back or a net falling on top of me like the last camp initiations I had to go through, but there is nothing but a refreshing breeze against my face and the sudden sweet aroma of ripe strawberries. I slowly open my eyes and a gasp escapes my lips.
