Chapter 3
Apparently, 'here' is a camp. A camp in the middle of Idaho- about a four hour drive from where I'd been kidnapped. Not a normal camp though; a camp where demigods go when they no longer want to go to camp half blood (which is apparently where most demigods go). As Alex and Carter lead me through the camp, I got a lot of stares and one or two wolf whistles. Ugh. Carter and Alex just laughed it off but Carter looked uncomfortable.
They took me to what I assume was the head tent and took me inside. I got put on the bed as Alex hissed something to Carter and dragged him out of the tent. They started arguing about something and I only heard single words here and there, and a girls named used quite frequently; Lily. I sat silently until I heard the tent flap open and in came Carter, who looked a mix of pissed off and really upset. He walked past me without even acknowledging me and sat down on the bed across from the one I was currently occupying.
"What was that about?" I asked. He seemed to acknowledge me for the first time since re-entering the tent, and shrugged.
"An old ... Friend," he replied carefully. I figured I wasn't going to get another answer so I didn't ask any other questions. It stayed silent for a long time, and I could see Carter become fidgety as he lay on his mattress, twiddling his fingers and staring at the tent ceiling.
"You need to go," he said suddenly, jumping up from his bed and startling me so badly I fell off the bed I was on. He grabbed my still handcuffed wrists and pulled me harshly up from the tent floor. He then pulled me out of the tent and practically dragged me across the camp. We passed the archery range, the small sword sparing field, the forges, and the small dinning area before we reached a rectangle block of tents lined after each other. Some of the tents were more grouped together with a banner hanging over them with what I'm assuming was the godly parent of the kids who resided there.
I was dragged until we reached a small grouping of maybe two or three four person tents with a banner that was blood red with a boar head embroidered in the center. Ares, maybe?
"Jarred!" he called, and almost immediately a tall stocky boy with brown hair and matching eyed ran out of the tent.
"Yeah?" he asked Carter, though looking at me. Carter snapped his fingers under Jared's nose to regain his attention.
"This is Hailie. I need you to keep her under your cabins watch. She's not allowed anywhere near the archery range, the forges, or the pond, ok? I trust you -as head counsellor- to make sure she follows the rules, and to train her in sword fighting. Understood?" he asked the boy who looked like he was taking mental notes. He nodded once,
"Got it, anything else?"
"Yeah, just one thing; keep her away from me," he said bitterly. I do realize the situation I am in right now, but for some reason that hurt a little. Jarred almost didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded again, and with that, Carter walked away.
I found myself at a loss of words as jarred took me to the girls tent, and introduced me to Jenna, and Carly; otherwise known as the two Ares girls. They seemed nice enough, and even helped me pick the lock on the handcuffs. After that, we sat there for a moment in silence trying to think of something to say, when I came up with a good question,
"Do you guys know who Lily is?" I asked. There was more silence before Carly responded,
"She was a, uh daughter of Demeter,"
"Oh,"
"And Carter's old girlfriend," she finished. I felt the colour drain from my face as I realized why he had looked so mad and upset after talking with Alex.
"W-what happened?" I stumbled.
"She died," said Jenna quietly.
The last week has been not too bad, being that anyone who tries to come near me gets chewed out by Carly or Jenna, for which I'm grateful. I've learnt that jarred isn't actually that bad and he's been teaching me how to use a sword. I've already got my own too; it's from the Hephaestus guys. It's really cool, it's a black hair pin with a pearl on the end, and when I touch the pearl it turns into a light weight sword. Nothing special but it works.
I've tried my best to follow my 'rules' but sometimes I get bored, yenno? And anyways, even though I'm not half god the kids here are starting to treat me like just another camper, which is good I guess. But the one thing I just can't seem to do is stay away from the archery range; it's like a magnet. Sometimes in the middle of the night when I'm the only one up I'll sneak out of the girl's tent and snag a bow from the weapons shed and head down there. That's what I decided to do tonight, since I couldn't sleep anyways.
I got off my bed and slipped on my sneakers as I exited the tent as silently as I could. I tried not to snap any twigs as I made my way down the path in the dark towards the shed. Once there, i quickly picked the lock with my hair pin (also very handy) and slipped inside the cramped area.
It took me only seconds to find the bow and quiver I'd hidden behind the door. I snatched it from the hook and took off down the trail again.
When I got down to the range I notched my arrow and shot directly at the target, missing the bulls-eye by inches. At least i was getting better. I shot a few more arrows and retrieved them when I heard the footsteps coming down the path, so I grabbed my arrows and quickly climbed up a tree (something I've been good at since childhood).
Perched on a low branch, not wanting to risk falling but still being able to see what was going on, I waited. The person who Id heard walked into view and I had to hold in a squeal; it was Carter, of course. The only person with the chance to catch me disobeying his own rules would be Carter.
He looked around for a moment, and then walked over towards a small hole that I hadn't bothered to notice before. He took a gold shiny coin out of his pocket and threw it into the hole, saying something in Greek. A form appeared in front of him, and from what I could see, it was a middle aged man with obsidian black hair and eyes to match. His skin was very pale compared to the long black robe he was wearing. I didn't realize who it was until I heard Carter say the name, because why on earth would I expect this man to be the god of the dead?
Yes, I'm leaving you hanging until tomorrow(:
~apollo122music
