Katerina's Side

The moment I saw the familiar features of Camp Half-Blood, I forgot all about being mad at Nico. The four of us stood by Thalia's pine, taking in what we saw. It was a little late in the afternoon. Some campers were playing volleyball. A cabin was having their archery lesson at the shooting range. The cabins were spectacular, though. When the warm sunlight poured onto the cabin rooftops, each glimmered with their own unseen light. Some cabins were still being built.

"So this is the summer camp you always go to?" Selena asked me, a hint of awe in her voice.

I nodded.

"So it means that everything you've tried to tell me is true?"

I nodded again.

"Zach!" I heard a voice cry. Below us, Chiron was galloping in our direction. His horse parts were milky white in the sun's rays. My half-brother Percy Jackson and his girlfriend Annabeth Chase ran behind him.

"Kat!" Percy gave me a big hug, and the sharp, salty scent of the ocean hit my nose. I hugged him back. He was sixteen and you could see a little dark hair sprouting at his upper lip.

Annabeth also gave me a hug and studied me with those stormy gray eyes.

"Have you seen Nico?" Percy asked anxiously. "He disappeared a few days after you left..." He took a quick glance at my mood. "So he is with you. Did he make you that mad?"

"You think?"

Annabeth changed the subject. "Who's that with you?"

Selena was staring at them as it they were a new species of creatures.

"Oh, um...she's my friend." I gave her a hard nudge.

"Selena, this is my brother, Percy, and his girlfriend, Annabeth."

"Uh...hi," was all Selena managed.

"This is kinda hard for her to understand," I explained to them. "It's new to her."

"...Monsters?" we heard Chiron say. "What monsters? Tell me on the ride to the Big House."

He slung Zach and Nico on his back and called, "Connor! Travis!"

"Uh-oh," I muttered. If anything involved the Stoll twins, it was trouble.

The sons of Hermes swooped down from the sky with their winged shoes. They looked almost identical. Connor and Travis Stoll both had curly brown hair, goofy smiles, and mischevious glints in their eyes. They snatched Selena and me of the ground.

"What the -" Selena began.

"The Stoll brothers, at your service," Travis announced with a straight face.

"Where are you taking us?" I asked.

"The Big House! Duh!" Connor rolled his eyes.

"Let us down!" I yelled. "Gods! If I catch you after this, you are going to be so sorry, you'd..."

Connor laughed and flipped a few times in the air before blasting foward with incredible speed. I felt nausea rise up. I started to get scared.

"Let me down!" I yelled again. Connor ignored me.

"Is everyone at camp like this?" Selena shouted.

"Only these two are. They're freakin' stupid sons of Hermes."

"Who's that?"

I sighed. Selena and her lack of Greek mythology. "Basically he likes to prank people. A lot."

"Yeah. I can tell."

"He's not just stupid god that goes around playing jokes," Travis scoffed. "He's fastest of all the gods."

"And the cleverest, too," Connor added.

"I'll tell the Athena cabin you said that," I threatened.

"You mean the geek cabin."

"Shut up!"

"Oh, so what now? Poseidon is backing up Athena? They're rivalries. Or is it because Percy dated Annabeth?"

The brothers laughed and Connor dangerously dangled me near a tree. The nausea rose up again and I hoped my digestive system would agree with me.

"Let us down!" I yelled for the last time.

"Why?" Travis asked teasingly. "Are you scared of heights?"

"Um...well...," I stammered.

I saw Connor wink at Travis before Selena yelled, "Guys! We're going to crash!"

We were heading full-speed toward the attic window. Selena and I were screaming. I thought we were going to die. At the last second, Travis and Connor dived down right through the open door of the Big House. We skidded to a stop in front of a pair of dirty sneakers. They were attatched to purple sweatpants that were attatched to a lepoard-print shirt that was attatched to a pudgy head.

"So you made it," said a disappointing voice. "I thought that you were dead."

"Mr. D," Chiron warned.

"All right. All right. Even if there's only fifty years left, do I still have to appreciate these brats?"

Mr. D, the camp director was a small, fat man with a mass of unruly, curly black hair and beady purple eyes. I didn't exactly like him and he obviously didn't like any of us.

I nodded curtly to him and sat down with Selena. Connor and Travis backed uneasily out of the room. Nico and Zach were already in the room.

"Who is your little friend, here?" Mr. D. asked dryly.

"Oh, her," Nico said. "Her name's Selena. She's a mortal."

There was an uncomfortable silence. I still glared at Nico and he glared back at me. He definitely didn't forget our argument on the bus.

I felt Selena poke me in the ribs and roll her eyes. She was a little annoyed.

"So...the monsters?" Chiron prodded.

Zach nodded and let me explain.

"Well," I began, "first it was at gym. Our reading teacher, Mrs. Maxwell, was actually a dracana. She attacked right after a hellhound."

I heard Chiron curse under his breath.

"And then after that, Zach showed up at Selena's house. We kinda explained things to her and then Nico came along. He had to stall time and then -"

"Me?" Nico's voice rose. "I stalled time? Are you kidding? You're the one -"

"Yeah, right. You just couldn't tell me that there were giants attacking and we were about to get killed. Well, obviously that happened because you have a tiny brain. It's a midget!"

"My brain a midget! You're kidding. 'Cause yours is as small as a pea!"

"What!" My face turned red. Nico is so going to pay for that! "So what now? I'm a pea-brain?"

"Yeah. You know what?"

"What?" I was ready for any comeback.

"At least I have a brain. Unlike some no-brainer like you!" he spat.

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Boys like you..." I clenched my fists. I wasn't aware of anybody around me.

"Yeah? What about me, huh?" Nico asked, his voice allowing sarcasm to come through. His voice sounded higher than usual.

"Boys like you..." I started again. Then I noticed how he looked. Despite the fact that he was kinda goth, he was cute. He had dark hair that was messed up right now so it looked good on him. His olive skin looked smooth. His eyes were a deep chocolaty brown. He was freakin' hot! "Boys like you..." Dang, I thought. He pissed me off!

I took a deep breath and said my sentence. "Boys like you...Are the worst kind!" I blurted. "I'd lose my appetite just by looking at you! I'm being plain stupid by going on a quest with a loser like you!"

"Well," Nico retorted, "maybe I shouldn't go on this quest."

"You shouldn't! Besides, who invited you?"

"Maybe I should quit!"

"See if I care."

There was silence around the table before Chiron cleared his throat. That brought me back to focus.

"That's enough from both of you," he said sternly, looking at both of us carefully. "Now, onto the topic. Zach, do you care to tell what happened?"

"Um..."

I saw that both Selena and Zach were shocked. She was staring at me uneasily.

"What!" I snapped.

She looked away.

"Um...oh yeah. And then after that, some Laistrygonian giants appeared and wrecked the street. And that's about it," Zach concluded.

From Chiron's expression, that must have been really bad.

"Is it that dangerous?" Selena cautiously asked.

"Yes. Yes. I believe it is. This has not happened since the defeat of the Titan lord Kronos." Chiron wrung his hands nervously.

"Whatever it is, it's a pity they're not dead," Mr. D. muttered while flipping around in his wine magazine.

"So what are we going to do now?"

"Well, you'll all return to your cabins for your activities," Chiron said.

"What about me?" Selena was confused.

"We'll give you a room in the Big House. If you want, you can join the Hermes cabin in their activities. During the meals, you'll sit at the head table." Chiron paused and smiled at her. "And don't worry. You're not the only mortal here. Rachel Elizabeth Dare is also here if you need any help."

"Uh..okay."

A few minutes later, Selena and I were walking toward the arena to the Hermes cabin.

"What am I supposed to do," she panicked. "I have no idea how to sword fight. And what if I get hurt?"

"Don't worry," I said. "If they use celestial bronze today, you'll be invincible."

"What?"

"Oh. Celestial bronze weapons are made in Mt. Etna and then cooled in the waters of the River Styx. One touch of it to a monster, and it disappears instantly. But it's harmless to you mortals. You're just not that important to kill."

Selena let out a breath of relief. "Glad to know that."

"Like I said, they might not be using celestial bronze, though. They might be using practice swords."

As we neared the arena, Selena asked, "Why does Chiron want me to practice? I mean, I'm not a half-blood."

"You might not be killed my celestial bronze weapons," I answered, "but monsters can still kill you. Usually you don't see that happen, but that's because they're all after us. Since you're going to go on a quest with three of the most powerful half-bloods in the world, it might be better if you knew how to handle one."

"Oh."

"Well, good luck." I left her with the Hermes cabin at the arena when I suddenly heard a shout from the beach.