After taking my shower, I slipped back inside my cabin. No one else was up and we had breakfast in a half an hour. I did the obvious thing.
"Good morning Sunshines!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Time to get up and face another wonderful day!" I yelled again as I pulled Conner's blanket off of him.
"Come on you guys, you'll want to see the show. I guarantee it." I said, pulling off another blanket.
"What show?" Someone yelled, throwing a pillow at my head.
"Oh, you know. The one where I got into the showers and put food coloring in every shower head."
Travis's head popped up. "Aphrodite cabin had the first shift, didn't they?" He asked, mischief glinting in his eyes.
I gave him a wicked grin, nodding.
"Alrighty kiddos, you heard the lady. Up and at 'em, we have a show to catch."
In record breaking time, my whole cabin was dressed and out the door. By the time we had reached the showers, there were already yelps and screams coming from inside.
When Drew came running out screaming, her hair tinted an ugly shade of green, I was leaning against one of the older boys from the cabin, Marcus. We were in hysterics, most of my cabin wasn't even standing anymore, they were just rolling around on the ground trying not to wet themselves.
"Cam, are you sure you're not Hermes' kid? Cause this," He gestured at the rainbow colored mess in front of us, "this is just amazing." Marcus gasped out between fits of laughter.
A couple kids had regained control and had managed to stand up. Some had started walking off to the Mess Hall, grinning like mad.
Nico walked up beside me and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Ready for breakfast?" He asked, acting like there weren't a couple dozen angry Aphrodite kids glaring at us.
"Yep." I answered, and we joined the rest of the Hermes cabin.
Chiron was holding back a laugh as he lectured us on not pulling pranks. He kept glancing at the Aphrodite cabin and clearing his throat.
"As you can see, we have quite a situation on our hands." He nodded in the direction of the Rainbow Children. "The Apollo cabin has assured me that we can get the color out of their skin and hair, but that is beside the point. What happened here today was unacceptable." He glanced at me. "Now, I have seen my fair share of outlandish pranks in all of my years here, including the Pear, which the Stoll brothers graciously bestowed upon us a few years back." Another disapproving look for the Hermes table.
"With that said, I must ask for the perpetrator to step forward. It is not something I desire to do, but you must serve some sort of punishment for your actions." He looked at me, then the Stoll brothers.
I glanced at the rest of cabin, praying that they wouldn't rat me out. None of them seemed to be caving, and I look at Travis. He smirked and pointed behind my right shoulder. I spun and saw the Aphrodite cabin sulking their way to their table. The only one who wasn't in tears was Piper, who looked like she might even be slightly amused.
The whole Mess Hall erupted in laughter, even the usually solemn children of Hypnos were chuckling. Someone kicked my knee under the table, and I snapped my attention back to them. Marcus was winking at me, and a few of the others were nodding approvingly.
Chiron stomped his hoof into the marble, and everyone went quiet. "Please campers, let's try and contain ourselves. Now please, if you know who did this, tell me or one of the head counselors. No one will know who told, we just need to know who did this to the Aphrodite cabin." And with that said, he returned to the head table.
I bolted as soon as I could, making my way to the climbing wall. Some of the Ares kids had skipped breakfast in order to train, so they hooked up my equipment at the top. One of the kids, I think his name was Aaron, leaned over and gave me a thumbs up.
I took a couple steps back and got a running start, launching myself a few extra feet. I started scrambling up, acutely aware of the timer the walls were on. I started to feel them shake, and I knew my time was running low. They had started to slowly come together, and my heart lurched around in my chest. My adrenaline kicked in, making my fingers shake.
I started leaping from one ledge to the other, scrambling over rough edges. I was only four feet away from the tip when my foot slipped. I grabbed onto the scraggly rock ledge, ignoring the fresh gash on my leg.
I wasn't even thinking anymore, all I knew was that the walls were only three feet apart, and closing fast.
Before I knew what was happening, I kicked against the far wall. The same light that I had seen my first night at camp erupted from my hand again. I braced my legs against one wall, and pushed. They slowly spread apart, and I realized what I had just done.
Aaron looked down at me, and then blew a large horn at the top, signaling for Chiron and Mr. D. He lay down on his stomach, reaching down to grab my hand. I gripped his wrist, and he tugged me up. I just laid down there until Chiron's face appeared above mine.
He signaled for one of the Apollo medics, who knelt next to me. She put her arm behind my back, helping me stand. My knees gave out, and I thought for sure she was going to drop me.
The next thing I knew, Nico had one arm around my back, and the other under my knees. I curled up against his chest, my head and heart pounding.
I felt myself being shifted into someone else's arms, and then once again. The third time, I felt like I was being lifted upwards.
I started to panic, and my breath quickened.
"Camilla, it's okay. It's Percy, alright? You're going to be just fine. Don't worry Cam, we're just going to fly you back to the Big House. We're on Blackjack. You're going to be fine." The way he kept repeating how I was going to be fine had me worried.
I tried to nod, but it hurt too much. Percy understood though, and he held my waist a little tighter until we reached the Big House and I was safely transferred back down to ground level.
"I've got her Percy." I tried to look and see who had said that, but my head hurt too badly to open my eyes.
Whoever it was carefully carried me inside. One of the Apollos was instructing everyone on what to do, but all of the noise just made my headache worse.
I cried out, and everyone went still.
"Help." I whimpered, tears streaming down my face. It was like no pain I had ever experienced, but everyone just stood around. Everything was dead quiet.
"Please…" I breathed, trying not to pass out. My whole body was on fire now. It burned so intensely, I started to scream. Cries of agony escaped my lips. Still, no one moved.
Whoever was holding me set me down on a cot, and my body retched. Everywhere the sheet touched was like hot coals.
"Help me please…Anyone!" I cried out, still with no response.
I heard someone open the front door, and the footsteps quickly ascending the stairs.
"Oh my Gods!" Nico yelled, and I cried out again. "Chiron, do something!" He was pleading, but Chiron didn't reply.
Finally, I heard Percy say, "Marcus, go get Rachel. She's going to want to see this." For the first time, Percy sounded somber. "Nico, you need to leave." I heard him take a step in the direction that Nico's voice had come from.
"Not until someone does something. Can't you see she's suffering? You can't leave her like that." His voice dropped down to a hiss, and I could tell that he and Percy were toe to toe.
Just as suddenly as the light had flashed, the pain in my body eased. I relaxed, allowing my aching body to sink into the soft sheets. "Nico?" I asked, my voice came out in a barely audible whisper.
I opened my eyes, and everyone in the room was staring at me. "What?" I asked, embarrassed of my behavior.
Moira, one of the Apollo campers just picked up a handheld mirror from a large table in the corner of the room. She inches over to me, carefully passing it to me. I looked up at her, but she just nodded.
She turned the mirror around, and I saw why everyone was staring. My skin was etched all over with glowing lilac lines. They traced around my body, soft as moonlight.
I stood, suddenly feeling stronger than I had in a long time. I lifted my arms, the lines were there too. I look at Chiron, panic stricken.
He glanced around the room and said, "Everyone but Percy, Nico, Annabeth, Travis, and Conner out please."
They slowly made their way to the door, and right before it closed Marcus looked at me. It was the same look that Kali had given me. I felt my heart break a little.
Chiron walked over to me, ducking to avoid the low hanging light fixture.
"Sit down please dear." He gestured to one of the cots, and I let my body drop onto it.
"What's happening to me?" I asked, my voice shaking.
He put a hand on my arm, and spoke to the others.
"Come here please, there is something we all need to discus."