Chapter Four
When I walked outside the temple doors, Chiron and the rest of my friends were waiting anxiously, with the exception of Katie who was showing her mom her new toy and telling her tales about how she helped Katie beat us in basketball. I watched the two for a moment and wondered if I could ever have such a good and friendly relationship with my mother. I was feeling such a wide range of emotions and in such deep thought that I hadn't even realized Brandon was talking to me.
"Earth to Alex, you there bro?" he said. "Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff. What did you say?" "I asked what happened in there." "We talked for a bit, about different things." I said broadly. "Well what sort of things?" he asked me. "Honestly, right now I just feel like I should lie down for a while. It's been a long fucking day." I told him. "Curse." Katie said, staring at me wide-eyed and pointing her finger. "Sorry Katie, it's been a long freaking day." I corrected myself. It's going to be difficult to not swear around Katie, since I feel so used to it. I'm sure the words I would use to describe what's running through my head right now could make a sailor blush.
"Well, we are just about to head back. We are waiting on Sierra to return to us, she's off trying to find her sister Annabeth right now." Chiron told me. Logan came over and led me around a corner to talk in private. "I'm sorry, about my dad. He's not normally like this, I don't know-" I cut him off. "I understand. If my sister was…you know. I would be pretty upset about it as well." I told him. "I just don't want you to think I feel the same way, I guess. As much as I love my dad, I'm not him." "I won't judge you based on another's actions," I reassured him "even if they were the actions of a god." We went back around the corner to join the rest of the group.
Nike, Katie's mother, walked over to me. "So, this must all be quite a shock to you." I was kind of nervous about talking to a goddess. I know I just had a full conversation with one not ten minutes ago, but there were things that needed to be said. But randomly talking to a god is like finding a teacher in the grocery store and they start a conversation with you. It's like realizing that they exist outside of story books and myth. "It is a shock. I just learned that my mother is literally the moon. I learned that everything about Greek gods being mere legend is false. I learned that you're more than a shoe company. It's been a very exasperating day." I told her. "Well, I'm sure it will all work out for you in the end. Or, you could die a very painful and horrible death and tragically lead others into the same fate as yourself." Nike said with a helpful smile. I just stared at her with a "what the hell?" expression plastered on my face.
Sierra came back a few minutes later, and she told the group she's sorry for taking so long. Apparently Annabeth is on a trip to Camp Jupiter, whatever that is, and she won't be back for some time. We rode the elevator back down to New York and Argus drove us back to camp. Katie tried talking to everyone in the car, but we all had a lot on our minds, me especially. When we reached the camp, my friends said their goodnights and went their separate ways to their cabins. "Chiron, where am I supposed to sleep?" I asked him. "Come on Alex, I'll show you to your cabin."
We walked to a small cabin that had a glowing silver outline, with and two arrows crossing each other over a carving of the moon above the door. "This place is mine?" I asked Chiron. "Yes and no. It belongs to the children of Artemis, as each god or goddess has their own cabin here in which their children can live in. But, you're the only child of hers. You're not the only one to stay here however; there are the hunters of Artemis that come by occasionally, and when they do, they stay here." He explained. "Who are the hunters of Artemis?" I asked him. "They're a band of female warriors that follow Artemis into battle and scour the globe looking for monsters to kill. They are usually, eh, nice in a way. Well, nice in the sense they won't kill you without reason, that is." He said with a laugh. "Why do they stay here then? If there demigods, shouldn't they be in their own parents cabins?" I questioned him. "Artemis has given the hunters special permission to accommodate her cabin when they are at camp. Now, no more of the third degree, it's off to bed with you son. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow, and I'm sure you have a few things to think about. Goodnight Alex Hunter." After he said goodnight, he trotted off.
I walked into the cabin slowly, and noticed I was alone. I suppose it makes sense, since I have no siblings. The walls where gray, as were the covers on the bunks as well. The beds were in an "O" formation, circling around a table with some chairs. On the walls were the heads of several creatures, and as it was the first time seeing them, they scared the hell out of me. I walked to the middle bed where moonlight shined on the pillow through the window. "Home sweet home." I said to myself. I didn't have any belongings, so I had nothing to put away. I took off my jacket and my boots and jeans. I pulled the covers down in the bed and tried to get to sleep. If I had known what I was going to dream, I promise I would've stayed awake.
I opened my eyes and I was lying in a dark forest. The ground was wet and cold and I looked around to try and gather my senses. I heard the flow of water splashing up against rocks next to me, and I got up. I walked forward and kicked something metal. I bent down and felt a razor sharp blade glide under my palm. I felt around on the ground a little bit more and found a hilt. I picked it up and held it close to my eyes, trying to see what it was. It took a few minutes and a bit of adjusting, but I could see I was holding a sword in my hands. "What the hell?" I asked myself. From somewhere behind me, I heard the crunch of a branch being stepped on. My heart was racing so fast I thought it was about to punch through my ribs. I slowly turned around and saw a woman with green eyes lumbering towards me. When I say green though, I don't mean the same green as that pretty girl that sits next to you in math class. I mean green in a glowing, eerie way. She had a bent back, and was surrounded by a thin green mist. This lady looked like she was possessed. She stared at me for a moment, and smiled. Her teeth were missing or blackened, and she said "Run far, run fast, or you shall not last." Her voice had a sort of echo quality that made her seem even spookier.
The river began splashing violently, and I turned to see a figure emerge from its waters. The old lady behind me spoke up again. "Rise, Alpheus, destroy the son of the wretched wench that hid away your lover Arethousa!" The creature raised his giant fist and slammed it down on top of me, but cried out in horror and pain when half of his fist was cut off from the blade in my hands. I looked down at the sword, but only for a second, because every fiber of my being told me to haul ass out of there. So that's what I did. I ran. I ran far, and I ran fast. I ran so far and fast that I smacked right into a tree and woke up the next morning.