Chapter 6: Elsa: Getting into Camp

"Now look what you've done!" I yelled at Toby, I mean, he didn't need to knock him out.

Toby shrugged, "Eh. He'll live, but we need to leave. Now." He walked over to where Jake was on the floor and swung him over his shoulder like a gym bag, he held his legs in front of him; his upper body and arms hung lifeless down his back.

"Why do we need to leave?' Luna asked, unplugging the hairdryer in her hands. Roger sat on the couch wet, and wrapped in blankets, his teeth chattering.

Toby turned to everyone, "Everybody get your stuff, make sure to put enough clothes in for a month...or so." I rose an eyebrow in his direction.

"Um..I'll inform you later, but for right now just do what I say."

Everybody in the room just stared at him blankly.

He threw his arms up, "Well get moving!"

Everybody ran down to their rooms except me, and Roger still sat on the couch, his complexion looking a bit pale. I stood there at glared at Toby for another minute. He stuck his tongue out at me. He better be up to something good. After everyone finished packing we all piled our bags into the trailer attached to our van.

A 12 hours later on the road it was dark and people were complaining every five seconds.

"FINE!" Toby yelled as loud as he could, "As long as it will shut you up we'll stop at a stupid motel. Okay? Does that satisfy your needs?" We fell silent as he mumbled to himself. Toby usually does not get angry, but when he does...you do not want to be in the room, or the van in our case. We finally ended up stopping in some rinky-dink town in Pennsylvania that was pretty much in the center of the forest. We stayed there for the night all crowded into one room. I didn't sleep at all that night. Not that my sleep is really considered sleep anyways, its more like rest ..with dreams? ... Its hard to explain.

Hannah, Luna and I shared a bed while Toby, Zeke, Katarina, Jake, and Roger were arranged on the floor. When I woke I noticed that Katarina was using the small of Jake's back for a pillow. Too cute! I smiled. I quickly got changed after i checked that everyone was still fast asleep and grabbed the car keys that hung from a hook next to the door.

I had on a dark blue sweater with a tank top underneath, jeans, and as always, my handmade sandals. I stared at our white van, I sighed, un-hitched the trailer and got into the driver's seat. I turned right and ran over the sidewalk in the process and headed out into the open road.

I drove for a good hour, deep in thought before I turned on the radio and rolled the windows down. I just drove down the countryside for a while, then pulled over to the side of the road. I sat on the ground cross-legged and meditated for a while. I felt the forest behind me teeming with life. The trees, the ants, the squirrels, just..everything. I could feel their feelings and thoughts.

People wonder why I am a vegetarian now. When I had my training with my master, before I left for earth, he taught me to meditate. And meditate I did, it taught me listening skills and a lot more understanding of the way the world works, but no matter how hard I tried afterward: I could not eat meat. Unless it was last resort of course.

When you share a creature's mind, their thoughts and feelings, It feels almost impossible to even think about eating meat. I'll only do it under dire circumstances. I'm not condemning eating meat, its just..I can't.

I snapped out of meditating, and drove back to the motel. Everyone was getting ready as I walked into the motel room, and Luna was complaining about something, per usual. I sat down on the bed next to Roger.

He surprised me with a question, "So, where did you go?"

"Somewhere." I kept my face straight.

He left his eyes set on my face for a moment then shook his head. We all got back in the car, and this time we didn't stop for anything.

A couple hours later we arrived at our destination, apparently. It didn't really look like much from the road.

"What the heck is this place?" Roger asked, turning his head to look at Toby.

"Its one of the greatest camps of all time, I spent a lot of my summers here as a camper." He smiled.

"Hannah and Logan should know what I'm talking about."

I turned back from my seat in the front to see their eyes widen and their faces light up. Hannah smiled, " Really?"

I looked at her weirdly, she's smiling? That was new.

Logan quietly smiled; as he does often. Katarina and Jake were asleep in the far back, her head slumped on his shoulder.

I was thoroughly confused.

"So exactly where are we?" I asked, half glancing at Toby.

"We are at an old camp of mine," He said with a wide grin, "We need to get there before anything finds us."

That confused me even more.

"Okay...?"

"So all of you," he said looking back at the rest, "Be silent. Grab all of your things and be as quick as you can, and head over that hill."

We all got out of the van, silently, as instructed. I carried the sleeping Katarina and Toby carried Jake, swung over his shoulder in the same manner as he had before.

We were halfway up the hill when we heard a rustle in the trees accompanied by a chorus of hissing.

Toby muttered something under his breath, which I could only assume was cursing, although it sounded like it was in a foreign language.

"RUN!" Luna screamed.

Logan yelled, "Oh Gods!" That was soon followed by Hannah saying,"Frickin' curse you Hera!"

I turned around to see a nine-headed dragon snake, thing. It was about 15 feet tall. Holy crap. One of the heads lurched back and hacked up something that burned into the ground, and the other spit fire at Toby, fortunately missing its target.

Logan ran up and grabbed my arm and started running up the hill, jerking me forward.

"We have to help them!" I yelled to be heard over the screaming.

"Toby said to get you out! He'll stay behind."

I turned back to see some of the others following us. I didn't complain. We finally reached the top of the hill and as I was running, I suddenly I hit something and fell backwards, Katarina rolling over next to me, half asleep.

Was my nose bleeding? Ugh. I sat up from the grass to see a dragon wrapped around a pine tree, with some gold fuzzy thing on it. Did I hit the wall that hard? Or whatever it was, but there was nothing in front of me. What did I run into then? Logan was on the other side, panting.

"Oh crap, *pant* we have to *wheeze* I'll be right back!" He ran down the other side of the hill as the others approached. Hannah and Katarina were the only ones that could get through, besides Nero of course.

His consciousness brushed mine, Why can you not get through?

Not really sure. I answered him.

Its like some sort of force field.

Yeah and I almost broke my nose on it.

I checked if it was still bleeding. Yep of course it was. Blood was dripping generously down my face. AWESOME.

Toby, came up behind us, and when I turned around he was running, he passed in front of me and collapsed, Jake fell next to him, still out cold. Only a couple people were able to get through. What the heck was this place?

I could see Toby twitching, his eyes rolling in the back of his head, the acid from the dragon thing's spit-which I assumed was a hydra from my studies- was burning into both his legs. I had to get to him! I rammed into the invisible brick wall again and again. Nonononono! This was not happening! I heard something get torched behind me, and the smell of smell of smoke filled my nostrils; Was it trying to smoke us out into its field of vision? Luna was screaming. I was desperate. Things started to turn blurry.

Toby, I yelled. It was a blur.

Roger came up next to me.

Are you okay? I saw him say. Couldn't hear.

Two figures came up behind Toby on the other side. One a blond-haired blue-eyed pregnant woman with a sparkling ring, and the other a man will dark hair and sea green eyes. I half snapped out of it. "We give you permission to enter!" the woman yelled worry in her eyes. My heightened sense of hearing caught the man's whisper, to who a assumed was his wife, hence the ring, "Annabeth, you think Chiron was expecting them?"

"I don't know," she glanced back at us, just as i saw the hydra poke every one of its nine heads over the hill, "Come on! Hurry up! You can cross!" Everybody threw the bags over and I picked up Katarina. We crossed with no problem.

Can you fix my bloody nose?

But your not the one with the bloody nose...wait...

I turned around

"Nero!" His big black snout went up my ribcage and I held on, his brilliant obsidian scales gleamed even in near-dark, and his wings were folded against his massive body. My dragon: My partner.

He set me down, his silver eyes blinking curiously into mine. I looked down at myself. I was covered in dark red blood from my chin to my knees, lines streaking across me, soaking into my clothes and dripping. I looked at his nose to see it had four deep claw marks across it.

Nero!

What?

I started weaving a healing spell out of my native language. You could see his skin crawl as it healed.

You know how weird that feels?

Yes, matter of fact I do.

I don't know how, but I have morphed into myself again.

I am glad! Very happy!

Wow. I think I was too tired for my own good.

The woman walked up to me, as well as Logan, and the creature that I assumed was Chiron, who I also assumed was a Centaur, because the lower half of his body was a horse.

She looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...I just don't.."

"What?"

I swore. "Toby!" I got up and went over to him as quickly as I could. The man that was with the pregnant woman -no I don't know their names- was leaned over him.

I pressed my hands on his wounds and wove a spell that started drawing the toxins that were in his muscle tissue, I had to word this perfectly for it to work. I ignored the stares from the others, and I felt a presence behind me. There was a hand on my shoulder, but I kept concentrated. Energy poured into me and I healed his leg within ten minutes. Freaking hydra poison.

Poison was tough to draw out.

I turned around to see that Roger was the one with his arm on my shoulder, and he softly smiled at me.

Even with Roger helping me I was drained of all energy. The one known as Chiron looked at me curiously.

"Why hello there." He said smiling.

"Um...Hi."

"I'm assuming Toby led you here yes?" he made eye contact with me, "You are friend, not foe?"

I heard Toby's voice, "We are Friend Chiron, you of all people should know that."

I turned around to see him smiling, still laying on the ground.

I hugged him around his neck. So glad he's still alive.

Everyone sat there silently, staring at Chiron.

I heard a murmur from Zeke, "What are you Toby?"

He smiled. That was a slightly odd reaction to such a serious question.

A question that I didn't even know the answer to.

Yes I know, I said I'd save it for later. Truth is I didn't even know at that time.

He looked at the dark haired man, "Percy?"

Percy? Okay. Ignore the question.

"Toby!"

They enveloped in a man-hug. Okay?

Logan and Hannah again were blown away.

"NO WAY!" They both said.

No way what? I didn't see what was clear to them.

"You went to camp with Percy Jackson!" Hannah exclaimed. Percy helped Toby get up from the grass.

He bowed and said,"Yep, Son of Apollo, at your service."