I FINALLY UPDATED! :D I think this chapter was a bit short, but, what the heck. I'm on jetlag, since I landed in the States last night-excuse me, this morning and am still tuned to Pacific Central Time instead of the Eastern Time Zone. The next chapter will be updated on or before July 13th. I'll be updating Daybreak tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, since I didn't have time to type up everything. Enjoy!
~CampHB
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
We were screwed and we knew it.
The grave, scholarly scowl on a certain centaur's face combined with the intense, heated glower that was directed at us was more than enough proof that Chiron was beyond royally pissed (not to mention his frantically stamping hooves and fists that were clenched so hard that I'm surprised that his fingers didn't pop clean off).
Dionysus, being the lazy deity he was, was reclining in his so-dubbed 'special chair' and entertaining himself with a ping-pong ball by repeatedly bouncing it on the table. He caught my gaze, a sadistic grin crossing over his mouth. His irises danced with a wild, mystic purple fire, their depths taunting me, teasing me. I looked away towards the clock that hung next to the photo frames on the wooden wall.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
You're-dead.
You're-dead.
If it wasn't bad enough already, I would've sworn that the clock was also mocking us.
Every second that passed got us even more worked up. I fidgeted, my thumbs playing an endless game of thumb war under the table.
Thalia sat across from me, arms folded across her chest. A seemingly permanent scowl was etched onto her face, her gaze nothing but pure, raw, seething anger. Anyone could tell that she was doing all she could not to jump across the table and brutally stab Connor, Travis, and me to death.
The infamous Stoll Brothers were seated to my left. Connor was jiggling his leg anxiously, shooting his older brother a glance before resuming his staring contest with the table. Travis was busy chewing his lip. Every now and then he would take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
The tension was eating away at us, the silence unbearable. Why didn't someone say something, for Olympus's sake?
I noticed Chiron's gaze settle on me and could practically feel the rage and disbelief radiating from him. I flinched, despite my thoughts to appear stoic. Man, was HE mad. Chiron closed his eyes and took a deep, long breath. When he opened them again, all traces of anger were wiped from his face. Only disappointment remained.
"I am not very happy at what happened at breakfast this morning," he began, calmly, cooly. A little too calm. Like the executioner before the execution.
I swallowed hard.
"Now, I am fully aware that you four have been involved in this little 'incident', shall we say, some more...seriously than others." The centaur's piercing brown eyes shifted from one person to another. We all averted our gazes. "Would anyone want to...explain?"
No one moved. No one dared to make a sound.
Chiron opened his mouth to say something again, but was cut off by a sudden sound. Mr. D had become bored to the point where he'd taken two ping-pong balls and began to drop the on the table in different intervals, letting them clatter noisily as they hit the wooden surface.
The already short fuse snapped. The centaur's eyes blazed with fury, and even Thaila shifted back in her seat a bit at the burning fierceness of his glare. He pushed his chair back with unnecessary force, resulting in the chair legs screeching loudly against the wooden floor as the mercilessly scraped across it. I winced and the high-pitched noise.
"Dionysus," he said formally through gritted teeth. "Please...stop...bouncing...the...ping-pong balls." Each word was spoken in a strained voice, his tone formal and controlled.
The god raised an eyebrow amusedly.
"...With all due respect," the centaur added after a long pause.
Mr. D snickered lightly under his breath before snapping his fingers and making the spheres dissipate into thin air. Chiron closed his eyes once more and rubbed his temples, regaining his composure.
"Travis and Connor Stoll," he called. "This is the fifth time you've been caught up in mischief this week and it's only been THREE days since I last called you two here." He sighed before continuing. "I don't want to have another long discussion with you two again, and I don't think you would appreciate it either. You are assigned to Kitchen Duty, Cabin Cleanup, Stable Cleanup, and other consequences I will decide on later for the rest of the summer. Is that understood?"
"Stable Cleanup?" Connor blurted, panic rising in his voice. "We have to shovel the horse poop?"
A smirk pasted itself on Thalia's face, and she grinned maliciously and the son of Hermes's discomfort at the mention of manure. Chiron looked at Connor pointedly and the boy shut up.
"Is that understood?" he asked again, his tone slightly impatient.
"Yes, sir." Travis nodded, picking at the table.
"Yes, sir," Connor mumbled after his brother.
"Thalia..." Chiron turned to the Hunter. "I apologize for what happened this morning. I will take full responsibility, as it was my fault that I chastened these two-" he motioned to the Stoll Brothers "-too late. I'm very sorry."
Thalia just shrugged, but her eyes were cold, calculating, and positively icy. She sent me a death glare so cold there was no wonder why frost didn't come out of her eyes. I deserved it, I guessed. It kind of counted as sexual harassment in a way...
"And...Alex."
I glanced up, half afraid that I would receive a 1) ranting, 2) lecture on how I was so different from 'Luke' and what he would have done, or 3) a mix of both.
Chiron looked as if he was going to say something important, but decided against it.
"...Don't do this again."
I nodded, wordless. I needed to get out of here now. I was dying for fresh air.
"Don't do this again," he repeated.
"N-" My throat caught on the word. "No, sir."
Chiron turned his attention back to the table. "You are all dismissed."
I was the first to leave my chair and walk out the door, hands in my pockets. It was around noon outside, the heat starting to rise. I turned my back on the Big House and started walking. My feet took me past the Arena, past the Armory, toward the woods. According to my camp schedule, I was supposed to be in Sword & Shield with Clarisse, but what the heck. I could miss sword fighting for one day.
The woods were cool and calm. Clustered trees provided shade from the sun's burning rays. I weaved my way through my trees, shuffling around slowly. I had no idea where I was going, just knew I was going somewhere.
A uncounted number of steps later, I found myself with a scratch from a sharp branch, a bruise from where a dryad thought that it would be funny to 'accidently' whack me with a stick, and a hungry stomach. The sun was even hotter than before and I did my best to stay in the shadows, away from the sunshine. I reached a clearing where a huge pile of rocks stood, towering over me. The rock mountain was humongous and stacked up high.
I tentatively stepped into the sunshine before darting underneath the rock mountain's shadow. My fingers ran over the rough surface of the boulders.
Letters...
Glowing blue letters...
My eyes snapped open. I backed away from the massive heap.
'You...WILL host me...'
A gulp. Fear. Shaking hands and sweating palms. "Y-yes, my lord."
A deep chuckle. A rumble of power. 'Very well, son of Hermes. You have served me well and will continue to serve me...as my new body.'
"No," I whispered. "No..."
"Luke!" Annabeth screamed, her eyes wide with panic, pleading me, begging me.
My body tensed. Next to me, Anteaus crack his knuckles threateningly.
I squeezed my eyes shut. "No."
'Your body...is mine. MINE.'
Burning pain in my chest, like someone was taking a knife and stabbing and twisting the knife mercilessly, hacking away at my body.
"NO."
I stared at the pile of rocks one last time before turning sharply on my heel and sprinting off. I had to leave. I had to go away. I had to leave this place. I had to leave Camp Half-Blood.
Ehh. This chapter was...so-so. I think I made Chiron a little too OOC. If you really think I made him too out of character, feel free to PM me and tell me what I can improve on. Please RR&E (Read, Review, and Enjoy). I will do my best to update as fast as I can, but I am now thinking of requiring 5 reviews before I update another chapter. Another thing I'm not so sure about: Should I give Alex a quest? There's a poll on my profile, so be sure to check it out. Bonus Question: Where was Luke visiting in the woods? I don't think the answer's too hard to figure out. Good luck. :)
~CampHB