Luna... Chapter 9...
The door swung open soundlessly. The corridor outside however was extremely dark. The kind of inky darkness that obscured everything. Not wanting to turn the light on, I fumbled down the corridor blindly, feeling my way towards what I hoped was the way out. After a few minutes of almost falling down the stairs I reached the front door. I pushed it open and it made a horrifically loud creaking sound. Suddenly, I heard the faint tapping of hooves. I took that opportunity to run, even though I knew I was going to be in big trouble when I got back.
I managed to get half way to the lake when I realized something was terribly terribly wrong. The wind wasn't there but the grass was still moving and trees were still waving. Not to mention the fact that the moon was brighter and bigger than usual. It was incredibly strange... I brushed the hair out of my face, looking for any signs of commotion... Then I noticed that there was something cold and hard hanging from my wrist on a small chain link bracelet. It was clearly in the shape of a crescent moon and was about the size of my little finger. Its' cold silvery-black edges glinted menacingly in the moonlight and the large blue gem in the middle of it cast an unusual blue light on the ground. It was incredibly unnerving.
Before I could study the strange bracelet any further a muffled boom seemed to echo over the camp and made the ground shake. I knew that I had to get over to everyone else so I made my way towards the lake as quickly as I could. When I saw what was happening my jaw dropped. A group of unrecognizable monsters were swarming a group of campers and were being lead by a man dressed all in black. A strange mist seemed to curl around him and he shimmered and rippled like he wasn't really there.
I ran. I ran as fast as I could. The campers around me were slashing with swords and the monsters were melting into shadows. I had a sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach that they weren't meant to do that at all. The man was close now, fighting three kids at once. I could see his black hair and black eyes up close now. A cold object seemed to form in my hand and I knew at that moment what exactly I had to do. While I still had the element of surprise and the momentum that was pushing me forwards I charged ahead and swung the icy object round to hit him squarely in the face. He stumbled back, rippling and shimmering. His cold eyes focused directly on me. "You." He snarled Before my eyes the man's hand hand seemed to grow into an enormous claw. I felt my body slowly freeze up with fear. He walked towards me with a maniacal grin planted on his face. He was about to bring the claw down on me when someone pushed me roughly out of the way. I landed on the ground with a thump and it knocked all of the wind out of me.
Black spots danced in front of my eyes until someone leaned over me. It was a woman. She had beautiful long flowing black hair and silver eyes. She smiled. I felt warm. Everything began to fade to black. The woman's features suddenly turned much sharper and crueler. "Not long now, little sister dear..." She smiled. I slowly lost consciousness; her cruel face was the last I saw.
Phoebe was there. She was sat on a small silvery bench, like a beacon in the darkness. I ran towards her. She grinned at me. The closer I got the harder it became to take a step. The closer I got the more her face seemed to grow sadder and sadder, her skin grew sicklier and sicklier until she looked like herself while she was lying in that hospital bed in London. Her hair turned into leaves and her skin was covered in brown blotches. Her brown eyes looked so unbelievably sad. I couldn't say anything. Not even a simple sorry. And then, I fell.
It was bright. So bright. Will Solace was kneeling over me, a concerned look on his face. "You're literally the only one who was injured in that fight against Hades." He sighed, shaking his head. I tried to say something but my throat felt dry. He passed me a glass of water and I gulped it down. "That wasn't Hades." I croaked out with absolute certainty. He looked confused. "But that's what everyone at camp thinks.. They all saw you with your crazy hammer you pulled from nowhere." He said. "They all saw you hit him in the face with it as well.. Everyone's scared for you though. They think he's going to drag you down to the underworld for offending him." He noted. I sat up and saw where I was laying. It was on a blanket right outside of the big house. The sky was a bright blue and not a single cloud could be seen. "It wasn't Hades.. It was someone else.. I don't think they like me that much either..." I sighed. I brushed the hair out of my face. The bracelet was still there, glinting in the sunlight. It suddenly seemed a lot more friendly then it had the night before. " And what do you mean 'hammer'? I don't own a hammer, let alone one that I could hit someone in the face with?" I continued.
Before Will could answer, a girl with blonde hair full of ringlets and extremely intense grey eyes came and stood next to him. She held out her hand. "My name's Annabeth." She said. I shook it cautiously. Whoever she was, she seemed highly intelligent but she looked like she was thinking about a thousand and one things at once. Not to mention very pretty. She didn't smile. She didn't seem particularly interested in me but when she caught site of my bracelet... "Is that stygian iron?" She asked, her eyes lit up with interest. I withdrew my hand instinctively and clutch the bracelet protectively. "I don't know.. Why?" I asked. I didn't know why but I really didn't want Annabeth to examine the little moon charm. She got down on her knees. "May I?" She asked, burning curiosity clear on her face. I reluctantly unclasped the bracelet and handed it to her. She turned it over in the palm of her hand. "It looks like it's mostly stygian iron.. But there seems to be something else mixed in with it..." She handed it back to me. "You better get ready, Chiron has decided you'll start training today and he's going to make you muck out the stables." She stood back up and brushed her hands on her t-shirt. "You'll be starting on the climbing wall so... You should hurry up." And with that she walked off.