Chapter 10-

Recap: "You need your rest Lorelei. Don't try to move so much, it's not good for your health. Percy, Grover you go on." Chiron stayed behind to say something important to me.

"The venom's still in me isn't it?" I asked stroking the fang with the back of my hand. Chiron looked paralyzed by my question.

"Yes, it is. Nothing's positive now, but you've survived so far. You'll be fine Lorelei." I looked at my arm that was wrapped from my shoulder to my wrist. I wondered why if I had only been bitten on the upper part of my arm, why the whole thing was wrapped. The wrapping gave a cool sensation. I could barely move my fingers. "Promise you won't move much," I nodded, and promised that I wouldn't move. "The reason you feel so weak is because the venom's neurotoxin paralyzes you. You've been out for a couple days. Grover was ecstatic when he found out you were alive. You were missing for two days; he thought it was his fault that you were gone. His feeling of regret was worse when we almost lost you a few times," I was wondering why Chiron was telling me all of this. I didn't ask him to. "But you're here now, at Camp Half-Blood. And you're safe from harm, and any monsters that may wish to attack you."

"What is a half-blood? And why would a monster attack me?" but Chiron had already cantered off, leaving me alone and tired. My eyes slowly closed. I could feel something pulsing in my veins. Slowly surging through my body. It must've been the venom gradually paralyzing my body. I felt someone's arms lift me. I was too tired to resist. My eyes shut tight, and I struggled to try to speak, but words didn't form. Had the venom immobilized my tongue, disabling me from speaking?

"Don't worry, you're fine." I couldn't tell whose voice it was. I was placed somewhere soft, with the Python's fang in my hand.

I recovered remarkably quickly in the eyes of Chiron and everyone else at camp. Within a day, I was well enough to walk and finally get a tour of the wonderful Camp Half-Blood. I received the news that I was Half-Blood during that one day of recovery. I was still adjusting to the fact that my father was or is a god. Percy visited me, and said it was a big shock to him too. He said if I was well enough, I would get to play capture the flag the next day. However, Chiron doubted it. Chiron was the one who was giving me a tour. I was surprised he didn't send Grover and Percy to do it. A lot campers wearing CAMP HALF-BLOOD t-shirts spotted me. Most were older than I was, and a few nudged each other seeing my bandaged arm, and snake tooth going 'that's her, its like that one boy,' we passed the strawberry fields, and the forest which Chiron said not to go in unless armed, and someone was with me. I wondered why I would have to be armed in a forest.

"So…where will I be?" I asked as we passed through the 12 cabins lined up. Five were on each side and then two at the top like a semi-circle. We walked passed a cabin that was made out of the precious metals and minerals of the earth. It wasn't necessarily a bad looking cabin, just a little strange. It gave off in eerie cold feeling. No one was in it, like the other cabins. Then I noticed a few were completely empty while others had children in it. Some where overflowing with kids. I stopped and gazed at it as if I would eventually see something. This may seem strange but a voice seemed to breathe words voicelessly; calling me. Chiron was still talking when I turned and opened the cabin door stepping in.

"No, Lorelei!" he said noticing me walk in. The door shut in Chiron's face. "Lorelei, Lorelei!" I stumbled in, and the voice had gotten louder.

"Stay a secret," something spoke to me. In the cabin, it was cold. I sat up wondering where the voice was coming from. "Earlier I was anxious. However, you should live. Although my greed wants you," a shadow started to open from within the cabin. A frigid spectral hand reached for my ankle. Chills spread through my body as I started to slide toward the yawning gap. I screamed and a rearing Chiron kicked the door open.

"Lorelei!" I was breathing heavily as the apparition disappeared in an instant. "What happened?" I stood up slowly shaking my head trying to convince myself of what I was about to say.

"Nothing, nothing I,… I tripped and it hurt my arm is all. Sorry, I alarmed you," I said leaving the cabin eagerly. I glanced back as the shadow of the cabin got longer. Chiron didn't believe me when I said I had tripped, but he said nothing more. He closed the cabin door and eyed it as if he could see the thing that grabbed me, and feared that it would go after him. He quickly guided me to another cabin.

"Come, you'll be staying here in cabin 11. I must go, but you'll later meet Mr. D, until then you can settle here," I stumbled into the cabin filled with children. All of the vibrations let me have a fairly clear look of the cabin. A boy with sandy hair and a nice smile walked up to me. He had a scar beneath his right eye. "This is Lorelei," Chiron introduced me to the boy.

"Hello, I'm Luke." I smiled at him. "Is she undetermined or regular?"

"Undetermined," Chiron said. Everyone groaned.

"Now, now. We're going to welcome Lorelei, just like we welcomed Percy," I didn't have many possessions with me. Actually, I had no possessions with me, except for the fang that pierced my arm. I was confined to the cabin the whole day. I couldn't do any activities because of my injury. I did sit outside though, enjoying the warm sun. That's when a girl cast her shadow over me. I didn't look up, but the way she walked reminded me of someone I met earlier on. She seemed annoyed that she had to find me.

"You're Annabeth right?" I figured. She sighed, and extended her hand to me.

"Yes, and Chiron want's to see you. He'd like you to meet Mr. D," I stood up non-intentionally ignoring her hand. Her gray eyes blazed. "So, how are you gonna make your way around?" I sighed

"I don't know… there's so many places it's hard to memorize them all. And it'd be a nuisance to have someone follow me all day." she led me away from a fire pit lightly pulling my good arm. "Thank you,"

"Are you saying the person would be a nuisance?" she said disregarding my thanks. I quickly shook my head

"No, no of course not. I just, I'd hate to have someone worry about me, or make sure I get around. I don't want to be a pest to anybody. I can stand on my own…," I said the last part doubtfully. Annabeth didn't question me anymore.

"Lorelei, how's the cabin treating you?" Chiron asked as we approached him. "Thank you Annabeth," she nodded and left going to some class. "Lorelei, this is Mr. D," I smiled and greeted him but he merely grunted in annoyance and examined me.

"A little scrawny. And blind too. How'd you come to defeat a python?" he said bluntly.

"Excuse Mr. D's frankness, he's not too happy with his job,"

"Yes, my father loves to punish me," thunder roared above. But Mr. D didn't seem to notice. "So, how did you win against the python?" I stammered. "Are you blind and have a speech impediment," I got angry

"No sir I can speak quite well," he eyed me with my sudden burst of boldness. "I don't know how I killed that snake. I thought I was gonna die. I didn't do anything but scream," I explained

"Hmm," Mr. D contemplated on my words. "Well here you are at camp half blood. Welcome, welcome and all that of the sort. So now that you're here what are you gonna do?" like I was supposed to know. I had only been here for a couple days. Of which, only one of those days was I conscious.

"I'm not sure…; I didn't even know that my father's a god. Which god is my father anyway?" I had asked

"That's undetermined. When he reveals himself then we'll know," Mr. D told me.

"How long will that take?" he didn't respond. I wanted to snap back at him going 'what Mr. D are you rude and have a speech impediment?' but I didn't. Chiron placed something in my hand.

"Here you are Lorelei, it's nothing much at the moment, but it should help you get around. Our best craftsmen made this for you, I hope it comes to use," I tapped it on the ground. It was louder than my old cane shockingly. I saw Mr. D's short portly body and Chiron in his wheelchair. I turned around thinking someone was behind me but I was mistakenly wrong. "Is something wrong?" I shook my head facing Chiron again. "Well, tomorrow is capture the flag, I'm sure Percy or Grover told you. I'm sorry to say that you won't be playing. Your injury is too serious, and still needs to heal." I questioned how vicious a game of capture the flag could be, but I didn't argue with him. I walked away tapping my new wooden cane back to cabin 11, and spotted Percy.

"Hey Lorelei, how are you feeling? Chiron gonna allow you to play capture the flag? It's a big deal around here apparently. Annabeth and this huge mean girl were going at it yesterday because of it," his voice sounded happy but something told me that his actual emotions were different.