Chapter 14: Lee
"How'd she did?" Lee asked "I mean Beckendorf."
Wilma trudged ahead. "Explosion. Charlie and Paige Jackson blew up a cruise ship full of monsters. Beckendorf didn't make it out."
There was that name again—Paige Jackson, Arthur's missing girlfriend. That girl must've been into everything around here, Lee thought.
"So Beckendorf was pretty popular?" Lee asked. "I mean—before she blew up?"
"She was awesome," Wilma agreed. "It was hard on the whole camp when she died. Jade—she became head counselor in the middle of the war. Same as I did, actually. Jane did her best, but she never wanted to be leader. She just likes building stuff. Then after the war, things started to go wrong. Cabin Nine's chariots blew up. Their automatons went haywire. Their inventions started to malfunction. It was like a curse, and eventually people started calling it that—the Curse of Cabin Nine. Then Jade had her accident—"
"Which had something to do with the problem she mentioned," Lee guessed.
"They're working on it," Wilma said without enthusiasm. "And here we are."
The forge looked like a steam-powered locomotive had smashed into the Greek Parthenon and they had fused together. White marble columns lined the soot-
stained walls. Chimneys pumped smoke over an elaborate gable carved with a bunch of gods and monsters. The building sat at the edge of a stream, with several waterwheels turning a series of bronze gears. Lee heard machinery grinding inside, fires roaring, and hammers ringing on anvils.
They stepped through the doorway, and a dozen guys and girls who'd been working on various projects all froze. The noise died down to the roar of the forge and the click-click-click of gears and levers.
"'Sup, guys," Wilma said. "This is your new sister, Lee—um, what's your last name?"
"Valdez." Lee looked around at the other campers. Was she really related to all of them? Her cousins came from some big families, but she'd always just had her mom—until she died.
Kids came up and started shaking hands and introducing themselves. Their names blurred together: Sashi, Christine, Nate, Harley (yeah, like the motorcycle). Lee knew she'd never keep everybody straight. Too many of them. Too overwhelming.
None of them looked like the others—all different face types, skin tone, hair color, height. You'd never think, Hey, look, it's the Hephaestus Bunch! But they all had powerful hands, rough with calluses and stained with engine grease. Even little Harley, who couldn't have been more than eight, looked like she could go six rounds with Chuck Norris without breaking a sweat.
And all the kids shared a sad kind of seriousness. Their shoulders slumped like life had beaten them down pretty hard. Several looked like they'd been physically beaten up, too. Lee counted two arm slings, one pair of crutches, an eye patch, six Ace bandages, and about seven thousand Band-Aids.
"Well, all right!" Lee said. "I hear this is the party cabin!"
Nobody laughed. They all just stared at her.
Wilma Solace patted Lee's shoulder. "I'll leave you guys to get acquainted. Somebody show Lee to dinner when it's time?"
"I got it," one of the guys said. Nate, Lee remembered. He wore camo pants, a tank top that showed off his buff arms, and a red bandanna over a mop of dark hair. Except for the smiley-face Band-Aid on his chin, he looked like one of those male action heroes, like any second he was going to grab a machine gun and start mowing down evil aliens.
"Cool," Lee said. "I always wanted a family who could beat me up."
Nate didn't smile. "Come on, joker girl . I'll show you around."
A/N: sorry this chapter was shorter. I promise the other chapters will be longer. See yah fruit loops!