The world around Sarah was clouded in darkness. She could, however, feel the softness of a bed as she laid on her back with a warm blanket to cover her down to her chest. Something was in her mouth and it was only after Sarah breathed that she realized what it was.
A memory coursed through her head. She was back home, living in Alaska with her mother. She was shivering as she huddled next to the fire, trying to warm up. In her hands she held a warm mug with large, white marshmallows floating to the top of it. She held the cup to her lips and took a long sip. Hot chocolate with caramel mixed in.
A warm smile came to her face as she opened her eyes, expecting to see the fire from her old wooden cabin. Her mother, sitting above her and consoling her from the nightmare she had. The long nightmare where she was seventeen years old and fighting a man in an alleyway, about to be killed by him.
When her eyes opened, however, she found that it was not a dream. The fire she was hoping to be greeted with was nothing more than floorboards that made up the ceiling. Her mother was younger and more masculine than she remembered as he took the drink from her mouth and placed his hand against her forehead, obviously oblivious to the opening of Sarah's eyes.
Sarah blinked, hoping her brain was playing a trick on her. It wasn't. Everything for the past decade was real. The running, the cold, the attacks, the man in the alley way. All of it. It took a lot of what she had left to choke back tears.
Crying wouldn't make the situation better.
Instead, she tried to focus on her current situation. She had been attacked in an alleyway by someone. He had hurt her badly. This must've been some kind of hospital, but since when were hospitals made out of wood? Furthermore, the boy tending her was way to young to be any kind of medical professional and he didn't have anything on his person to signify if he was a volunteer.
That left another, darker solution. The man had kidnapped her and had his slave or son or partner in crime tending to her wounds. No doubt so they can do more heinous things to her later. Fortunately, it looked like she wasn't going to be used for Organ Harvest as doing so would be easier if she was dead. That left at least three other alternatives, none of which were pleasant to think about. 1) They could be serial killers and this is just their ritual. 2) They could be human traffickers and she was about to be sold to the highest bidder like a slave. Or 3) She was a slave to the boy who was taking care of her like some kind of pet.
One thing was for sure, she wouldn't be able to know unless she spoke up.
"Who are you?" Sarah asked. Her throat was horse and it made her sound weaker than she had expected. She sounded like she was on the verge of death.
The boy jumped slightly as Sarah spoke out. "You're awake!" He said with a mixture of surprise and glee. "Thank god you're not dead. You know how many half-bloods come to us dead? Especially in your condition."
Sarah blinked in reply. "What?" She asked.
"Yeah, you were bleeding heavily." The boy replied, "The manticore tore you to pieces. You've got scratch marks along your sides from his claws and a nasty wound in your shoulder where he tagged you with a tail spike. Someone from above must be watching you."
"You want to trade places?" Sarah asked with an aggravated tone. She didn't feel lucky. If anything, she considered herself incredibly unlucky considering how much everything hurt.
"Oh no." The boy said, "I don't envy you in the slightest. I'm just impressed that you're still alive." After a minute, he shook his head. "Oh, where are my manners. My name's Jaack, son of Apollo. Most people call me 'Ripper' though."
"I wonder why." Sarah said sarcastically.
"I've been told it's because I'm fascinated by injuries." Jack replied, "The bloodier, the gorier, the better."
"Joy…" Sarah said as her face demonstrated how creeped out she was. "So… you're going to kill me?"
"WHAT?!" Jack said, taken a back by that, "I spent three days trying to get you to wake up. Why the hell would I spend so much time an energy just to kill you?"
"Sorry." Sarah said absently, "It's just that I don't know you and I wake up somewhere I've never been before and you're fascinated about the injuries I took in a fight… you get suspicious."
Jack huffed and folded his arms, "The only things I kill are the things to turn into dust." He said.
Sarah shook her head and laid back down. "Can you hand me the hot chocolate?"
"The what?" Jack asked. Sarah gestured towards the glass on the bedside table. Jack looked at the cup and his eyes widened in understanding. "Oh. The nectar. Uh… let me check something." He placed a hand against Sarah's forehead and felt it. "Well… you're not running a fever…"
"It's hot chocolate though…" Sarah said, "How can it-"
"No," Jack interrupted, "It's nectar, the drink of the Gods." He explained as he grabbed the glass and held it for Sarah, "When a mortal drinks it, it rapidly speeds up the healing process. However, there's always a risk of giving too much to someone."
"So it's like medicine?" Sarah asked as she sipped on the nectar.
"If a medicine overdoes resulted in spontaneous combustion." Jack replied.
Sarah took a sip. Instantly, the soreness of her muscles went away. While she was still a while away from feeling like herself again, she did feel like she was ready to get up. There was one question left, however, that she still needed an answer to.
"Where am I?" She asked.
"The Big House Infirmary, Camp Half-blood, Long Island, New York, America." Jack said.
"Camp Half-Blood?" Sarah asked, "What's Camp Half-blood?"
"A safe haven for demi-gods living in the Eastern portion of the United States." Jack explained, "Mostly it's a summer camp but there are still quite a few people milling about around here. In fact, three people just arrived yesterday though… they came from the sky."
"Well I'll be sure to watch out for falling… whatever you called them." Sarah said as she sat up and swung her legs up to the protest of Jack.
"You're going to want to take it easy." Jack said, "For the next few days, that is. You haven't exactly been mobile for quite some time now."
"I think I'll manage." Sarah said as she stood up. She wobbled slightly before steadying herself on her bed. Her legs felt like jelly for a few minutes before solidifying and allowing her to take a few steps.
"We'll, if you're up to going downstairs, I think Chiron's in the living room." Jack said, "I'd hurry if you want a better explanation to this place because he doesn't tend to be off for very long."
"Thanks Jack." Sarah said, "For everything."
"Eh, don't mention it." Jack replied, "Anything for the Camp."
Feeling slightly better about her predicament, Sarah took a deep breath in and started to relax. She still kept her eyes open, however, because while none of her worst-case scenarios were increasingly improbable, this was clearly nothing she ever had experienced before and there for still a dangerous situation.
Once downstairs, Sarah was greeted by a living room. Straight across from her was a fireplace with the head of a leopard mounted on top of it, a trophy from a hunt. Although, Sarah had to admit that she never saw a head so life like and one that looked like it was sleeping.
Sitting by the fire was a man with long, curly hair sitting in a wheelchair. His attention was drawn to the fire, almost as if he was recalling a time from earlier in his life. Not wanting to surprise the man, Sarah coughed slightly, bringing attention to herself. The man turned his head over his shoulder and looked at her.
"Ah, you're awake." He said as he turned his chair around, "Welcome to Camp Half-blood, child."
The tone in the old man's voice was comforting, similarly to how a caring father would talk. Such a voice triggered a red flag in Sarah's mind, causing her to bring her guard up. She started to scan the room as she replied to the man. "Thank you… Chiron?"
"That's my name. I'm the activities director at Camp Half-blood." He said, "You've traveled a long way, I see."
Sarah was taken aback at that. "How can you tell?"
Chiron sighed and wheeled around, gesturing for Sarah to take a seat as he spoke. "I've been around since the times of Ancient Greece. Ever since then, I've seen many heroes, some with happy lives, some with twisted paths." He then looked towards Sarah, "But few have pasts are like yours. Even now, you're trying to determine if you can trust me."
Sarah narrowed her eyes slightly at Chiron. "You say that like I should."
"I'm not going to hurt you." Chiron replied, "Far from it. I'm going to teach you how to survive in this world, one that is very different from the one you thought you knew."
"All this cryptic horseshit is starting to give me a headache." Sarah said flatly, "Can we just… get on with it?"
Chiron laughed lightheartedly at that. "Depends on one question." He said, "What do you know about the gods of Ancient Greece?"
"Greece…. Like the oily substance that comes off of fast food?"
Chiron blinked for a moment, then sighed. "Ok… this is going to take a while." He said, "And I don't have the time to do it…"
At that moment, the door to the big house opened and in walked a tall girl. She had blond hair and looked to be somewhere in her early twenties, maybe late teens. "Chiron? We're waiting."
"Ah, Annabeth." He said, "Just in time." Chiron gestured towards Sarah. "Would you mind teaching Sarah the basics?"
"Of mythology?" Annabeth asked to Chiron's nod. "Of course."
"Excellent. I knew I could count on you." Chiron said as he stretched from his chair. His hands rested on the side of the chair and Sarah would never forget what happened next. Chiron pushed himself up from the chair and from the waste down started to appear the hindquarters of a beautiful brown horse. Sarah blinked as Chiron stood in his true form in a mixture of amazement and curiosity.
She turned her gaze to Annabeth. "Did that… is he… what the fuck is he?"
"Centaur." Annabeth replied as if it was a simple explanation.
"She didn't even know Greece exists." Chiron told Annabeth. Now it was Annabeth's turn to look at Sarah with bewilderment.
Before long, a smile appeared on her face. "Very well. I guess I just have to start you the same what my teacher taught me." She said as she entered the room and took place on the couch across from her as Chiron left the Big House.
"In the beginning…"
"And so, in conclusion, there are 10 Major gods who have children with mortals which is how you came to be. And this camp was built so that those children, Demi-gods, can train because we have a tendency to draw monsters to our location through scent alone." Annabeth finished, "Any questions?"
Sarah stared blankly at Annabeth for a while before shaking her head. "Too many, none worth asking because I probably won't believe you." She replied, "This all is starting to make me believe I really did die."
"Not yet." Annabeth replied.
"What do you mean 'yet'?" Sarah asked.
"Come on, let me show you around Camp." Annabeth replied, ignoring Sarah's question, "If nothing else, it'll give you a chance to move around."
"That sounds good to me." Sarah replied, "I can't wait to see how unrealistic this day can get."
"You'll be surprised what's actually realistic." Annabeth replied as she lead Sarah towards the doors of the Big House.
As Sarah followed, she shook her head. If this was really just an elaborate scheme to get her guard up, the numbers of actors in the setting were starting to reach their capacity. In her experience, a farce can only hold up so long after scrutiny.
Maybe, just maybe, this was the real thing.