Another chapter! This is the longest one yet, enjoy :) (Update 23/10/22: I'm planing on returning to this, sorry to my one fan for the long long absence. Look out for a new chapter by the end of the year! (hopefully))


{6} (Perspective Shift) I Get the Best Introductory Tour Ever.

Well, that was an ordeal.

All that happened from the man in the alleyway to the girl who chopped up a bull liver, needless to say, I was exhausted.

"Well, I guess I owe you an explanation." Molly said, her face surprisingly happy as she turned to me.

"I would love one." I responded.

"Just prepare yourself to not believe any of this, ok?" she said, slightly concerned now.

"Oh, ok?" I said quizzically.

Molly turned away from me an into the sky, taking a deep breath, she spoke again.

"You know the myths of ancient Greece?"

"Y-yes?"

"Well," she took another deep breath, "they're real, all the gods, monsters, heroes, they existed, and do exist."

I stood, shocked for, how long? Seconds? Minutes? Doesn't matter. I was completely stunned.

"So, they are real, and they live here, in Greece?"

"Yes," she responded.

I stood for another while longer, letting the thought sink in, but, the worst part is, I believed her. After all that had happened that day, it seemed like the most reasonable explanation.

"You seem to be taking this quite well," Molly observed.

"Yeah, just after all that happened, it seems, almost reasonable."

Molly chuckled a little bit, "I think I'll let you ask some questions now." She sat down on a bench opposite the golden building and motioned for me to do the same. I approached the bench and sat down next to her. So many questions ran through my head, but I decided to start with the most general.

"Ok, I guess, what is this place?"

"This is New Athens, it's a sanctuary for demigods, a place where monsters can't get us, and a place where we can train to not die." Molly managed a small smile.

"Demigods? Monsters?"

"Yes, you know the way I said the Greek gods were real earlier?"

"Yes?"

"Well, those gods have kids, a lot of kids, and they attract monsters, which are what they say on the tin, big bad scary guys that want to kill you because of your affiliation with the gods. So, we train to fight off monsters here, over the summer."

"So-um-wow, that's, are you a demigod?" I managed out after a minute of confused stuttering.

"Yes, most people here are. Some are descendants, their parents or grandparents were demigods. As I said, we train here over the summer at camp Athena," she pointed down the path, "and over there is New Athens proper, it's basically an ordinary city, with shops, schools, houses, apartments, markets, places for entertainment, the only difference being it's protected from monsters, so it makes a good place for any demigod that survives until college age."

"S-survives?" I was suddenly a lot more worried.

"Yes, being a demigod is dangerous business, you know, you're caught between two worlds, and a lot wants to kill you." Molly's expression was now one of sorrow, or was that, longing?

"So, you have a god for a parent?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Yes, my parent is Hermes, god of travelers and thieves." Her voice was shaky, with a hint of resentment.

"Cool!" I grinned at Molly, who was looking a lot less amused than I was.

"Yeah, I guess," Molly responded glumly, her eyes glazed over in thought.

"S-so, I was promised a tour?" I said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Molly turned to me with a grin, "sure."

I have to say, the tour was damn amazing. She took me all around camp Athena, while also trying her best to explain everything to me. It was getting quite late, but there were still people around. There were people fighting in the fighting arena (Cool!). People singing in the amphitheatre (Also cool!). There was the armoury, the monster field, the war forest, the faery forest (there was actual faeries in it! Molly said they were called nimps or something, but I wasn't listening), the baths, the forges, it was all amazing. I was surprised how ecstatic I was after all that happened that day, but everything was just so, wow!

During the tour, while we were looking inside the armoury with all its Greek style swords, (Molly said the stuff was made of celestial bronze, which is deadly to monsters, so I'd say that was pretty cool) spears and armour, which, yes, I concede, I couldn't stop "oohing" and "ahhing" at, I decided to ask a question.

"Hey Molly?"

"Yes?" She stopped rummaging through a pile of spear shafts.

"How did I get here?"

Molly narrowed her eyes, before opening her mouth to speak,

"Remember those beads I used?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"Those are a gift from m-my dad, he's the god of travelers, you see? So if I throw one on the ground and say a place that I've been to before, it brings me there." She said while clutching her necklace.

"Wow, that's so cool! When'd you get them?"

Molly stood up altogether and walked to the door of the armoury, she spoke again, ignoring my question.

"Hey, I got a few more places to show you, come on!" She wore a smile on her face, but I could tell my question had annoyed her somehow.

We walked around for a few more minutes before she brought me to the place she said would be one of our last stops.

"Having fun?" Molly giggled as she saw my facial expression when we entered the outdoor dining pavilion.

"I mean, definitely!" I gave Molly a big grin, "this is all so cool!"

"Glad you like it," Molly said, a hint of sadness seeping into her voice.

Molly's tone snapped me back to reality, and I still had a question to ask.

"Remember the conversation the scary lady was having with the other boy when we left the golden place?"

Molly gave me a quizzical look but answered anyway.

"Yes?"

"Well, the boy said something about me not being a demigod, and a prophecy."

Molly's expression was grim, and she bit her lower lip.

"I don't think I can answer either of those, I'm sorry, I don't know much and I'm not at liberty to say what I do know."

I was going to argue, but Molly's expression was deathly serious. I was beginning to worry that being a demigod might not be all fun and sing songs in the amphitheatre.

"Well, I only have one more place to show you in the camp, and I'd like not being late for dinner." She managed a small smile, but I could tell she was still antsy about what I said.

Molly and I walked through another marble pathway and out into large open, cobbled area, like a town square.

To my left, there was a semicircle of large cabins, each one completely different from the other, small were large and golden, or silver, or marble, and some were more modest, made of wood or stone. To my left, to my surprise, it was the exact same spectacle, except all the cabins were different again.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Molly spoke.

I could only nod in response, because in truth, it was. If I had to guess, there was about 50 buildings in total, of all different styles and materials.

"This is where all the campers stay, each cabin is dedicated to a different god. I live in the Hermes cabin, because I'm a child of Hermes."

"Wow." Is all I could manage.

I stood in silence with Molly for a few seconds, before I giant bird decided to interrupt us.

A giant owl flew over us, screaming as it went.

Molly didn't seem the least bit concerned, and just stated, "Oh, dinner time, glad we got that done."

Molly read my expression, which probably wasn't very flattering, and smiled.

"You get used to it, it's an owl, it's the sacred animal of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, which makes it the patron animal of our city."

"You act like that explains anything." I muttered before following Molly back in the direction of the dining pavilion.

I followed Molly towards the dining pavilion, and, by god, or gods, whatever, there was a lot of people, all wearing the same blue t-shirt as Molly. All of them siphoned into groups at sat down at seemingly random tables, and on the topic of the tables, there was so many tables, 50 maybe? Each one looked like they could handle 20 or 30 people. It was extraordinary.

"H-how many people are there in here?" I asked.

"Right now, maybe 100, and it isn't even summer yet, during summer we have about 300."

"300?" I stood in shock for a few moments, "so, do we just, pick a table?"

"Oh no, like the cabins, we go to each table based on what our godly parent is."

Now that she had said each, I noticed each table had a small golden emblem on the front, and many of them were empty.

Molly looked at my face, reading my expression, she spoke again.

"Don't worry, all unclaimed campers stay at the Hermes cabin, he's the god of travelers, you see, so he takes in all who don't yet have a place to stay." She gave me a smile before walking over to one of the tables. I followed, trying not to get lost in the swamp of identical blue t-shirts.

Finally, Molly came to a stop and sat down at one of the tables. The table had 7 other people at it, not including me or Molly. A few of them were having a conversation, but the rest were silent and looking very awkward.

"Hey, it's the big M! Howya doin'?" One of the boys spoke up, waving at Molly. He looked a bit older than everyone else at the table, maybe 18. He had milky white skin and scruffy blonde-brown hair. His eyes were a startling green, and he wore a mischievous smirk.

"Please don't call me that." Molly said through her teeth.

"Oh, ok Molly," the boy said, crestfallen. He noticed me, and spoke again, "Hey, is this another recruit? I thought you were out removing a monster?"

"Yes, he is, yes I was, but it's hard to explain," she motioned for me to sit down, "Also, Troy," she turned to the boy that spoke earlier, "don't give him a hard time, he's had a long day."

"Ok, Big M-I mean Molly, wasn't planning on anyway," he gave me conniving grin and turned back to face the platform, as was everyone else.

I sat down next to Molly. The rest of the people at the table sat expectantly, looking over at the raised platform at the end of the pavilion. The pavilion was set up in a semicircle, the raised platform at the front, and the rest being cobbled stone with neatly organized tables stretching back until there was a sheer drop and a magnificent view over the city of New Athens. The raised platform had stairs leading up on its right and left, and in the centre, there was a long table and a large, crackling fire behind it. A few people from the crowd walked directly up onto the platform and sat at the table, some of those being the blonde haired boy and girl from earlier, the girl with the ponytail from the golden temple where I got the 'reading,' Katie, if I remember correctly, (Molly said the temple was to the god Apollo, though I don't know why the Greeks would name a god after a space mission that hadn't happened yet) and the black haired boy that led us to said 'reading,' Connor, I believe his name was.

"How come they get to go up there?" I asked.

"That's where the head camper of each cabin goes, they're like the captain of each cabin. Sam, the scary one, is a daughter of Athena, and she's the chief camper. She runs most of goings on around here," she pointed to the stern-faced girl. "Connor from before is head of the Hephaestus cabin," she pointed to the coal-black haired individual, "Katie from before is the head of the Apollo cabin," she pointed to the girl with the ponytail, "and that over there," she pointed to a girl, a little older than Molly, maybe 17. She had short, sandy hair that was tucked neatly behind her ears and her eyes were a faded green. She continued speaking, "Is Charlie, the head of our cabin, the Hermes cabin." Her voice was thick and she said the last few words though her teeth. "All of them have to sit up there when the meals start, but most choose to go back to their cabin's table." Molly finished, but she muttered "thankfully, some don't," as she turned away, but I decided not to press her.

The blonde-haired girl that Connor had called 'Sam' sat at the end of the table, greeting everyone before standing up at walking to the end of the platform.

"Hello, everyone, it has been another day here. In two days, it will be summer, and the majority of the campers will return, and many new ones will arrive. We've already had many new campers in the past three weeks, and I expect many more will come, along with the rest of the returning campers, we will be quite full once again, so I recommend all cabins should find time to clean up." Sam put extra emphasis on the last two words, and glared down at our table, which gathered a few giggles from the other tables.

"Well, that is all I have to say, you may eat."

Suddenly, hundreds of cups, plates and bowls went flying from behind the platform, all of them topped with delicious looking food and drinks, finding their way to different people before stopping neatly in front of them. The plates and cups seemed to glide as they traveled to their destinations. I could tell the shock was showing in my face, but you can't really blame me.

"Hey kid, don't worry about it, they're just wind spirits, they can be invisible if they like, so that's why the food looks like it's floating." He held out his hand, "I'm Troy, by the way, nice to meet you."

I extended my own arm and shook his hand, "J-Jake." I responded.

"Hope you have a good time at the Hermes cabin!" he said as he gave me a thumbs up. Though his expression darkened as he turned away, and I could have sworn he said, "while you're here, at least," but I decided not to ask.

My thoughts were soon focused on something else as a plate of steaming, thick, American style pancakes was dropped in front of me, along with another, smaller plate, with a blueberry muffin and a glass of orange juice. I took a bite of a muffin, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, just how my grandad makes it, wait, how could they have known?

"Yeah, the food here is really good," Troy said, reading my quite shocked expression, just before he went face-first into a beef lasagna.

The pavilion was noisy, very noisy. Most of the campers were talking and joking, and an occasional piece of food went flying as well. Overall, the atmosphere was infectious.

I had been meaning to ask something, so I spoke.

"Hey, Molly?" I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Uh, yeah?" she stopped eating.

"You mentioned 'claiming' earlier, what's that?"

"It's when someone's godly parent claims them as their child," Molly answered simply.

"So, you've been claimed?"

"Yeah, I was claimed by Hermes soon after I joined the camp, but not many people are as lucky as me."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Some go their entire lives without being claimed." Molly's tone was somber.

"W-what, that's terrible! Why?"

"Some gods just don't care for some of their children, it's just how it is." The bitterness in her voice was obvious, and she turned away and continued eating in silence.

We ate for another few minutes, before our plates were suddenly whisked away and floated back behind the raised platform. Sam said another few words, but by then I was struggling to keep awake, so I didn't process them at all. Everyone stood up again and headed back towards the cabins. I followed Molly and the rest of the people from my table to a rundown, wooden cabin with a picture of a staff circled by two snakes etched in gold above the door.

The inside of the cabin was messy, very messy. The floor had all kinds of stuff on it and the walls were covered in posters and magazine clippings. There were a lot of bunks. Maybe 30 or so, closely packed together, lining the walls of the cabin.

"Well, this is where you're going to spend the foreseeable future," Molly gave me a smile and motioned to one of the empty bunks, "you can have that one, it's not in use," she said before sitting down on the one right behind my one.

The other people in the cabin sat down at some of the other bunks. Lots of them simply fell asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow, but others stayed awake, drawing, reading, playing cards, whatever.

Noticing no one else was really paying attention to me, I decided to ask Molly a question.

"Hey Molly?" she turned around and put down the notebook in her hands.

"Yeah?"

"I-I live with my grandparents back at my home, what happens to them? Can I tell them where I am?"

Molly sighed and looked into my eyes.

"I don't know, we can't have phones, because they attract monsters, and communication outside of the city is limited, so, I don't know, honestly."

"Oh, ok." I said, turning away to stare at my feet.

"That, reminds me, Jake," she caught my gaze once again, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, when you first came here, it was the heat of the moment, and I really thought I was going to get banished." She managed a small smile.

"I-it's ok, I was too busy panicking to notice." I laughed, and, to my relief, Molly did too.

"Hey, Jake," her eyes turned suddenly serious again, "this place can get rough, so just remember that, but I still hope you like it here, I did." She turned away and put her head on her pillow.

"Lights out!" The girl Molly had called Charlie called down the aisle, prompting a few other people in the cabin to go over to the wall and switch off the lights, making the room almost pitch black, then I passed out.