Chapter 5

I PLAY PINOCHLE WITH A HORSE

I had really weird dreams full of barnyard animals, I bet it was Grover's fault. The thing is, most of them wanted to kill me for some reason, the rest wanted food (yep, definitely Grover's fault).

I must've woken up multiple times, but the things I heard and saw made no sense, so I did the only thing I could, I passed back out. All I remember is lying in a too soft bed, being spoon-fed like a fucking baby something that tasted like buttered popcorn from the movies, only it was like pudding. The 'she's the one' girl with the stereotypical princess hair was hovering over me, smirking (fucking smirking) at me as she scraped the pudding stuff off my chin with the spoon.

When she saw my eyes open, she rushed, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"

"How the fuck would I know?" I managed to croak.

She looked momentarily surprised at my rudeness before completely disregarding my question. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

"Did I not just say that I didn't know? Are you dumb?" I shot back.

Before she could retort, somebody knocked on the door, and the girl stuffed my mouth with pudding.

Bitch.

The next time I woke up, the girl was finally gone.

Instead, a husky blond dude, kinda like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom I was in watching me. Uh, can you say creepy? That's not even the weirdest part. The weirdest part was that he had eyes literally everywhere. His head, hands, legs, any place you name, he's got hands. I wander if he has eyes on his di-. Before I could complete my thoughts, I passed out again.

LINE BREAK

When I finally came to consciousness, for good this time, my surroundings were normal, except they were just a tad bit nicer than Gabe's. Somehow, I was sitting in a rocking chair on a huge ass porch, gazing across the meadow all dramatic, like an old lady that knew it was her time. The breeze smelled like ripe strawberries Well when we got her there was a sign that said PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES. There was a blanket wrapped over my knees, even though it was like 90° out. I was quick to kick that off. I, for once in my life, felt comfortable. Well, if you ignore the fact that every one of my teeth hurt like hell and the fact that my tongue felt like a desert.

On the small round table next to me, there was a tall drink. It looked like apple juice, with a green straw and a paper umbrella stuck through a, probably fake, cherry.

When I picked it up, I didn't account for how weak (ugh! Hate that word!) I currently was, and almost dropped the glass.

"Careful," a familiar voice said.

My best friend, Grover, was leaning casually against the porch railing, looking as sleep deprived as I felt (even though I've been asleep for a while). Under one arm, he carried a shoe box. He looked like the Grover I met, with blue jeans and an orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD shirt, not the goat-boy Grover I met last night.

As much as I wanted to believe that this was a nightmare, I knew it was all real.

"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... well, the least I could do... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."

He gently placed the show box in my lap.

Inside was the black-and-white horn of the mom killer (guys seriously, I NEED you guys to comment names. The names will not just be used for the Minotaur, but for Medusa, Echidna, and the Chimera).

"That shit-faced son-of-a-bitch!" I yelled.

"Percy! Not so loud!" Grover whisper-shouted to me.

"Oh, fuck off! The bastard killed my fucking mom! I'll say what I want about him!" I yelled back, quieter this time. I knew the Minotaur didn't kill my mom, but I was still playing the clueless idiot, so people would underestimate me.

Grover shifted guiltily. "You've been out for two days. So remember your mom?"

"Yes," I replied shortly, hiding my stupid feelings, but letting a little sadness show through since he was my friend.

"I'm sorry," Grover sniffed. "I'm a failure! I'm-I'm the worst satyr in the world!"

He moaned, stomping his foot so hard his Converse came off, showing his black hooves.

"Oh, Styx!" He mumbled.

Thunder tumbled across the sky as Grover tried to get his hoof back in the fake foot.

Since Grover was still sniffling, I gave him some good ol' Percy.

"Grover, helped me get up so I can slap you!"

"Why?!" He asked, alarmed.

"Cause you're talking a lot of bullshit! You were supposed to protect ME not my mom! I know it sounds rude, but it's true. Get a fucking grip! Now help me drink this or so help me I will hit you!"

Grover looked shocked at my outburst, but also a little relieved that I wasn't blaming him. I know I didn't have the best way to deal with feelings, but it gets the job done.

Grover held the green straw to my lips. I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting some kind of juice. But what I tasted was my moms blue chocolate-chip cookies. While I drank it, my body felt the foreign feeling of warmth and energy.

Before I knew it, I drained the whole glass. Oddly enough, the ice cubes didn't melt. Probably some godly magic or whatever.

"Was it good?" Grover asked.

"Hell yeah... tasted like my moms cookies. Man, those cookies are the best."

"Sounds good, I don't think you could've drank anymore of that..." he said.

"And why's that?"

"Let's get going," he pushed, avoiding my question. I let it go just this once.

He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it would kill him, and set it back on the table. He must be allergic, I concluded. "C'mon. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."

I forced my legs to not wobble as I walked to the other side of the farmhouse. As we came to the opposite end of the house, my breathe subconsciously caught in my throat.

We were on the north shore of Long Island, that much I could tell. I knew because on this side of the house, the valley ran all the way up to the water, which glittered in the sunlight. The landscape was dotted with strategically placed buildings of Greek architecture-things like an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, and a circular arena. I saw kids and satyrs playing volleyball in a sandpit, canoes in the lake, and kids in bright orange shirts just like Grover's. Hell, some of the horses had wings!

Down at the end of the porch sat two men, who sat across each other at a card table. The little blond bitch from earlier was there too, leaning on the porch next to them.

The man facing me was small and fat, to put it simply. He had a big-ass red nose, watery eyes, and curly black-almost purple-hair. He looked like cherub who's been living in a dump for the past decade. He wore and awful Hawaiian shirt, and would've fit right in with Gabe's poker parties (though he looked like he could've out gambled even my step-father).

"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite (yes ok Grover), for my sake. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's a camper whose been here longer that just about anybody. And of course you already know Chiron..."

He pointed to the guy whose back was facing me.

First I saw the wheelchair, then the tweed jacket, then the scruffy hair. I recognized him alright.

"So, Chiron, huh?" I said, a little mischievously.

My ex-Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that damn mischievous glint in them, like when he made all the multiple choice answers B.

"Ah, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."

He offered me a chair right next to Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved an overdramatic sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."

I just smiled mischievously, making Grover and Chiron nervous. "Good to see you too, Wine God," I said.

Dionysus, Chiron, Grover, and Annabeth looked at me surprised.

"What?" I said, feigning offense. "You think I'm stupid? Chiron. Grover. I'm wounded."

Grover and Chiron shook off their surprise and slightly smiled at me.

Dionysus looked slightly more interested in me now. "Finally, a brat that's actually smart! If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a daughter of Athena."

"What the fuck did you just call me, porky?" I all but yelled.

They all looked at me in surprise, anger, and concern.

"Percy!" Grover and Chiron scolded, eyeing Mr. D warily.

"Annabeth, go check on Percy's bunk, please," Chiron said. (You already know what Annabeth looks like, except they're the same height in my story)

Annabeth reluctantly left, leaving just Grover, Chiron, Dionysus, and I.

Dionysus showed me his eyes. People getting tortured by vines, adults going insane or turning into dolphins.

"You think you scare me? I could care less if you're a god or not! You don't get to boss me around! I'd rather die than listen to you!" I yelled at him.

It might've been a trick of the light, but I saw his eyes soften just a bit. Then it disappeared and he said, "Come, Grover. We have to talk about your less than perfect assignment."

I was so mad I didn't even bother when Mr. D went away with Grover, leaving just me and Chiron.

"So, you lied to me?" I asked.

He looked a little sheepish. "Yes. But it was for your own good, the more you knew, the sooner monsters would attack you."

"I've known I was a demigod since Mrs. Dodds attacked me."

He looked momentarily surprised before saying, "I really underestimated you."

"That's the point. Get your enemy to underestimate you, then hit em with the big guns."

"Let's go for a tour, shall we?" He said, completely and awfully changing the subject.

I just shrugged and went along with him. (Just pretend she's watched the orientation, so she's knows everything now ok? I don't feel like explaining all that godly shit.)

Then he raised out of his wheelchair, and came out a centaur. He looked at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

"I already knew. I did eavesdrop on you at Yancy and saw you in horse form."

"Oh," he replied sheepishly. "Now come, Percy Jackson, time to meet the other campers.

So how was that? Like it so far?

POLL

Who should Percy be with?

Luke: 0

Ethan: 1

Conner: 0

Malcom: 1

Olympian (be specific): 0

Other: 0

None: 0

See ya soon!