~ Chapter 3: I Burn My Food and Other Trivial Details ~

For the next thirty minutes, Nico took me on a mini tour around the camp. I saw the entrance of the camp. There was a wooden arch that read- 'CAMP HALF-BLOOD' in Greek. For some reason, I had no difficulty reading it. To the right of the gateway was Thalia's tree and hung on the lowest branch of the tree was the Golden Fleece.

Nico showed me the cabins where the children of the gods stayed. There must have been almost thirty or forty. Twelve in the front, and the rest arranged behind them in the same manner. One of them looked like a beach shack; it was made of wood and smelled like salty sea breezes. Another had a huge boar hung above the entrance and yet another had large pipe emerging from the corner of the roof with smoke billowing out of it. There was continuous clanging of metal that could be heard from the latter.

To the left of the cabins, was the practice arena. I had never seen a more chaotically organised place. Straw dummies were scattered all over the arena and groups of demigods were holding weapons of all sorts – spears, swords, daggers, crossbows and several others that I did not recognise. They were laughing as if was completely natural thing to do while holding dangerous and pointy things. It reminded me of Percy's sword, and I shuddered at the thought of it. In one corner of the arena, demigods were duelling with swords. Across the room, there was an archery range with about twenty or so targets arranged in a single line. Two demigods were sitting on large crates that were placed in the corner. They read- 'POINSIN SROPCOINS: DO TON TIS'. I shook my head. After a while I decided they read, 'POISON SCORPIONS: DO NOT SIT'.

After that, we proceeded to see the amphitheatre, the climbing wall, the arts and craft centre, the forges, the gift shop, the Pegasus stables and the armoury. The aesthetic of the infrastructure of the camp took me a while to soak in.

As I walked around with Nico, (and dodged a flaming arrow; the guy who shot it was disturbingly unapologetic for it) he explained to me how the Greek civilization ended up in the United States. He told me about the gods, the twelve Olympians, the Titan War and the war with Gaea. The name Percy Jackson seemed to be a recurring one. Mentally, I wondered if he could control humans, because 70% of the human body is made of water. On one hand, all this information astounded me. On another, it felt like I had known all this my entire life and finally, the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle were beginning to come together.

Nico and I finally made our way to the dining pavilion. The pavilion was framed in Greek columns on a hill that overlooked the sea. There were no walls or roof that covered the mess hall. Torches blazed from the columns and there was a central fire burning inside a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. The tables were arranged, and all campers sat on their respective tables. In the centre, was a large table where dryads, satyrs and nymphs sat. Among the nature spirits, sat a girl with red frizzy hair, a freckled face and green eyes. The two seats in the middle of the central table were empty.

I frowned. "Where am I going to sit? I don't know my godly parent…or even if I am a demigod…"

I saw Percy Jackson sitting alone at his table, staring at the sea, as if it were whispering to him. He kept getting distracted and looking at Annabeth's table. She was sitting at table with a few other campers, all of whom shared her stunning grey eyes. Her left arm was bandaged, and crutches were propped up next to her. I didn't recognise anybody else.

Nico looked nonchalant. He pointed towards a table at the corner of the room. Ten or eleven demigods were already sitting there. "That's the Hermes table. Since Hermes is the god of travellers, his cabin takes in all unclaimed demigods until they are claimed."

"Where are you going to sit?"

"I'm a son of Hades, so I'm going to sit at the Apollo table."

I wrinkled my nose.

He grinned. "I have a doctor's note."

Out of nowhere, Will popped up. "I'm his doctor." he announced.

There was something special between them, something similar to what I had seen between Percy and Annabeth. I smiled at the two as I made my way to the Hermes table.

I was greeted by welcoming eyes with a mischievous glint to them.

"Hey there, I'm Connor Stoll. I'm the counsellor for Hermes cabin. What's your name?" a boy asked. He was skinny and had a mop of brown hair. His blue eyes darted back and forth as if he was deciding the best way to prank me, or steal something from me.

"Anathema Walker." I said shyly as I said down at one end of the table.

A few campers at the table inspected me. Most carried on with their conversation.

"I vote land mines!"

"No dude, monochrome potion would be cooler!"

"There's always a reason, to be pranking this season." A boy said miserably.

"In my opinion, nothing works better than a missing-items charm."

"Unless, you're Cecil. In that case, a rhyming couplets charm by Will would work wonders." A girl sniggered.

Before the demigods could debate any further, a loud clap came from the centre of the room. Percy was now standing in front of all the tables. "Alright, everyone. Before we start eating, I have a few announcements to make." Percy swallowed, "There are no updates on the whereabouts of Chiron." In a flash, the tension in the room became palpable. The entire room turned blue. "Annabeth and I contacted the party ponies. They're doing a nationwide search as we speak. There's still no sign of Mr.D either. Either none of the gods have heard anything or they are refusing to divulge what they know." A lot of people shook their heads.

"Who are they?" I whispered to Connor.

"Chiron was the head and activities director of the camp. He's a centaur and he's been in charge of training heroes for thousands of years. A few days ago, he just disappeared. No information as to whether he was forcefully, uh, taken or if he went voluntarily. Mr. D is the camp director. He's been gone for a longer time that Chiron has been, but he's a god, so nobody paid attention. It got serious when the other gods couldn't find him. Since Annabeth is the oldest camper, she was the temporary head but Percy's subbing in for her today. He's not the second oldest by far, but he has a leadership thing." Connor replied to me in a hushed tone.

I remembered the wars Nico had spoken about. I found it hard to believe that someone could go through so much and still look so upbeat and have a smile on their face. Yet there, he was, standing and leading the camp.

"The second thing is, we have a new camper among us, Anathema Walker. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." All the eyes in the room turned towards me.

"Hi." I said awkwardly. Percy motioned me to come to the front. My legs wobbled as I stood up and made my way to the front.

"Unclaimed or Hermes?" someone asked.

"Mortal. As far as we can tell." Percy clarified.

Several people gasped. Many others turned to look at me, wondering how I had entered the camp or how I could see through the mist. I felt out of place. A small of hum of whispers built up in the pavilion. The red-headed girl at the central table looked interested in this new piece of information. We briefly made eye contact. I went back to my seat, my face as red as a beetroot.

"Finally, the last point. Capture the Flag will start early tomorrow morning." Then Percy added as an afterthought, "Of course, there's no doubt regarding who's going to win." There was a mass of cheering and booing. "And it's customary to remind you, no killing or maiming."

Killing and maiming? I gulped. I turned to Connor. "What's Capture the Flag?"

He smiled. "It's a traditional camp game. All cabins are divided into two teams and are given one flag each. The team that gets the opponent team's flag and cross it over the border, that is the river. It can get pretty ugly." He beamed and added, "Don't worry, nobody's gone missing in almost a month! It's perfectly safe!"

"What team am I in?" I asked, wishing I didn't have to play.

"Hermes has teamed up with Apollo, Demeter, Hephaestus, Tyche, Nemesis and Hecate. The rest, Poseidon, Athena, Ares and all are on the other side. So, you'll be on our team."

The idea of roaming around in the woods that were (apparently) stocked with monsters around people with weapons scared me very much but I put on a brave face.

The idea of Capture the Flag kept me preoccupied for pretty much the rest of my meal. I wasn't even surprised when I was asked to burn half of my food. After dinner, I went along with Connor Stoll. I found his last name hilarious upon learning that Hermes was the god of thieves. (Also, the god of pranks, jokes, winged messengers, commerce, trade, diplomacy, orators, athletics, roads, travel, loads, inventions and oh yes, gymnasiums. I didn't know how one person could coordinate that many things. I did hear that Apollo was tough competition when it comes to being the god of stuff.)

We walked towards the Hermes cabin. It was the largest, oldest and most worn-looking of the cabins. Its dull brown paint was chipped off and there was a staff overhanging the door. I recognized the staff as the one we see at hospitals and health clinics, not that I had been to many. Inside, there was a common lobby and there were rooms in all directions. Most rooms had twin beds or bunk beds. In the common area, there were winged shoes hung on a hook, a wooden desk and a chair, and curtains on the windows for privacy. Posters, pictures, a sword, a map of Camp Half-Blood and a calendar were hung on the wall.

Connor showed a bed to the left-most end. "This one is all yours. Tomorrow, Percy will take you to the armoury. You're going to need a weapon. "

I sat down on the bed, embarrassed, because I had nothing to put there. I hadn't brought anything. I pulled Kali out of my pocket and put her on the centre. The bed was standard, wooden, with a simple mattress, white sheets and a pillow. On the bed, there was an orange shirt that had the cap half-blood logo. I sighed. My life had been normal and within one day, everything had changed. I sat on my bed, contemplating about how it had all happened so fast. I felt drowsy. My eyes were tired, and my body was aching. No sooner than I hit the pillow, I fell asleep.

In my dream, I found myself standing in a dark chamber. I couldn't see anything. I heard a low raspy groan. It seemed to be coming from all around me. My skin began twitching.

"You are the last straw, Anathema." A voice said in condescending tone. "You are the key to the fall of the gods. Every trial that they have faced." The voice seemed to be coming from all directions. It sounded scathing and the same time, calm and neutral. It was like a thousand needles piercing into my skin but at the same time, as soft as a bed of rose petals. My lip trembled.

I mustered up courage and yelled as loud as I could. "Who is it?"

The voice laughed dismissively. Then it replied, "It does not matter who I am. Identity is nothing but a construct. Everything is an illusion. You of all people should know that."

"Me? I'm a nobody."

The voice sounded amused. "Everybody is a nobody."

"I don't understand what you're saying."

The voice replied in an even tone, "Someday you're going to realise, Anathema. Your role in this game that has been going on for too long. Someday, you'll see the fall of these constructs that mortals create to keep themselves sane. They create a fantasy world, where they feel like they're in control. It is ironic that you should be destined for this. You are, after all, what you contradict."

The darkness dissolved. I felt a chilly shiver climb up my spine. With a start, I woke up, dripping in cold sweat.