On to chapter 3, sorry for not updating sooner, I've had a busy weekend.
Also, this takes place after The Last Olympian, but right before The Lost Hero, just to clear that up.
As I walked out the door, the first thing I realized was that I was sort of stupid. Sure, I finally stood up to my mother, but now I don't have anywhere to go. It's not like I have extended family or a friend's house I can go to. So I just walked around the city, hoping I didn't get shot or raped or something.
By the look of the sky, it was probably 8:30. I was supposed to work from 5 until 9, so that was what I decided to go do. I searched my pockets for spare money that could get me to the city McDonald's I worked at. I had about 10 bucks, which would get me to the city on a bus. The nearest bus stop was at least five blocks away, so I began to walk.
Of course, since it's me and my bad luck, it began to storm. Rain poured down on me relentlessly and soaked me. By the time I had walked one block, my hair was soaked. There is no way I can do this. By the time I get to the bus stop, I'll have pneumonia, and then I still have to wait for the next bus.
I was praying for the rain to stop, and of course, it didn't. However, I heard a voice call my name through the pouring rain.
"Cassie! Cassie! Wait up!" a guy's voice that I recognized said. I stopped running through the rain long enough to see a figure on crutches limp up to me.
"Cassie, what are you doing out here this late and in this rain?" Grover, the kid I met at school, asked me.
"Um, I had a fight with my mom. I honestly have nowhere to go," I replied, staring at the ground.
Grover looked up and nodded. Then he looked at me and said, "It's time. Come with me."
Now normally I wouldn't have gone with a guy I had just met on my first day at a school for delinquents, but I was so desperate that I decided to go with him.
"Um, what do you mean it's time?" I asked him.
He looked at me and said, "Well…I don't have a lot of time to explain, but you know how your dad left you as a child?" I nodded and we began to jog. "He didn't want to leave, but he had to. Because he's a god. Like, a Greek god. And you're a demigod. I'm taking you to a place where all the demigods stay, where you'll be safe. I'm surprised that you haven't been attacked yet…especially since you're sixteen…you're supposed to be claimed when you're thirteen, but I guess your dad just didn't do it…Percy won't be very happy…neither will Zeus…"
I laughed. "Yeah. My dad's a Greek god. Nice little joke kid. Is this a pick on the new kid kinda thing?"
Grover looked grave. "Has anything ever happened to you, anything you couldn't explain?" I nodded.
"Well yes, but-"
"And do you have ADHD?"
"Yeah, but-"
"And also dyslexia?"
"What's the point of this?" I asked.
"All demigod children have strange things happen to them. They all also have ADHD. That's your natural battle reflexes. And since all demigods' brains are hardwired for ancient Greek, you can't read English very well," he said.
I hate to say it, but he was pretty convincing. I kept jogging along with him. "So, how are we getting to this camp?" I asked.
"A friend of mine is going to take us…I see him now…over there…" he said, pointing into the darkness. As we approached the place he was pointing to though, I realized that it was a figure of a person.
A boy probably around the age of 14 or 15 stood in front of us. He had dark eyes and hair, and his olive complexion seemed to almost glow in the dark. His hair almost reached his shoulders, and he was tall. He nodded towards Grover. "This the new one? The one they were talking about?" he said.
"Yeah. Cassie, this is Nico. Nico, this is Cassie. Cassie, Nico's gonna take us to camp. We should be there in a few minutes…" he said.
I snorted. "A few minutes? You got super speed?" I asked. He didn't smile.
"Kid of Hades. I can shadow travel," he said. I had no idea what shadow travelling was.
Nico held out his arm, and Grover grabbed it. "Well? You coming?" he asked me. I grabbed onto his arm, and all of a sudden it was pitch black and we were moving. I closed my eyes tightly.
Finally, after a horrible ride, we fell on the ground. "I think I'm gonna be sick…" I said.
Nico stood up and said, "You might. Some people do their first time…" Grover stood up too, but it took him longer than Nico.
Nico held out his hand to help me up. I took it and said, "Thanks." Then I looked around where we were. Although it was raining where we were standing, beyond a few trees, it wasn't. It was perfect weather. I stared at the gate that said 'Camp Half Blood' in some language other than English. How I was reading it I didn't know…then I realized it had to be Greek. I guess Grover wasn't lying.
I looked around some more. A huge tree stood at the gate, and in it was the Golden Fleece. My jaw dropped. The real Golden Fleece…this is crazy.
Then I noticed the dragon standing guard at the gate. "Oh…oh my god…" I whispered.
Grover smiled and said, "Welcome to Camp Half Blood."