I was in a dark room tied to a chair and cold hands wrapped around my neck. I tried to talk, but my mouth was gagged.

"They thought I would sit quietly while he took all of the credit," a cold voice said. "What will happen when I halt it? Or make it run rampant?"

I struggled against my bonds and the cold voice laughed.

I felt something like cold water being splashed on me and I woke with a start. Channing stood over me with a goofy grin and a cup of ice water. "Wakey wakey eggs and bacie!" he said and I grabbed his shirt.

"Don't do that!" I yelled. I knocked the glassed forward and it spilled down his shirt.

"I guess I deserved that," he said, pulling his shirt off.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Please don't take your clothes off. It's hard enough to look at your face," I begged.

Channing smirked. "You know you like it," he said with confidence. He shook the ice out and pulled his shirt back on.

I got up and realized I was still wearing the same orange T-shirt. Channing tossed me a plain white one and I recognized it as my own. I shoved him out the door and pulled my familiar shirt over my head.

I stepped out of the cabin and Channing put an arm around me. "So, babe, what do you wanna do today? Maybe me?" He winked and I pushed his arm away.

"Channing, please. I'd rather die a million deaths," I growled and he smirked again.

"You know you want me. It's just a matter of time," Channing said and nudged me.

I rolled my eyes and he linked his arm in mine. "Time to find out if you're as useless as you seem," he said.

Channing dragged me to the armory and pulled two swords from somewhere. "You actually expect me to fight?" I asked.

Channing nodded and tossed me a sword. "I expect you to suck. And I'm gonna kick your sorry butt," he said sourly.

Channing strode back to the arena and held up the blade. "Bring it, Britain," he said and I lifted my weapon.

He struck my sword and it went flying arcoss the arena. I retrieved it and blushed. Channing smirked and nodded. I tried to attack but he parried and my sword flew out of my hands again. A girl walked into the arena and giggled.

"I suck at that too," she said, handing me my weapon. "You should try archery."

She got me a bow and some arrows and soon had a target set up. She showed me how to notch an arrow and I aimed carefully. But when I released the string, the arrow flew a good two feet before crashing to the ground. The girl gave me an encouraging smile and I tried again. Channing was getting a kick out of my failures and I glared at him. The girl worked with me for another fifteen minutes before I grimaced and admitted defeat.

"That's okay," she said happily. "You'll find something!"

I nodded and Channing ran off to find some guy. I stood awkwardly next to the girl.

"I'm Stryker," I said, just to fill the silence.

"Cool, I'm Elisabeth," she said.

"Who's your parent?" I asked.

Elisabeth beamed. "Apollo," she said proudly.

Just then Channing walked up with a red headed boy. He smiled at me and his hazel eyes sparkled. There was something about him that just screamed awesome. "I'm Aidan Chanter," he said with an Irish accent. That's where the awesome came from. "And I suppose you are Stryker. Channing told me you needed a spot of help with fighting," Aidan said and I smiled. Another foreign kid was always good. He spotted Elisabeth and she smiled.

Aidan gave her a bright smile and skipped over to where Channing and I stood. He eyed me before pulling out a little flashlight. He pressed a button and it turned into a long spear.

"Ready?" he asked. I looked around and Channing sighed. He stalked off and returned with a spear.

Aidan taught me the basics and we took fighting stances. Within minutes I got a good jab to the ribs. Channing laughed from the sidelines and I threw a rock at him. It his him in the chest and he staggered back.

"Good aim," he gasped, trying to fill his lungs with air.

Aidan and I gave up and he went to get Chase. A crowd was gathering and I stood humiliated in the middle of the arena.

Chase strode in and smiled at me. "This should be easy," he said and cracked his knuckles.

Chase decided he was going to wrestle me and Elisabeth got a worried look on her face. He had me pinned down in a matter of seconds.

Chase pecked my cheek with a quick kiss and winked. I threw him off of me in disgust. "Hey, Stryker, I was kidding!" he yelled, more to an angry looking Channing than me.

Finally, the girl from earlier, Annabeth, strode into the arena. "You're my last hope," I muttered and she smiled.

"I'm glad to help," she said and handed me a small knife.

We fought for a minute but she soon got me. I threw the knife in frustration and it impailed itself in the middle of the target that Elisabeth had set up earlier. Channing grinning and tossed me another knife.

"Do it again," he commanded.

I took a deep breath and threw the knife as hard as I could. It landed in the center again. I smiled a little and Channing grinned widely.

"You're a natural!" he exclaimed while Aidan retrieved the knives.

The small crowd dissapated and Annabeth and Elisabeth ran off too, leaving me with Channing, Aidan, and Chase. Aidan patted me on the back and said, "You have a talent there, lassy. Use it."

I grabbed a knife from Channing and threw it. Another bull's eye and I smiled. Channing wrapped an arm around me again and I pushed it off.

"Just trying to congratulate you, Britain. You're actually not worthless," he said and smiled crookedly at me.

I couldn't help but smile back and I felt like we were actually sharing a moment, that is, until Hayden walked in.

"Don't let Prince Charming over here get to you," she said coldly.

Channing snapped out of his daze. "Shut up, you wretched little piece of pegasus poop. Why don't you go rot in Tartarus for a couple of years!" he yelled.

Hayden rolled her eyes and said, "You are so mature, Channing. Why this girl has feelings for you I will never understand."

Channing's eyes widened for a second and I blushed. "I don't have feelings for him!" I cried.

Hayden rolled her gold eyes and Dakota danced up to where we stood. "What are we arguing about now?" she asked sweetly, putting herself between Channing and Hayden.

Hayden sighed. "Oh, it's just Channing being an idiot again," she said.

Dakota pulled out a knife. I instinctively took a step back. Hayden pulled one out too and said, "Watch this."

She and Dakota circled each other for a minute before Dakota dove in. She gracefully danced around Hayden, getting in close and then twirling back. Hayden caught her strikes every time, but Dakota was fast and graceful. Not once did she stagger, but only seemed to dance more fluidly around Hayden. Finally Hayden slipped up. When Dakota got in close, she tried to strike her knife away, but Dakota swiftly brought her leg around and tripped Hayden. The girl fell to the ground and Dakota held the knife to her throat.

Channing smirked. "Off with her head!"

Dakota giggled and got up, releasing Hayden.

"That was beautiful!" I cried.

"Ten years in classical ballet make some things easy," Dakota said and she shrugged.

Tanner sauntered into the arena and smiled a little, but the moment was gone when he winced. He glanced at Hayden who was covered in dust and Channing laughed. "She got beat by a snow nymph!"

Dakota huffed and looked offended. "I'm not a nymph! My mother is a snow goddess!"

"Same difference. We're all kids of minor gods. Like we matter anyway," Chase said with a look of defeat.

"Hey now!" I cried. "Just because our parents aren't Zeus or Poseidon doesn't mean we can't be something huge!"

I looked around at my new friends, me included. Seven half-bloods stared at each other with looks of confusion.

Tanner suddenly doubled over. He stood slowly and a look of pure evil crossed his face. His voice was deep as he spoke, almost like it was coming from the deepest pits of hell. "So it seems the seven half-bloods have gathered," he said.

We all stepped back from him. Tanner's eyes glowed red and his face turned white. I could see dark blood flowing beneath his thin layer of pale skin. His veins looked like they were filled with black, and Tanner struggled to gain control. His eyes turned black for a second but were soon back to the glowing red they were before.

"I will succeed!" Tanner cried. His voice sounded so evil that I wanted to hide.

"Who are you?" I yelled and Tanner laughed evilly.

His red eyes glowed brighter and his voice doubled. "I am Thanatos! God of death! I will never be overshadowed again! I will exact my revenge on the world for the punishment I am forced to endure!" Tanner clutched his stomach and his eyes flashed black again. He cried out in shear agony and the cry haunted me in my dreams for months. It was the sound of someone's soul being ripped apart. Tanner fell to his knees and ripped at his chest. "Get out!" he cried.

Tanner's eyes turned red again and a gruesome smile crossed his lips. "Obey your father, boy."

Tanner cried out again. "No!"

We stood in shocked silence watching this boy writhe in pain when he let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Be gone demon!" he yelled.

Tanner tore at his chest and I felt a wave of energy knock me down. Our group struggled to our feet, but a wall of black energy surrounded Tanner. One eye was glowing red and the other was black. He arched his back and twisted painfully.

"I am no demon!" the evil voice cried.

Tanner screamed again and his black eye turned red. "I am going to release hell upon the world! I give you three days! Try to stop me, if you dare!" the voice screamed. Then Tanner howled and another wall of energy radiated from him.

Tanner squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them they were black again. "Get out of me!" he yelled and pushed his arms out.

The voice took over again and cackled. "Try and stop me, daughter of the rainbow! Your petty quest will fail!" it shrieked before Tanner ripped at his chest again.

"Leave!" Tanner's voice cried and one last wall of black energy rolled off of him. He collasped and I rushed forward.

"Tanner!" I cried and he opened his black eyes. His black veins slowly turned normal again and he got a little color back.

"Stryker?" he asked.

"I'm right here," I whispered.

Channing knelt beside me and looked concerned. "Tanner, what was that?" he asked.

Tanner took in a shakey breath. "That was my father. And he has called upon us," he said slowly.

A/N: Mhm. Thanatos is mad, and you shall soon find out why.

Okay, in case you were wondering, Channing is a pimp. I love him, but he's a jerk to Hayden. You'll find out why soon, I promise.

As always, review. This is the last chapter I'm posting tonight, and when I get five reviews, I'll post the next chapter. Oh, and they need to be from five different people. So, review it.

Thanks, darlings.

ψcamille elisabethψ