Chapter 5

They fled into the forest, avoiding trees and making the sure the flag wasn't visible. Soon, Alyssa halted, out of breath and cursing her hatred of cross country running.

"Stop!" she panted to her companions. She looked around for a hiding place but there were none. Then something told her to look up. She motioned for her companions to come towards her.

"We have to go up into the trees. Hide the flag." As her companions started to protest, they heard a rustle nearby, and voices. Quickly, they realized that Alyssa was right, and their only option was the trees. They shimmied up the nearest ones to them, and as the boy yanked his foot up, just in time, scouts from the Athena team appeared. Alyssa put a finger to her lips and they nodded.

"The flag isn't here, let's move on." A voice from below said. Alyssa sighed in relief as they moved out of sight.

"Thanks," the boy whispered, "You really saved us back there. I wouldn't have been able to face Seth if we lost again. Anyway, my name is Theo, and this," he motioned towards the silent girl, "is my girlfriend Shauna. I'm a son of Nyx and Shauna's a daughter of Nike. People always avoid us." At this he grinned. "And we're also an odd couple apparently."

Alyssa felt sorry for them, for they were outcasts, and had been picked last for capture the flag.

Alyssa looked up as a loud cheer echoed through the forest. Shauna grinned and spoke the first words Alyssa had heard from her.

"We won, I knew we would win. You have Athena's cunning you know." Alyssa politely thanked her, but asked, confused:

"How did you know we would win?" Shauna tapped her head.

"Built in instincts. Mum is the goddess of victory ya know." They jumped from the trees and made their way back to the main site. Seth was waiting for them and slapped them (hard) on the back, pausing at Alyssa to say

"You did good for a first time… punk."

Cameron and Faye came up to her and asked

"How'd you beat our scouts?" Alyssa winked and tapped her nose. Faye moaned all the way to campfire.

As they sat down on the logs, Alyssa motioned for Theo and Shauna to sit with her.

"Those two!" Faye exclaimed, and at Alyssa's sharp glare, immediately looked sheepishly.

"Sure, they're my friends!" Alyssa retorted.

"If you're sure. Those two are trouble."

There was a buzz at campfire that night, because it was rumoured that Percy Jackson and his wife Annabeth were stopping by. The reason was unsure, but everyone was still very excited.

That night, Alyssa couldn't sleep. When she closed her eyes, she saw her mother, tossed out of a boat, repeatedly until she was little more than a rag doll. She was terrified. Every time she tried to save her mother, she was pushed back. Her eyes snapped open, and she was bathed in sweat. She turned on the light and entered the bathroom. Her reflection was awful. Pale and wild-eyed, she stood in front of the mirror for what seemed like hours.

Soon, she came to her senses and extracted herself from her stinking pyjamas and hurled herself in the shower.

That morning, she approached Chiron. She wanted to speak to her mother, to make sure she was okay.

Chiron led her to the only phone in the camp, and since the gods' powers interfered with the technology, only worked occasionally.

The landline rang for ages before her mother picked up.

"Mum…" Alyssa said tentatively.

She heard a sharp intake of breath on the other line.

"Oh Alyssa, I've been so worried! Where are you? When the school rang to say you weren't on the plane, I cried so much."

Alyssa looked at Chiron to check if it was okay to tell her mother. He nodded.

"I'm at Camp Half Blood Mum. They rescued me just in time. Why didn't you tell me my dad was Zeus?"

"I wanted to tell you, all the time. But he said not to. Not until you were old enough. But I guess you found out anyway. I hope they're treating you okay honey." Alyssa's voice grew thick and tears spilt down her face.

"I'm fine… I miss you but I'm fine. I've already met some great people."

"Well if you're sure honey. I'll keep in touch. I love you."

"Love you too mum." Alyssa mumbled.

She disconnected the line, and just stared at the phone for a minute. Cameron came through the door, and asked if she wanted to go with him to the strawberry fields. She smiled. It was if he knew that she needed cheering up.

As they walked through the fields, he plucked a just ripened strawberry and handed it to her.

"Perfect." She sighed. "I wish we had something like this back home."

"What's it like? In England, I mean."

"Really wet, all the time. My mum is amazing though. She is a teacher at a primary school, and she never got over my dad. He came to visit when I was little, but my mum slammed the door in his face. But anyway, it's nice. I had some really good friends, but I guess I won't see them in a long time."

All through this, Cameron listened to her. She asked at the end:

"What about you?"

He hesitated before answering.

"My mum died when I was little. I never knew her. A satyr took me here and I've been here ever since." Sorrow filled his eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Alyssa whispered. She reached over to hug him. They stayed like that for a while. As she untangled herself from him, he caught her arm. She caught her breath. She closed her eyes and parted her lips. His lips met hers and she gasped.

"Ehem." A voice from behind said. They leapt apart and looked up to see a nymph standing before them, hands on hips.

"You do realize that this is a public area. No kissing please." Cameron and Alyssa giggled and got up. After quickly packing up, they walked away, hand in hand.