Hey guys…. Sorry this took so long, I'm having a serious case of writers block!

Chapter 8

Ophis

As I sit up in my sleeping bag, I notice a letter on my stomach. I carefully open it, feeling the parchment could rip at the slightest movement. I stare at the scribbled handwriting, trying to decode the message.

Dear Dahlia Reef,

Lord Dionysus and I would like to interrogate you on your attack exactly four weeks ago. This is very urgent and we need you to report to the Big House as soon as possible. The other gods are here and waiting, I state, this is very urgent. We also need information on your dream, as this may leave clues as to where your attacker is. I'll explain everything when you get here.

Sincerely,

Chiron

What in the world? I read the letter at least twenty times. I slowly get up and I stare at an alarm clock across the room. 6:49 A.M. And it's a Saturday too, where we have a day to do whatever we want. I stare at all the kids around me and wonder how the hades I'm gonna get out of this cabin. I'm as far from the door as you can get! I look down to see Rose, who is peeking out at me from her sleeping bag and smiling. "Good luck!" she mouths. Ugh. Come on! I bend down and grab my bag. I can change in the woods, I don't care if it's snowing out there; cuz there is no way I'm getting to the bathroom and back to the door without stepping on someone or waking someone up. Once another kid did that and let's just say he was in the infirmary for a week. I jam my feet in my boots and begin to maneuver and weave between sleeping bags. I start diving over kids and gods knows how I didn't make any noise. I scooted over to the wall and put one foot on the ledge of the window. I then jumped up with the other foot. I began to shimmy along the wall, leaping from one ledge to the other. This was really terrifying and I almost fell about six times. I finally made it to the door and turned to look at the entire interior of the cabin. I stifled a laugh when I saw the footprints on other camper's blankets. I spun back around and opened the door. I jumped outside and shut it, as the piercing November wind flowed right though my clothes. It was still dark out, though the sun just peaking over the lake.

I gazed around at the winter wonderland and started off towards the woods. I walked for a good half mile so that the Stolls didn't tape me changing. Believe me, it's happened to other girls and I'm determined to prevent that type of humiliation. I set my backpack on Zeus' Thumb and started to undress myself. I shivered, my whole body shaking as the snow numbed my feet. "Dahlia, what in the gods' names are you doing?" shrieked a high voice. I spun around, snatching a shirt to cover my bare chest. I sighed in relief, just to see Juniper with a horrified look on her face. "Hey Junie, what's up?" I asked. "What's up?" she says. "I really don't think you should be the one asking that. Why are you changing, in the middle of the woods, in November?"

"Oh, that?" I smile. "I need to go to the Big House and I really don't want to be waking up other campers. You heard what happened to Frankie, right?"

"Ugh, yeah!"

"So there's my point."

"Wow Dahlia, just… Wow. Whatever, I'm going back to sleep." She walked directly into a tree and melted into it. I continued to change and finally put on my warm coat and boots. I then slowly waltzed back to the camp. I ran down the hill to the Big House, where all the lights were on and there was a soft chatter.

I knocked on the door, only to be greeted by Chiron. He had a grave look on his face. "Come in Dahlia, we've been waiting." I slowly entered, and Chiron wasn't lying, there were the gods. They looked awfully strange, sitting scrunched together on old, small couches. Although there was one man who was sitting in Mr. D's big recliner. I recognized him immediately as Zeus….Holy crap, I'm in trouble. "Dahlia," he says in a harsh tone. "Come and sit with us." I stumbled to the chairs, bowing to Zeus and sitting on a small couch, to be accompanied by Mr. D and Lady Hera. She reeked of perfume. Like if a truck full of Bath and Body Works exploded, and you were the driver. Hera gave me a fake smile and nodded at Zeus. "Dahlia, we have some questions for you. We know you've given Chiron the whole story, and about your dream, but we must know more. So. What exactly did he look like?" I tried to arrange my thoughts. Why did they need this information? "Well," I started slowly. "He had a human body, but was entirely covered in scales." Hermes pulled out a notepad and begins scribbling furiously. "His eyes were red, and he was completely bald. I don't think he had legs, I think the end of his body was a tail, I mean, like the lower half of a snake. When he was about to kill, maybe eat, me, his jaw totally unhinged." I shivered at the horrifying memory. "Well, in your dream, what did he look like?" Athena asked.

"In my dream, he didn't have an exact form. Just these black hands, coming from the woods to grab Morgan. Then from the ground, taking my friends away." By the end of the sentence I was struggling for my voice not to break. "In the dream," Artemis started. "I understand everything turned black?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Well Dahlia," says Ares. "Ophis, the creature who was attempting to kill you, is extremely dangerous. We have been trying to capture and destroy him for millennia. He kills demi-gods for a living, but not like other monsters. It's his power source. He lives off of your souls. Though he's been hungry lately, needing more now than ever. We need to seize this moment; we need to kill him now." His voice was growing louder and louder each word.

"We have made a prediction," croaks Demeter. "That he will attack Camp Half-Blood very soon."

"Any day now," says Poseidon. "He will come, and he is furious that I saved you. You will be his first kill."

"We are planning preparation for this camp," starts Athena. "We are doing whatever we can to stop Ophis and keep as many of you alive as we can."

"What did he say to you when he captured you?" Apollo questioned.

"Well, he said 'I've had to put up real fights against other demi-gods, you must be a weakling' and 'The gods can do better than tha-" I abruptly stopped. That's when it hit me. My father is in this room. "Which one of you…?" I whispered. Everyone was silent. The only noise is of Hermes's pen, inscribing information. This seems awkward; no one is giving me an answer. Unless… do they not know who my father is? Am I like those other campers in the Hermes cabin, forever without an official parent?

Then, ever so steadily, Poseidon raised his hand. "It's me," he said gruffly. Well. There's my answer. "That's how I was able to save you. You're thirteen; you should've been in this camp already, so I came to get you. I saw you. I was on the rooftops when I saw you being followed by Ophis. But… I'm ashamed to say I didn't help you because… I wanted to see what you could do. How a daughter of Poseidon would handle the situation. Sort of like a little…test." Oh, okay. So I he was his experiment, that seems reasonable…NOT. "But," he continued. "When I saw him, grab you, take you away... I had to take action. He's fast though, really fast. So it was too late, he already threw you into the window. That's when I came, I transported into the shed and I saw you on the ground. Your arm broken. Blood flowing from your head. I must say, I was… disappointed." Right now, I should be upset with myself; my father is saying he's disappointed in me. But…. I'm not. I honestly couldn't care less. What, did he expect me to be growing up throwing knives at trees in my backyard? No. I spent my life at home horseback riding, hanging out with friends, and swimming. Sweet and simple.

"When Ophis saw me appear," Poseidon began again. "He became shaken. Starting a speech about how he had become stronger, how he would overthrow Olympus. But he disappeared then, just… gone. So, that was it. I picked you up and brought you here. I dropped you off outside of the door with a note and… I left. I couldn't stay for long; I had to see the other gods. But… your ability to ride horses so well, to be such a fast swimmer…. It came from me. You're all of those things because of me."

"No," I said flatly. Poseidon and the others seemed taken aback. What? A mortal questioning them? Haha, yeah, get used to it. "I'm not good at any of those things because of you," I spat. "I'm those things because I work hard. The first time I approached a horse, it grabbed me by the hair and threw me. When I first joined swim club, I was the only ten-year-old in the lowest group. But guess what? I worked hard. It took me about a year before I gained the courage to approach another horse. Though I did it. I began riding horses all the time. It took me years before I was able to ride for hours around the woods without falling off. Oh, and swimming? It's been four years, and I'm in the highest group now. Not because I'm your daughter, but because I. Worked. Hard." I coldly stared at Poseidon. Take that.

"Well," he says. "Okay then. If that's what you think, well then, that's what happened."

"Thank you," I say, straightening myself in the chair.

"Brethren," Zeus thunders. "I believe we've gotten all the information we need. Tomorrow, we shall begin training the campers. We will all stay in our cabin, as in, our children's cabin. Maybe we need to… catch up with them." Holy crap, was Zeus really saying this? "Father," Artemis speaks up. "May I….?" Zeus' face darkened. "Yes." What were they talking about? "Oh, Lord Zeus!" Aphrodite protested. "Come on! I refuse to let her take another girl! They need something called… LOVE!" Zeus looked at her like he heard this kind of thing all the time. "Let's go," he said stiffly. Everyone began to get up, Aphrodite pouting like a little girl. Then, she turned to me. "Don't. Do. It." She says flatly. Everyone quickly began to flood out of the doors. Well, then. Another thing I don't know what people are talking about. I am the last person to head to the door when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see Artemis, her eyes piercing into me.

"Sit down, Dahlia," she whispers. I do what she asks and I suddenly realize that Grover was right about my vision. I was going to see her very soon. Artemis sat across from me when suddenly; she turned into a twelve-year-old girl. Suddenly, other girls around my age started appearing in the room, looking confused and bewildered. I then see Thalia, the girl who said I looked like garbage… Haha, that's a good one, I need to use that sometime. "Lady Artemis," Thalia says urgently. "What's wrong? Are we…." Oh my god. Is what I think is going on really happening? Is this why Aphrodite told me to, 'Don't do it'.

"Yes," Artemis whispered. All the girls began to sit down. I was then pushed to the middle of the loveseat when to girls plopped down on both sides of me, glowing with smiles. They both grabbed my hands, not in a hostile way, but in a symbol of…. Friendship you could say. "Dahlia Reef," Artemis announced. "Will you join the Hunt?" Oh my god.

I guess you could say this is a cliff hanger…. Dun, dun, dun!