Sorry this took a couple of months, guys. I had troubles thinking about what to write and how to make it work. Hopefully you like it.

Gaining Trust – Chapter 6:

Outsider

Almost as soon as Jaden was declared unconscious, Chiron ordered someone to get the boy a blanket and a pillow. This alone caused an uproar amongst the campers until the same daughter of Nemesis who had called out to Gary, Rachel Griffith, returned from her cabin with her own pillow and blanket. Of course, the blanket was at least twice the size of the boy. But Gary merely wrapped the blanket over Jaden, using it as both a sheet and a cover.

" Why are you defending him?" One of the Ares kids asked.

" Why are you trying to kill him?" Gary retaliated, his voice a growl.

" He's the son of Kronos!"

" He's the son of Luke Castellan!" One of the Hermes kids growled.

" He's the son of a traitor!" A child of Hecate called out.

" Like you weren't!" Rachel Griffith growled back.

" He's the son of a hero."

Silence fell as all eyes turned to the Apollo table. Andi, who really couldn't make up her mind about whether or not Jaden was friend or foe, was once more sitting down and trying to work her own mind through the dilemma before her. She had seen images of Luke before; and if she concentrated hard enough, she was able to remember glimpses of him from before his betrayal when she had first crossed over the border when she herself was seven. But nothing could have been stronger than the aftermath of the battle where everyone was told of Luke's final deed – the one that marked him a hero in the end.

" A hero?" Jaden's small voice asked as he began to wake up. " You mean like Balto?"

" Balto the sled dog?" someone asked quietly.

Jaden didn't reply at first. He was more focused on trying to get up, instead. Only with Gary's help did he manage to sit up and look around at the many faces of the other campers. They scared him – especially the ones with their weapons still drawn – it was clear on his face. But he tried to put on a brave face for them despite knowing that it probably wasn't going to work. Unfortunately, these people were trained fighters, not Timothy McHales.

" Was he brave?" Jaden asked, ignoring the camper's question.

" Yes. Yes he was." The son of Poseidon said after a few minutes of thought.

With that thought, Jaden looked down at his dog tag. He still feared it. He still blamed it for the death of his mother. But it had been given to him by his father. Maybe not directly, but still. The only things he ever remembered receiving were George, Peter and his dog tag. And he had had them all his life. Which had to mean something, right? These people seemed to really hate his father, and they seemed to be willing to hate him. So what had his father done to make everyone afraid of or angry at his son?

Without realising, he had quickly reverted to his mute tendencies. Campers spoke to him and asked him questions, each time expecting an answer, but he remained staring at his dog tag. The goat-men tried to talk to him and prove to him that they were harmless, but the instant they moved toward him, Jaden edged just that little bit further into Gary. Gary and Chiron were exchanging worried glances with each other and trying to work out the best way to get Jaden out of his shell again, preferably with less frightened effects.

But it was the other adult – the young Hawaiian Santa man with the bored look on his face and the diet coke – which scared Jaden. There was just something in his eyes that, when Jaden had noticed him before looking at his dog tag, made the boy remember the man in the flying car. Something that should not be trusted about him or the things he had or may have done. Something beyond anything that Jaden had ever dreamed about. This man was dangerous. And there was no doubt that if Digger were with Jaden at that moment, the old dog would be barking his head off at the man and otherwise trying to protect him.

" I think it would be best if Jaden were taken back up to the Big House. If you would do the honours, Mr Rodgers?" Mr Chiron's voice penetrated the silence of Jaden's petrified mind.

" Come on, Jaden. Let's go watch that movie. You deserve it." Gary said, after giving a small nod to the centaur.

Four days had passed since Jaden had met the other campers and he refused to leave the Big House. Gary was now the only one to go and see him and try to coax him out into the rest of the camp. Mr Chiron was careful to be in his wheelchair around the boy, though Jaden made sure that he only saw him at meal times. Other than that, Jaden always kept to himself and played with his small gathering of toys.

Occasionally, Gary would try to introduce him to some of his friends. The daughter of Nemesis, Rachel, seemed to think he was cute – though he wasn't pleased by this latest discovery – and seemed to show up on a regular basis. Jaden was almost tempted to go back out into the camp just to get away from the fourteen year old. Of course, whenever he looked out the window and noticed the Aphrodite campers, he decided to rethink those thoughts.

Another regular was a seven year old son of Hecate named Tristan who seemed to be his only friend from before the meeting and that was around his age. In fact, Tristan was the only one who Jaden was comfortable enough with to let him play with Peter and George. Together the four of them (Peter and George included) always ended up playing Superheroes, with the boys being the superheroes and the toys either being the trusty sidekicks or the ones in trouble. But that afternoon, Tristan had entered the room jumping up and down about something going on somewhere in the camp. Before Jaden had time to protest, Tristan had grabbed his arm and was dragging him out of the Big House.

" Tristan, wait! What's going on?" Jaden asked.

" I don't know but it has something to do with Lord Hermes and Mr Chiron." The other boy replied excitedly. " They were at the beach."

There was nothing Jaden could do as the son of Hecate dragged him through the cabin area. In fact, he seemed to become more determined every time the blond boy struggled to break free of his grasp. Only one thing was certain, though. Every pair of eyes in and around every cabin had practically glued themselves to the two boys running towards the beach. And each pair seemed as cold and untrustworthy as the old tom cat that lived in the alley way next to his mother's old apartment block. Just thinking about the cat made Jaden's lower back tingle where the cat had scratched him one day, but that may have also been because of the scary feeling that he was about to get himself into trouble. And he hated being in trouble.

" So, the little brat's finally showed himself, hey?" A rough voice growled from behind Jaden.

Instantly both boys stopped and slowly turned around. Standing behind them were three rather strong-looking teenagers. And the dark looks on their faces reminded Jaden a little bit of Timothy McHales. In other words, they were the camp bullies. The boy in the lead had an almost kind, deceiving face and blond hair. He wore all black, except for his right arm which was torn off at the shoulder, and his bronze sword was slung over his shoulder like some anime character. As the younger boys watched, he folded his arms, the two behind him following his example.

" Leave us alone, Magnar." Tristan said, trying to be brave but not managing to keep the fear out of his voice. Jaden, however, hid his emotions under the mask that he reserved solely for Timothy.

" Oh, look. He's scared." The blond cooed in mock laughter. " Good. That's the way things should be. Now go run off to your cabin like the scared little boy you are." With that, Magnar shoved Tristan to the ground.

Jaden watched the tears begin to spring in Tristan's eyes and heard the laughter of the three teenagers. He knew from experience that Tristan was a strong boy purely and simply because the two of them would run into things all the time while they played. Tristan wasn't one to go crying to an adult if he ran into a wall and managed to knock himself dizzy. He was one to laugh that kind of thing off. Seeing him like that now, though, made something burst inside of Jaden that he had thought he'd only feel whenever his mother was being bullied.

" Leave him alone." He growled, stepping in front of his friend.

" Now you listen to me, you little brat. You do not fight against people you know you can't win against. You will get killed. So just turn around and go back to your cabin. Oh, wait. That's right. You don't have one." Magnar bent over and poked Jaden square in the chest. " You'll be doing us all a favour if you just leave now, son of Kronos. Now get lost."

" That's enough, Magnar. Leave the kid alone." Another boy called out from the red cabin.

" Are you getting soft now, Conrad? Should I show you what we do to soft siblings?"

" I'm not getting soft, Magnar."

" It certainly sounds like it." The boy behind Magnar whispered.

" I'm just giving you a warning. You touch the brat and you will get Rodgers on your back. And I'm sure you don't want an arrow in your back as well as a dagger at your throat."

" Rodgers has nothing against me." Magnar hissed.

" Perhaps not before, but you can see in his eyes that he's changed now. You saw what he was like last week. He's acting like the brat's his little brother or something."

" I am not a brat!" Jaden roared, jumping on Magnar's foot as hard as he could before head butting his stomach.

During the exchange between the older boys, Tristan had gotten up and whispered into Jaden's ear that the four teenagers (including the boy named Conrad) were all children of Ares, the war god. He had also explained that the Ares cabin were the bullies of camp, which Jaden had easily guessed. The two boys then thought of a plan of escape from the bullies.

Once Jaden had shook his head clear after head butting Magnar, he grabbed Tristan's wrist and dragged him along behind him and towards the dinning pavilion. He knew that the two of them needed to get away from the cabin area. And it had turned out that he was the faster of the two of them. But as they ran from the enraged son of Ares, Jaden knew something else; He may never get accepted into the camp unless he could show the others that he could be trusted.

He was, plain and simply, an outsider.