I notched the last arrow I had in my quiver, and I was ready to break down into tears. I had scraped up my hands failing to hold the arrows correctly, and I was overwhelmed that I may have gotten another camper killed by being irresponsible. I think about all that, and decide that if I'm going to burst out in tears of frustration, I might as well not make a big scene out of it. I head over to one spot I know will be empty.
The cabins surrounding the fire pit form a slightly circular shape, and on the outer edge of the circle, behind the cabins, is light forests with full green leaves blocking out most of the sun. I walk around the cabin backs until I come across the Demeter back wall. Thick vines filled with nice, sweet-smelling flowers make the wall look like part of the forest, and the grass down here is long, green, and unstepped on. I look around my secret spot, and all my worries go away. It's little places like these that make Camp Half-Blood special. Then, my eyes fall upon a dark shape huddled on the ground.
Caught off guard, I jump backwards and stifle a scream of surprise. The shape is humanoid, wearing dark clothing, and its hair… matches with the grass. It's Emily. "Emily! Are you okay?" I ask as I go over to shake her shoulder, but she doesn't budge. I notice that her sweatshirt feels slimy, and as I take my hands off her shoulders, they come back tinted crimson with blood. I frantically wipe them on the grass; blood grosses me out when it's not mine. Emily's shoulders are bleeding, I realize. I pick her up; she is much lighter than I expected, and I carry her towards the place I know she will be taken good care of. The walk to the Hades cabin isn't too long.
I don't bother knocking on the door. I kick my foot up to the handle and pull it down with my heel, and the door opens. As I walk in, I notice the builders are gone, and it's silent. The inside of the cabin looks creepy, but less than it did before Nico took it to himself to re-decorate completely. The bunk beds don't look like coffins anymore, but like regular cabin beds, and windows have been placed all around the room. Deep purple carpet lines the floor, and Greek fire candles hang on the wall. To the left, a desk has been put out, and I spot the son of Hades sleeping on a pile of blueprints, his pale hand hanging off the side.
I whisper loudly, "Nico!" but he doesn't wake up. His light snoring continues. I nudge his hand with my foot, and he slightly opens one eye, seems to register nothing, and closes it again. This time, I kick his hand a wee bit harder, and both his eyes open. "Uh, Hi. What are you doing here?" he asks in the middle of a yawn. Then, he notices Emily cradled in my arms. "Is that…?" he asks, suddenly wide awake. I nod and say, "I think she's hurt. Her shoulders are bleeding," "She's asleep, I think. Why didn't you take her to the infirmary?" he asks. "It would have caused a scene. She wouldn't have liked that," I wince at my own words. Since when do I care about people's peace of mind more than their safety? "Maybe we could call one of the Apollo guys over. I think they're done with their archery," he says as he rushes out. "You can set her down on any bed," he adds before closing the door behind him. I pick the lower bunk to the right and put her down on top of it, and take her sweatshirt off, revealing an American Horror Story shirt, with what looks like claw marks at her shoulders. I am so glad she's still alive.
A minute later, Nico comes rushing back in, trailing Kayla behind him, a serious expression on her face and a white bag at her side. She says a quick hello and kneels at Emily's side.
"Okay, it's not too bad, bud you did well calling me over. Hold this," she hands me the white bag as she opens it and pulls out supplies. "Do you know what did that to her?" I ask her. "A daemon, probably. She most likely took a trip to the Underworld, but I can't be sure. One of Hades's minions. Some monster," she says as she takes out a flask of nectar and pours some onto Emily's shoulders. The wounds start closing immediately.
"Just let her sleep. She'll be fine once she wakes up," says Kayla as she zips up her bag and stands up to leave. "Thank you, Kayla," says Nico before she exits through the door. "No problem," she answers back before closing the door behind her.
Well, at least she isn't dying, I think. Then I notice her hair is damp and tears are running down her cheeks. "Nico, look," I point out to him. He frowns and then nods as if he understands. "If she went to the Underworld and survived the drop, she probably fell into one of the rivers. Either the Cocytus or the Lethe, but we'll find out which one. If she remembers nothing, it's the Lethe. Otherwise, it's the Cocytus." he tells me. I then assume the tears are just her nightmares, but I have the strong urge to pull her into a hug and tell her everything will be okay.
"Should we tell Chiron she's back?" I ask him. "Yeah, go ahead. I'll sleep at her side until she wakes up, I guess. Just… don't come back until she's ready, okay? She'll come out on her own time. Visiting the Underworld can be shocking." he responds and starts walking towards his own bed. Before I close the door behind me, I sneak another peek at Emily, smile, and shut the door silently.
When I arrive at the Big House, I knock on the front door and Mr. D, the camp director, opens the door in the middle of a huge yawn. He is wearing a blue and yellow hawaiian print shirt and Birkenstocks. His face is red as always, and the buttons on his shirt threatening to pop.
"Uh, hello," he says. "Who are you again?"
"Sebastian, from Demeter cabin. I need to speak to Chiron," I say as reasonably as possible.
"Sir" he says through gritted teeth.
"I need to speak to Chiron, sir," I repeat. He waves his arm, grunts incoherently, and waves me inside.
"He's on the second floor. Now go before I turn you into an insect," he says as he comes back in. I nod and quickly make my way up the flight of stairs to the right of the door. The wood creaks under my feet and I realize I've never been to the second floor. The windows are always blinded off from the inside and nobody really knows what's up there. I walk in a huge expanse of nothing.
The floor itself is just that - a floor. There are a few windows here and there, but thick curtains only let in slivers of daytime. I look around, and in the corner, spot the back of a white stallion. Chiron.
"Uh, Chiron…" my voice dies quickly when I realize he's Iris-Messaging - a form of communication used by gods and demigods that requires a rainbow and a golden Drachma. He turns to look at me, and for a split second I see the other end of the rainbow - I mean the Iris-message. And what I see isn't pretty. Right before I can really notice what's going on, his tail swishes across the rainbow and it disappears. How there was a rainbow without sunlight, I don't know; it must have been some sort of magic.
He tries for a smile and says, "Hello, Sebastian."
"Hello, Chiron," I answer. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, no. Do not worry. What are you here for?" his eyes are kind but seem to be focusing elsewhere, a dimension that I can't see.
"Emily's back. We just found her at the back of the Hades cabin, her shoulders bleeding, but we brought Kayla over and she's fine, sleeping now." I say. Some of the worry goes away in the centaur's eyes.
"That is well. Although, why didn't you bring her to the infirmary?" he asks, and I answer that she would not have liked to cause a scene, and the cabin was closer. He nods, and speaks.
"Well, thank you, Sebastian, for informing me. I hope she wakes up soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go speak to Mr. D," he says as he starts walking - or whatever horses do - to the staircase. I take that as a sign to leave, so I say goodbye and rush out of the House.