Chapter 2: By the way...monsters exist
I don't think you can imagine how weird it was to look at my own face in the mirror. Its like looking at yourself but the face you see isn't yours. I had extremely dark eyes. You could only see the difference between my pupil and my iris if you looked very closely. I had short black hair, not much longer than military style. I had black lines underneath my eyes, I didn't sleep a lot. I was tall, about 6 foot 2 and I guessed I was about fifteen years old. There were a few hairs growing on my chin but no major hair growth. I had a load of scars covering pretty much every part of my body. Cuts, gaps that looked like I had been stabbed there. And a round scar which seemed like a bullet wound in my left shoulder. Most remarkable was the burning mark that ran over the right side of my back and my arm. It looked like an old wound. Something that happened years ago. I couldn't remember how I got any of these marks and scars. How had I gotten them? That was the million dollar question right now. If every scar had a story than what was mine?
I thought I looked weird, even though it was a very normal face. I wondered if I saw more imperfections because it was the first time I looked. It was like meeting a random person in the crowd only I was meeting myself. It was me but it wasn't who I imagined. Then again how can you imagine you're own face? I had never seen it, well not as far as I remembered. At first it was not knowing my own name that scared me. But looking in my own eyes and not knowing the person I was looking at. That frightened me so much more. I wondered if I looked like my parents. Who were my parents? I didn't even know if the god I belonged to was male or female. I wondered if I looked more like my mortal parent or my immortal one. I figured that the immortal one was more active within a demigod child, something I was right about but the truth was that I wished that I resembled my mortal parent more. Even when I had amnesia I didn't like to think of myself as a demigod. I always wished I could just be a regular bloke but with my heritage that seemed impossible. I wondered if a demigod had pulled it off to live a normal life among mortals. I begged that there was at least one, that would give me hope that I could be the second.
Camp for me was weird. I didn't know what to do, where to go. It was all so strange to me, everything was. Maybe it was because I didn't remember anything, maybe because I was in a world where monsters were real and I was half god. There were only two places where I felt like I could relax. The beach, and the woods. I heard that the woods were dangerous, but I didn't see why. It was calm there, no one bothered me. I could be alone with my thoughts and the soft sounds of the wildlife around me. Multiple people had advised me to go to the armoury and get myself a weapon. Of course I still had the sword Shadow-edge hidden at the base of a tree and I didn't feel like I needed a weapon. After all what could really hurt me? I was told the magical border of camp kept demigods safe from monsters and what were the chances of me running into one in the woods? I was naive, of course I didn't realize that then. I guess no one really realizes their mistakes until they're too late. And I was definitely too late that day.
I was strolling through the woods as I had done the last few days. The woods completely surrounded camp. Hills and woods was the natural environment around camp and most of it was beyond the safety of camp half-blood. Something I learned the hard way. I made an awful lot of noise, I didn't even try to be careful. I walked and walked simply digging through my own thoughts trying to find my lost memories. Of course I returned from my own mind empty handed. I couldn't remember anything. People say that what you go through in your life shapes you as a person, I guess they are right. At that moment I wondered. If I don't remember going through anything, does that mean that I'm not a person? Maybe I wasn't, I wasn't the real me, that's for sure. As my mind tried to work out my memories I sat down at the tree where I buried my sword. The initials SE still carved deeply into its trunk. Around me I heard soft noises. The leaves moving because of the wind. A few birds singing their songs. Their were off noises though. Leaves rattling weirdly. Twigs breaking as something heavy stepped on them. The noises came closer and closer. Someone, or something was moving towards me. I got up slowly, if it was a monster it was smart not to make a noise. If anyone saw me they would believe I was calm but my heart was beating faster than I though was possible. I knew that my sword wasn't far underneath my feet but this thing was coming closer fast. How did I know it was a thing? I can't say that I can remember. I guess it was the rhythm of its footsteps. For one there seemed to be more than two. Secondly it was going fast yet obviously prowling. It was chasing someone, in this case me. A person would have a relaxed steady pass. It wouldn't be trying to get around me, to get the best place to jump me and kill me quickly. This was a thing for sure. I crouched down and started digging hysterically. My heart was pounding, I was looking around me in all directions but I couldn't see whatever was hunting me. I heard it jump just as I felt the hilt of the sword. I pulled it out of the dirt as fast as I could while looking straight in the monsters face. It was the ugliest dog I had ever seen. The blood-lust in it's eyes was obvious. It wanted to kill me, it was the only thing in the monsters thought. For a moment I was sure I was done for. That was the second time in barely a week. I wouldn't be fast enough to even raise the sword before this thing got to me. That's when salvation came. The monster's head turned to the right. I wanted to see whatever it was it saw but my eyes couldn't turn away from this abomination. The thing cried out in pain before it dusted up. I couldn't believe my eyes. That thing had tried to kill me and now all that was left of it was dust and a celestial bronze dagger barely a quarter length of my sword. The blade was covered in a black liquid, the monsters blood. My eyes were still focused on what used to be the monster, that's when a voice called out to me.
"Hey mate, you all right over there?" The voice sounded heavy yet cheerful, he had an obvious British accent. The guy himself was tall, well built and had medium length blonde hair. The most interesting thing though was that his left hand was pure bronze. I wondered if it was a glove or his hand. It didn't look like a glove but could it really be his hand I wondered. I stopped staring at the thing. It seemed rude. He had a cheeky smile on his face. He obviously enjoyed killing that thing. Not in a sadistic sense, maybe as a sort of sport. At the time I didn't understand it. I was shaking all over. Shadow-edge was tightly clamped between my fingers. I was not letting go of that sword for a long time. "You know a sword is a lot more useful when its not dug in. And that better not be one of mine." He said. I had no clue what he meant at first. The thought that he was a son of Hephaestus didn't even pop into my head. He tried to grab the sword. I didn't let it go easy. I wasn't resisting on purpose, I just didn't want to let go of that weapon. Eventually he got sick of pulling the small part of the hilt that was left for his hands and pulled my entire arm to have a look at the sword. "No it definitely isn't mine. I can't say who made it though. It looks old, well crafted too." I really had no clue what he was on about. The sword looked like it was fresh out of the forge. "How did you get it?"
"I can't remember. I've got amnesia." I didn't mind saying it. It was better than having to lie when someone asked about my parents or anything of my past life really. Hell I couldn't even tell them what music I liked. I still had knowledge of music and bands, mostly rock and metal so I figured I liked those. But I couldn't remember ever listening to any song that I could remember. Amnesia was definitely confusing.
"Well you must have gotten it somewhere. This wasn't made here that's for sure. Ah well it might come back to you. Usually amnesia doesn't last long especially with us demigods." He said. He didn't think Amnesia was weird or asked how I got it. Maybe there were more that had it. I didn't know, and didn't especially care. I had amnesia, what others thought of it didn't bother me.
"I supp..." I was cut off. The guy put his index finger on his lips signing me that I had to be quiet. He heard something. And now so did I.
"Oh Its a big one." He said. "Are you ready?"
"For what exactly?" I asked as I got up and held the sword the way it seemed right. The guy It was shorter than mine and the shape was different. His seemed more classical Greek while mine seemed more medieval.
"I don't know. That's the exiting part." He said with a big smile on his face. Now I was completely sure, this definitely was a sport to him. I was as ready as I could. I was scared as hell, but now at least I was prepared. And I was with someone with a lot more experience with these things. I guess that made me feel safer. That feeling lasted until the monster knocked down a tree because of its size and speed. After all it was about the size of a Volvo. It had the body of a lion with a weird looking tail. Its right eye was closed and it had a scar over its eye lid. And when it saw the guy that was standing next to me, it seemed really, really pissed.
"Its you!" Apparently that feeling was mutual. The expression on the guys face changed completely. He focused on nothing but this monster, its face spoke rage. I guessed that the monsters scar was caused by a certain bronze handed demigod. I was scared, yes. But I never felt that good. The adrenaline was pumping through me. My heart beat was of the record and my senses were at a level that I couldn't imagine was possible. I noticed every tiny muscle in the monster tensing, I knew how it was going to move simply by looking at it. "Look out!" I heard the other guy yell. A spike about the size of a dagger came flying towards me. I ducked as quick as I could. The spike flew right past my face and into a tree behind me. It was going at an incredible speed and the fact that I dodged it seemed like a miracle.
"Thanks for the heads up." I said. So it could shoot spikes, it had giant claws and teeth that could crush a motorcycle, we needed a plan. "You got any plans?" I asked him. He looked around him, he was trying to think of something. We couldn't take this thing in a frontal attack. That's when I spotted something. Behind the monster there was an old tree. Parts of it were falling apart but it was high. Bringing it down wouldn't take a lot of effort. If I could cut it at the right angle it could crush this thing or at least slow it down. "Do you think you can distract it for a while?"
"No problem." The guy said. The monster was already focused on him, all I had to do was get behind the thing. I didn't run nor did I move slowly. I was quiet, I didn't make a single noise. I went around the thing. Hiding behind trees and bushes until I reached the tree I needed. I could yell out to the monster and then cut the tree. But I needed the tree to fall on the monsters back. Once a person or animals back is broken they're pretty much helpless. I hoped the same thing went for monsters. I spend about half a minute figuring out the perfect angle before I made a huge swing at the rotten tree trunk with Shadow-edge. The tree fell towards the monster. Not exactly where I wanted it though. The tree broke in mid-air, one piece landed beside the monster nearly hitting my ally. The other fell on the monsters back like planned. It seemed stunned. The monster had no idea where it came from but somehow he figured it had to be something the guy in front of him did. The monster hated him that much was obvious. It was like I didn't even exist which gave me a chance to attack. Sadly not much. It was now wildly attacking the other guy with his front claws. He seemed to be doing all right but I didn't know how long he would last against this thing. I saw only one way to attack this thing. It was a stupid idea, but the only one I had.
"Hold on man, just a little longer." I said. I started sprinting towards the monsters side.
"Easy for you to say." He said as he was dodging claws and trying to fight back. I myself did the stupidest thing I had ever done. I jumped on the monsters back. I was planning to stab the thing in the back of the head or its neck which would probably kill it. Sadly that plan didn't work. His tail wasn't quick enough to hit me out of the air but he knocked away my sword. So I was on top of this thing...without any weapons, well done Angel. I didn't know what to do at first. I couldn't do the thing any damage. That was when I noticed something. I didn't know why, but the tail was aiming for me. This thing was going to shoot a spike at me while I was on its back. I wondered if it was reflex for the monster, if the tail had a life of its own or if this thing was plain stupid. Either way, if I was quick enough to dodge, the monster would hit himself. It was worth a shot. The monster was hesitant for a while, but eventually he shot. I let myself drop to the side and onto the solid ground. The monster howled, the spike had hit in the monsters shoulder blade. Black blood was coming out of the wound. Now the monster did notice me. It didn't just notice me, it turned its full attention to me. He set his pawn onto my chest and stuck his claws deep into my flesh. If you have ever had a cat pad all over you. Imagine the claws being about ten times bigger and that claw padding your chest, then you can imagine about half the pain I felt. I tried to get the claw off me. I tried to reach for Shadow-edge even though it was about 12 feet away. Every move I made the claws pushed further into my flesh. The monster was looking straight at me. It knew that this would be a slow death. It wanted me to suffer. Luckily, the other guy was still around. I saw him using the spike that the monster had shot in himself to lift him on the monsters back. The only difference from my, and his attempt at doing this. He still had his sword. I didn't see it. But I knew that he stabbed it right in the neck like I planned to. I felt the huge pressure lift off my chest as the monster disintegrated into black dust. Blood was streaming out of my chest and the pain was agonizing. I couldn't breathe right. My lungs didn't seem to be working correctly. Had one collapsed? I wasn't sure, I had some medical knowledge but not all that much. The other guy was on his knees coughing his lungs out. He had gotten some of the dust into his mouth, didn't seem like it tasted very nice.
"Okay, manticore dust, not very tasty." He said through the coughing. He was a joker all right. Then again he wasn't the one close to death. He had a few scratches but nothing major. He came running towards me with something in his hand. "Here have some of this mate." He said and he handed me some nectar. I felt better immediately. The wounds didn't close completely, maybe they were too severe. But I was all right for now. My breathing stabilized and I could feel my body relaxing. Nectar was amazing stuff. It had pretty much stopped bleeding and most of the pain was gone. The adrenaline had left my body. I was tired and the pain became even worse. With some help I was able to sit up against a tree. "The name's Luke Ford, son of Hephaestus. What do we call you amnesia kid?" Again the naming a puppy thing. I couldn't bother to say anything about it now though.
"They call me Angel, for now anyway." I said. "Nice to meet you Luke." I said.
"And you." He said. He was panting, he was just as tired as me. "Come on mate, we have to get you to the infirmary. Can you walk?" He asked. He offered me a hand to get up. I reached for it and he pulled me up. Moving hurt, standing hurt even more. But I wasn't weak, I had to stand on my own two legs. I started making my first few steps back to camp. I stumbled a bit and Luke watched closely to make sure I didn't drop down without him noticing. Eventually I was fine, we walked slowly but steadily. We were deep into the woods and at this pace it was going to take us about twenty minutes to get back. I thought it was a good opportunity to get some answers.
"So why do you hate that thing so much? You obviously fought it before." I asked him. The monster must have gotten away that time. I was pretty sure that Luke caused that scar. Why else would the monster hate him so much?
"Well last summer, nearly a year ago now. That thing killed my sister. I got it that time. I give him that pretty eye lash that you probably noticed." Bingo. "I killed him but you see, monsters come back after some time. Not matter how many times we kill them they always come back. We kill them so that the generation after us can kill them again. And that's with the slow ones. I've fought this one twice and apparently a friend of mine killed it in New York a few months back."
At that moment I didn't get the point of killing this things at all. In the old stories it usually was about killing a monster to save the day. But if they always came back what was the point? "My condolences man." I said. I didn't really know what else to say. It sounded stupid but I thought of cracking a bit of a joke. "Well at least you got to avenge your sister twice." I said. He didn't seem very amused.
"Yeah I suppose." He said. He was looking down to the ground. He seemed down, I couldn't blame him. "I was there when she died. She got killed right in front of me. By one of the spikes you dodged twice. It got her right in the heart, pinning her to a tree. It was horrible. You know, you probably hate the fact that you have amnesia. But if I were you I would cherish it. I have a lot of memories I wish I could forget. But I can't. If you have done anything you truly regret, or if you've lost someone you care about. You'll miss not remembering." Then I was angry for him saying that. I understood why he said it. He saw his sister get killed in front of him. Forgetting that seemed like a blessing indeed. Of course now that I do remember, I wish I had taken his words to heart. All I wanted then was to get my memories back. If I hadn't pursued them like I did I would have saved me and a lot of others so much pain. Of course, I didn't know that then.
I followed Luke back to camp. We were quiet for a while but I had questions to ask. "Demigods don't usually survive long do they?" I asked Luke. He stopped and looked at me. We were halfway back to camp. These woods were thicker than I had thought.
"I'm eighteen right now. For a demigod I'm old." Luke said. In the normal world he would have just finished school. He would be going to college and counting the days till he was 21 so that he could legally drink (of course every eighteen year old college student had their occasional beer whether it was legal or not.) But here he was. Fighting monsters at a summer camp way beyond his expiration date. "Usually demigods make it till sixteen before something kills them. It's only one slip up. You nearly got killed today and as far as you remember it was the first time you ever fought a monster." Luke was right. I got lucky now. Could I be this lucky next time?
"Have there been any to die a peaceful death?" I asked. I wanted to know the odds of me dying by anything but the sword. I expected there was little. And as expected he shook his head.
"Only a few. I couldn't name any that did. Did you know world war II were demigods? We started it. A lot of us died in it and many many more mortals. Even when it comes to us war knows no victors." Luke sounded like a wise man. If I hadn't known I wouldn't have guessed him for a Hephaestus kid.
"Did we also do some good or is it all war and death?" I asked. I must have sounded slightly bratty. I knew nothing of demigods or gods for that matter yet I judged them on the little I did know.
"You know we try. That's all we can do. But trust me. Any demigod does more good in their short life than a mortal does in a century. We don't have much time in this world Angel, I learned that the hard way. But we try to make every breathe count. Mortals take it all for granted." Luke's words touched me. They seemed to come straight from the heart. I wondered what his life had been like. It couldn't have all been clear skies and sunshine, else he wouldn't be like this. I wanted to ask but I figured I had asked him enough for one day.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend." I said. "It's just...I don't understand any of this. I don't even know what it means to be a demigod. I know nothing about who or what I am." I said. I had to sound desperate. Not knowing a thing was so infuriating. There was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't make my memories come back, all I could do was wait. It was one of the first things I found out about myself, I hated waiting.
"I know it's confusing. It's hard for everyone to adapt and with your amnesia it's quite hard to I know." Luke seemed to understand a little too well although I doubted he had amnesia himself. If so he probably would have said by now. "I can tell you a few things about demigods, the facts but what it means to be one is a different thing for everyone I think. Not all of us are born heroes but most try their best. I think that's what makes us different from mortals. We try the hardest we can to make a difference while most of the mortals just live their lives waiting for it to get better." Luke's words were convincing, I figured he had to be right. I didn't answer so I didn't push him to talk more. We walked towards the infirmary with those thoughts going through my head. His philosophy seemed weird to me. Maybe it was because I had no experiences with mortals as far as I could remember. Then again I hadn't really had many with demigods. I think that my subconscious told me that he was wrong. I didn't know if that was because I had experienced good in mortals or if it was because I simply had different views on things. I couldn't really place those kinds of feelings at the time. As we neared the sky blue big house I erased the thoughts out of my head. Better not to think of these things when I could bring no valid arguments to the table. Better not to waste energy as I had so little left. I felt tired and weak after the fight with the manticore. I was in need of sleep. But Luke insisted that I had to go to the infirmary simply as a precaution. I trusted him blindly, he was more experienced in these sort of things. Maybe it was what I needed, hell maybe it would bring me a step closer to getting my memories back.