Opposite Ends of the Spectrum
chapter 2
I do not own Percy Jackson
Scott woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. He looked around and saw his was in a cabin. There were lots of other beds around him. He sat bolt upright when he saw a man at the door with about a hundred eyes all over his body. "Don't worry," a voice said. "That's Argus. He won't hurt you." Scott turned his head and saw a young man in an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. "Who are you?" he asked, timidly. "Percy Jackson of the Poseidon Cabin," the young man replied. "Yours?" Scott cast another nervous glance at Argus. "Scott Dennings," He answered. "Oh good, he's come to!" cried a young woman's voice from the entrance. She came over and sat next to Percy, planting a small peck on his his cheek. "Scott, this is Annabeth Chase, head of the Athena Cabin." She smiled. "Glad you're okay. We've never had a kid faint before he saw any of the monsters."
Scott blinked. Poseidon? Athena? He knew those names from somewhere. "Where am I?" he asked. "You're at a special camp for demigods. Children of the gods," answered Annabeth. Scott's head was beginning to spin again. "What do you mean? My father is a god?" he asked, disbelievingly. Percy and Annabeth looked serious. "Okay, that is what you mean," said Scott. "What did those other kids mean when they asked if I was claimed?" he asked. "They meant if your god parent claimed you as their child," replied Percy. "My father is Poseidon, lord of the seas. Annabeth's is Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy." Scott tried to take all of this in. It was ridiculous. It was impossible. His father wasn't a god. He was just some tool who left his mother when he was an infant. But on the other hand, what with all of the scary bird people and horsemen, nothing else could explain this.
"How will I know if I've been claimed?" asked Scott timidly. Percy chuckled. "I don't think you have been yet. You'd know when it happens. Usually your parent's symbol illuminates over your head. Sometimes you display an ability that only your parent can do. We'll find out soon enough." Percy got up and helped Annabeth off the bed. "Come on," she said. "Let's show you where you'll be staying." They left the infirmary and headed out into the camp. Scott was almost overwhelmed by what he saw. Kids were practicing hand to hand combat and sword fighting skills. There was a small stadium for chariot racing. There was a massive open space where a fire pit sat. Surrounding the pit were rows of chairs and tables. That must be where everyone ate.
Then he saw the cabins. There were around twenty, maybe more. Each looked different. "These are the cabins," explained Percy. "One cabin for each of the gods. Some of them like Hera and Artemis are only honorary because they didn't have demigod children." They walked through area and Scott tried to match the cabin to the god. They passed a Barbie's Dream House cabin, a cabin that looked like a school shop class, and a cabin that looked like it had a boar's head on a pike with swords and battle axes all over the outside. He figured they belonged to Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Ares, respectively. They passed a cabin that was a bright green. Flowers adorned the outside and a group of kids in earthy colors were tending to a garden. A red haired girl of about twelve looked up and wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm. She saw Percy, Annabeth, and the new arrival walking by the Demeter cabin. She smiled and waved at Scott, who blushed and turned away. The girl giggled and went back to her garden.
Not too far away there was a cabin that gave Scott a serious case of the willies. If Marilyn Manson and Tim Burton had a summer camp, their cabins would look like this. It was black with brightly colored jewels around the base of the entry. On either side of the door was a lit torch in a bracket, spewing bright blue flames. Gargoyles sat perched around the roof of the building. There were some truly grotesque images including a bird which looked frighteningly familiar to Scott. As he stared at this place, all sound seemed to disappear. No birds chirped. It felt like the wind had died as well. But there was something he felt drawing him closer. Percy's spoke and startled Scott. "We try to avoid the Hades cabin as much as possible. It gives everyone the creeps. We haven't had a child of Hades since my old friend Nico, and he didn't stay here long anyway." As Percy led him away, Scott took another look behind him. It terrified him and yet it didn't. He couldn't figure out why.
"Here we are!" cried Annabeth. Scott turned around and saw a cabin which looked like it had seen better days. It looked old and worn. The paint was peeling off the walls. He noticed an image on the outside of the walls. A staff with two snakes wrapped around it up the length. "Welcome to Hermes. God of messengers, wanderers, and thieves," said Annabeth. Scott looked at the cabin and felt that he did not belong in this cabin. "I know how you feel Scott," said Percy, sensing his troubled mind. "I wound up here at first as well. All unclaimed demigods in addition to Hermes' children wind up here. But it will only be for a short while. I'm sure your father will let you know who you are." He patted Scott on the back and left him at the entrance to the cabin. "Good luck Scott," said Annabeth as she followed after Percy.
Scott turned and faced the door in front of him. Might as well get this over with, he thought. He knocked on the door. A tall sandy haired kid who looked like he was fifteen or sixteen opened the door. "Ah! A new member of the esteemed house of Hermes! Come on in!" he said with a mischievous smile. Scott's jaw dropped the moment he walked into the cabin. There were at least twenty children of various ages in their teens crammed into this cabin with a large statue of Hermes erected in the center of the room. He also noticed someone had drawn a mustache on the face of the statue. "The name's Will. Will Carlson, head of Hermes Cabin. Yours?" said the older kid. "Scott Dennings," Scott replied. Will took his hand and shook it vigorously. "Pleased to meet you Scott!"
Scott looked around at all of the children. "Are all of these kids...?" he started to ask. Will shook his head. "A lot of them are unclaimed demigods, much like yourself. The gods are supposed to claim them all, but sometimes it takes a little time." Scott looked worried. What if he stayed here? And why was he concerned about the Doom and Gloom cabin? He decided not to worry about it as Will introduced him to his bunk mates. "Oh and word to the wise," Will said in a hushed voice. "Don't keep anything valuable where people can get to it." On his bed lay an orange t-shirt with CAMP HALF-BLOOD written across it.
Dinner came sooner than Scott had anticipated. Everyone sat around the fire and before they began eating, all the campers threw a small amount of food into the fire. One of his bunk mates, Kyle, told him it was an offering to the gods for their continued protection. Scott didn't know why the gods had a thing for charred food, but he threw in a bit of his chicken. Scott liked Kyle. They shared similar interests, Kyle made him laugh. But he knew Kyle was a son of Hermes and he didn't feel that connection for himself. Scott glanced over at some of the other tables and saw that same red haired girl from the Demeter cabin he saw earlier in the day. "Hey Kyle," he said, nudging him in the side. "Who is that?" Kyle looked up from his food to see who Scott was talking about. "Oh her? That's Gemma Matthews. One of the best green thumbs you'll find over in the Demeter cabin." Scott somewhat paid attention to this. "Is she nice?" he asked. Kyle laughed. "Is she nice? The kids from that cabin are so mellow it's not even funny. I don't think there's a nasty bone in any of their bodies." Scott pondered for a moment and stood up. "Hey where are you going?" asked Kyle as Scott got up. "I gotta do something real quick," he muttered. "Dude, we're supposed to stay with our cabins. You're gonna get us in trouble!" Kyle shouted, but Scott had already walked away.
Scott barely walked five steps before he heard a voice. "Don't." He stopped midstep and stood there for a moment. He walked back to the table and sat back down next to Kyle. "Thank you for listening to reason. I really don't want to have to clean the toilets again," said Kyle. Scott forgot what happened. "Again?" he asked. Kyle brushed it off. "Long story. There was a snake and I wasn't directly involved... I'll tell you about it sometime. What changed your mind? You looked pretty determined to sit with Gemma." Scott shrugged. He didn't want to tell his new friend that he was hearing voices. "I don't know. I just felt I shouldn't break the rules by getting up."
They finished dinner without bringing up the moment of strangeness again. Tomorrow Scott was going to begin to learn how to defend himself. He was nervous, but if this was to be his future he had to suck it up. Sleep did not come easy to him in his cabin, but when it did he wished he was awake again.
He ran as fast and as far away as he could. He decided to go home. His mother could figure something out. He ran to the nearest subway station and got on the train. He got home and his mother was on her way out the door to go to work. "Scott?" she cried as she saw her son running down the hallway to their apartment. "What happened?" She knew something bad had happened. He could tell. They walked into the apartment and he told her about the monster on the bus. He thought she would think he was crazy. On the contrary, she looked troubled. "It's happening," she said, more to herself than to her son. "What's happening?" he asked in a panicked voice.
His mother didn't respond. A knock at the door cut her off. She grabbed Scott and put him in his room. "Stay in here and, I don't know, play Final Fantasy or something until I come get you." She shut his door and went to go answer the door. Scott got off of his bed and walked over to his door and gently eased the door open. "Why?" he heard his mother sob. "He's just a boy!" A second voice, male, responded. "He needs to learn who he is." What? "You're here! Why can't you tell him?" his mother cried angrily. "Samantha," the man said in a tired voice. "You know how busy I am. I have to take care of what happened out there. You need to take him to the place I told you about all those years ago. It's what's best for him." Scott heard a smack and figured she must have slapped the stranger. There was silence for a moment. "I know you're upset, but please don't do that again," said the man with a slight edge to his voice. "You have to take him there. Now, if possible."
Scott heard the door shut and he ran out of his room to confront the stranger. He opened the front door but saw nobody. Not even in the hallway. "Who was that?" he shouted at his mother. His mother quivered, tears streaming down her face. "Come on, sweetie. We have to go." As she walked to her room she heard Scott shout, "You never tell me anything!" followed by the slam of a door.
Scott woke up in the middle of the night. He didn't know why, but when that man visited his apartment, he got the same eerie vibe as he did from that cabin.