Opposite End of the Spectrum

chapter 3

I don't own the rights to Percy Jackson

Scott woke up more tired than he was when he went to sleep. He kept having visions of the previous morning. His school bus. His mother and the stranger. He also had remembered an incident from when he was a little boy. There was a bird and... But he didn't want to think about it. That incident from his childhood deeply troubled him to this day. He sat up in bed and looked around. He really was in a cabin full of demigods. He really did see a centaur the night before. And there really were monsters trying to kill him.

Over in the next bed, Kyle yawned. "Morning," he groaned as he stretched. "Morning," Scott replied. He didn't feel very chatty. But at the same time, he felt he had to talk to someone about how he felt. His mother wasn't around. This made him feel even worse. If only he had been nicer and didn't take advantage of her he probably wouldn't feel so wretched. If I make it out of this, he thought, I'm gonna do the dishes every night and make sure the apartment is clean.

"You look like you got a lot on your mind," said Kyle's voice from far away. Scott snapped back to reality. "How old were you when you found out?" he asked straight out. "Ohh," Kyle sighed. "It was a couple of years ago. I was nine. I was coming home from school when some guy I never met pulled over in his car." Scott chuckled. "Was it an unmarked white van with promises of a kitten inside?" he asked. Kyle laughed. "I wish. This guy turned out to be the dad of a kid in my school. He started yelling at me about stealing something that belonged to his kid. I think it was a PSP but to be honest, I can't even remember. I told him flat out that I never took anything. Which was true. I hadn't. I only said to the kid that I desperately wanted one, but I would never resort to stealing. Well, the guy wasn't buying it, so he made me take out the stuff in my backpack. I took out my math book, my binder, my copy of The Hobbit. And then I felt it. It was a PSP. I remember now because I had never seen a white one before. The kid's dad starts yelling at me and calling me a thief. I didn't know what to do. I just panicked. I threw the PSP in his open car window and took off."

Scott listened as Kyle told him about going to his mother, telling her about what happened. He told Scott that his mom had said something along the lines of, "I knew this day would come." He continued. "Fortunately my mom realized what was going on before any monsters found me. But she knew I had to come here once my father's trait of being a master thief showed itself." Scott shook his head in disbelief. "Weren't you upset or anything?" he asked. Kyle shrugged. "I was at first. So many questions raced through my head. Did he know about me? And if he did, did he love me? I still harbor a bit of resentment towards Hermes. I mean, I know he's there now. I know who he is and how to contact him. But the loss of those nine years still eats at me a little, you know?"

Scott wished he could agree, but he still didn't know who his true father was. "But you know what?" Kyle asked. Scott looked up. "Whoever your dad is, I'm sure he'll be proud of you." Scott couldn't help but show a little smile. "Now come on!" Kyle shouted as he threw a pillow at Scott. "I don't want to miss breakfast!"

They made their way to the fire pit for breakfast and got a couple of seats with the rest of the Hermes cabin. Scott looked up from where he sat and saw Gemma eating some pancakes and talking with the other Demeter kids. Scott wanted desperately to talk to her, but at the same time, he was sick of hearing disembodied voices that no one else heard. Gemma looked back at him and smiled. Scott smiled back, unable to help himself. He was determined to get some alone time with her. Get to know her. And that opportunity was going to present itself sooner than he had expected.

"Good morning, children!" a voice called from the center of the pavilion. The centaur, Chiron was addressing the group. "Today, we have a big event planned for you all!" Scott looked to his left. Kyle had his fingers crossed and was muttering, "Capture the Flag. Capture the Flag." Scott looked back to Chiron. "Capture the Flag!" he shouted. The entire pavilion was filled with cheers from excited children. Kyle was pumping his fists in the air in excitement. Scott was confused. Why were they getting all in a tizzy for a stupid game? Chiron divided the cabins into two groups. One group was in blue, the other in red. The Hermes cabin was on the red team, as was the Demeter cabin. This is it, thought Scott.

Chiron and Annabeth brought out a massive chest. Scott looked puzzled. His eyes bulged out of their sockets when he saw what the chest contained. Armor. Shields. Swords. Axes. Maces. Every bit of armor and weaponry you could think of was in this chest. "What the hell's going on?" Scott asked Kyle. "We're playing Capture the Flag. Durr," he replied in a matter-of-fact way. "But what do we need all this for?" asked Scott. Kyle rolled his eyes. "The basic rules are the same. On either side of the forest is the other team's flag. The only difference is you have to defend yourself with sharp pointy objects." Scott gulped. "Am I gonna die?" he asked as he put on his armor and grabbed a lightweight sword. "If anything, you'll get some small gashes, but nothing serious." He winked and ran to where the teams were gathering to begin.

Scott struggled with fastening his armor. "Here, let me help you," a sweet voice said. Scott froze. He slowly turned around and saw Gemma adjusting the straps on his breastplate. "There you go," she said with a smile. He hadn't counted on her being so cute. Or Scottish. The accent was faint, but it was there. She reminded him of Amy Pond from Doctor Who. He had a major crush on her. And he was showing it as his cheeks flushed bright red. "My name's Gemma," she said, holding out her hand. Scott took it and stood there. "You're supposed to tell me your name," she whispered. "What? Oh- OH! Um... Scott. Is my name." She giggled. Scott turned even redder. "Well good luck Scott!" she said as they reached the teams, waiting to begin.

"On my mark," called Chiron, "we begin!" Scott was nervous. He had never used a sword before. Kyle and Gemma both said that things would be alright. Scott just couldn't shake this feeling that something bad was going to happen. He shook the feeling off as he met with his other teammates. A girl from the Ares Cabin was telling everyone what they had to do. She then directed her attention at Scott. "You, freshman. You're going to go with Kyle and a few of your other cabin mates over to the river and scout the location for the other side. Do you understand?" She was very commanding. Scott made a noise that was very noncommittal, but it didn't matter. He had a feeling that this was a girl you did not want to piss off.

Kyle patted him on the back. "Come on, Scott. I'll keep an eye on you." Scott gulped and nodded. He took a deep breath and they trudged off into the woods. Even though he was with a bunch of children his own age, Scott could not help but be absolutely terrified. As his group headed to the river he could hear the sounds of swords and shields clashing. Please don't make me have to use this, he prayed in his mind to anyone who was listening. As they passed through a clearing they were ambushed by a group of blue campers. Kyle grabbed Scott and threw him behind a few shrubs as he fought off the other team. "Go!" he cried. "Get to the river! We'll hold them off" Scott nodded and ran as fast as he could towards the river.

He wasn't paying attention. His foot met a rock and brought him tumbling to the ground. He rolled down a hill and rebounded off a couple of trees before the next sensation he felt was wet. Scott slowly got up and rubbed his back and his head. He looked around him. The hill was deeper than he thought it was. Nobody was around him. He felt this was a trap. Somebody had to be hiding somewhere. "Please!" he yelled to nobody in particular. "I don't want to do this!" Silence. He really was alone. He felt a trickle down his forehead. He wiped it away with his hand. Blood. He crouched down, still cautious, and splashed some water over his face.

Scott stood up and listened for any sounds. Only the distant sounds of the fighting and people shouting unintelligible orders. He ran to the other side of the river and saw something on the other side of the trees. The flag. Nobody was guarding it. This was too good to be true. He walked slowly to the flag. As he edged closer his hands moved to his sword. If he needed to use it, he wanted to be ready. The flag was getting closer and closer. It was within arm's reach. Scott stopped. There was a splash in the river behind him. He started breathing rapidly. Rustling in the bushes behind him. This is it. "HEY!" a voice cried. Scott closed his eyes and turned as fast as he could, sword drawn.

There was a thud and a noise like Scott had never heard before. A gurgling, sputtering noise. Scott opened his eyes and looked at his sword. Blood. He had made contact with someone. The image of the blood sent shivers up his spine, but not nearly as many as the sight that greeted him next. Kyle was on the ground making the horrible sputtering noise, clutching at his neck in a vain attempt to stem the flow of blood. The color was draining from his face as quickly as it was from Scott's face. He threw his sword down and ran to support Kyle. "HELP! HELP!" he screamed as hard as he could. Scott looked around, hoping someone, anyone, was close by. "I'M SORRY!" he cried. "I'M SO SORRY!"

A few people started to arrive at their location. Some more gathered. Pretty soon the entire camp had arrived to the grisly scene. The sound of hooves heralded the arrival of Chiron. "What's going on here?" he asked with a petrified look on his face. As he came into the small circle surrounding the boys, the light seemed to leave from Kyle's eyes as he let out one final breath. Scott began trembling with shock as he saw Kyle's head loll to the side. "NOO!" he cried. He was my first friend, he thought. And I've killed him. "It is the will of the gods," said Chiron with heavy sadness in his voice. "He is with Hades now." The rest of the campers bowed their heads in silence. Except Scott. His face altered from sadness to resolution. He had to do this. He hadn't done it since... He wasn't even sure if he could do it again. He reached down to Kyle and placed his hand over the gash in his neck.

It felt cold. Then it got warmer. Soon the feel of his hand against Kyle's neck was too much to bear. He pulled his hand away and looked down at the ground. The campers took a collective gasp as Kyles skin went from being pale and pasty to being a rosy shade of pink. The gash healed itself before everyone's eyes. Scott got closer to Kyle and saw his eyelids flutter. Scott was rendered speechless. Kyle looked around and saw the entire camp surrounding him. "What?" he asked. "Did I do something wrong? It wasn't me, I swear!" A few campers laughed. Others vomited or fainted. Or both. But everyone looked at Scott like they had never seen him before. Chiron broke the awkward silence. "Hail, Scott Dennings," he said, solemnly. "Son of Hades. Lord of the Dead."