Yeah…uh…on with the story, I guess…

Thanks to Michelle, Arielle, Alexandriarulzforeva, and Sorrow-wing for reviewing. You've earned another chapter!

~CampHB

Reagan

Silence. Total silence. My friends stared at me in shock. Mr. Stone's eyes bulged. Sophie was the first to recover.

"That's it," she announced. "It's final. I'm officially imagining things and going insane." She swayed. "Catch me as I fall." She toppled into Theia's arms.

Theia's dad was next. "The-the gods what?" he asked incredulously.

"They. Killed. My. Mom." I answered.

"Reagan, they wouldn't do anything like that," Theia said. "You're wrong."

"I'm wrong? I wish I was."

"Reagan, your mom's at home. She's perfectly alive."

"No. No, she isn't. They killed her. Why won't you guys believe me?"

"No, but why would they want to kill her?"

"I…they…" I took a deep breath before answering. I was suddenly interrupted by a bark outside.

"Tip!"

Tip was my dog. He was a purebred Rottweiler, fully black from head to toe except for the tip of his tail, which was white, a strange color for Rottweilers. He bounded inside.

Mr. Stone yelled as Tip made a beeline for me. He started whining like he was scared and put his face in my knees. Then he ran behind me and started nudging at my legs.

"What the freakin' heck?" Mr. Stone yelled. "What the hell is that…that… thing doing in my house?"

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "He's my dog. His name's Tip."

At that exact moment, Sophie woke up. She took one look at Tip and screamed her lungs out. Then she passed out again. I think Tip was more scared of her shrieks than she was afraid of him. Tip turned in circles again and again.

Mr. Stone sank into a chair and rubbed his forehead. Theia lugged Sophie to the couch and dumped her there. Then she clapped her hands. Tip went to her and sniffed her. He started licking her palms, and she stroked his head.

"Dad," she finally said.

"Yes, honey?" Mr. Stone's eyes were half-closed like he was sleeping the stress off.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?" he grunted.

"Dad, we should get to camp."

I froze. My mom hadn't said anything about a camp. I couldn't trust them also, from what my cousin had told me. He'd also warned me from going to any camp as soon as I hit the age of twelve. My cousin had said that they wouldn't understand me and that they were no good. That was just last year.

"What camp?" I asked cautiously.

"I know this might sound weird, but it's called –"

That confirmed my suspicions.

"Camp Half-Blood," I said grimly. "I know."

When I had finally shaken Sophie awake, Theia and her dad started explaining. There were a lot of comments like 'That's not possible!' or 'You've go to be kidding me!' or 'Are you serious?' coming from Sophie. Then there was lots of cussing and death threats happily administered by me, with Theia restraining me from trying to take out my anger on the closest, most vulnerable object.

Finally we were able to get back into a sort of civilized group. Theia's dad announced that he would take us to camp.

Mr. Stone's car was a steel-blue CR-V Honda. Theia took the window to the right, while Sophie took the left. That left me sitting in the middle, being jostled around when Mr. Stone made sharp turns.

Tip leapt from the backseat next to me. Sophie glanced nervously at him, and he eyed her. Then he turned in small circles and sat down at me feet, growling softly. Sophie jerked her legs up and stayed that way for the rest of the drive.

When we were driving around the middle of the Holland Tunnel, Theia started muttering words to herself.

"Πρέπει να τους πάρετε στο στρατόπεδο. Πρέπει να τους πάρετε στο στρατόπεδο με ασφάλεια. Δεν θα τους αφήσουμε να πεθάνει. Δεν θα τους αφήσουμε να...Argh!" she muttered to herself."" She threw her hands up. "Πάρτε ένα πιάσιμο, Θεία! Πάρτε ένα πιάσιμο!

(This is written in Greek and literally translates as: "Have to get them to camp. Have to get them to camp safely. Won't let them die. Won't let them…Argh!" "Get a grip, Theia! Get a grip!" The ( ' ) is a mark for the 'h' because the Greeks did not have symbol for that letter. God, I'm starting to sound like a professor. :P )

Mr. Stone glanced back using the rearview mirror. "I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't speak Greek, Theia, because I can't understand a single word of it."

"Oh, uh, sorry." Theia smiled sheepishly.

Sophie glanced at her quizzically, but I looked away instead. I had understood every single word of it.

How come? I asked myself. How come I can understand?

I crossed my arms and rubbed my temple.

Please let this car ride be over soon.

Theia's father finally exited the highway, entering the more peaceful side of New York. We neared a sign that said 'Dephi Strawberry Service', when Mr. Stone stopped the car. He looked back at us carefully.

"I'm going to let you guys off here," he said softly. "When I let you off, run toward that pine tree up there."

He motioned toward the windows.

"Whatever you do, don't stop because your lives depend on it, okay?"

Sophie was too freaked out to care. Only Theia responded.

"Okay, Dad. Okay."

Theia pushed open her door, and we scrambled out. Tip barked before rushing to me. The tree that her dad had been talking about was about a whole three miles away. Mr. Stone then backed up the car and started in the direction of the highway, leaving us on an old dirt road.

I immediately stepped back. "I'm not going."

"Reagan," Theia pleaded. "Please. You're going to get killed if you don't."

"No!"

"Reagan, please…I can't leave you here. Do it –for me."

I looked at her and sighed. Despite my hatred against wherever we were going, she had a point.

"Fine," I grumbled. "I'm coming."

We ran upwards to the tree. Sophie was lagging behind, huffing and puffing. Theia was only a few inches away from me. Tip was bounding energetically beside me, urging me to go faster.

I ran up the hill with ease. The pine got closer and closer. Suddenly, there was a scream from behind us. Sophie was dangling by her leg from a huge bird. It had shiny bronze feathers, a curved beak, and sharp talons. Golden eyes were implanted into its face. There were others a few feet away from it.

Theia cursed beside me. "Stymphalian birds!"

"What birds?"

"Stymphalian. They've been known for their vicious fighting, and stop at nothing to tear your skin –straight to the bone." She shuddered.

I looked at Sophie, screaming and kicking helplessly as the huge bird started to take flight.

"How do we stop them?"

"Loud sounds. Come on! We have to get Sophie back!"

She took off running after the monster. I was about to follow her when there was a sudden hissing behind my back. I slowly turned around. An eight-headed freak dragon was staring at me. The heads swayed hypnotically, and tongues flickered out. Tip growled.

I backed up slowly. "Okay, good dragon. Good dragon. Stay there, okay? Stay."

The creature sat in place, eyeing me carefully. A shout from somewhere in the sky raised its attention.

There was a huge golden chariot hovering somewhere above me. It was drawn by a flying horse –a pegasus. Now, I'm not talking about some stupid second grader toy. I'm talking about a full grown horse with massive wings. It tossed its head and reared its legs for a dramatic effect. When Tip saw the other animal, he started barking like crazy.

"No, Tip! No! Bad dog!" I don't think Tip really listened because I was whispering, so it didn't sound as scary.

The monster snarled. It bounded toward me. The heads snapped out, tongues trying to sense where I was. I dove under it and slid out on the other side. A head drew back and spit out a glob of green goo at my face. I dodged and drew out my double-edged sword. Then I sliced the head off.

The severed neck oozed with green blood, and the head disappeared into shimmering dust. I thought most of my troubles were over and that all I had to focus on was not getting hit by green gunk and hacking the heads off until the neck foamed. Two more heads popped out, taking place of the first one. Now I was looking at a nine-headed reptile, angrier than ever.

Uh-oh, I thought.

The nine heads started spitting the lime-green slime again, though this time faster. I managed to duck most of them, but an extra-large one hit my arm. Thankfully it was my right arm, not my sword hand, my left. I realized that it was poison and that it obviously hurt a lot. It felt as if my skin were peeling off slowly.

The beast sprang in my direction. I chopped another head off, and again, I was looking at two other heads grow in place.

The monster looked furious now. It ran toward me again. I barely had any strength left. I raised my blade.

Tip threw himself against the dragon. The beast looked at it like What the heck are you trying to do, dog? Tip growled, raising his upper lip in a snarl. The monster swiped at him, knocking him back about ten feet away. He whimpered, and I saw a large cut on his side.

I tried to fight the best I could, but my energy had almost been completely drained.

So you're just gonna die here, huh? Wake up, Reagan! You're not gonna die! You're gonna fight and live your life! Look, even Tip tried to protect you.

I felt like I wanted to die, but my conscience was right. I had to go on.

Unexpectedly, a hand reached out and grabbed the back of my shirt. It pulled me onto the golden chariot that I had seen in the sky before. It was a boy with light blond hair, like he spent a lot of time out in the sun. His skin was deeply tanned, and he had warm cerulean eyes that looked friendly.

He was wearing an orange t-shirt that said Camp Half-Blood on it. There was a leather cord around his neck with six beads. A quiver full of arrows and a bow were slung on his back. He smiled.

"Hey," he said.

"Uh, hi."

"Will! Will Solace, listen to me carefully, 'kay?" the driver yelled. "There's no time for chattin' to pretty girls. I need you to get a clear shot when I go near that bird, okay?"

Will stood up and blushed slightly. "Got it, Mark."

Mark was a big burly boy in the front. His dirty brown hair was tousled and he had a nasty expression on his face, like he loved killing or destroying things.

Will took his bow and grabbed an arrow, aiming it at the bird that was dangling Sophie. She was still shrieking like there was no tomorrow. He fired.

"Cover your ears!" he yelled. Sadly, I didn't and had to experience the excruciating effects of the arrow.

The arrow streaked toward the bronze feathered bird. As it got closer it its target, it became louder. There was a high-pitched noise that rang throughout my head. I fell to the ground, trying to hide from the horrible noise.

At once, the bird vanished. Some other birds around it also poofed into dust. The remaining winged animals screeched and flew away as Will kept on shooting arrows after them. At last he lowered his bow.

Mark stopped the flying chariot next to Theia and Sophie. Theia climbed in immediately, but Sophie started to stare at the pegasus. It looked at her like she was trying to insult it. Sophie climbed in with us.

The chariot was getting crowded. I ended up sandwiched in between Mark and Will. My arm brushed against his.

"Thanks," Theia said, "for saving us."

"No problem," Will said. "In fact, Chiron sent us."

"He did?" Theia shot him a quizzical look.

"He'll explain to you later."

The chariot flew and picked up Tip before crossing the pine. We flew above many amazing things I couldn't really explain. There was a huge amphitheater and arena. There were many cabins in a rectangle –more than thirty, if you just glanced at it. There was a huge lake and an open-roof pavilion. Volleyball and basketball courts dotted the land. There was also a gigantic forest on one side with a big beach on the other.

"What is this place?" Sophie breathed.

"Oh, it's nothing," Will said. "You have to actually see the inside."

"It all looks so cool!" Sophie exclaimed. "You see, there are many different forms of these buildings. They're all Greek, yes? There's a Doric column right there, and over there, it's a Corinthian column. The sculptures are beautifully made. It shows the perfect definition and the right balance. It's amazing how these Corinthian columns right here can hold up such an amazing structure. How the architect carefully planned this and thought if it, I wonder. Amazing. The Doric column is so astonishingly structured. The carvings are spectacular. If they made the capital a little larger, it would topple over. They made the base and the shaft perfect so it would hold up the mass and weight of the capital.…"

Oh my god. Not her lectures again!

"Um, English please?" Theia asked.

"I was talking in English, if you paid attention," Sophie said.

"Okay, okay. We get the point, Sophie. No need to talk any more, Birdbrain," I snapped.

"But don't you see how this –"

"Uh, no," I cut in.

"Truthfully, I have no idea what you're talking about," Theia admitted.

"Ugh! You people are hopeless!" Sophie threw her hands up in frustration. Typical. She always gets worked up when people don't understand her.

I gritted my teeth as we pulled closer to the ground. The closer we got, the angrier I was when I thought about the founders of this camp. Theia smiled at me nervously.

"I think you'll like this place," Theia said.

"No way," I replied. "After what they did, you think I would still trust them?"

"Reagan, you've gotta give them a chance."

"No! Even my cousin told me that this place wasn't right! He hated it, too! No wonder he ran off to join the other side!" I blurted.

"Joined the other –wait, what?"

Will tensed as he turned to face me. "What did your cousin do?" he asked suddenly. "What was his name?"

"What? You have a problem with him?" Everyone seemed to have a problem with my family. First my cousin. Then my mom. Then me.

"What was his name?"

"His name was Luke. Luke Castellan. Why?"

Will reached for my hand. "No wonder you hate this place so much. Luke…Luke hated it too. He was a traitor."

"No, he wasn't," I said. "He was right. The gods are so stupid. I have proof!"

"What proof?" said a voice. A pudgy man materialized in front of us. "How are we so stupid and mean and unjust…Reagan?"

I forced myself to stay calm. Yeah, yeah. I wanted to rip this guy to pieces. "You. Killed. My. Mom," I said.

I saw Theia groan and mutter, "No! Not to him, Reagan! Idiot!"

"Did we?"

He was getting on my nerves.

"Yeah you did. I saw it myself."

Will gulped. "You shouldn't say that."

"Why?" I challenged.

"He's…He's a god. Dionysus."

Whoops, I thought silently. Too bad. Score one for me. Gods: 0.

Uh-oh. Looks like Reagan's in serious trouble! :D By the way, there's a poll on my profile. Check it out!

~CampHB