Thank you all so much for your continuing support! I am pleased to note that things are finally starting to happen, and we'll have a more developed and (hopefully) more complicated plot coming soon! By the way, I apologize for some of the lack continuity within some of this, especially as I seem to have somehow managed to edit out an important scene within chapter three (recorded as chapter four - Found)…! If you please, go back to it and re-read it so that we're all clear on how 'Yume' was mistakenly read as 'Yoom.' I deeply apologize for my carelessness!

Also, it has been brought to my attention the Apollo has blue eyes, and not green. As a response to this, I must express my disappointment at this mistake. However, if only for the sake of continuity, I will keep Kyle's looks the same. Perhaps I can make modifications further on, but for now, my apologies will have to suffice. I apologize for the inaccuracy!

"O Phoebus, from your throne of truth,

From your dwelling-place at the heart of the world,

You speak to men.

By Zeus's decree no lie comes there,

No shadow to darken the world of truth." Mythology, Part One - The Gods: Apollo, Edith Hamilton

The next morning, I went with everyone else to breakfast. At first I was shy and didn't know what to say to people my own age, but soon I figured out that we were all just friends who had immoral parents. We were all related, all family. God says "Love thy brother." So I tried my best to get along with everyone, even the mean ones. They were, after all, still family. Elijah even introduced me to a couple of nice people named Celia Jones and Jacob Thompson. They were in the same cabin as me, and the same age.

But, while I liked most of the people I met, my mom was still close to my mind as we offered up the sacrifice to God. It was weird, Elijah trying to explain it to me. I didn't understand, if we were abandoned, why we had to thank our absent parents. But then I remembered the guilty feeling of warmth after I had prayed to my father, and I figured everyone else felt that, too, when they sacrificed to their pagan parents. So, I threw in the biggest piece of meat I had, just like Elijah, and I sent it up to my father specifically, so that I could also pray for my mom's health. The fire sent up the smell of something so sweet I almost choked, but then I was pushed out of the way by the next person, one of my meaner relatives.

After breakfast, I went to the man with a horse's lower body, and looked up at him. He looked down at me and smiled, and I liked him. He seemed nice. Very trustworthy, though a little weird in looks. God makes all of His creatures as he sees fit, so it's okay.

"Good morning," the man-horse greeted. I smiled.

"Good morning. I'm Kyle." He returned the smile.

"And I'm Chiron. It's a pleasure to meet you." I bit my lip, wondering how to phrase my question. I didn't want to be mean or rude. But he seemed to notice, and he smiled like he knew what I was thinking. After that, my question just came out.

"Um, I'm sorry if it's not a very nice question, but, um, well, what are you?" My face was heating up. I was embarrassed, but I wanted to know, so I ducked my head without running away. Much to my embarrassment, he laughed a little before he spoke.

"Well, Kyle, I'm what they call a centaur. I am a human-horse hybrid, a mix of the two, and I am the activities director here at Camp Half-Blood. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me." His answer was nice, and he seemed to be pretty nice, too, so I asked my next question.

"Um, okay, then, can I go home?" He frowned, and his tail swished as he stirred.

"Why would you want to go home so soon after reaching safety, Kyle?" he asked. I shifted my weight, feeling ashamed. My cheeks flamed a brighter shade of red.

"Well, my mom's sick, and it's my fault, so I came out looking for a healer." I told him. "And I think she's dying."

He stared down at me for a long time, but I didn't look up at him, scared he would see the guilt of sin on my face. He reminded me of John the Baptist, a devout follower and a trustworthy man who never lied if he could help it. I didn't want him to hate me.

"Well, I won't promise you, but I will talk it over with Mr. D. He's the camp director. You will at least have an answer by the end of the week. But until then, just try and settle down and make some friends. I hear you've traveled a long way. So, for now, try to enjoy camp life. Okay?" I looked up at him, tears filling my eyes. Thank you, God, for giving me a chance. I thought, rubbing my eyes and trying not to cry. I nodded.

"Okay. I'll wait. Thank you, Mr. Chiron! Thank you so much!" He smiled again, and shooed me away, and I joined my brothers and sisters and cousins as they milled off to various camp activities. Seeing Celia and Jacob waving to me, I ran to join them, and we all headed off to go canoeing.

Three hours later, and I was still drenched from the river. It turned out that I was incredibly sensitive to motion sickness, even in the river, and while I didn't quite lose my lunch, I did come close to fainting several times, which led to me weight shifting, and so we all ended up in the water. Celia wasn't too happy about that, especially since she'd done her makeup so well this morning, but I said I was sorry, and she said it was okay. Jacob just shook it off and tried again. He seemed to be a very quiet person.

Now, we were done with crafts, and I was done with things sticking to me because I was wet. I was frustrated, and I wanted to be good at something. However, now it was the time to head to the archery range. Finally.

My cabin-mates and I all got our bows and arrows, and we lined up at the targets. I took aim, and fired, missing the center by less than half an inch.

"You should raise your elbow a bit." Said a voice over my shoulder. I turned, and there was a fair-haired boy with stern-looking blue eyes. He came over, and tapped my elbow up a bit, adjusting my stance as well, and said, "Now try."

I fired. Dead center. I fired again. The first bull's-eye split. And again. And again. And again. Stepping out of my stance, I nodded, looking over at the older boy.

"Thanks," I told him. He nodded, moving on to the next camper and fixing his stance, too. Celia whistled behind me.

"Man, Kyle, I didn't know you could shoot like that." she said, looking at her flawless nails. "I've never really liked this sport, though." I blushed, embarrassed by her comment on my shooting.

"Well, I kind of hunt a lot, so a still target isn't as hard to hit for me." I told her. She glanced sideways at me, and then raised an eyebrow.

"Say, Kyle, do you have blond hair when it's grown out?" she asked. I frowned, unsure.

"I don't know. I've never grown it out before." I confessed. At that, she looked alarmed.

"What? You mean you've never seen blond hair before you got here? Hair the color of that boy's just now?" I blinked, looking after him and shaking my head.

"Not on my head," was the honest answer. She looked appalled, and immediately came over to rub the tiny prickle of hair on my head. I laughed.

"Hey, that tickles!" I protested, slapping her hand away. She laughed, as well, but still looked sad.

"Well, at least you'll get to see your hair in full soon enough. Then you'll be really popular." I didn't really get why she would say that, but I laughed and forgot it. Some things Celia said just didn't make sense.

Like that, five days passed. I was happy, learning more about my family and coming to terms with our pagan parents. After all, even though I wanted to follow God without fail, I had already offended him in the highest degree. I had prayed to another god, and on multiple occasions. For such a high crime, there would be no forgiveness. Still, I tried not to think about it, or my mother, and I just kept smiling. Two more days, and I would get my answer. I prayed to Father for the best. But then, it happened.

There was this girl who just fell into camp one morning. I woke up, having a bad feeling, and ran outside. The sky was dark, but I found my eyes drawn to the hill, where I saw her fall. Of course, I sent up a prayer to God without even thinking, and grabbed a blanket, running as fast as I could to get to her. It took me about a minute, and I was panting by the time I got to her.

Her hair was dark with dirt, and it looked and smelled like she hadn't bathed in days. I almost gagged from the stench of blood on her, but I wrapped her up, anyway.

"Help!" I screamed. "Someone's hurt! Help! Man down at the borders of camp!" I tried to drag her away, but then I saw the red seeping through the blanket. I decided not to move her anymore, and left her there, running down the hill to the Apollo Cabin. I banged on the door.

"Wake up! There's someone hurt at the camp lines! She's bleeding and she's not moving! Hurry up and come out!" There was stirring inside, and then the lights went on, and someone answered the door, looking wide awake.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and I recognized her as the one who had healed me before.

"There's a girl at the border, and she's really hurt! She's not moving!" And she was out the door without even regard for the fact that she wore only a T-Shirt and boxers in the middle of winter. She was followed closely by two boys who held first-aid kits, and I blushed as they ran past me: they weren't wearing shirts!

A few others within the cabin ran out to the Big House, though they at least wore bathrobes. One girl cam out to make sure I wasn't hurt, and I told her I was fine. Soon, the whole camp was awake, and Chiron was galloping up the hill to the place where the girl was. He and the healers stayed up there for quite a while, until long after it was officially breakfast. Of course, during our meal, not many ate, and most of us just looked up to where the girl was.

"I heard it was Cassidy."

"Cassidy Blake? The daughter of Aphrodite?"

"Yeah, didn't she go on a mission to find out why-"

"She was with James from Hephaestus and Mike from Ares."

"She's the only one who came back."

The whispers were everywhere. I felt awful, and prayed all day for poor Cassidy Blake. I prayed that God would send me a sign of forgiveness in the form of her living, and I did not eat or move all day. I even considered praying to my father for a bit, but knew he wouldn't help. Not if he really was like my mom said.

It was sunset when Chiron and the healers came down, though they went to the Big House, and Chiron came to the Amphitheater, where most people still lingered. As he approached, the whole camp gathered, waiting with baited breath. Still, his expression was solemn as he announced:

"Cassidy Blake has died of her wounds. It seems she was assaulted with what seems to be a large stinger. We assume the culprit to be Brize, who may have reincarnated by now. It is assumed, from Cassidy's final words that James and Mike-" His voice broke. "Michael are dead, as well. Funeral shrouds will be made for them by their respective cabins, and a funeral and memorial services will be held the day after tomorrow. For those of you who want to go on missions or leave camp, I have made an executive decision to cease all missions for at least another few weeks. Mr. D and I will discuss this unexpected turn of events, and will come to a final decision three days from now. Good evening, all." He left for the Big House in total silence, and I finally unfolded my hands, which were marked from my constant prayer. I looked around.

It seemed like everyone had been praying, trying their hardest to plea with their parents, the Fates, God, anyone, that somehow Cassidy Blake might live to see another dawn. Still, no one cried, too down heartened and depressed to even do that. I felt it in the air. No one was happy to see her go. No one was happy that I had found her when I did, if only to give her these few more hours of breath. Depression hovered over everyone like a storm cloud, and so the campfire that night showed with very little spirit, if at all, burning a dull purple. Only Celia seemed to be in her prime, talking about how fantastic Cassidy had been before. She told stories about her, making Cassidy out to be the hero that she may or may not have actually been. But I didn't listen much.

I stared down at my gardening gloves, feeling the numbness in my hands where my fingers had pressed tightly against each other all day. I felt lost. Had God truly forsaken me? A sinner who could not be faithful to him? The daughter of Satan, a pagan god of healing that did no such thing. Truly, I was undeserving of mercy. Still, I thought as tears rolled down my cheeks, To punish her for my disobedience, because I asked for it to be a sign. God, You have answered my prayers in a way that I cannot help but feel bitter about. The tears were slow and few, at first, and then became more numerous and fast-flowing as my sadness settled in. If I had only been a little faster. If I had only gone to the Apollo cabin first. If only, if only, if only. This was partially my fault. It was partially the healers' fault. It was partially my father's fault. But, most importantly, it was entirely God's fault. I stood, and walked away from the fire, angry and upset and confused. If not for me, then at least for her, could He not show the compassion He told us to show to all beings of the Earth? I reached the sea, and yelled out my fury.

"God, why?" The waves crashed against the shore. "Why could you not give me this one thing? Why?" I was crying harder, now, and hiccupped as my breath hitched. "If not me, then save her! I just wanted…!" I fell to my knees, sobbing into my hands. "I just wanted to be forgiven…" I moaned to the world, adding my tears to the salty sea, which absorbed them easily, washing them out to open water as though they'd never fallen. Over and over, the waves did this, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over, startled, and saw Yoom standing there, looking sad.

"I know how hard death can be on the living." she told me, sitting down on the beach next to me. "But don't worry. She'll be taken care of." She put a hand on my shoulder, and I leaned on the one who saved my life.

"But why? Why would God do such a thing?" I sobbed.

"It's just what has to be. We live, we die, we go to the afterlife. It's the way things work in this world." She was so calm, so kind, and I cried harder.

"But-" I couldn't talk past the lump in my throat, so I just cried and cried and cried. She sat there with me, holding me and letting me release my feelings of failure and then comforting me when, at last, my tears had dried up.

"Don't think that you're any less loved just because one person died. I did that once, and if my uncle hadn't told me that we're all just slaves of the Fates, I wouldn't be here. It's okay. You've just got to pick yourself up and open your eyes." She stood up, and I righted myself before I fell, wiping my eyes with the back of my now-sandy hands. Then, I looked up, and saw a magnificent ship. At least, I thought it was a ship. It looked like the pictures my mom had showed me, but more…modern, somehow.

"What's that?" I asked, awed by its magnificence.

"That, Kyle, is our ticket out of here. This way, we can go and save your mom, okay? I know someone who can help you." My jaw dropped at the hope that suddenly filled me, and I turned to her.

"Oh, you mean it? But wait, then I have to go get my stuff!" She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, and I turned to look, only to see my backpack sitting there already, snakeskin tied around the middle of it already.

"You should probably wear that snakeskin, somehow. It would make a good bandana, you know." She showed me how to put it on, and then I had a new head-cover to keep my head from being too cold. I smiled at her.

"Well then, let's go!" I said, smiling at my friend. She smiled back, and whistled. Two creatures with dog heads and seal flippers for arms popped up onshore, and I gawked. However, Yoom just smirked at me.

"You can ride one of those so long as you stop calling me 'Yoom.' My name's Yume." At that moment, there on the beach as we smiled at one another, our adventure together truly began.