I woke up later in some weird room. All I could do was watch a ceiling fan go round and round and round… Someone was near me so I sat up to take a look. I really regretted it haha! My body felt like it had just been through a few rounds in a kickboxing competition… and they were all really one sided fights too! So I ended up recoiling in screaming pain, not that I could scream. Yeah, the pain was that bad.
In the corner of my eye I saw the person near me shoot up out of their seat and run out of the room. After that walks in Officer Roger spouting his full on goaty awesomeness and the horse he was talking to before. Well… it wasn't a horse. Now that I had a good look it was actually a centaur. White fur with an old gray but shining mane and the body of some really ripped old guy. Honestly at the time I was in so much pain the only thought I could come up with was Even a horse man has better abs than I do!
I saw his lips moving but it took me a few seconds to register who he was talking too, which was me of course. "Child, child. Can you hear me? Do you understand what I am saying?"
Talking was hard so it took me a minute to form the words, but eventually I managed to squeak out "I hear you horse guy."
"Good," He said. "Tell me do you know where you are?" I gave it a little bit of thought. Well, I was a child of a god or goddess so I had to be in a place where the gods kept their children. Made sense, but where was that? A place like that wasn't mentioned in the old stories and legends. Nor was I on Olympus, something like that would require me doing some really crazy task. So I just took the best guess I could come up with at the time.
"The boarding school for Demigods?" Apparently I said something funny as horse man and Roger started laughing hysterically. Either I had hit the mark or I was way off. Either way I didn't care. I just wanted some painkiller… maybe with some painkillers on the side and a diet painkiller to drink.
"Haha! In all these centuries of training you young heroes that is the closest anyone has ever come to guessing it right without actually knowing! The boarding school for demigods! Ha! But honestly though, you are only half right. This is a school of sorts though it's more like summer camp. This is the place where half-bloods such as yourself learn how to fight off monsters and are taught the different techniques of war. I am-"
"Chiron, the centaur who trains the children of the gods. Yeah I know all about you from the old stories. You could say I'm a bit of a history nut, and Officer Roger you're a satyr right?"
"Ha, looks like we got ourselves a smart one here!" said Roger. "Maybe you're a child of Athena!"
Of all the gods and goddesses the greeks had, Athena was the one I was SURE I wasn't the child of. Honestly I had to agree with what he had said before, the son of Apollo was definitely what I was. No doubt about it. The way I felt when I held that bow, like I was king of everything and nothing could touch me, like the world was my domain and all things in it belonged to me, that was my calling. My purpose. I was a son of the god Apollo. But… I just had one question. "How do we know for sure whose kid I am?"
Apparently I just asked a touchy question because they went from haha yay new camper to ah great he just had to go there… "Well," Chiron said, "you see the only way to know for sure whose child you are is to have the god or goddess themselves actually claim you."
"And when's that?"
"Well…" said Chiron.
"No one knows." Interrupted Roger. "Some children never get picked, others get claimed the minute they pass the border into this place. It all depends."
"Let me guess, if I do something amazing I'll get claimed? It's like a 'Oh did you see that? That's my kid!' kind of thing?"
"That's about right." Said Chiron.
"And if I just live life normally I'll never be claimed?"
"Well…"
"Great…" I said turning my head back to the ceiling. Just what I needed to hear, that even though I was in the place of at least one of my parents I still wasn't going to be able to find out their identity for a while. But there was nothing I could do and the pain was mind numbing. I didn't think I was going to get up for a while. Chiron clopped over to me. (Haha clopped. You know… because he's a horse man? No? Okay… moving on then.) "Tell me how are you feeling?"
"Like I just went ten rounds with a monster, wait…"
"Haha, I guess you would. No hero has ever defeated Mormo and for good reason. He's a monster that preys on children so he's good at messing with people's minds. If you look at him directly in the eyes, he can poison your very soul. That poison manifests itself on the outside, deteriorating your health until you eventually die. You're the third hero to ever face him and live and the first to slay him. The only reason you probably haven't been claimed yet is due to the fact you weren't actually here in camp when you finished the deed. Your body is still recovering though so I suggest you take it easy for a few days. Now Roger and I have to go, he has another assignment to get to and I have an archery class to teach in twenty minutes. I've asked another camper here to get you something called ambrosia. It will aid in your recovery. His name is Percy and, ah here he is."
A boy walked through the door carrying a small rag in his right hand. He looked about a year younger than me, though you'd never be able to tell since I'm almost six foot tall at the age of fourteen. He had chestnut brown hair and was wearing an orange t-shirt that said Camp Half-Blood in big black letters. "I'm here with the ambrosia Chiron. Is that the new camper?"
"Yes, please get it to him right away. Roger and I are off. Farewell Mr. Jackson."
"Percy huh? That wouldn't happen to be short for Perseus would it?"
"Actually yeah it is. How'd you guess?"
"It's the same for me. Everyone calls me Arc, but my real name is Achilles. Do all of us have weird names like that?"
"Haha no, just me and you. Everyone else has normal names. Guess our parents just thought it was funny."
"Uh yeah actually, I'm an orphan. I've never met my parents, godly or otherwise."
This Percy guy got a kind of sad look on his face. I don't really like it when people get all crestfallen about me being an orphan and I think he noticed that because that pitying look he was giving me changed to a bright smile. I liked this kid. "So Percy," I said. "What's this miracle medicine you've got for me?"
"Oh yeah, right. Here." He unfurled the little gray rag he was carrying in his right hand and gave me four small pieces of chocolate.
"Chocolate," I said. "That's your super medicine?"
"Actually it's ambrosia, the food of the gods. It just looks like chocolate."
"Alright whatever just give it here. I'll take anything to ease this pain." I reached my hand out and took one of the little squares. Biting into it I recoiled at the taste. I thought it would taste like chocolate, instead it tasted like venison steak, all greasy and fresh off the skillet, covered in thick gravy with just the right spices to give it that extra zing. It wasn't just any venison steak either, it was HER venison steak. The kind I hadn't had in years. I couldn't help doing anything else… I cried. Right then and there. I just cried.
"Hey whoa! Are you okay?" Through the tears and memories I couldn't do anything but nod my head. I was so sad and so happy at the same time. This camp had magic like this? Where I could eat food but still taste something as good as that? Could I eat any of her old meals regardless of what it is? Could I bite into a carrot and eat her freshly cooked salmon? Could an apple give my tastebuds the same pleasure as eating her spit cooked pork? If this was a dream, I didn't want to wake up.
"It's nothing Percy it's just, this tastes a lot like one of my former foster mothers dishes. She kept me for a full year before I had to leave. She was the best of all my foster parents and the only one I ever actually bothered to call mom… I miss her."
"Well, I can't give her back to you, but here in the camp you can have her cooking whenever you want. The plates pop up with whatever kind of food you please at the pavilion. You just think it and boom, there's your food."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, oh and I was told that your stepdad was a monster in disguise? This may be called a summer camp, but if you want you can stay here year round. Or in other words,"
"You mean I can live here?!"
"Well yeah." I cried even harder. Not only could I have my mom's home cooking, I also had a home to go with it. I had a place to stay, a permanent one. No more moving, no more running away, no more sad goodbyes.
I was finally home.
Percy stood in the doorway for a few minutes while I got my emotions sorted out. He just kept looking at me with this big smile, like he was glad I was so happy. Guys like him, I really liked. They're the ones that are perfectly happy so long as their friends are too.
Eventually I straightened out and ate the rest of the ambrosia. (Each piece tasting like a different one of my mom's meals.) After that he showed me around the camp grounds. I wasn't very surprised to see so many Greek styled things everywhere. And by so many I mean everything. From buildings to food to writing. Everything was ancient Greek. I loved it. He explained how the cabins were separated. Apparently each one was based on who your godly parent was. If you were the son of Hephaestus you stayed in a cabin with all your half brothers and sisters. If you were a child of Aphrodite you stayed in that cabin. Apparently I'd be staying in cabin number eleven for now. That was the cabin of Hermes, the god of thieves, messages, and travelers. Basically anyone who hadn't been claimed, was visiting, or was the child of a minor god stayed there. I admit I wasn't too keen on living with a group of that many people but at least I had somewhere to live so I didn't complain. "The arena holds matches every Wednesday," he explained, "although most people besides the Ares cabin don't participate. We eat in the mess hall right over there. And occasionally we play capture the flag."
"Please tell me it's not conventional capture the flag."
A big smile creeped onto Percy's face. "Not at all."
Percy and I talked for a about half an hour as he explained detail after detail of how the half-blood world worked. I spent drachmas instead of dollars, the camp was protected by a sickly looking tree, (although Percy said he had a plan for fixing that later that night) and that he was the son of Poseidon. "So you're a bigshot." I said. He just kind of nodded stating that though he was generally stronger than most other campers it didn't change the fact that he was still just a camper like everyone else.
He asked me if there was anywhere in particular I wanted to go and I gave it a little thought. It wasn't too hard for me to come up with an answer though. There was something I wanted to try out. "Take me to the Archery range." I said.
A ligtbulb seemed to go off in Percy's head when I suggested that. "That's right, you killed that monster with a bow didn't you? I guess you want to see if it was just a fluke or not. Sure let's go, though I warn you if you want to use it you'll have to enter in a competition. Do you mind being embarrassed?" I shook my head. I wasn't the kind of guy who was easily humiliated. "Good. Then you should be able to enter and if you're bad you can just use the excuse that you were trying to figure out whose child you were."
The archery range was a bit more than a hope skip and a jump away but I didn't mind. All I cared about was testing my skills with a bow again. As we approached I saw two major things that stuck out. One was a small group of people who were all wearing the same red and gold outfits with a sun emblazoned on the back. The Apollo cabin for sure. The other thing was an equally small group of around a dozen girls each of whom sported a silver bow and the tattoo of the moon. "Hey Percy, who are they?" I said, pointing at the girls.
"I… I have no idea. Let's go find Chiron we can ask him."
"Look no further for I am already here." A little stunned, Percy and I jumped around to find horseman practically breathing down our necks. "The young girls you see over there are none other than the Hunters of Artemis. They have sworn never to be in a relationship with a man in exchange for eternal life, save for flesh wounds, and the right to travel and hunt with the goddess herself. Apparently their troop was moving through this area when they heard of an archery competition here at camp. And of course what kind of disciple of Artemis would pass a chance like that up? Now that I've answered a question, do me a favor and answer mine: What are you doing here?"
"Actually," I said, "I'm here to sign up for the competition."
"You want to participate?" He asked. Honestly the look he gave me was pissing me off. I liked Chiron, but when I say I want to do something I mean it. It's not like I was just going out on a limb here. I just wanted to see if I was any good. There was no way I was going to win.
"Yes, I want to participate Chiron." I said. I hoped I had put enough finality in it to wipe that look off his face.
"Well if that's what you wish then here." He handed me a green bow and three arrows. "Here's how the competition works. Do you see that target way over there?" I looked in the direction he pointed. At first I didn't see anything but after staring for about a minute I noticed a target sitting an incredible distance away. We were at the top of a small hill so I could just barely make it out over the tree tops.
"Chiron that's ridiculous!" Percy exclaimed. I had to say I agreed. No one short of Apollo and Artemis themselves could make a shot like that. Maybe Chiron too, if he was having a good enough day. Nonetheless though I wanted to try.
"The first person to hit that target wins. The prize is a one day hunting trip with just that person and the goddess of the hunt herself, just the two of them. Still want to try?"
"All I got to do is hit a target right? Piece of cake." I answered my chest swelled in false confidence. I didn't care if I hit the thing or not. If I could get within twenty feet of that it was good enough for me.
So another fifteen minutes passed before the even finally began. Since I was the last entrant I was the last one to shoot. I got a few funny looks of course, a dozen girls versus the Apollo cabin versus some new guy who had just arrived that morning, something like that is bound to attract attention and by attention I mean the whole camp. Everybody from every cabin was there lined up to see me.
Again though I didn't care, if I messed up in front of the whole camp it didn't matter. All I wanted to do was find out if I was any good with a bow. The first ones up were the Apollo cabin. Archer after archer went up one by one trying to nail the target. Each had three shots and each missed three times. The closest anyone got was the leader of the cabin and he missed it by three feet. Did I mention the target was ten feet wide? I did. Well yeah, now you really know how far away it was.
Ten feet wide but so far away it looked like a speck in the distance. Chiron was holding a powerful telescope the whole time trying to get a better look and see how bad each of our screw ups was. Each person's score was ranked by how close they had come to the target, rather than an actual score.
After the Apollo cabin a brief intermission was held. I went back over to Percy to speak with him. He had been watching the whole thing alongside his two friends that he introduced as Grover, an adolescent satyr, and Annabeth, the smartest of the Athena cabin and the cabins leader. We spent some time together, before Chiron blew the horn for the second half of the competition. This time it was the Hunters of Artemis. Oh, and me too.
Another half an hour passed each of the dozen of girls tried their best to hit the target. I figured being Artemis personal disciples they would have fared better but for the most part they were the same as the Apollo cabin. The only one who did any better than the cabin leader was a girl named Zöe Nightshade and she only came within two feet of the target.
A few more girls went up and then finally it came. It was my turn. I admit I was a little shaky, it was a rather larger crowd, but I had my own goal and that was all I cared about. I stuck two of the arrows in the ground and nocked the first one.
In that moment the feeling came back. The world around me vanished into nothingness. All went silent as I stared outward into the sky towards my target. I opened my eyes wide, seeing more than just a target than and a forest. I could see the trees as they swayed in the breeze. Every leaf on every branch as the wind passed over it rustling it, making it sing a quiet song. I could see the target in the distance, my target, the red and white ring going round and round each other marking the place where my arrow had to land. That same sensation came over me as when I had attacked Mormo, this was more than just some target. This was a target I had to conquer. It was both my duty and my right as king. Its only purpose was to fall by my hands and no one else's. I took a deep breath as I drew the bow to its full length, and let go. But I didn't stop there, I quickly pulled the second and third arrows out of the ground, firing each in rapid succession.
When I was done I turned to Chiron who was looking through his telescope, mouth agape. Something was wrong, I could tell as Chiron placed the telescope down very slowly and stood in silence for a good few mintues. After what felt like an eternity he turned looking at the crowd and said "Achilles Hunter of the Hermes cabin… has scored a triple bullseye and has won a hunting trip with the goddess Artemis. Achilles, prepare the few belongings you have and wait for Artemis at sunrise tomorrow at the campfire outside of the strawberry patch."
After I won the crown erupted into applause. I was even getting pats on the back and handshakes from the Apollo cabin members as well as comments saying "Can't wait to have you when you get back from your trip" or "The Apollo cabin is going to be unstoppable now".
While the congratulations from them were nice the looks I was getting from the Hunters were… less than happy and by that I mean the little-boy-we-are-going-to-murder-you-in-your-slee p-I-hope-you-enjoy-your-last-day-of-life kind of looks.
Nonetheless I found out what I wanted to know, and that's that I was very, VERY good with a bow. So I went over to Chiron to ask him if I HAD to accept my reward, since all that mattered to me was determining my own skills. At that moment the hunter closest to my score came over to me. "What did you just say? Are you seriously saying you want to GIVE UP your reward?! What you think that just because you're a boy and you beat us that you can HAVE PITY on us?! That we'll come GROVELING to your feet just because you won a hunting trip with Artemis?! We hunt with Artemis ALL THE TIME! We don't need some stupid reward to do that!" Her tirade got the other Hunters riled up as well. Next thing I know there's a mob of angry teenage girl assassins yelling at me with their hands on their weapons.
Luckily for me Chiron came in and broke everything up. The closing ceremony was held and everyone went back to their usual business. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Percy and his friends (as well as keeping a promise to Percy that I wouldn't tell anyone about his plan to save the magical tree of monster stopping). We hung out for the rest of the day until dinner was called. I sat with the rest of the Hermes cabin and ate my mom's famous apple pie (I only cried a little) before finally arriving at cabin eleven. Since I would be leaving in the morning I was given a place to sleep. Right next to the door for the night. We all stayed up for a while talking about the days' events (or rather my event) before saying our goodnights and finally going to bed.
The last person to talk to me that night was Brian, the son of Tyche, the goddess of luck. I found this to be rather ironic as the Hermes cabin, as well as everyone else in camp, knew him as 'Bad Luck Brian'. He had blonde medium length hair that came almost to his shoulders. He wore a light brown rough leather coat with matching pants and a white T-shirt. On his right hand was a small golden gauntlet and a strange glowing blue crystal sat around his neck. His dark brown leather boots matched a small satchel he had strapped to his side and looped through the belt. According to him it held his weapons: specially designed playing cards. The edges were lined with celestial bronze and he threw them to attack. All around I thought he was a pretty good guy and reminded me of a certain archaeologist/explorer.
You know, looking back I can't believe just how oblivious I was to what was about to come. Had I known at the time I probably would have gotten up walked right out the door and left. It's funny though because now I'm so happy things turned out like it did. That night led to a lot of hardships and a lot of pain but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I remember waking up that morning and looking at the doorknob with this really bad feeling. Like my whole world was going to change once I turned it, but I had no idea what I was really in store for.