Another chapter! Huzzah! Sorry, it's still short, but since it's New Years I didn't have much time to write. Too many huge parties to go to ;)
Who's ready for 2012? End of the world, am I right? xD
Thank you to Cockapoo for her last review and for my sister's character! DOUBLE COOKIES! (: :) (: :)
A cold, wet cloth dabs at my forehead. I feel tired and woozy and the antiseptic smells aren't helping my condition. I lift a shaky hand to my forehead. I'm not about to risk opening my eyes, but I might as well find out what has awakened me. I let out a soft groan as my head pounds.
"Thank goodness, you're awake!" exclaims a female voice from behind me.
My eyes flutter open slowly and I stare into the hazel eyes of my captor. A different captor this time. I don't recognise these eyes. These eyes are soft and kind. The other pair was intellectual, full of life. Where has the boy gone?
"We were worried about you. You've been out for a day now," the girl says, her voice dripping with worry as she had said earlier.
"W-who are you? Where am I?" I croak, my voice raw and hoarse.
"This is going to take a while," she sighs, handing me a glass full of a strange golden liquid. "I'll explain later, just drink up."
I stare at it, unmoving, refusing to take it.
A stranger in a strange place is offering me a strange drink and expecting that I drink it.
"I didn't do anything to it. Here, I'll prove it to you," she says, taking a spoon and spooning some of the liquid out. She slurps it up and practically melts from the taste. She hands the drink back to me, nodding at me to take it.
I take it cautiously, still not entirely trusting the girl with the drink. I put the straw to my lips and risk a taste.
The sensation is indescribable. It has the strange taste of s'mores, catching me off guard slightly. It warms me inside as if I had swallowed a hot water bottle.
Only one thought surfaces. What is this sorcery?
I gulp the drink down, hoping that it'll warm the rest of my cold body. Surely, it does, sending strange tingles up my spine.
"Why... why does it..." I trail off, still confused by the amazing yet strange taste of the golden drink.
"It's nectar, the drink of the gods," she says simply, as if it all made sense.
"The... gods?" I ask, still confused.
"Long story short, your human parent fell in love with one of the Greek gods and had you. You're a half-blood," she answers slowly, becoming more and more impatient with the girl who doesn't seem to understand.
"No," I say, eyes wide, refusing to accept the strange words uttered by the strange girl. "They don't exist. They were just something from the Greeks imagination."
The strange girl's hazel eyes widen, and she looks around rapidly to see if anyone heard me speak. Sure enough, we are alone.
"Don't you ever say that here! Imagine what would happen if Dionysus heard you!" she says in a low whisper.
"But―" I attempt as she clamps her hand over her mouth.
"Let me explain before you start trash talking all our parents," she says with a slight chuckle. "The gods were... full of mortal, half-blood children. They were the result of them falling in love with a mortal man or woman. This is a camp for people like us, people with special powers and abilities. We're of their lineage."
She stops for a moment, giving time for her words to sink in. Then, she continues.
"You'll be placed in the Hermes cabin until you are claimed by your godly parent. Then, you will move into their cabin. Most likely, you are a child of one of the smaller gods like Tyche and Hebe, but you may be from one of the twelve, too. I, myself," she says proudly, "Am a child of Apollo, the god of the sun."
"Who's my dad, then?" I ask, still not completely accepting of the story although I have a sudden feeling that it may be true.
"First, I should probably find out what your name is," she says with a slight giggle.
"Layla, and you?"
"Alisa. Now, your skills, abilities and hobbies usually reflect on your parentage. What do you like to do?" she asks.
"Uh... I don't know. I like to run, I guess?"
"Be more descriptive. 'I like to run' could fit any number of different gods."
"I do track and field. I like to draw and I like books. Uhh..." I say, listing things off the top of my head. "I like Italian food. I can spend half the day on Facebook if any of my friends are on."
"Now you're just describing the average teenager. More specific! If you could spend your last moments anywhere, where would it be?"
"Anywhere my mother's not."
Alisa sighs angrily in frustration and I can tell that she'll lose her temper if I don't think of something "descriptive" soon.
"I used to like going skydiving and scuba diving with my friends back in Los Angeles," I add, hoping that that's good enough.
"That points to two gods, Poseidon and Zeus. But no way are you a Big Three kid. There aren't many of those around."
"Big Three?"
"Poseidon, Zues and Hades. Do you have anything that could lead us closer to finding out your parent?"
"No."
"Then come with me, I'll get Malcolm to get you settled in the Hermes cabin," she says, sighing slightly. "And, maybe, Nico will have saved me some supper."