We stepped outside and trudged slowly, my spaghetti legs struggling to walk.
"How long was I out?" I asked.
"About a week," she replied. "Oh! I'm Helen." She laughed and added, "I should have introduced myself earlier."
I turned to the sound of metal colliding. I realized I could also hear kids shouting and horses neighing in the distance.
"Don't worry about it. I'm Jeremiah...Thanks for feeding me and stuff."
A smile grew on her face. "You're welcome. You're going to need your strength."
We approached a farmhouse and before we entered, I noticed some teenagers running around donning orange shirts that read something like "Camp Half-blood."
Helen's long chiffon dress scraped against the floor as she helped me up the steps. I pointed it out to her but she waved it off.
We apporached a door left ajar and Helen knocked.
A few seconds passed without a reply and Helen announced she was entering.
We took a few steps and I caught a few words of what sounded like an argument.
"--Forget about it."
"--the disappearances. Let me take them to the orac--"
The conversation ceased as our footsteps grew louder.
The man with the parted brown hair and beard looked concerned.
"Sorry for intruding! The door was open and we knocke--" Helen was cut off when the man raised a hand.
There was a second man with a purple Hawiian shirt and he said, "They didn't hear anything."
The brown haired man whispered something into the ear of his companion. The guy in the Hawiian shirt nodded.
"Jeremy! So nice to see you!" the guy in the Hawiian shirt said with fake enthusiasm.
Before I could correct him, he introduced himself as Dionysus and the brown haired man as Chiron. Chiron managed a smile when Mr. D stated he trained heroes.
"Mr. D, if you will." Mr. D removed some bundled papers from within a drawer and gestured me towards him. "Sign here, here, here, here and here."
Chiron handed me a pen, still trying to surpress his concerned expression.
Once all of the introductions were done, Chiron clapped me on the back. "Fortunately, Jim was able to keep an eye on him. Helen, why don't you give Jeremiah a tour of the--"
As Chiron was finishing his sentence, a girl came storming into the room. She surveyed the situation, avoided Chiron's dirty look and then grabbed my wrist.
"I'll give him a tour," she said, leading me out of the room.
I struggled to stand but the girl offered little to no support.
"Hey! He's still groggy!" Helen cried.
"That's my problem," the new girl muttered.
We walked outside. Well, I stumbled outside. The aroma of roasted beef and steaming dishes immediately caught my nose.
My stomach whined for a bite. "Can we pleaseee stop for food before you give me a tour? I don't think i've eaten regular food in a week."
The girl rolled her eyes and it was then when I noticed how attractive she was: she wore small earrings, blonde hair tyed in a bun, short shorts and a camp shirt. She had mascara on her sea green eyes.
I ate voraciously but I couldn't help but wonder--what disappearances were they talking about? People at this camp go missing?
Before I could continue, the girl grabbed my wrist again and led me to a pavillion.
"I'm Jessie, questions later," she said.
I frowned. She's not much for conversation.
Jessie showed me the camp, and throughout the tour, I noticed the campers, human and non-human alike, were giving me sidelong glances.
Finally, we returned to the cabin with peeling brown paint. There was a caduceus over the door and even from the outside, I could tell it was overpopulated.
People were shouting and some were arguing while music played from somewhere within the cabin.
"Since your parent hasn't claimed you, this is where you're gonna spend your time," Jessie explained, gesturing towards the door.
"Wait, claimed?" I asked, scratching my head.
"Don't count on it," a voice said from behind us.
I looked over my shoulder and saw a muscular boy who seemed at least a year or two older than me.
"Rejects like you don't ever get claimed. Step away from my girl," he commanded.
I suddenly noticed Jessie's hand on my wrist. I stepped aside.
"Wait, what's going on?" I asked, shaking my head.
The lean boy scoffed and walked towards me, stopping inches away from my face. "Don't think you can come to this camp and make a move on my girl when i'm not around."
Jessie crossed her arms and turned away.
Apparently, that wasn't the right thing to do.
The boy grabbed me by the hair and dragged me across the path.
"Hey! Wait! I didn't know she was your girlfriend! She just grabbed my wrist and gave me a tour. I swea--" my pleas were brought to a halt when he tugged harder.
He stopped by a fountain and I got sick feeling in my stomach.
The boy held me by my shirt collar and shoved my head into the roaring fountain.
My vision blurred and water gushed into my mouth, mercilessly and unceasingly. I swung my arms and flailed but the boy's grip was steel.
My heart banged against my chest and my lungs ached. If he keeps this up, I'm not going to make it.
Yet, he wouldn't stop. My chest felt like it was going to burst--I felt like I had water coming through my nostrils.
Just when I thought it was all over for me, he pulled me back and let me fall. I coughed, gagged and sputtered, reeling and writhing on the floor as my head pounded.
I shuddered and he chuckled. "He ain't a son of Poseidon then."
I shook my head but that just made the spinning worse. There were some kids watching from afar, but no one intervened.
He locked his arm under my armpit and set his sights on something in the distance.
My senses were coming back to me and I got the notion that this guy wasn't going to stop. I got out of his grip once, only to be socked in the jaw.
He took me into a building, shoved me up the stairs, ignoring the green fog growing from the cracks in the wall.
There was plenty of ancient Greek stuff but that wasn't what scared me. I got the feeling something creepier was hidden in this place.
We got to the attic and the lean boy smirked as he brought my head towards a mummy's shriveled skull.
"This is what you're gonna like look when I'm done with you." With each syllable, he moved my head closer to the mummy.
I struggled to move back but stopped when I noticed the uncanny eyes of the mummy--they were open now, glowing green.
A strange, green mist suffused the floor and it no longer smelled like mildew and sawdust.
An ancient and weary voice said, "I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. You have approached seeker, and I shall propound your future."
The lean boy released my head but I couldn't move a muscle. I gaped as the mummy proceeded.
"Five shall go west before summer's time,
they shall rescue kin from a land sublime,
one withheld at the altar of the king,
one crossing them at the sound of the ring."
The mist subsided and the Oracle's mouth and eyes ceased to glow. I looked at the boy, who still had his mouth hanging open, clearly as shocked as I was.
"We gotta get out of here," he said, raking his hand through his sand colored hair.
"Repeat it exactly as you heard it," Chiron commanded, arms clasped in front of him.
I groaned and repeated what the Oracle had said. Chiron had me repeat the words of the oracle at least half a dozen times.
The lean boy, whose name I learned was Lucas, turned out to be a counselor and he was interrogated before me. He had already left by the time Chiron started with me. I wanted to tell Chiron about what Lucas put me through but the opportunity never presented itself.
Chiron stroked his beard, his eyes more deep-set than I had seen them before.
"You may return to your cabin," he said.
I nodded and walked out. So much for talking to Chiron.
Crickets were chirping in the distance and the sun had set, leaving a dark purple sky, rueful as grey clouds blocked the moon.
Return to my cabin. Yeah, sure. The feeling of disquietude intensified within my stomach.
Ms. Frit tried to kill me, my lousy father never dropped by, my mother never explained this stuff to me and now I'm stuck in a summer camp where the counselors are jerks.
I knew I was whining like a child, but I couldn't help it--I didn't have a say in anything that happened.
Stupid prophecy, I just want to go home.
My heart thumped. Where is home anymore?
I groaned and picked up my stuff from the infirmary. My bedsheets had been folded and tucked away neatly.
Sorry, Helen. You've been kind but I don't belong here.
I felt a twinge of guilt as I walked out. Helen is probably outside somewhere, oblivious to what I was about to do. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked towards the outskirts of the camp.
I hid each time I heard voices, breathing silently behind cover. I felt like the trees were watching me but nothing happened.
I continued until the thick pine tree was in view. A sigh escaped me as I remembered the day my Geometry teacher tried to kill me.
It felt like ages ago.
"Leaving so soon?" a familiar voice asked.