I navigated my way toward my tent. It felt odd being here, but I needed to keep my cool if I wanted to survive. I was on thin ice right off the bat due to the fact that I was detrimental to the cause. I had ruined the collection of the Titans. For Camp Half Blood, that was a good thing. I was worried what the people back at camp had to be thinking. They had already lost people and now they lost three more.

As I thought about all of this, some things started to come together for me. It made sense that I wasn't allowed in the cabins. The security sensed a titan or at least something like it. I'm not sure that necessitated me getting struck by lightning, but beggars can't be choosers. It also made sense that they would send me on this quest. Assuming they didn't anticipate me switching sides, all they knew was that there were campers disappearing and hopefully, I would be one of them.

The more I thought about that, the madder I got. What kind of place does that? It made sense for me. I didn't belong, but there's no reason Jillian and Walker should have gone and been thrown into the line of fire like that. Walker…As much as he and I didn't get along, he didn't deserve that. Stabbed in the back like that. And by my own brother, it turns out. That's not exactly helpful to soothing my guilt.

I didn't get to think much longer because as I was entering the Perses tent, the door swung open and I came face to face with my aforementioned brother. He stood in front of me, looking me in the eye. You know, sometimes there's that person that people say looks like you, but you can't see it? That wasn't the case here. Lee looked a lot like me. His hair was shorter, but it was the same color. I was a little bit taller, but he easily outmuscled me by 50 pounds or more.

That probably said more about me than it did him.

"Just because Krios cleared you and you got yourself a sword, doesn't mean you're gonna be welcome here." He said, jabbing his finger into my chest. "I'm going to be watching you like a hawk."

"Good. Maybe you'll learn something." I shot back, standing up straight to emphasize my height advantage. He fumed, glaring up at me before someone behind me called his name. He shoved past me and I stood there for a moment before walking into the tent.

It wasn't very big, but it didn't need to be. There were three beds in the whole thing. I was alone in the tent. I could tell that one of the beds was Lee's. Not that it had pictures or anything up on the walls, but the corner of the tent was a mess. On the other side of the tent were two other beds, one which was a bare mattress with a bedroll on it along with some familiar other items. I walked over and found my wallet with nothing missing and my slingshot, thankfully untouched. I spun it on my finger once then slipped it into my pocket. I knew it didn't stand up to the sword on my belt that I could actually use, but it was nice to have. It felt a little comforting.

Under my personal effects was a dark grey t-shirt with a simple logo on it that said 'Camp Golden Age.' I set that aside then quickly made my bed. I say quickly made my bed, but I more just kind of…threw the sheets on. It was no marine barracks job, I'll tell you that. I heard the door open as I was setting my pillow at the head of my bed and I rolled my eyes expecting Lee, but when I turned around I saw a girl. She looked a little bit younger than me, but I could still see our dad's features in her. She looked at me for a long moment then looked down at the piece of paper in her hand.

"Umm…Wow. Sorry. I'm not always this awkward. I'm Alicia. I'm supposed to give this to you. It's your daily schedule." She said, handing it to me. "Memorize it soon. Also, I'm supposed to tell you to report to the infirmary after dinner." I nodded and glanced down at my schedule.

"Thanks, Alicia." I said, setting my schedule down on my bed. "So, tell me about yourself, Alicia. I'd like to get to know my family." She looked a little hesitantly at me then walked over to her bed and sat down.

"What do you want to know?"

"Umm...anything. According to the schedule, dinner isn't for another 45 minutes, so I have time to kill." I chuckled and she nodded.

"I'm Alicia. I'm from Nevada. My mom is…was…a dancer." She said with a sigh. "I was living with my aunt until I was 7 and then I was brought here by Dan and Amy. They're the generals for Asteria and Pallas. I've been here for 5 years now."

"What happened to your mom?" I asked quietly, leaning towards her a little bit. I could tell that my question caught her off guard.

"She was killed when I was 5. They found her body in an alley behind a casino." She said quietly.

"I'm so sorry, Alicia."

"Thanks." She said after a long pause. "Lee told me to not get emotional about this stuff, but…I don't know. It's tough."

"You're a 12 year old girl. I mean, no offense, but it would be weird if you weren't upset about this stuff." I said with a shrug. She smiled.

"How about you?"

"My mom was a boxer and MMA fighter." I said with a nod. "I lived with her until I got brought to the wrong camp and then I was brought here."

"Oh, right. You were brought to—" she stopped and then nodded. She leaned toward me a little bit. "What's it like?" She asked.

"What's what like?"

"Living a normal life. Sorry. Not the other camp. I'm sure that must have been horrible." I raised an eyebrow at her, but then looked down at my feet.

"Uhh…I mean, it was okay. I was bullied a lot." She nodded.

"I'm just curious. My aunt never really let me do much and my mom was never home. I've never really known what it's like. Very few people here at Camp do know." She said quietly. "Maybe that's why you're so nice…" I laughed.

"Maybe. It seems like a rough life to grow up in. Maybe someday you'll get to leave and live a normal life again." Her face fell and she shook her head.

"We're not allowed to leave…We go on runs for missions or to scout or for supplies and things like that, but…no one has been able to leave and just…go back to a normal life." She said with a sigh.

"Why? Why all of this? I mean, the Titans have lost twice. Why keep trying this?"

"They want to restore the Golden Age." She said with a deep breath. "Before Zeus overthrew Kronos, humans were…happy. Things were peaceful and prosperous. This was the Golden Age. But when the war between the gods and the Titans broke out then it had an effect on the humans. Humans went to war with each other and things were never the same."

I thought about what she was saying. It made sense. As much as all of this seemed crazy, it made sense. I had been in the mindset that Kronos was this bad guy, because he was terrible to his kids and he was eating them, but if he was doing it to protect humans, then…what was so wrong with that?

"I didn't know that." I said quietly. "I always just kind of assumed that the gods were doing the right thing by getting back at their father." Alicia shook her head.

"But that's all it was. Revenge. The Titans wanted to keep the peace with the humans, but the gods ruined it." I nodded and picked at a spot on my jeans. "that's why I figured it must have been horrible at the other camp."

"Yeah." I murmured. "It was…It's uhh…Horrible. Everything is so separated and there's so much conflict within the Camp. I'm glad I got out."

"I'm glad you did too. I hated being here with Lee by myself."

"I can imagine. What's his story anyway?"

"He's been here for most of his life. He's one of the strongest in the camp, but he lets his temper get in the way a lot." She said, her voice quiet. "He's never met our dad either and that really gets under his skin."

"So, he's the fifth one out. If that's the case, I'm not sure I want to meet him." I said quietly. "I'm not sure how fatherly the Titan of destruction would be." She laughed quietly and nodded.

"That's true. I've never met him, but I'm okay with it. I just don't know what I would really gain." There was a long pause between us and I checked the time, seeing that it was time for dinner. "We should get going. I'll show you the way." She said, grabbing her jacket off her bed and then heading out of the tent. I followed her closely toward the large castle. As we walked, I couldn't help, but notice all the stares that I was receiving. It made sense. I'm sure my arrival was less than typical. As we walked to the castle, I looked over toward the jail, thinking about Artie and Jillian. I needed to get them out and we needed to get back to camp…right?