When Nico first told me that I had to leave my home and spend the entire summer at some freak camp I was certain that every day was going to be endless torture. After all, I was the "new kid". I had no friends, no knowledge of mythology, and no sword fighting skills. I would be counting down the days until the last day of summer.
That's not what happened at all.
My first two weeks at Camp Half-Blood flew by faster than I could have imagined. I was closer to my cabin mates than I was to any of my old "friends". I had more fun talking to Nico than I did shopping with my girlfriends. Heck, I enjoyed studying mythology with Oliver more than flirting with the guys at my school! It's like Camp Half-Blood was a fresh start; a splash of ice water in my face. I'd never felt more alive in all of my fifteen-and-a-half years. I had finally been given the chance to become a new me. A better me.
Wow, that was extremely corny. But, hey, it's the truth!
By the end of my first week at camp I had developed a rough schedule. I would wake up at seven o'clock and my cabin and I would go to the dining pavilion for breakfast at eight. After that we all split up to go to our morning lessons. My first class of the day was mythology. Turns out, I was the only camper taking the class (probably because the other campers knew all the mythology, considering they had been coming here since they were twelve). Since it was only little old me, Chiron asked a camper to teach me instead of teaching me himself. At first I was a little disappointed, but I couldn't blame him. I mean, the guy practically runs the entire camp. He's bound to have a tight schedule.
I guess no one liked the mythology lessons because everyone was hesitant to volunteer to tutor me. Everyone except Oliver, that is. He practically shot out of socks when Chiron announced it at dinner. But that's not a big surprise because he is one of the smartest people to at camp (next to Annabeth, whoever that is). After an hour of reading myths with Oliver I went to "Apollo Lessons". In other words, it's a class where I learn all the cool powers that come with being the child of Apollo.
It's my longest class of the day (about three hours long, but it varies) and I spend it with the rest of my cabin. Since Chiron knows everything there is to know about bow and arrows and healing, he is our teacher. Kayla is the best at healing, obviously, so she spent the first couple of days introducing me to the various herbs and remedies. While I was catching up Will and Austin sparred with each other and I was amazed by their swordsmanship. They were almost as good as Nico. Victoria was a pro atphotokinesis, otherwise known as shooting sun beams. It's amazing to watch her harness the power of the sun and shoot fiery rays of sunlight at stuffed dummies. She looks so concentrated and powerful. However, Kayla told me that it was very advanced and that I should probably stick to healing for now.
After the first week I had dozens of herbs and remedies memorized and Kayla started teaching me the basics on using incantations to heal. I hadn't tried it since the day I healed Nico's face, so I was really excited. Kayla had brought in a bunny with a cut on its black leg for me to practice on. I murmured the same incantation I had used with Nico and saw the wound miraculously close. Kayla was impressed at my natural healing powers and she moved me along quickly so that by the end of my second week at camp I was a pro at healing small cuts and bruises and I was moving on to broken bones and deeper wounds.
After my Apollo Lessons I had lunch. I desperately wished that I could go and sit next to Nico. He looked so lonely sitting all by himself. It didn't help that the campers who passed by his table glanced warily at him and then quickly walked by. Well, other than the Aphrodite girl. They would flaunt by his table as much as possible, hoping he would notice their brand new stilettos and disgustingly short skirts. But he never did. He would just ignore them and they would go pout at their tables and reapply their goopy lipstick. I wished that people would actually try to get to know the real Nico. If they would only take the time to get to know him they would see how kind and comical he really was.
The hour and a half after lunch was one of my favorite parts of the day; free time.
Whether it was a stroke of good luck, or Chiron pulled some strings, both Nico and I shared the same free period. When Nico was still recuperating in the Big House, I would sit next to his bed and we would just talk. Sometimes we talked about our favorite foods (mine was bacon and Nico's was red popsicles), other times we talked about out taste in clothing.
"No. No, we both know that I am obviously more fashionable than you." Nico scoffed as I playfully criticized his midnight black attire.
"Pshh. Please," I said, rolling my eyes. "You can't even pull off the converse look." Nico gasped and pretended that I offended him.
"How dare you." His expression of fake shock was too hilarious and I burst out laughing.
Most days it was just casual, playful conversation. I learned that Nico hated white chocolate, always matched his socks, drank strawberry milk with every meal, and preferred the forest over the ocean. I told Nico about my fear of the dark, my obsession with mystery novels, and that I loved the smell of pine trees.
The one thing we never talked about was our families. I tried to bring it up a couple of times, but Nico always changed the subject or the conversation ended in uncomfortable silence. Another topic that Nico steered clear of was the previous campers. Will had given me a brief explanation of who Percy Jackson was and how he was the savior of the camp, but every time I brought him up in my conversations with Nico, he would shut me out. After the first week I gave up pressing Nico for details about these touchy subjects. I decided that if he trusted me enough he would tell me in his own time.
After free period I joined Nico again for sword fighting. Or, in my case, mace fighting (if that's even a real thing). The head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin had given me my mace back and it looked sweet. If had looked nice when I first found it, now it looked amazing!
The golden, bronze hue of the weapon was polished so well that I could see my reflection in it. I carefully felt one of the spikes, but quickly pulled away when it nicked me. It was even sharper than before. Over the course of the next two weeks Nico and I practiced fighting for two hours every day and I was finally able to parry his moves. It was a little tricky for Nico to change his fighting style in order to teach me how to use my mace properly, but I was finally able to complete the basic moves and fight the more advanced campers.
After sword fighting lessons I had battle planning with the Athena cabin. I wasn't very good at making up plans. They were never creative, unlike the Athena campers, and they usually ended in my "army" getting creamed. Every day before dinner all the campers had to do a quick cabin and camp clean up. My cabin was usually one of the first to the dining hall because we always kept our cabin neat, but the Hermes cabin always arrived last and was assigned cleanup duty after dinner.
So, that's what a typical day looks like for me. But for some reason (probably because the Fates hated me) as soon as I fell into this comfortable routine, my world was thrown off balance.
It all started Friday morning, two weeks after I arrived at Camp Half-Blood.
My nightmares had become a nightly thing and they were so vivid and realistic that it took a few minutes for me to realize that it was only a dream. By now I had noticed a pattern in my dreams; they always took place at a carnival. The weird thing was that I was the only person there. Just me and pitch black.
However, after two weeks of falling off carnival rides I started to hear a voice. It was much more real, much more terrifying, than any dream I had ever had. I figured I was going insane. I couldn't tell which direction the voice came from. It seemed to seep out of the blackness itself. At first I couldn't make out what it was saying, but it was low and sinister and it sent chills down my spine.
Even though I was new to Camp Half-Blood I knew these recurring nightmares were not normal. I knew I should tell Chiron, but I was so afraid of losing my new friends and organized routine. However, every night the voice became clearer and clearer, until I could distinguish a few words. You. Betray. Day. Devoured. Darkness.
I knew I had to tell someone, but Chiron was busy with his own problems. He was still stressing out about the Strix and no matter how many skilled campers he sent into the woods, none of them could find it. So I decided to talk to Nico.
I was pretty sure he was going to laugh at me and tell me to stop eating salsa before bed, but I was getting pretty freaked out.
"So," I said casually to Nico as he walked me to my mythology class. "How did you sleep?" Nico shrugged.
"Okay, I guess. What about you?"
"Well, now that you mention it…" And I told Nico everything. By the end of my explanation I was shaking. Nico was staring wide eyed at me and he didn't say anything for a few seconds. I was a little scared by Nico's reaction because it meant my dreams were a big deal.
I think he noticed that I was starting to freak out because he faked a reassuring smile.
"I'm sure it's nothing." He lied. "But sometimes campers have dreams that turn out to be… uh, prophecies, but –" I interrupted him.
"Prophecies?" I yelled suddenly. "You mean this is all going to come true?" Nico winced at my sudden outburst and held his hands out.
"Not necessarily." He reassured me. "But you might want to tell Chiron, just in case." Now I was going into a full scale panic. If Nico wanted me to tell Chiron about my dreams that meant they were serious.
Why me? I thought to myself as Nico and I walked towards the Big House. As we walked up the wooden steps I remembered that I was supposed to be at mythology class with Oliver. I hoped he wouldn't be mad at me for skipping.
Before I knew it we were standing in Chiron's office. He was sitting in his wheelchair and speaking with an angry river nymph, but when he saw the grim look on Nico's face and the scared look on mine he quickly wrapped up his conversation.
"Yes, I understand completely." He said to the seething nymph. "I shall have the satyrs clean the garbage up right away." The nymph still looked like she wanted to murder someone, but she managed to refrain. When she stormed past us to get to the door she glared daggers at me, as if I was the exact camper who trashed her river.
"What can I do for you two?" Chiron greeted warmly. Even though he was smiling I saw a flash of worry in his eyes. I felt bad for ruining Chiron's day with this news, but if it was a real prophecy there would be a lot more to worry about than Chiron's mood.
I told Chiron about the deserted carnival, the shadowy cloud, and finally the haunting voice. With each aspect of my dreams Chiron turned whiter and whiter. I was worried that he was going to pass out. Then he leapt out of his chair so quickly that I jumped and bumped into Nico. He started feverishly shuffling through the files on his desk, but I had no idea what he was looking for.
"Aha!" He exclaimed as he held up three folders. I glanced at Nico, but he only shrugged. Chiron cleared a small spot on his desk and spread out the contents of the three files. He beckoned for us to come closer. "I had a hunch that these were connected, somehow, and Juliet's dream has given me more evidence." Chiron pointed to one piece of paper that was titled 'Strix'. "You see, I knew a camper had summoned it, but I didn't know who the camper was working for. All I knew was that the owl is a creature of the night." I had no idea where Chiron was going with this. Apparently neither did Nico.
"So?" Nico asked. "How does that help us?" Chiron smiled at his impatience.
"Actually, it is crucial." He responded. "You see, that means that the god or goddess behind this terrible feat is associated with darkness. I narrowed it down to two options; Erebos, god of darkness, and his wife Nyx, goddess of night." As he mentioned the gods, Chiron pointed to the other two folders. "And now that Juliet has told me that the voice in her dream was a male, I have eliminated Nyx." Chiron pushed Nyx's folder away from the other two.
"So you think Erebos is the one behind this?" Nico questioned. Chiron nodded. I was still shocked that my dream had turned out to be a real prophecy, so I wasn't paying much attention to Chiron's genius.
"Where is he?" Nico said darkly, placing a hand on his sword. "I've got a few choice words for him."
"Actually," Chiron replied. "I don't know where he is. That's why I want to arrange a quest." Chiron and Nico locked eyes for a moment and Chiron nodded grimly. Then he turned to me.
"Juliet," he said softly, snapping me out of my daze. "I know you are still very new to this camp, but when campers have recurring dreams like this, it is something that should be taken very seriously." He paused to see how well I was handling all this information. I'm sure that on the outside I looked wide eyed and frightened, but on the inside I was having a full scale melt down. Just imagine the Fire of London occurring inside of my brain and you'll have a pretty good idea of how I felt.
"We also have a tradition," Chiron continued. "That the camper who is given the prophecy must uptake a quest to it." I could tell that Nico and Chiron were holding their breath, waiting for me to explode. They were surprised when I responded in a calm and quiet voice.
"So I have to go on a quest to save the world from Erebos." Their shoulders sagged in relief when they realized how well I was handling it. Their moment of peace did not last long because suddenly the fire in my head poured out of my mouth. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO GO ON A QUEST? YOU DO REALIZE THAT I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR TWO WEEKS, RIGHT?!" Nico had covered his ears and taken a step backwards and Chiron's eyes were tightly closed. When I spoke next it was quieter, but still flaming. "I can't just go off on my own and save the world! I don't care how old your traditions are. Send someone more capable!"
Why couldn't Nico have had the dream? He's been here for seven years! I thought angrily to myself. Chiron opened his eyes and gave me a sad look.
"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, Juliet. But you don't have to go alone. You can pick two other campers to accompany you."
Well that's reassuring. I thought sarcastically. Three teenagers against a god. Sounds fair.
"How will we even know where to go?" I asked out loud, my blazing fury subsiding.
"I was hoping you would ask." Chiron said with a small smile. He led me and Nico towards his filing cabinet. Nico was no longer covering his ears, but he stood a little bit further away from me. When I caught his eye I glared at him. I turned back to Chiron and saw that he had started searching through the 'H' section of the filing cabinet. I was about to ask him what he was searching for, when he pulled out another folder.
"Hemera!" he exclaimed triumphantly.
"Hemera?" I asked. "As in, the goddess of day?" Chiron looked impressed.
"I see your mythology lessons are paying off." he with a smile. I was still a tiny bit mad at him, so I didn't smile back. "Anyways, you are correct; Hemera is the goddess of day. She is the daughter of Nyx and Erebos and I believe she is the only one who can stop Erebos' darkness from spreading."
"How, exactly?" Nico spoke up. Chiron suddenly looked unsure.
"I'm not exactly sure," He began. I was about to open my mouth, but Chiron quickly continued. "Since she is the one who keeps the darkness at bay every day, I'm sure she could help you or give you a weapon of some kind." He opened his folder and pulled out a map of Florida. "And that's where she is." Chiron pointed to a city in southern Florida called Sunrise.
That's not at all obvious, I thought to myself. I looked up at Chiron.
"So what you're saying is that me and two other campers have to go to Florida, find a goddess who will give us a magical weapon, track down Erebos, and then stop him from destroying daytime." It sounded a lot simpler when I summed it up, but I still had hundreds of questions. What if Hemera doesn't help us? How do we find Erebos? What if we can't defeat him?
"When you put it simply, yes." Chiron answered. "We have no idea how when Erebos is going to enact his plan, so you should act as quickly as possible. You should gather your team and get prepared. I'll have a van ready to take you to the train station tomorrow morning." Then Chiron turned and started putting files away, signaling the end of the conversation.
I turned and walked quickly out of the room. I marched past the dining hall where Oliver was waiting to teach me more mythology. I stormed past the twelve cabins. I stomped past the empty sparring pit. I didn't stop walking until I arrived at a small hill overlooking the lake. When I sat down I realized that it was the same spot Nico and I sat when he was giving me a tour. It seemed like years ago, but it was only two weeks.
I thought about the quest. I thought about who I would choose to come with me. I couldn't just force someone to head to their probable death. I knew who I wanted to come with me, but I was afraid he would get hurt.
I pulled my knees up to my chest and emptied all the thoughts from my head. I stared at the silver and blue waves. I let the peaceful sound of the waves hitting the shore fill my mind and wash away any doubts I had about the quest.
I heard someone's soft footsteps approach, but I didn't look up. The air was suddenly alive with the rich fragrance of pine trees and I knew who it was.
"You're a fast walker." Nico joked as he sat down next to me. I stayed quiet. I think Nico understood why I was out here because he stayed silent with me. We let the warm sun soothe our skin and the gentle waves soothe our minds. There was a single question tugging at my gut and making me nervous. I tried to bury it, but it kept resurfacing.
"What if I can't do it?" I kept my eyes fixed on the lake. "What if I let the world down?"
"That's what they all say." I turned to look at Nico and saw that he was already facing me.
"I'm serious. What if I can't do it?" Nico gave me a half smile.
"Well, then I'll be there to help you." Relief flooded through me. Having Nico around made me feel much more secure. I was so happy that I almost hugged him. Instead I gave him my brightest smile. When he returned it I felt like my insides were melting.
"Do you remember when you gave me a tour of camp?" I asked him. He nodded. "And you said that I made you want to laugh all the time." Nico's face turned tomato red and he turned back to the lake.
"How could I forget?" He mumbled, but I laughed.
"Well, it's the same for me. You make me happy." Now it was my turn to feel embarrassed.
Oh my gods, I can't believe I just said that. Nico was still blushing ferociously, but he turned back and looked me in the eyes. They were so expressive and I knew he was trying to tell me something, but I was so overwhelmed that I had to look away.
My eyes wandered to his lips. They were so perfect. So… kissable.
Whoa, wait. What? Who said anything about kissing? I tried to push the idea out of my head, but my conscious put up a fight. Just admit that you like him! You know you do! I'm not sure why I was stopping myself. Maybe I wasn't ready. Or perhaps I didn't want to lose the best friend I've ever had.
Suddenly I was aware that Nico was still staring at me, probably lost in his own thoughts. I cleared my throat awkwardly and he flinched. Once again, our faces turned red.
"I, uh, should probably go get packed." Nico said, avoiding my eyes.
"Yeah, me too." I said. I stood up and brushed my jeans off, more to have something to do than because they were grassy.
"Well, I'll see you later."
"Yeah." I gave Nico a tiny wave before turning and walking back towards the dining pavilion. I kept replaying what happened in my mind. I also thought about what could have happened. I felt a lot better about the whole quest situation, but the butterflies in my stomach showed no signs of going away.
I took a deep breath as I got closer to the dining hall. I knew that I needed another member to join me on my quest, and I also knew who I was going to ask. There were only a handful of people here who I trusted with my life; Nico, Oliver, Will, Kayla, Austin, and Victoria. I figured it would be useful to have someone who was very experienced, like Will, but I had a feeling in my gut that told me who to choose.
"Hey, Oliver!" I greeted him as I sat down at the table. He looked confused and I could tell he was wondering why I was so late. Before he could ask any questions, however, I gave him a mischievous look and said, "Ever been on a quest?"
I had some really bad writers block when I was writing this, so I feel like it was kind of rushed and not as well written as my other chapters. Let me know what you think. Thanks for all the reviews you guys have given me. I really appreciate them!