Chapter 3 - Breathtaking

By the time the van reached Long Island, we'd picked up three other kids. Each of them had been wearing the same orange shirts I'd seen on Winter Solstice, and I noticed the were also all wearing a leather necklace with one or two beads each. All of them gave me plenty of space too, which I was honestly kind of glad for. At least, right up until the van pulled to a complete stop in the camp parking lot. Because I had decided to sit in the back, I then had to wait until the other three kids got all their things together and got out before I could finally exit the vehicle.

"Hey, got a new one in there," the first kid off the van said. Apparently there was someone waiting outside to greet the arrivals.

"She's all yours," said the second kid, and I could hear his hurried footsteps rapidly fading as he ran off.

"Best of luck," the third one said, with a humorless chuckle.

Finally, it was my turn to exit the van. I couldn't tell because of her sunglasses, but I was sure the driver was glaring at me through the rear view mirror as I zipped my bag and climbed out.

"Hey, welcome... to... camp," a familiar voice said, her tone going from cheerful to cautious almost immediately.

I looked up, green eyes meeting amethyst as I unexpectedly came face-to-face with Andromeda again. I felt a lurch in my chest and, for one horrible moment, I thought my heart had stopped beating.

"Ah, um..." I said, intelligently.

She recovered first, gesturing for me to follow her; "Did you end up getting separated from the Hunt?"

"Huh?" I asked. "What?"

"I just mean, normally the Hunters don't come to the camp unless it's an emergency," She went on. "Are the others coming too?"

"Others?" I was quickly becoming confused by the direction this conversation was heading, and then I remembered my jacket. "Oh! No, no... You thought? Sorry, no." I laughed slightly. "I'm not a hunter. I actually came to the camp to be a camper?"

There was a moment of silence, and then her face split into a genuine smile. The sun reflected in her amethyst eyes making them practically sparkle! "Oh, well then. Welcome to Camp! Come on, I'll give you the tour." She started forward, then looked back at me with a skeptical once over. "You might want to take off the jacket, though. I mean, because it's Summer and we wouldn't want you catching heat stroke or something like that! Not that there's anything wrong with the Hunt."

After a moment of hesitation, I slipped the jacket off and tossed it to hang over my left shoulder. As long as I didn't make skin contact with anyone, I should be fine. Right?

"No, I get it," I said, surprising myself at my ability to speak coherently. "I've traveled with them. There really is no love lost between the two groups, is there?"

She shook her head, grinning slightly; "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Still, I know how important the Hunt is for... some girls. And I have nothing but the upmost respect for Lady Artemis. But, I'm always going to choose the Camp over the Hunt when it comes to our group rivalry. Camp pride."

"So, um... About that tour?"

"Right!" Andromeda rushed forward and grabbed my arm before I could stop her, and my mind went blank immediately. "This way, come on!"

I wanted to yank myself free so she wouldn't be hurt, but she was deceptively strong and had a firm grip as she practically dragged me along - not that I was unwilling to follow her wherever she went. Besides, she didn't show any signs of discomfort from my abnormally high body temperature. If anything, her skin felt cool against mine. Maybe she had poor circulation? Wait, fuck! What was she saying?

"...the climbing wall," Andromeda continued, oblivious to my inner monologue. "There's even rock slides and earthquake modes. It's one of my favorite activities, but you have to be careful with the lava."

"Wait, lava?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Apparently the whole reason we don't do bring your family to camp day anymore," she said, her eyes lighting up. "You see, a couple of monsters managed to disguise themselves and sneak in with the group of mortal parents. By the time the camp staff realized their ruse, it was already too late and they began causing all kinds of trouble for the campers and mortals alike. One of the monsters threw a bottle of Greek Fire at the climbing wall and set it on fire. That's this kind of oil based magical fire that burns until it runs out of a fuel source, and it can burn anything. Beckendorf makes it sometimes. He's the head camper in Cabin Nine. Um, where was I? Oh, right! Well, after the monsters were dealt with and the damages were mostly cleaned up, Chiron noticed how popular the burning climbing wall was. So he had a new one made with a lava fall feature. Strange as it sounds, that actually made it safer than the Greek Fire."

"Right..." I said, feeling a little dazed. Kids here climbed what amounted to an erupting volcano for fun? I might just fit in after all.

"Sorry," she said, glancing down. "For info dumping like that, I mean. History's probably my biggest special interest and sometimes I can't help myself."

"What? Why are you apologizing for? I thought it was a neat story," I said. "What, um...? What kind of history do you like especially?"

"Oh!" I felt like I was being blinded by the sun as her face lit up with a bright smile. "Well, I enjoy all history in general, but my particular interest is in ancient history - for obvious reasons!" She gestured at the area around us. "Unfortunately, so much of what's in the mortal's books is exaggerated, misrepresented whether through bias or lack or understanding, and other times it's just outright wrong. Of course, my teachers don't like it when I correct them in class. Or in private. Or at all." She stopped talking and her face became unreadable for a moment and then she scoffed slightly. "Wouldn't be the true demigod experience if you didn't get kicked out of a school or two, huh?"

"Oh, um... I've never actually gone to school," I admitted. "At least, not a classroom kind, I mean. I did school things. Um... My uncle Joe tutored me while I helped out in the restaurant."

"Home school," Andromeda said. "Lucky you. My mom has a group she does that for. I'll probably end up joining them this year." She turned back to me and broke out into her brightest, most genuine smile yet. My heart hammered in my chest so hard I was sure my rib cage would shatter. Then she raised her hand, waving it over her head and shouted; "Annabeth! Hey, Annabeth! Over here!"

Of course, I thought. She saw someone behind me. That made more sense than whatever I was thinking. Not that I was thinking anything at that moment. I turned to see who she was calling out to and suddenly found myself completely unable to think at all. The girl called Annabeth was our age, with storm grey eyes and long, blonde hair tied back in a ponytail with a few stray curls escaping. Like everyone else, she too was wearing an orange t-shirt and a necklace with several small, clay beads. Instead of jeans, however, she had on a pair of denim shorts that (very nicely in my opinion) showed off her well tanned legs. Caught between the dark haired and pale-skinned beauty of Andromeda and the sporty, tanned and blonde Annabeth, I felt my mouth go dry as my head suddenly to spin. Dimly I thought I should breathe, but in the moment I forgot how to.

The last thing I heard as the world went dark was a shout of alarm coming from both girls.

Something was wrong. I felt cold. My inner fire struggled against the spread of icy chill spreading through my body. Shivering, I managed to shift over in my bed just enough that I felt something cold and solid slide off my forehead and across my face before falling away, leaving behind an icy path across my skin. I could still feel the chill of ice next to my face, but I was thankful it was no longer touching me.

Breathing heavily from the exertion, I took a moment to take stock of my surroundings. The ceiling and walls were made of exposed wood, and next to my bed was a privacy curtain. It took me a minute, but I managed to drag myself into a sitting position. I felt the ice pack brush against my skin once more, and quickly threw it to the floor.

"Oh, I see you're awake," a man's voice said. He sounded vaguely European, but I couldn't place the accent. The curtain pulled away to reveal a man with thinning brown hair and a look of concern in his eyes. He looked familiar, but I couldn't remember why. "How are you feeling?"

"Like s-someone tr-tried to freeze me t-to death," I said, still struggling to warm myself back up.

"You suddenly passed out," the man said. "Misses Johnston and Chase brought you to the infirmary. Given your fever they assumed it must have been heat stroke, so our healers thought to bring down your temperature. Miss Johnston mentioned you had been wearing a jacket previously."

"N-not... Not a f-f-fever," I stammered. "It it it's my normal... Normal body temp..."

"Try not to talk," he said. "Normal body temperature you say? Ah, yes. Now I see. You must be Giuseppe's niece. Oh, dear. I'll have a word with the Head Healer about your special needs."

"Y-you know uncle J-Joe?" I asked.

"Of course," the man said with a small grin. "I was his teacher, after all. Just lie down and rest. In the meantime, however, perhaps it would be best to provide you with an extra blanket and we can see about getting a space heater set up."

I shook my head, "It's pr-probably warm enough outs- side. Besides, moving around will help me warm up better than lying around."

For a moment, I thought he would argue with me. Instead, he just shook his head with a small chuckle; "It always is like pulling teeth trying to get young demigods to take it easy. Very well, you can go. Just, promise me that if you feel dizzy that you will sit down and have a drink of water at the very least." I nodded. "In that case, I will have the healers officially discharge you. Please wait just a little longer."

With that, he turned his wheelchair around and started to leave. Wait! Wheelchair? Now I realized why he had seemed so familiar!

"Mr. Brunner?" I shouted, trying to catch his attention. I cold feel my inner fire growing stronger with the sudden surge of adrenaline. He paused, turning to look at me with clear confusion in his eyes.

"How do you know that na..?"

"It is you," I said. "Where's Percy? Where's my brother at?"