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Chapter 7: Sam Becomes The Eagle-Bearer

So, the first day of camp (officially) and of course my brother is still asleep. Isn't he one of the camp counselors?

This isn't the first time this has happened; back when I was in elementary school, Percy would oversleep whenever he and Annabeth would come and visit. Usually some loud noise would tend to wake him up, especially since he snores really loud. And don't get me started on his drool. Over 30's and has two kids and still drools in his sleep. Like, what did Annabeth see in this guy?

Luckily, I have my phone, with my favorite music.

I turned it with max volume to one of my favorites, Heat of the Moment by Asia.

Percy instantly woke up and sat up.

"Rise and shine, Seaweed Brain!" I said while dancing to the song and then lip syncing to the lyrics.

Percy groaned as I told him it's morning.

He's never a morning person.

After we got dressed for the day, we met up with Sam for the introduction. Since I'm still a temporary camper, my introduction was short but Percy gave a strong look at the campers and asked them to behave themselves with Sam and I.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, he's still my annoying, dorky overprotective brother. Many of the campers were tempted to do their traditional bathroom initiation, but I straight up looked at them and said, "touch my friend here, and you wish you were fighting monsters."

Most of them shivered at my wrath, but there were a couple of them that scoffed it off.

Good to know who'd to avoid in camp.

After the introduction, Percy took me and Sam to the barracks to get our weapon of choice.

"That reminds me, Annabeth is coming over with the kids," Percy said on the way.

"Really?! That's awesome! I need her to tell me everything!" I said excitedly. As we reached the barracks, I noticed several campers all dirty and filled with dirt and soot.

"Children of Hephaestus," Percy explained. "They love tinkering and building stuff. Leo's one too."

"That makes so much sense," I said. "But… that still doesn't explain how he managed to get a woman like Calypso?" I asked.

Percy chuckled. "He asked himself the same question. Check out the inventory, see what peaks your interest." I nodded and looked around.

There are many kinds of weapons on the shelves. Swords; daggers; spears; axes; etc. There was just a huge variety of weapons. One of the children of Hephaestus, Jim was his name, helping me and Sam on recommendations.

Knowing Sam though, she's a hardcore fan of Assassin's Creed. And with the many references to Greek Mythology, well…

"I don't know what to pick," Sam said excitedly. "What do you think I should get, Stella?"

I shrugged.

Sam continues to look around as I did the same. Truth be told, I never thought about what kind of weapon I'd use, fantasy or not. Though if I had to choose it'd be something like how Annabeth or Percy would fight. I know Percy uses a sword, but that doesn't seem like my style. He did tell me that Annabeth tends to use a dagger but lost during their trip to Rome so she tends to use a sword made of Drakon bones.

Another reason why she's awesome.

Though if you think about it, each weapon would have a fallback in comeback. Jim was telling us about each type of weapon downfalls. For swords, you'll need room to even swing or thrust or you'll be in trouble. Daggers are good for close combat but very ineffective against enemies from distance. Polearms can do that but it's difficult for close range as well as concealment.

After much debate in my head, I went for the daggers. Thanks to the many lessons I received from Annabeth, I'm pretty good with martial arts. Percy insisted that I learned self-defense just in case. It's funny though because it didn't do much against Vulture and the Minotaur. Plus, after watching Supernatural, I always dream of having a demon-killing knife like Dean Winchester. Maybe someday Jim or his siblings can make a replica someday. That'd be awesome.

"Found something?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with a dagger. You know how Dean Winchester has a knife when hunting monsters? I figured I should give it a try."

"Estelle, this is real-life, not a tv show."

I rolled my eyes.

"I know, Percy. I'm just stating some inspiration for my choice. Anyways, let's see what Sam picked."

We both went to find Sam in the barracks and found her picking a sword.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A Kopis! It's one of the many weapons Greeks would use back then."

I chuckled and asked, "Let me guess, Assassin's Creed?"

Sam smiled and shrugged , "You know me."

We both laughed until Sam noticed something in one of the crates of weapons.

"Hey, Jim," Sam said to one of the campers in the barracks. "What's that crate for?"

Jim responded, "Just some defective gear in the past. We tend to have some gears and artifacts that can't be reused or destroyed so we keep them in that box."

Sam kneels down towards the crate and picks up what seems to be a broken piece of a spear. It's mostly just the tip with the other end broken off. The blade is completely rusted and unfit to be used for any reason.

"Where did you guys get the broken spear from?" I asked.

"Been around since Ancient Greece. It was leftovers from the fallen Spartans during the Persian invasion."

"The 300 Spartans?!" Sam yelled in excitement. Jim nodded and it made her squeal in excitement. I already knew what this meant. You see, Sam loves history. Especially ancient history and war. So when Assassin's Creed: Odyssey came out, it became one of our favorite games. So the fact that we're finding an actual broken spear from the 300 Spartans is one of Sam's happiest moments in her life.

"Can I take it?! Please?" She asked.

Jim shrugged.

"If you want, go ahead. The spear is rusted and nothing we do seems to work on it. We even try to attach it to another polearm, but it seems to… reject it. So we had no choice but to just leave it in the crate with the others. You can keep it as a souvenir if you like."

Sam shouted yes when suddenly, the spear blade started to glow and shake rapidly. All of a sudden, the rust on it washed away.

"Sam, you okay?!" Percy asked.

Sam responded, "Yeah but… what was that?"

Everyone looked at the spear as it continued to glow.

"No way…" Jim said. "They tried everything to lose the rust. How…"

"Because that spear once belonged to a powerful warrior," Said another voice.

We all looked and found Annabeth, wearing one of the camp's T-shirts and jeans.

"Annabeth!" I yelled. "You got here quickly."

"No monster sightings. Seems like you guys made a lot of commotion last time."

"Mrs. Jackson," Sam said. "What do you mean a powerful warrior?"

Annabeth walked toward the spear and picked it up. The glow shimmered as she did and gave it to Sam.

"The Spear once belonged to a powerful Spartan warrior. A king."

Sam and I gasped as we knew exactly who.

"Leonidas of Sparta…" I said.

Annabeth nodded and spoke, "Long ago, before Leonidas confronted the Persian army of Xerxes, he was visited by the gods and was gifted with a spear. To this day, we don't know what this spear is made of. But, it always glows whenever Leonidas wields it. And now…" Annabeth hands the spear to Sam. "It seems it found its next user."

"Me?" Sam asked.

"With some practice, we'll help you learn how to use a weapon."

Sam grasped at the spear and was in awe. Eventually, we all left, thanking the children of Hephaestus for their help.

"Where are the kids?" I asked.

"They're with the children of Demeter. They're really great babysitters and they owe me a favor. Now, tell me about your experience here so far."

Sam and I explained to her everything about our experience. From the car chase to the introduction ceremony.

"Wow," Annabeth said. "You two had the same experience as Percy did."

"Exactly what I thought when he told us his story!" I yelled. "Which reminds me. Annabeth? You're a demigod too, right? Who's your godly parent?"

"Oh, Athena."

"What?!" I yelled. "You, a daughter of Athena, is married to a Son of Poseidon?!"

"I see that you are listening to your classes, Estelle."

"Only her favorite ones," Sam added. "Also, Mrs. Jackson?"

"Just call me Annabeth, sweetie," Annabeth replied.

"Okay, Annabeth, why did you say I was chosen by the spear?"

"After the death of Leonidas, the spear never glowed again. It just rusted away until now. Not even Leonidas' descendants were able to unlock its power. It just stays dormant. The fact that it awoke right when you picked it up shows that you have something in you that is special."

"Woah," Sam said. "Then… Can I be called Samantha, The Eagle-Bearer?!"

I laughed because I knew the moment we saw the spear, she'd make an Assassin's Creed reference. She alway loves playing those games.

"Let's just focus on your training. You get to join the Capture the Flag game tomorrow."

"And apparently, I don't" I said, sulking.

"Sorry, Estelle," Annabeth said. "But I agree with Percy. Our camp activities are a little too much for you."

"Yet it's fine for kids younger than me to join," I replied.

"Estelle, look," Percy spoke. "Demigods are different from regular people like you. Because we have godly blood in us, we're hunted by monsters. We have no choice but to learn to fight, so that we can live to see tomorrow."

I was also gonna reply how Sam and Dean from Supernatural were humans too and they fought even powerful beings, even God himself. But, then again, they only won because Chuck (God) blessed them with luck so that they could give him more writing materials.

Crazy right?

"Let's just learn to fight," I said.

We arrived at the training arena and the Jacksons were teaching us formations and tips on how to wield a weapon. Since I was using a dagger, Annabeth is teaching me while Percy is teaching Sam how to wield a sword.

Annabeth was really good at using daggers back in her teen days. But ever since she lost it in her fight with Arachne, she uses a sword made of Drakon bones. I tend to ask her about Arachne since just a couple days ago I was at a museum learning about a tablet based on her. But, Annabeth doesn't like talking about it. Apparently, Children of Athena are mortal enemies to spiders and freak out the moment they see one.

That does explain one time how Annabeth got on the dining table during their visit. I saw a little spider and she just screamed in fear. Since Sam and I like spiders, we tend to just pick them up and drop them outside safely.

I never stopped teasing her about it since.

"Hey Annabeth?" I asked during our training.

"Yeah?"

"What was Piper McClean like?" I asked. I was still surprised that Percy and Annabeth knew Piper McClean.

"Oh… Piper was… kind and supportive to us."

"Percy said she doesn't come to camp anymore. And I never saw her come visit us like you and the others."

Annabeth had a sad look on her face when she replied. "…She went through some difficult times at the moment and… well, Camp just brings a lot of memories."

"Bad memories?"

"No… good memories…"

I was confused, but she said she'll talk about it some other time when she's ready.

"Okay, then how about Jason? Can you tell me about him? I saw him in a picture with you and everyone. Percy said he's not around anymore so… I'm assuming the worst right now."

Annabeth hesitated for a second but nodded.

Jason Grace was his name and he was Thalia Grace's younger brother. Apparently the siblings were children of Zeus/Jupiter. He was this tall handsome guy with great looks and was strong in combat. He can fly like Superman, thus tends to be called that by his friends. But he tends to get beaten up hard by enemies and can be a little clumsy sometimes. But despite that, he always gets back up and does the right thing, no matter what.

"Sounds to me like he's no Superman." I said.

"He made mistakes, sure. But he's always there for his friends."

"No, Annabeth. I meant that he's no Superman. He was just a regular teenager just wanting to help his friends. He was just… a good man."

Annabeth smiled.

"Yeah… he was."

Hearing about Jason really brought a lot of respect from me. Shame that he's gone… I would've loved to meet him.

Anyways, while Annabeth and I were training on dagger techniques, I noticed that Sam is starting to get the hang of using her Kopis. She's not using the broken spear since she's hoping to fix it up with the help of the Hephaestus kids.

She'll probably want to make it look like the Spear in Odyssey. Classic Sam.

"How are you holding up Sam?" I asked.

Panting, she replied, "It's really difficult holding a sword when you're not an outdoor person.

I snickered, "That's what you get for staying inside to play games all day."

"Okay, you two. Let's take a break," Percy replied.

All four of us sat at a fallen log nearby to take a breather from training. As we did, I asked Sam something.

"Hey Sam, do you remember how you were fighting the Vulture?"

"Not really, no. It's kinda foggy to remember. After seeing Dad… you know… everything just, kinda went dark and I blacked out."

"It's okay," Annabeth replied. "It can be difficult to remember something traumatizing. You don't have to explain."

"But that's the thing. After she killed my father, I felt this strong feeling surrounding me. Like a calm wave of warm light. Then, next thing I knew, I was hearing the Vulture in my head, telling me how she was gonna strike. But everything else, it just went blank."

"Hm, did you have any dreams afterwards?" Annabeth asked.

"I actually did. It was weird though, I saw this hooded man and he spoke to me. I can't remember what he said, but he had this strong vibe, yet calming. It's… it's kinda hard to describe it. But I didn't think much of it."

"Dreams are a lot stronger for demigods, I'm afraid," Annabeth explained. "You see, demigod dreams can show vague information that is crucial to you and your destiny. Sometimes they give omens if something bad is going to happen; or they give you details of something happening elsewhere."

Bad omen? Then, would my dream a while ago be considered as one? Should I even ask? I mean, ever since then, I haven't had another weird dream yet. But knowing Percy, he'll probably make a big deal of it.

Anyways, Annabeth insists that Sam keeps an eye out for her dreams whenever she sleeps. I guess life really is hard for a demigod.

Suddenly, two other campers passed by, whispering. One of them scoffed and said, "She'll be gone within a week. Girl got all nervous just by the introduction; she ain't gonna last long out there."

I assume they were talking about Sam since she did get nervous at the ceremony. I mean, you try introducing yourself to a bunch of other kids holding deadly weapons with an urge to shove you down a toilet. Still, I never allow that to happen in school so I sure won't let that happen in camp.

"Hey!" I yelled as I got up and walked toward the campers. "Do you mind repeating that?"

The two campers turned around. One of them was a bit tall and had a bit of muscle on him, probably from the training here at camp, and had brown eyes. Tanned skin with short brown hair. The other guy had dark skin with bright hair; he's not as built as the other guy, but he seems toned out; he also has green eyes.

"What do you want?" The built guy said.

"My friend has been through enough already. We don't need to deal with your attitude!" I yelled out.

"Stella," Sam got up and spoke to me, "it's fine. This isn't the first time, just let it slide."

The jerk was about to reply until his friend spoke, "Look, Mitch, just walk it off. Please? I don't want to see you get in trouble like last year."

Mitch scoffed and just walked off.

"I'm sorry about Mitch. He's… been through a lot last year." He took out his hand. "I'm Daniel, son of Hermes. That was Mitch, Son of Ares."

I shook his hand and replied.

"I'm Estelle, Percy's sister on mom's side. This is Sam, I don't know about her god parent though."

Daniel shrugs, "It happens, some of us still don't know who our parents are. Your brother tried to change that but… well…"

"Gods rarely change," Percy replied. "Is Mitch still upset about last year, Danny?"

Daniel nodded.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"I… rather not talk about it. Too much to handle at the moment. And again, I'm sorry about Mitch. He was never good with talking to people."

"Are all children of Ares like that?" I asked.

"Not really, I heard tales of how of of Ares' daughter used to bully Mr. Jackson here."

I snickered at the thought, "I'm sorry, a daughter of Ares? Percy got bullied by a girl?"

"Wasn't the first time," Annabeth added. This made me laugh hysterically. My brother who saved the world more times than the Avengers, gotten bullied by several girls? That's just hilarious.

After I stopped laughing I asked, "How on earth are you popular here?!"

"Whatever," Percy said. "Let's just get back to training."

We said our goodbyes to Daniel as we headed back to the field for some more training. Percy and Annabeth really helped us out a lot about how to use our new weapons. Though, Sam wants to work on the spear itself once it's fixed. During training, Sam and I asked a lot about their past and learned more about the half-blood's life.

You think it's filled with adventures and action mixed with some love and comedy, right? Well, it was… along with traumatic experiences, drama and death.

Remember the kids, Luke and Silena? They were named after some people Percy and Annabeth knew in the past.

Cliché. But I guess it helps them bear through the trauma. Don't forget, they fought monsters; gods; immortal beings; traveled to several hells; literally carried the sky and so much more. All at least around my age or younger.

I gotta agree with Percy, they deserve a vacation.

I even learned a lot about our family. How they've been through a lot as well but are learning to cope with it. Which reminds me, if being a demigod is traumatizing, how come they don't have therapy? I can't imagine what would happen if these kids are mentally unstable. Still, with New Rome support, which is another place like Camp Half Blood but for Romans, they were able to expand Camp Half-Blood with more activities and support. Hopefully they can do therapy sessions soon.

Anyways, after training, we went to pick up the kids from the Demeter cabin. Luke and Silena saw me, got very excited and hugged me tightly.

"Hey Annabeth?" I spoke. "Where are the kids going to be sleeping?"

"By the Big House. Kids are still too young for camp but eventually they'll experience it themselves."

"Even questing?!"

"Not until they're eighteen years old!" Percy yelled.

I mean, I figured that's what would happen. Other than being an overprotective brother, he's also an overprotective father.

"Well, at least the kids will be safe."

"I'll be with them as well. Percy will be staying with you until you head back home. Trust me, this place is too dangerous for you."

"Ugh, I don't need babysitting, Annabeth," I argued. "I'm fifteen years old! I can take care of myself. This is just summer camp, not like monsters can sneak in here!"

"That happens more often than you think," Percy replied.

I continued arguing about how grown up I am and that I'm usually the one watching over Sam in school. I help babysit the kids every time they come and visit. However, it's already late and I'm too tired from training.

I gave up and just let it be.

As soon as we got to the cabin, I crashed to bed and just rest up.

And once again, the dream appeared.

I was in the same dark room with the same three ladies. Only difference is that the ladies were not making any new clothings. One of the elderly ladies looked up at me and spoke.

"Estelle Blofis… a crossroad has been made for you…"

I was confused at the comment but she continued.

"You must make a choice that shall forever change your fate. Along with those you care deeply…"

"Fate? What fate?" I asked. "What choice? I don't understand!"

Suddenly, I felt an immense pain on my hand and saw the same spider that bit me at the museum. As I looked up, the elderly ladies were gone. But there was one feminine figure in the shadows. It was just standing there for a bit, menacingly. Then I saw something appearing from behind her. Looked like long insect legs; it didn't take me long to realize they were spider legs and that they're coming from behind the lady. Her eyes were glowing bright green.

"Embrace me…" She spoke eerily.

The way she spoke gave me the creeps.

"Who are you?" I asked.

She didn't speak for a while, until she replied.

"You're destiny!"

She charged rapidly towards me.

And suddenly, I awoke. Sweating and panting from my dream.

I was trying to make some understanding of my dream. I mean first off, I don't dream so why on earth did that happen? And second, what were those elderly ladies talking about? What choice did I have to make? And who was that shadow lady with the spider legs and bright green eyes?!

So many questions, yet no answers.

I recall Annabeth talking about Demigod dreams but it couldn't be that. I'm not a demigod so it shouldn't happen to me.

I will have to worry about it later. Right now I need to get up and see one of camp's most favorite activities.

Capture the Flag.

It can't be that dangerous, right?