Riding the Waves (PJO and HoO) : Chapter 4

I have to admit, going to camp definitely beat going to school. Granted the weirdness factor was still there; one of my classes was monster assault techniques, after all. And being taught by nymphs and satyrs was definitely surreal.

But for the most part lessons were taught by the head counselors of each cabin. I spent my days in foot racing, wrestling, archery, you name it.

Okay, so I got my butt handed to me in wrestling by the scary kids in the Ares cabin, and I managed to hit everything but the bull’s eye in archery, but I was getting the hang of Ancient Greek and for the first time I found reading interesting. I excelled at canoeing, which was something I always had a knack for since my dad taught me when I was younger.

I was good foot racing, too, though I wasn't faster than the dryad instructors, who were in fact trees. However it was Hayden who ended up smoking the dryads every single time. Even the instructors were impressed. Not too many campers could beat them in a race.

Back at school, Hayden and I were the reigning queens of extreme kickball. With her speed and my rather impressive kicking power, we were the ultimate duo. Still, I never knew that she was that fast. She could’ve given Jesse Owens a run for his money.

Swordplay was fun, and I was surprised that I was pretty good at it. A boy from the Ares cabin taught the class during the week, alternating with Percy who would teach on the weekends.

During the week, Nico and I talked a few times. He was nice, but kind of a loner, even though some of the other campers were happy to see him. But Nico seemed to be fine with being alone, so I was happy to give him his space (honest).

I tried not to think about Mrs. Tot who was still out there and most likely still intended to kill me. I knew that all of her monsters were dead. It’s not like she can go to the pet store and get more, right? At least that’s what I thought before I learned that monsters could reform from the pits of pure evil known as Tartarus. Not exactly what I would call good news.

As the days wore on, I learned more and more about the gods. None of them really caught my eye as to who my godly parent might be. I had none of powers that some demigods had, and I wasn’t exceptionally phenomenal at any particular activity. My aim was off, so I could cross Apollo off my list. I didn’t have a way with plants like the Demeter and Dionysus kids. I wasn’t as smart as the Athena kids and I definitely wasn’t a child of Hephaestus. The first day that I tried to weld something—a home, sweet home sign on a chunk of marble— the tools went haywire and I almost succeeded in painfully branding myself.

And as much as I liked the kids in the Hermes cabin, I didn’t really feel like they were my siblings. I didn’t feel a connection to Hermes, either. I wasn’t a thief or all that clever.

Kids came and went out of the Hermes cabin every day, each getting claimed and relocated to their godly parent’s cabin. The list of campers who were in line next for a bunk slowly dwindled until it was my turn. I was finally able to keep my belonging in a trunk with a lock. I didn’t have a lot in my room at Saint Catherine's, just some casual clothes, a few family photos, two comic books, and my stuffed Panda bear, Chalk, that I’ve had for a hundred years.

I remembered when I first got Chalk. When I was little, back in Hawaii, my dad took me to the zoo. I remember it being a really fun day, but a lot of weird things happened, too, like I swear I heard a llama speak to me. Dad got me a stuffed panda, even though there were none at the zoo. After we got home, my dad had vanished into thin air. My parents came back later; apparently they were out searching for me and they were surprised that I was home. They came to the conclusion that I was hiding.

Another time something strange happened to me my grandfather (my mom’s dad) was teaching Alana and me how to surf. A tiger shark about twenty feet long swam up to us and nuzzled my leg like a docile puppy. I screamed and flailed and ended up kicking the shark in the nose. It retreated as fast as it came.

A few other things happened like that when I was a kid that I tended to not think about. But now the memories were all flooding back to me. I knew there had to be an important clue in there, but I couldn’t quite figure it out…

I thought about my parents and Alana a lot. I was glad that they knew I was okay, but I wish I could call and tell them the truth. I wanted my parents to help me understand what was going on. But they wouldn’t believe me anyway. Besides, what could I tell them?

Every night at the sacrificial brazier at dinner, I would throw in the best parts of my dinner, silently pleading for an answer, for any shred of clarity.

Nothing came.

~*~

Hayden and I were on strawberry picking duty that Wednesday. We sat by the strawberry bushes that baked in the afternoon sun as a satyr played on his pan pipes on the other side of the field, (which sounded suspiciously like “Smells like Teen Spirit”) making the strawberries to grow like mad.

We talked about the different gods, and I found out that Hayden actually met a few, like Triton and a bunch of other sea gods (I refrained from telling any Little Mermaid jokes, by the way). I danced around the subject of who my godly parent might be, and we didn’t talk about Mrs. Tot.

I told Hayden about the prank that Travis and Conner had pulled earlier that week. They teamed up with some of the members of the Hecate cabin to magically alter all of the clothes in the Aphrodite cabin. Their pants were turned into ugly gingham patterns and their shirts were replaced with vertical stripes with colors that clashed. All of their shoes were changed to clunky orthopedic clogs, and their perfume and cologne smelled like motor oil and old garbage. As a result, Travis, Conner, and the Hecate kids were assigned to kitchen duty for the rest of the month and the entire Aphrodite cabin refused to go outside until the spell faded.

“That’s why the air around here seemed less vapid,” Hayden joked.

We both laughed at that.

“So,” she said tentatively, “how do you like camp so far?

I shrugged. “It’s fine, you know. Learning how to fight monsters and sword fighting. I got to admit; a week ago I would not have seen this coming.”

I was only half joking but Hayden slumped her shoulders. “Kai, I didn’t mean to drag you into this. Until last Friday, I didn’t even know you were a demigod.”

She sighed and put down her strawberry basket. “I get these vague… premonitions sometimes, and during Parent’s Night, I knew you were going to be in danger. I didn’t know why until Annabeth mentioned that that satyr smelled that you were a demigod, too.”

I remembered that night last Friday night. Hayden had gone stiff for a moment, staring into space. That must have been what she meant.

“That’s what happened,” I guessed. “You saw into the future? You’re psychic?”

“Not exactly,” she said. “It’s a little different. Once in a while I can see the definite future, but mostly I get a feeling of what might happen. It’s like I can see a dozen different outcomes at once every once in a while.”

“Is this a Thetis power?”

“Sort of. A few sea gods have the power of foresight and pass it to their children.”

“So Thetis—your mom, isn’t MIA?”

Hayden laughed dryly. “No. Far from it. She's actually in my life more than she should be, but Thetis was never good at ignoring her kids.”

I frowned. “You say it like it’s a bad thing. She's your mom, after all.”

“Kai, the gods have limitations. Favoritism towards their children is against ancient laws.”

“Didn't Thetis dunk her kids in fire to give them immortality or something? That sounds like it breaking some laws.”

Hayden waved it away. “That’s a whole other story. If we get into that, then we’ll get into… other things.”

“What other things?” I asked.

I regretted asking that question.

“It’s nothing,” she mumbled.

We changed the subject after that. We talked about our classes and swordplay for a while. Hayden wasn’t pleased at the fact that she couldn’t use her axe and wasn’t very good at the sword. I finally was able to ask a question that had been bothering me for a few days.

“What happened that night when you made the Amphisbaena run away? I know you said you scared it away, but what does that mean?”

Hayden sighed again. I was afraid that I made her mad and hit yet another sore subject.

But she said, “Every time I kill a monster the axe, my Ono, absorbs their essence. With some specials words, I can use the souls I collected to induce fear onto a subject.”

She looked at me warily. I nodded encouragingly for her to continue.

“With a few, I can create a basic fight or flight response, but with enough monster souls, I could induce a fear so intense that the subject would die instantly. That is, if I don’t burn out. I’ve never seen that power in action, though.”

It was quiet for a moment. I tried to imagine Hayden being so powerful that she could make any monster die at will. The thought made me shudder. Not because Hayden’s power scared me, but because the very idea was unnerving.

I asked the obvious question. “Where did you get a weapon like that?”

“My father,” she said. “It's kind of a family heirloom. It was passed down to the firstborn in my family for since the nineteen twenties.”

I couldn't help but think how strange it was to inherit a battle axe as a birthright. The most I knew that I would inherit was some fine china and a Frank Sinatra record.

“Are you afraid of me now?” Hayden asked suddenly.

I blinked. “What? Why would I be?”

“You’ve seen me kill monsters. You know what I can do. Everyone else here is already kind of scared of me. After all, I am a descendent of… Hades.”

“So?” I said. “What’s wrong with Hades, anyway?”

Hayden looked at me funny. “He’s the god of the dead and the lord of the underworld. He’s not the most pleasant god.”

Duh, I thought. The reason was kind of obvious. “That has nothing to do with you. It’s not like it your fault he’s your great-plus granddaddy or anything. And besides, people were always kind of afraid of you. That’s nothing new.”

I meant the last part as a joke, but was afraid that she might not have understood. Fortunately, she cracked a smiled.

“And you make people around you uncomfortable,” she quipped.

“You see?” I grinned. “Freaks of a feather herd together, or whatever.”

Hayden laughed, and for a moment she seemed like her old self. Then she froze, staring straight at the strawberry bushes. Her eyes glazed over and her head lolled slightly to the side.

I frowned. “Hayden. Are you—?”

“Kaia,” she whispered. Her voice was tiny, like she was a mile away. “Your…”

She shuddered and blinked hard. Her eyes refocused.

“Hayden,” I said. “What—?”

“Nothing,” she said, not looking me in the face. “It’s nothing. Let’s get back to picking the strawberries, okay?”

I didn’t argue as we went back to picking the strawberries in silence.

~*~

That Friday I had my first Pegasus riding lesson. The class was taught by Butch from the Iris cabin. He was a big bald dude with a rainbow tattoo on his arm, but that didn’t make him any less scary.

I got my first good look at the Pegasi since coming to camp. They all looked like normal stallions with the exception of the huge feathered wings on their backs. Until then, I’d never considered that I’d actually have to learn to ride one, and the thought of flying on a horse made my heart go into overtime.

I liked horses; I’ve even ridden a few at zoos before. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but I’ve been scared sick of flying ever since my family and I moved from Hawaii when I was seven. I got claustrophobic easily, and being in tight quarters thousands of miles in the air with heavy turbulence made me pass out from total fear. Needless to say it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

But there was no getting out of this by pretending I was sick to get a pass to the nurse’s office. I prayed to whatever god could hear me that I wouldn’t faint midflight and fall to my death. That would be a pretty lame way to go.

Since this was my first time, Butch instructed me one-on-one. He went over the technical stuff: how to adjust the saddle and stirrups, cues to make the Pegasi slow down, stop, etcetera. He assigned me to a calico Pegasus named Sunshine, and if a Pegasus could look unenthused then Sunshine fit the bill.

“The Pegasi are very tame and know how to work with riders,” Butch explained. “It’ll be easier if you relax.”

Relax on a flying horse? Sure, no problem…

I tried to steady my breathing as I climbed onto the back of the Pegasus. A few campers who were waiting their turn watched as I saddled up, probably in anticipation to see how I would fail.

“If I fall, you’ll catch me, right?” I muttered to Sunshine. She made a blowing sound through her nose but was otherwise silent, though I wasn’t really expecting a response.

I commanded her to go, and we took off, soaring into the air, leaving my fellow campers and my stomach below.

I tried to gain some control again, but Sunshine flew too fast. My hair whipped around my head in the wind. Adrenaline rushed through me, and I was all too aware of how high up I was. My heart was trying to beat out of my chest. I fought the urge to shut my eyes and tried to focus on a point ahead of me, but my senses felt disoriented. I wanted to scream, but the wind had sucked it out of me. My grip on the reigns tightened.

Slow down! I was screaming in my mind. Please, slow down.

Suddenly, Sunshine jerked backwards like it was startled. I screamed and pulled on the reigns reflexively.

“Hey, loosen up on the reigns, there!” a small voice called to me. I tried to look down to see who it was, but the other campers were too far below me and the wind was drowning them out.

I loosened up on the reigns as Sunshine began to slow down. I took a deep breath. And another. My shoulders started to relax.

Sunshine flew slowly over camp. Eventually, I mustered up the courage to look down again. I gasped. The view from high up was breathtaking. Everything glowed brightly in the afternoon sun. I took in the lush green hills and valleys, the big blue ocean, and the tall trees of the forest all at once. For the first time I saw how beautiful Camp Half-Blood really was.

We flew in a steady slow pace, and I started to get a feel for what I was supposed to do. Once my fear began to fade, I started to enjoy the ride. I got a sense of freedom that almost felt exhilarating, though I didn’t want to fly faster and push my luck just yet.

I pulled on the reigns a bit to signal for the Pegasus to land. We glided back to Earth gently where Butch and the rest of the class was. I wondered who it was who saw me freaking out in the sky.

I handed the reigns over to Butch. “How was I?”

He nodded. “Not bad, for your first time.”

My head perked up.

“It wasn’t very good—”

Oh.

“— but, you might be a decent flyer with a little practice. Let’s see how you do on the chariots next week.”

~*~

Before I explain how I ended up face first in a river after tripping over my own feet, I’ll back up a little.

After dinner, it was finally time for Capture the Flag. The entire pavilion buzzed with excitement, and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t looking forward to it also. The hype has been building for a week and I would be able to put my training into practice.

The teams were grouped into different sides of the pavilion. Poseidon, Athena, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hecate, Hades, Nike, Hermes, Nemesis, made an alliance on the blue team. The red team consisted of the Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Apollo, Hebe, Morpheus, Hypnos, Tyche, and Iris cabins. Athena and Ares were the leaders of their respective teams.

Nico and Hayden were standing two tables behind me. They were talking, and I was glad that they didn’t look so awkward around each other anymore. I waved to them, and was surprised when Nico nodded back. Cue the awkward and unwanted frenzy of butterflies in my stomach.

Campers were going through the choices of weaponry as Chiron explained the rules of the game. The creak was the boundary line. Maiming and murder were thankfully against the rules, so that was one burden off my shoulders.

I was given a blue team helmet with a plume on top. Percy even hooked me up with a mega plus-size shield that I probably could have surfed on easily. I wondered if Chiron would let me, but that would be a stupid question to ask.

The Athena cabin came up with an awesome strategy to win the game. Only a few campers knew where the flag was. Some would serve as distractions and the decoys themselves would be unaware of the fact. Others were to stop roving parties from getting near the flag. Spies (which Hayden was) would be used to track the other team’s movements. There was even a rumor that the red team learned about the placement of our flag that was really to misdirect them.

All weapons, even magical ones, were permitted. Since the Hecate cabin was on our side, we had an advantage in that aspect. But the red team had Ares and Tyche so they had both good luck and brute strength on their side. The teams were equally matched. Constant action was guaranteed.

So what part did I get to play?

The exciting role of guard duty, of course!

I guess I should have been grateful. The other campers were more experienced than I was, and I didn’t want to get gutted by the girl with the electric spear from the Ares cabin. But compared to the other roles, guard duty was looking pretty lame.

Percy and Annabeth stood in front of the team. One of Annabeth’s siblings was holding the flag, a shimmery gray banner with an owl on it.

“All right, blue team!” Percy announced. “You all know your positions and what your jobs are. Remember to stick to it. Let’s win another victory tonight!”

Annabeth raised her shield. “Blue team, forward!”

We all cheered as we cleared out of the pavilion and into the woods.

~*~

I haven't been in the woods since I gotten to camp and was not prepared for how creepy it was. The trees blocked out the starlight, so most of the light came from everybody’s celestial bronze weapons. Owls leered down at us with their big yellow eyes. A strange rustling came from behind a tree, but nobody paid it any attention.

My shield weighed me down as we trudged deeper and deeper into the woods. I had to jog to stay with the team, which was no easy feat, mind you.

The head counselor from the Hecate cabin helped me to my post. I wasn’t sure which way to face since I had no idea where the flag really was.

A horn blew, followed by excited whoops and calls from all around the forest. The game had started.

Metal clanged against metal in the distance, and I think I heard a smoke bomb go off. Someone on the blue team raced past me like a gazelle and into the woods.

My post was by the creek that glowed silver in the moonlight. I remembered learning about the river spirits, Naiads, in my morning classes and wondered if a spirit girl was looking back. I shook that weird thought out of my head and went back to focusing on my guard duty.

The weight of my shield was starting to make my arm feel numb. Every once in a while I’d hear a battle going on far away or a drakon crawling around in the forest. I really hoped that man-eating serpents didn’t like to snack late.

I stood in position for what felt like an eternity, though it was probably just my ADHD dragging out the time. I was starting to feel antsy.

Suddenly, the bushes near me rustled, and two members of the red team appeared. One had a sword, the other had a spear, and they didn’t look too friendly.

I quickly raised my shield, but in the process I stumbled back and ended up tumbling towards the stream. I tried to turn and stop the fall, but tripped over my feet and fell face first into the river. A rock cut into my cheek and forehead; I was sure that I would be bleeding pretty badly.

Through the gurgle of the stream, I could hear the two doofuses laughing at me. My blood began to boil. I felt my energy surge back.

I pushed myself upright as the doofus with the sword started to advance towards me, his sword raised.

He swung, aiming for the spot right above my head (I guess trying to mess with me) but I panicked and was able to block his attack. I kicked him in the shin sending him backwards onto his rear.

I stood, brandishing my sword with my shield in front of me. This time it didn’t feel as heavy.

The doofus with the spear busted out into laughter. “Really, Gus? You gonna let an undetermined lil’ girl beat ya?”

Gus apparently wasn’t having any of that. He scowled at me, got back up, and charged at me with his shield.

In a second, I knew he would knock me out cold. So I did the first impulsive thing to come to my mind. I threw my shield at him.

Immediately he stumbled back and dropped his sword. I sidestepped and moved so that I was behind him now, and kicked him in the rear. I underestimated my own strength and the poor doofus ended up spinning and landing butt first in the water.

I flinched. “Sorry!”

At that moment, I’d forgotten about the other guy. He got me from behind, whapping me hard in the side with the shaft spear. I staggered and nearly dropped my sword in pain.

The spear doofus hopped over his “friend” still dazed in the stream and ran to where the flag could be.

“Hey!” I yelled and ran after him.

I followed after him as fast as I could, jumping over streams and fallen logs, always a few feet behind him. When I finally caught up to him, he was in the clearing standing still.

Curious, I looked to see what he was staring at…

The flag wasn’t there.

The guy swore in Ancient Greek and threw his shield down in a hissy fit. Out of the forest, Gus came stumbling out. He looked at the empty clearing and cursed. “I can’t believe this!”

I stared, dumbfounded, until I realized: I was a decoy. I didn’t know whether to laugh or be insulted.

In the distance, I heard an eruption of cheering and left the two doofs to investigate.

I came to an open field where the entire blue team was gathered. Everyone was laughing and high-fiving each other. A few red team members appeared from the woods, cursing and moaning. The head counselor for the Hecate cabin was perched on the shoulders of our teammates with the flag, now electric green with twin crossroads, in her hand.

Chiron came out of the woodwork and blew his conch horn. We had won.

From the crowd, Hayden noticed me and jogged over. She was grinning ear to ear, her face was sweaty. “That,” she panted, “was fun.”

Then she frowned. “What happened to your face?”

“Oh this?” I touched my cheek. “I cut my face on a rock. It’s pretty bad, huh?”

“No. It’s, well, look.”

She raised her shield for me to use as a mirror. What I thought were bad gashes were small, barely noticeable cuts.

“Weird.” I mumbled. “They weren’t as bad as I thought they were.”

“Right,” Hayden said. She didn’t look so sure, but didn’t say anything more about it.

I smiled. “Come on, Hayday.” I took her by the arm to join the celebration.

~*~

That night was the best night I had since coming to camp. We roasted marshmallows over the cherry yellow fire. It went so high that everyone in the front row had their marshmallows set ablaze. Hayden and I sat in the back, letting the bright flames turn our marshmallows gooey.

The Apollo kids played their lyres and guitars leading the camp in a cheesy song about all the bottles of nectar on the wall. Hayden and I sang along, making up our own words half the time.

Everything fell into place perfectly for the first time since I came to Camp Half-Blood. I felt like the campers were my family and camp was my home. I felt like I could get use to life as a demigod. Living here wouldn’t be so bad. For once everything was right.

So of course, you know where this is going.

The Apollo kids finished the song and were about to announce the next one when one of them glanced towards my direction and gasped loud enough for everyone to turn and see what she was looking at.

Everyone fell silent all at once, staring at me with awe, shock, but mainly disbelief. The bonfire flames dimmed to a dusty shade of purple.

“What?” I asked, even though as soon as I said it, I knew what was happening.

Too late, I looked above me to catch a glimpse of a bright light fading above my head. But everyone else saw the symbol, and I could tell by their expressions that it wasn't good news.

I had been claimed.

Slowly, the entire camp got to one knee and bowed, even Dionysus and Chiron. Hayden looked up at me with a troubled look on her face, like all of her worse suspicions had just come true.

I scanned the faces around me to get some kind of clue. Most of the campers looked confused or shocked. But one face that stood out was Percy’s. I couldn’t event describe the look on his face.

I was stunned into silence. I barely noticed that Chiron was talking until he was almost done.

“All hail Kaia Fischer,” he said, his voice sounding grave and strained. “...daughter of Poseidon.”