The River of Fire

Chapter 3:Preparations for the Games

I woke up to bright light and a crowded cabin. The first thing I decided on was that I might be able to talk to Emma and Cooper now that the commotion had died down. I stood up and immediately sat down again. The pain in my leg flared, reminding me that I was still injured.

I forced myself up again and hobbled to the infirmary. Thankfully, Doug was there. He unwrapped my bandages for me. Apparently, the wound had expelled the acid because I had eaten the ambrosia, and the wound would be completely healed after I took a bit more ambrosia. Doug cleaned the goop and other nasty stuff I won't describe off my leg and handed me my ambrosia. I walked--not hobbled--outside; it felt so good to be able to walk normally again.

I went to Cooper's cabin and knocked.The door was answered by a small chubby girl who looked no more than 8 or 9 and was holding a trumpet in one hand and a smile that was so big it should not have not fit on her face.

"Cooper, your friend is here!" she yelled excitedly

"Okay!" There was a series of banging, scuffling, and voices. Then Cooper appeared at the door and the little girl skipped away.

"Sorry about that," he muttered sheepishly, "How are you doing?"

"Good," I began to say. I interrupted myself with a loud growl from my stomach. I realized that I had not eaten in the past few days.

"Maybe we should go get breakfast," Cooper said with a sly smile.

"Sounds good." I guess it was my turn to feel sheepish.

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I grabbed a plate and sat down and began to eat waffles soaked with syrup.

"Capture the flag is in two days," Cooper said, chewing on his own food. "Do you think you're going to be ready?"

"Probably not. I've had basically zero training whatsoever."

"Well I wasn't ready for what happened yesterday," Emma said as she sat down with a plate of pancakes as well.

"I can't believe you're a child of one of the big three," I said.

"I can't believe you beat Naomi," said Cooper.

"Can't dragon anymore," she snarked flippantly.

"That was awesome," I agreed. "You could see how you controlled the water to win."

"So cool," Cooper said. "I also saw you got a walking stick. Is that from your uh... dad?"

"Yup. He didn't show up and give it to me, though," she sounded a bit disappointed. Not everyone's parents popped up like Cooper's. "He gave it to Chiron who gave it to me under his instructions."

She unslung it from across her back and twirled it; its wood looked like driftwood weathered down and old looking and it had a lump near-ish to the top that made the perfect handle for her as she spun it. As she twirled, it morphed into a spear. I think my eyes widened to the size of saucers. She stopped, and after a moment it morphed back to a plain stick. She put it down on the bench next to her and went back to eating. I hurriedly finished, my hunger not allowing anymore distractions. Pretty soon, we were all finished.

As we got up to leave, I couldn't help but pick up on the nearby conversations.

"Did you hear about the new kid?" I think he was an Apollo kid based on his jersey and the trumpet sitting next to him on his right. His friend on his left responded with a nod. "Yeah! Four half-bloods in one school in one week? I say that's bad luck."