The Son of Hephaestus

Chapter 2: I Have a Demon Dog

"What?" I ask Mr. Brunner. "You've never mentioned this before!"

"It's just a little secret I have. Well then, hop in. Its going to be a long ride."

Behind him I see the woman. Now I could get a good look at her. She looks slightly like me, with chocolate skin and black hair, but her eyes are gold and she has an eyepatch on her right eye. She smiles at me and gestures for me to go in. "Can I bring River?" I ask. 

"Ummm... Sure!" the woman says. "Just make sure he behaves. Oh, you should probably get some clothes and toiletries too."

I run inside and pack a bunch of jeans and shorts and sweaters in a suitcase. Mom told me earlier there's a kind of shirt we should wear, so I don't pack shirts. And, of course, my ukulele. I run back towards the door, River at my heels and grab a butterknife. 

Outside the door, I look back at my house, and I hesitate for a bit. After a while, I get in the limo along with River, the woman going in after me. Mr. Brunner is at the wheel and starts driving. After a few moments of silence, the girl speaks up.

"Hello. My name is Arya, and I will be your tour guide for Camp Half-Blood. You're Carson, right?"

I nod. "Why do you have a butterknife?", Arya asks.

"Just in case", I answer.

"In case what?", she asks again. I don't answer. "Alright then."

"Carson," Mr. Brunner interrupts, looking back at me from the front seat. "Do you remember the gods I taught you about in class?"

"Yes, what about them?" I answer.

"Have you ever thought that they might be real?" he replied.

I think about that for a bit. For all my life, I have only believed in science. I am an atheist. I have met other people who do believe in a religion, but all I did was listen and respect their belief but not believe it myself. 

"No, not really." I say. 

"What if I told you that they are real?" Arya says.

"How do you know that?"

"Because one of them is you're mother or father."

I look at her blankly, not sure if I heard her correctly.

"I don't think that I heard you right."

"No, you did." She responds.  

Suddenly, the limo screeches to a halt.

"We're here!" Exclaims Mr. Brunner.

We all step out of the limo.

"Well, come on then Carson. Follow me to your new home!", Arya says cheerfully. I look at her confused.

"Wait, I'm not going home?" I ask. "I thought this was just summer camp!"

"Well, it depends who your godly parent is. I told you, the Greek gods are real and they have kids. And we at Camp Half-Blood have reasons to believe you are one of them.", she says matter of factly.

"Yeah but-"

"Have you been kicked out of many schools?"

"..Yes"

"Do you have ADHD or dyslexia?"

"I don't have dyslexia but-"

"Have things happened that you can't explain?"

I fall silent, thinking. There was that time a candle set on fire just by looking at it.

"Yes", I answer. Arya looks smug.

"Classic symptoms of demigodishness."

"Demi-what?"

She looks at me as if it's obvious. "You're a demigod Carson. That's why you're adopted." River sits down next to me and Arya looks at him.

"And also why you have a baby hellhound as a pet."

I look at River. "River? One of those giant demon dogs? No way, not possible."

"That's why I said baby hellhound. When he's older he'll be ginormous, just you wait."

"Okayyyy then."

I look at River. He doesn't look like a bloodthirsty monster.

Mr. Brunner clears his throat. "If you are done filling him in, Arya, may we please go into camp?"