Percy Jackson: CHB Again?

Chapter 15: Not Here Dammit

Narwhale Dengol's POV

Alright, I'm going to start my story off by telling you that that is not my name. Really, who would call their child 'Narwhale', anyway? What kind of parent does that? But come on, you guys are smarted than that - I hope.

Forget all that. You'll find out my name soon enough.

I'd been preparing for this jump for a while now. San Francisco to New York. In case you don't have a map handy, that's 43 hours, by car. Just under 3,000 miles! They were on opposite coasts! No, I wasn't going to be stupid and drive the whole way there. I definitely wasn't going to get on a plan, Zeus would knock me out of the sky faster than I could shout my father's name.

I was going to shadow travel.

Yeah, it was risky, but I'd done it often enough now that I felt confident with a jump this big. I'd probably be majorly power drained when I arrived back at camp. As long as nobody found me...

Look, a few years back I'd disappeared from camp. Since then, I'd learned more about mythology. I'd trained harder and taught myself new tricks and powers. I'd saved someone close to me. I found another haven for demigods. That was where I was now, the other camp. Since I'd been gone, I was worried that when I popped back into Greek Camp they'd make a big fuss over it. I'd have to answer so many questions, and Chiron would be as angry as Zeus when someone touches his lighting.

If I did it all right, I could pop up near the docks but somewhere nobody would look; then pass out and sleep peacefully there for a while. I'd wake up, and meet her.

Yeah, that sounds quite stalker-esque, doesn't it. No, I wasn't talking about some girl I'd met online. That would be stupid because I couldn't even go online - too many monsters. I was talking about the girl who'd been in my dreams...

You know, that doesn't sound any better. Forget it, you'll figure it out soon enough. Back to the story.

I'd just finished a happy meal to give myself that extra boost of energy. Now at the back of the McDonalds, I stuffed the toy into my pocket and closed my eyes.

Shadow traveling was terrifying the first time. Since then, I'd grown the nerve to do it without wincing. But the voices...the things you heard...the souls pleading...it still sent a shiver up my spine. Shadow travel was on a different time stamp than Earth, so I didn't know how long I'd been in the shadows. But when I emerged, I only saw the light of camp for a second before passing out.

~

You can imagine how pissed I was to find that I'd been found, picked up, and placed on a medical bed in the Apollo kid tent. I must've fallen closer to the cabins than I'd wanted, which really sucked.

When an Apollo girl saw my eyes opened, she smiled.

"Nico. Chiron wants to see you. By the way, hi." It was Lydia. I groaned. Before I left Camp, Lydia used to follow me around, making sure I 'didn't get hurt' or she was just 'checking up on my most recent injuries'.

I ignored her greeting, it was bad enough I'd been spotted. I didn't want to talk to her now, too.

I pushed myself off the cot. Sure, I was still a bit weak, and I felt it with every movement. But I wasn't going to stay here. Here...dammit. How long had I been here?

As if reading my mind, Lydia said, "It's been two days since you got to camp. You've had a nice rest."

Oh, great! Even better! I'd missed the meeting with Otrera. I groaned again. I'd just have to find her. But first, I internally groaned, I must go meet up with horse-dude.