The Real World || Percy Jackson Olympians Fanfiction (2)

Chapter 4

"Campers, here stands Libellus Hope, daughter of Zeus!" Chiron announced after breakfast.

There were multiple gasps at each table, and several heads turned in my direction. Everyone was staring at me, the people sitting to my sides backed further away from me, no one was making any sound. I couldn't take the pressure! Before anyone could stop me, I was up and running towards the forest.

I ran and ran and ran until I could no longer breathe. My mind quickly praised itself for remembering to pick up my sword before leaving the cabin this morning. At least if a monster attacked me, I would have some protection. My eyes scanned my surroundings, taking in the huge shelf of rock directly in front of me. I guess I had reached the borders of camp.

Frustration ran through my bones, fuelling my churning stomach. All of a sudden, that churning turned into a pull, urging me to slam my fist into the solid rock. The impact should have broken my hand, or at least hurt; but I didn't feel a thing. The moment my skin made contact with the stone, an electrical charge encased my body, causing my hair stand up straight and my fingers to tingle. The charge flowed out of my hand and into the rock, causing something tremendous to happen.

At that moment, there was a rumbling sound (rather like the sound of the maze doors opening for the day) as the shelf of rock parted, leaving a gap big enough for two people to fit through at once. It was a perfect hideout. A strange buzzing sound was coming from inside, so, of course, I followed it.

The rock door sealed again as I stepped inside, but I wasn't left in the dark as there were multiple torches lining the walls. I was standing in a large chamber, and there was stuff everywhere. It reminded me of a mix between a mechanic's workshop and a war room, as it was full of maps, books, banners, flags, worktables, tools, machines, gadgets and crates. There were also some living supplies such as blankets, clothes, a bathroom complete with running water and a small kitchen.

It was soon after I had entered this place that I found the source of the strange noise I had heard. At one of the tables, using one of the machines, was Leo Valdez.

I crossed my arms and cleared my throat, trying to alert him to my presence without causing him to jump and injure himself. He didn't hear me, so I decided it was best to stand and wait until he had finished with his tool. He was wearing a full face mask and was holding a blowtorch to a piece of metal. I wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish, but it looked complicated, several other metal contraptions lay on the bench in front of him. After about ten minutes, he put down the torch.

"Shouldn't you be wearing gloves for that?"

The result of my sudden appearance was humorous. Leo jumped a few feet into the air, dropping the torch in the act. Whilst he was levitating, his foot caught on something, causing him to trip over and land flat on his face.

"Holy Hephaestus!" He exclaimed.

"Not quite," I replied, walking over to help him up. "So what is this place?"

"This beautiful creation is bunker 9, my own personal workroom... Well, kinda."

I walked over to one of the tables covered in books and scrolls, picking one up at random and started to study it. That is, I would have if I could understand the language it was written in.

"It's lonely here," I observed thoughtfully.

Leo pulled up a chair, sitting on it backwards with his arms resting on the back. "One of the main reasons I like it."

We stayed silent for a few minutes, each of us understanding the importance of a place to yourself. Suddenly I didn't feel so happy to be intruding here. I nodded once at the alienated boy before heading to leave.

"You don't have to leave you know, I'd like to here how you got in and why you ran away..."

My body froze in the doorway, not sure where to go. I bobbed on the heels of my feet awkwardly whilst saying "sure."

Leo revealed a cosy sofa that was hidden under a pile of dusty boxes. We both took a seat, crossing our legs on the red cushions so we could face each other. I held out a hand, figuring this was as good a way to tell him as any.

"Hi, I'm Libellus Hope, daughter of Zeus. Nice to meet you."

He looked at me doubtfully before taking my hand in his. "I'm Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, nice to meet you too." We dropped hands. "Zeus, huh?"

"Yup, people seem to think it's a big deal."

Leo raised his eyes to the sky uneasily, as if he expected my father to come and blast the roof off of this place. However, everything stayed whole and we continued our discussion.

"That why you ran away?" I nodded. "Understandable. You don't look like the type of girl that likes attention."

"Really?" I asked with only a hint of sarcasm.

"It's not a bad thing, and it's probably not that noticeable. I'm just good at spotting one of my own, like I suppose you guessed the same about me too? That I'm an outsider, a lone wolf?" I nodded.

Leo sighed and leaned his side against the back of the sofa. "You know, you don't talk much."

"And you talk a lot, for someone like lonley Leo," I commented, which caused the boy to chuckle.

"Then you must be... Luculent Libellus."

"I don't even know what that means!" I giggled.

"That's the point!" Leo exclaimed smugly. "One day you'll come across the meaning of the word and that will be the day you will finally see how intelligent I am!"

"Keep dreaming."

"I will, don't worry," he joked.

Just then, a whirring sound came out of a clock that was nailed to the wall above the doorway. It was in the shape of a a shield with a hammer and an Axe crossing through it. The symbol of Hephaestus that I had seen on his cabin earlier.

"Oh my gods is that the time? We've been here for hours! Come on, it's time for dinner, and you still need to move into your new cabin."

I let out a groan and followed Leo to the door, allowing him to hold it open for me like a gentleman.

"Thanks, lonely boy."

We raced back to camp, passing other late campers on their way to eat. Most avoided my eyes, but a few gave me some skeptical glances. I ignored them, and instead concentrated on the ground that I was running over. Maybe that was why I ran into a rock hard object.

My head was ringing from the impact, and I ended up dragging down the person I had run into in my attempt to not fall. Their heavy body landed on top of mine with a thud, and I found myself staring into the black eyes of Nico di Angelo.