In the Beginning

Chapter Five

     I woke up screaming. I took several deep breaths in. Everyone in the cabin stared at me. I felt like I was going crazy. A girl with choppy brown hair and green eyes rushed over to me.

     "Are you alright?" She put the back of her hand against my forehead. "You will feverish. We should stop by the Big House and have one of the Apollo campers take a look at you." I stood up shakily. "I'm Piper by the way I lead the cabin." I nodded.

     "I'm Starr."

     "I know. I've heard a lot about you. Sounds like you've made quite the trip, hmm?" I shrugged and we started walking to the Big House, I'd already been there, in the clinic part of it, and I've only been here a few days. That was a bit concerning.

     "I guess. I'm not really sure. I don't remember much" We walked in silence the rest of the way to the Big House. It wasn't that far but an awkward silence could make time go much slower. When we reached the Big House, Piper led me to the "hospital" area. I was sat down by a guy who was about 16, a year older than I am. He checked my temperature and all that fun stuff and it was decided I needed to stay in the Big House. I signed. Oh great, another night in a room with no one in it. Piper and I walked back to the Aphrodite cabin, she told me about herself and the prophecy of the seven. It was all so bizarre, mystical monsters and the gods, it almost sounded like they were all just making it up. But I knew it was all true, I was accepting the fact that I wasn't...normal. And I didn't want to be, not in a world of such wonderful, crazy things, I wasn't missing out on that. Piper spoke, breaking my train of thought.

     "We should go get training, you'll need a weapon and such." Oh. I just nodded. Piper and I walked to the training arena and met up with a few other campers there. Brittney was there talking with Mavis and a girl with dark hair, her back was to me so I couldn't see her face. They looked like they were contemplating something serious. "Wait here." Piper saw the look on their faces and went to speak to the girls. I stood there not knowing what to do, watching campers train when I saw Annabeth. She was fighting some guy. He was tall and tan and definitely outweighed Annabeth in the physical scale but she was quick and fought excellently with just being armed with a dagger. I turned my attention back to the crowd that was expanding by the minute. I saw a few people casting sideways glances in my direction. Others just glared at me. The crowd broke up and the campers went their separate ways but no one stayed to train and no one looked in my direction. I decided I needed a weapon. I went into the weapons shed. There were various weapons lining the walls, it all looked so threatening. I saw a quiet bow in the back, it didn't draw attention to itself like most of the other weapons. It was probably my safest bet, it's not like I haven't used a bow and arrows before. I took it off its mount. I weighed it in my hands, it felt fine. I slung a worn out quiver over my shoulder and found the targets. I set the quiver down and pulled out an arrow. They were old and used but I didn't mind. I knocked my arrow and pulled back the string, it was heavier than I thought. After fumbling with the string for a moment, I pulled it back to my cheek and let go. Bullseye. That was weird, I wasn't even aiming. I looked around and the training arena was empty. That's when I realized that I wasn't in the training arena. I could feel my heart pounding, I looked back at the target. I pulled the arrow out, the arrowhead was covered in dark, thick blood. I screamed, dropping it. The temperature was dropping and the sun had disappeared. What was going on? I was starting to panic and that's when I heard it. The voice whispering in my head, like in my dream. I screamed trying to drown out the voice but it wouldn't work. The voice repeated the same line, it was different from my dream but just as terrifying, although I wasn't quite sure what it meant. Welcome to the end. I opened my eyes and stopped screaming. I was suddenly surrounded by people and they were all staring at me, horrified looks on their faces. It was like no one had left. Brittney, Mavis, Piper, and the dark-haired girl were still in their group, Annabeth still stood next to the guy she was training with earlier. Now everyone was staring at me. Everyone felt so...close. I needed space, I needed to breathe. I started to hyperventilate. Brittney came up to me and put an arm around my shoulder and led me away from the crowd.

     "What's going on?" She took me back to the cabin, the last place I wanted to be.

     "Nothing...I'm...I'm fine." Brittney rolled her eyes.

     "Yeah, right. Spill it. What's wrong?"

     "Brittney, I'm fine." Brittney frowned.

      "Just call me Britt, and I know you're lying." She crossed her arms.

     "Don't worry about it." I pushed past her and swung the door open, not bothering to close it. I walked briskly to the woods, looking for a place to clear my mind. I ended up by a stream, the water was clear, it looked pretty inviting. I was tempted to jump in but I decided against it. I was so confused. These dreams, these delusions didn't start until I came to this camp. The people here were strange and secretive, I didn't really want to be a part of it. I was sick and tired of having information withheld from me. I leaned over the stream and studied my reflection. I was taken aback by what I saw. Nothing horrible for once, but I looked different. My hair was longer, neater, and healthier. My monotone blue eyes were brighter. It was to weird to think about that now on top of all the rest so I ignored it. I was beginning to wonder what was really going on with this camp. Piper had told me about the prophecy of the seven, was this place more than a summer camp for demigods? There were so many secrets around here, you could feel them in the air. Or maybe that was just me, going insane. I sat cross-legged and traced my finger on the surface of the stream. I sighed and just as I was about to pull my hand away from the water, I was pulled in.