The Third Camp

Chapter thirty three: Neptuna

I just want to say, whoever that guy was at lunch he was an idiot. My cabin told me the whole story once I got back from the clinic. I still had to be careful when I lay down, because of my ribs. They're still severely bruised. When they were finally done explaining I asked,

"Wait, so what did the praetor mean by saying, 'I hope your cabin mates will help you get there safely'?"

"Oh yeah, whenever someone challenges the praetor the camp messes with them right before the big battle, but don't worry, we'll get great seats." Doleo explained with a sort of grin on her face that I had only seen on children of Hermes.

"I kind of feel bad for that poor Zeus kid." A girl sighed.

"Why? He's an idiot." Doleo laughed.

"This isn't going to be like the other times, they aren't going to be playful kicks, everyone really likes this praetor."

"You've only been around for two praetorships."

"I know but they've both been great."

"Who was the last praetor?" I questioned.

"Samuel, but it's still a sensitive topic."

"I still think Carrie killed him." Liza growled from her bed.

"You know what? You can shut up." Doleo snarled.

"You're lucky Natalie isn't here right now." Another girl growled at Liza.

"And why is that?" Liza eyed her.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" The girl climbed down from her bunk.

"Why?" I asked.

"He saved her life. Not just once." Doleo murmured under her breath.

"There were only witnesses for the second one, it was during the titan war. Then the third time, during the war against Gaea." The girl nodded.

"Then the fourth time, when—" Another girl added.

"Guys it's time!" Doleo announced.

We all were ready. Everyone jumped to their feet if they weren't already standing.

We lined up on the path, almost as if waiting for a parade. The other cabins came and lined up just like us. The only cabin that didn't come was the boy's cabin, the one that had challenged the praetor.

"Do you think he chickened out?" I heard someone whisper.

"Definitely." Someone else laughed.

Carrie came striding out of the praetor cabin and through the crowd. It seemed the whole camp held it's breath. A few moments later the boy that challenged him came out of his cabin and tried to walk down the path but was tripped before he could even make it two feet.

Luckily right before kids started wailing on him, his cabin mates grabbed him by the arms and went as fast as possible down the path without dragging him along.

By the time he got to the field where the praetor was standing, a bow already on his shoulder, the poor kid had bruises all over his arms. I felt bad for him. And somehow, I thought I recognized him. Those blue eyes... I know them. The white-blonde hair... I recognized it. But how? And why?

"Hey, the Zeus kid's kinda cute..." Someone behind me whispered.

"Well Carrie's cuter." Another girl behind me muttered.

"Guess what?" I hissed, spinning around. "Shut up. I'm trying to watch. This could end badly. Some one could get severely hurt."

"Obviously, that's the point." One of them laughed.