Welcome to the Land of No Sleep

Welcome to the Land of No Sleep Ch. 01 (A Shared Dream)

Chapter 1 (A Shared Dream):

If there was one thing that was certain, it was that Camp Half-Blood was never boring. There was always something going on; whether that was the Hermes kids pranking the Aphrodite kids by replacing their facial creams with sunscreen, the Apollo kids singing in the daylight, the Demeter kids wandering through the fields, or the Ares kids murdering each other in the amphitheater, you could never say that Camp was dull. One particular day was no different: that morning, demi-gods all ran around as normal, but it was as if everyone was going through the day in a sort of daze. It happened so quickly and suddenly that if someone else was asked they'd have brushed it off as some sort of hallucination or daydream. Campers fell to the ground, passing out.

"No, you can't do this! I helped you. Against all odds, against orders, I helped you!" A raven-haired man stood in a hole under shining metal bars, his green eyes looking up at someone: the campers above him watching the scene. The male looked exhausted and ready to pass out, like he was fighting off his slumber. "You'll regret this." He said with a yawn.

The campers awoke moments later, brushing off the odd 'dream' and slowly started getting back to their daily lives. Most ignored the event, even forgetting it, until a few hours later when a certain red-headed girl came walking out of the Big House. It was rare to see her mingling with campers besides the Seven, which meant that something was happening, and that it was important.

***

Killian had just gotten up, his head a little woozy. He pushed a hand into his black hair. 'Another prank,' he guessed, although he felt like he was forgetting something, and it was nagging at the back of his head, just out of his reach. Instead of trying to recall whatever it was, he set his mind to continuing his day. On Thursdays, during this time, he usually practiced his alchemy and restocked his supply of potions. Killian brushed the dirt off his pants, finished his trek towards the arts and crafts building, said hi to a couple of Hephaestus campers he was on familiar terms with, and sat down at his own workbench. He pulled some flasks and bottles out of the bag he had brought with him, careful not to break them, and thankful the bag was padded, so that whenever he had fallen earlier, they hadn't shattered. These particular bottles were filled with hydra venom, known for its corrosiveness. Currently, he was trying to develop a way to coat weapons with them to use as a poison, but whenever he would apply the venom, the weapons would melt. He didn't dare risk it on his own Stygian iron sword, but he wondered if the poison would destroy a magical item. Maybe he'd get one of the Hephaestus campers to loan him one.

***

Charlie woke up from his sleep feeling quite ill. He thought that one of his cabin mates might have snuck some medicinal alcohol into the cabin and spilled it. 'It's happened before,' he thought, shaking his head, and rubbing his bright green eyes. The fumes from that stuff can knock anybody out. His nauseated head mixed with the absurd dream he remembered having was really killing his vibe. He got a drink of water to help clear his mind and then went to the infirmary to see how things were. As he headed there, the ground lightly shook. This was nothing out of the ordinary at Camp Half-Blood. 'Probably just Cabin 9 blowing itself up again,' he thought and laughed to himself. He got to the infirmary just as Jamie, one of his brothers, was leaving.

"Hey, man!" Jamie said as Charlie walked in.

"Hey! How was the graveyard shift?" Charlie inquired, never one to enjoy staying up all night.

"Eh, not awful. Bed three has a dislocated mandible and bed five has a broken ankle. And..." Jamie looked down at the clipboard he was holding. "Bed nine has had a... mishap... with the Hecate cabin."