The New Demigods

Chapter 4: The Sponsors

When my consciousness returned I was hesitant to open my eyes. I was getting tired of waking up in foreign places full of pain and confusion. I opened my eyes briefly to a blinding white light and quickly shut them again. I felt my fingers tighten around what felt like a collection of tree roots. I realized that I was sitting up and didn't feel any pain at all; in fact, I felt normal. I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the brightness. I was in fact sitting up in a large chair made of what looked like weaved together branches that seemed still alive. I ran my fingers over the arms of the chair and admired its craftsmanship. Then I noticed my hands and my confusion returned. I examined my palms and made my hands into fists, something seemed off. I was in total control of my hands and I felt sensations from my fingertips, but they didn't look right.

I was alerted by a retching sound to my left and looked over to witness a teenage boy with dark hair and tan skin unleash a red liquid over the marble floor. He sat back up in his coal-black chair and fixed his dark eyes on me. "What?" He asked harshly.

"Is that... blood?" I asked. His pupils dilated and he looked at the liquid on the floor, then looked back at me disappointed.

"No." He responded, turning his head away from me. Before I could read more into what had just happened, another retching sound came from across the room followed by a scream. As I looked over in the direction of the sound, I noticed the room was full of a variety of chairs like the one I was sitting in with a teenager in each of them. Their chairs were the same size and style as mine, but they were all customized in a different way and made a circle around the room.

The second boy to throw up began to moan in pain, with his curly brown hair covering most of his face. His chair looked like mine but the material looked more like vines and even had grapes hanging from it. The scream had come from the girl to his left who had lifted her knees to her chest and covered her eyes in disgust. "Ew, ew, ew! That's so gross!" She shrieked. The dark-haired boy to my left laughed to himself. The curly-haired boy began to moan louder and looked like he was going to add to the mess he had made on the floor. A boy from the left side of the room got up from his golden chair, that radiated with a warm glow. Despite his dark complexion, the boy seemed pale and looked as if he hadn't eaten in days. He had no hair on his head, including a lack of eyebrows. He resembled a withered old man, aside from the youth in his eyes. He began to rub the back of the curly-haired boy and whispered comforting words into his ear. I looked around the room at everyone as they watched the interaction. There were 16 teenagers, counting myself, in the room.

Large stone doors across the room, that I hadn't noticed before, suddenly opened and two people walked into the room. Both of the women wore white togas, gladiator sandals and what looked like crowns made of plants. They walked confidently and in unison to the centre of the room. They stood back to back to one another with their heads held high. The older of the two looked as if she was in her late twenties or early thirties and had light brown hair. She faced the left side of the room, while her counterpart faced the right. I was glad neither of them were facing me, since they seemed intimidating. The second woman had curly red hair and very pale skin that was covered in freckles. She physically looked younger than her companion and I guessed she was in her early twenties.

"That will be enough, Andrew." Spoke the older woman, in a familiar voice. The sickly looking boy stopped comforting the curly-haired boy and looked up with a puzzled look on his face. "Please return to your seat." Andrew hesitated for a moment, then walked back to his golden chair and had a seat.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" Said the second lady and I instantly recognized her voice, it was Acacia. My jaw fell open in disbelief; I thought our encounter had been some sort of dream. In fact, this whole experience felt like some sort of weird dream. "I know you all must be very confused, but I promise you will be getting some answers shortly." Acacia continued, with a smile.