The Journey to Camp Half-Blood

15: Luke

So now I go on this stupid quest. At least I get to get out of this place, but this quest does no good for anything, so it's just stupid.

Anyways, I hailed a cab to take me to the airport. Once I got there, I bought a ticket for the next plane to San Francisco. I sat down next to the window at the back of the plane and settled in for the six and a half hour flight. The plane was just about to take off when a kid with a ripped jean jacket and really dirty tangled brown hair. He had a bronze sword on his belt. I almost gasped out loud. He must be a demigod! Only demigods have access to Celestial bronze.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked him.

"Dakota. How about you?" He said, his fingers on his sword.

"I'm Luke." I said, then lowered my voice and whispered, "are you a demigod?"

"How did you know?" He asked, looking scared.

"Because I'm one too. Son of Hermes. I'm on a quest to get one of the Hesperides golden apples." I said. "Where are you going?"

"I dunno. I just escaped a hellhound, I'm gonna try to get to my moms house in Texas. My dad's actually Hermes too, were half brothers!" He said.

"You should get to camp half blood. It's a training camp for demigods, theres a ton there. I can give you directions, if you want." I offered.

"That would be awesome!" He said. I took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down the road it's on and how to know where do start climbing the hill.

~~

Six hours later, I landed in San Fran and hailed another cab to take me up Mount Tam. I got out of the cab at as high as cars could go, paid and started to climb to the peak, where I could see the winds swirling from where Atlas was holding the sky up. I shuddered to think about him.

I got to almost the peak right as night was falling. I decided to camp out in the forest until I had a plan. I saw the dragon curled up around the tree with the golden apples, snoring smoke. The Hesperides were nowhere in sight.

I took my sleeping bag out of my backpack and curled up under a willow tree.

~~

The next morning, I crept out of the forest with my sword and snuck around the back of the dragon. I knew I had to fight him eventually, though, because the prophecy said I was destined to.

I guess the prophecy was right, because the second I got within ten feet of the tree, he spun around and sprung right at me.

I sliced and rolled, but I got nowhere. This dragon was protective. I got caught off guard for a second, and he raked over my face with his claws.

I yelled and dove behind a stack of rocks. Breathing heavily, I turned to the side to see a girl with long black hair in a braid and a white dress on. She was clutching a silver hair clip.

"Um, hello?" I asked, coming over to her. "Who are you?"

"I am Zoë, the third of the Hesperides. You will never beat the dragon with your sword alone. You need this." She handed me the hair clip.

"Um, okayyy, what do I do with a hair clip?" I asked.

She sighed then tapped the hair clip. Suddenly, I was holding a long, shimmery bronze sword. On the side, it said Anaklusmos. Okay, this was a magic sword. It had to be. "After you return from your quest, you must give this sword to Chiron, and he must give it to the child of the sea." She said, then drifted away, looking nervous. "When my sisters and father find out I gave this to you, they will be furious and disown me." She drifted into the rocks. (A/N I know she gave the sword to Hercules, not Luke, but I'm putting my twist on the story)

I took a deep breath, and dove back at the dragon. Zoë was right. I definetly couldn't have won without it. After about ten minutes of fighting, I sliced the dragons leg with the magic sword, and he tumbled down the hill. I knew he would get back up here soon, so I quickly picked one golden apple from the tree, then ran back into the forest before the big red dragon saw me.

~~

"Congratulations, Luke Castellan, for completing a quest and retrieving a golden apple of the Hesperides." Chiron said, back at camp around the campfire, and placed a laurel wreath on my head.

After the campfire ceremony, I went into the big house. "Luke! What are you doing here?" Chiron asked, coming around the corner in wheelchair form.

"Well, when I was there, one of the Hesperides gave me this." I said, pulling the hair clip out of my pocket. Only it wasn't a hair clip. It was a pen. "What... It was a hair clip before..." I said.

Chiron gasped. "This is Anaklusmos! Riptide! I have seen a prophecy about this!" He said. Then he uncapped the pen, and it became a sword again.

"Yeah, Zoë said that I should give it to you, and you should give it to the child of the sea." I said.

"But- there is no hold of Poseidon! Well, maybe one will come along. I will keep this, until we find one. Thank you, Luke." He said.

I went back to my cabin, and went straight to sleep, despite all of the whispers of my many cabin members.

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I know! I haven't updated this one in soooooooooooo long!! Dakota was a character made up by @Blaze_Wolf25. Anyways, there is only two more chapters left! There will be an Annabeth chapter next, and then a Five Years Later chapter, and that's it! Hope you enjoy.

~Megan<3