The Daughter of Apollo.

Chapter 10 - Let's go.

Chapter 10 – Let's go.

I don't remember falling asleep in the taxi on the way to Camp or why I was so tired, but I remember waking up. I also remember why I woke up. I had forgotten about my dreams. But, I was certainly reminded of them when I woke up crying and sweating in the front seat of the taxi.

Because of the dangers of a large group of demigods travelling together, the group had to split up. Bradley and Aria took the first taxi we came across, about five minutes before Yasmine, Ryland and I waved down ours. Luckily, I had 'called shotgun', as the Americans like to say, and the others could not witness the silent tears streaming down my face. Noticing the weird looks the mortal driver was giving me, I quickly wiped away my tears and put on a bright smile. Hopefully, my eyes weren't red or puffy. The driver gave a hesitant shrug and tucked his earphones back into his ears.

"So, I don't get it. How exactly are you half-goat?" I heard Yasmine exclaim in the backseat. 'half-goat'? I waited for her to continue. "Is your dad, like, a goat and your mum a human? Or is it the other way around?"

"U-uh, it's nothing like that!" Ryland responded in a defensive voice. "We're a species, not some rare marvel!" What the heck are they talking about? I was quite confused, to say the least. Honestly, I was getting very tired of not knowing what was going on. Great, I rolled my eyes as I thought, I'm getting frustrated and tired not even a minute after waking up.

"Well, if you're a species, you must have evolved from something. Like how humans evolved from monkeys." Yasmine countered. Even though she had followed the Muslim religion, Yasmine liked to constantly reference science. I cleared my throat, ready to speak.

"Apes," I corrected her in a somewhat bored tone. I glanced behind me to see their confused and surprised expressions. "We evolved from apes."

"Well, same difference." Yasmine grinned, she must've been happy I was awake. I gave her an apprehensive look over my shoulder, silently telling her to explain what was going on. Much to my relief, she understood my gesture and saved me the trouble of asking verbally, "Ryland here is a 'satyr', or whatever. Satyrs are basically half-goat, half-human creatures from Greek mythology. Apparently, they help around Camp."

I nodded slowly. After being told everything I was told yesterday, smaller things like this were easy to digest. I was still sceptical though, as anyone would be. I had been seeing Ryland around school for a month or so now, so if he was really a satyr, wouldn't I have noticed something? I narrowed my eyes at him and was quite surprised when he seemed to get the message.

"You wouldn't have seen it before because of the mist, it provides mortals with an illusion that keeps them away from our world. Demigods can be affected by it as well, if they're not concentrating." To prove his point, Ryland reached down and pulled up one of the legs of his jeans. At first, all I saw was a normal leg. When I looked closer, however, my vision seemed to clear and I saw a goat leg – reddish fur, and everything.

"Oh." I stated, far beyond surprise at this point, "Okay."

"Sophie!" Yasmine exclaimed indignantly, "How could you be so calm about this? He's been a satyr behind our backs this whole time! Aren't at least a little bit shocked?" Her questioning look was almost frantic, her mouth hanging open.

I grinned, covering my mouth a bit in an attempt to hide my amusement. The taxi suddenly went over a bump, causing us all to jump in our seatbelts. Ryland let out a very strange noise, one in which could only be described as a bleat of surprise. Yasmine, already trying to wrap her head around the fact that he wasn't exactly human, gasped at the noise. She blushed, embarrassed.

Yasmine's now reddened cheeks, her wide mouth and eyes pushed me over the edge and I let out the laughter I had been desperately holding in.

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"That'll be ten bucks." The taxi driver demands as the car comes to a halt. I wasn't sure on how much ten dollars really was in comparison to Australian dollars, but I didn't complain when Ryland handed him the money. My mind was focused on the camp. While I was extremely excited to see my new home, something didn't feel right. I had a weird feeling about this place. Or rather, a weird feeling about me in this place. I just couldn't seem to shake the feeling that, no matter how many times Ryland insisted I would, I wouldn't fit in.

Snap out of it, Sophie, I scolded myself, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking my head. You're just used to being different at school, but this place is special. Everyone here is different, so you'll be fine! I tried hard to convince myself of this, ignoring the weird feeling and putting on a confident smile with one last shake of my head. It's funny, really. How I thought that shaking my head could injure my thoughts.

Yasmine was buzzing with excitement, her ADHD hyperactive as she jumped from one foot to the other in an almost feverish manner. We started the trek to Camp Half-Blood, our new home. Ryland explained that being near the barrier would cause the taxi driver major confusion, so we had to walk the rest of the way. Neither me nor Yasmine had a problem with this, our eagerness to get to camp propelling us forward.

Ryland told us stories of great heroes and adventures as we walked steadily up the hill, Yasmine 'oh'-ing and 'ah'-ing where necessary. The name 'Percy Jackson' came up a lot. I wonder if we'll meet him, I wondered distractedly. Yasmine and Ryland were walking maybe ten metres to my left and since I was walking slightly faster than them, I could only just see them out of the corner of my eye. I wasn't paying attention to the conversation. I just couldn't. With every step I took, dread gripped my stomach tighter. My fingers were anxiously tangling with and pulling each other behind my back. Something was wrong. I shouldn't be here, I gulped. I really shouldn't be here.

I whipped around to tell the others that something was bugging me, only to realise that their chattering had stopped. Instead, they stood silently at the top of this hill. Yasmine looked down at a view I could not yet see with a look of pure wonder and excitement. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were alight and sparkling. Ryland looked at her smugly, before beckoning for me to come over and look myself. I slowly approached my friends and peeked down at whatever had Yasmine so wonderous.

At first, I saw just an ordinary strawberry field, but I remembered what Ryland said earlier about the mist. I squinted, trying hard to see beneath the disguise. And I saw a field. A regular, strawberry-covered field. I shook my head and narrowed my eyes even more, concentrating as hard as I could. My head started to pound, but still, I persisted. Finally, slowly but surely, the field started to fade.

First, I saw a large, two-storied, wooden house with a grumpy looking man sitting on the porch. Then, a volleyball court, where some teens were playing and laughing. Then, a grand pavilion, with Greek columns and décor. Then, an arena, and an amphitheatre, and a lake, and a patch of strawberries. I gasped with amazement. The sight of Camp Half-Blood was beautiful, it was so big and so, so free. I instantly understood the appeal. With just one look of this place, the dread that I felt seemed only an afterthought.

Ryland had already trotted down the hill, leaving Yasmine and I to stare for a bit longer. After a minute, I turned to Yasmine with a grin

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's –" But suddenly, a thunderous roar sounded from behind us. The trees shook, and the ground rumbled as we slowly turned to face the most monstrous thing I had ever seen.

There before us, fuming and ready to attack, was what a giant lion. Except, it wasn't any normal lion, a goat's head and neck sprouted from its back, and instead of a tail, there was a snake. All six eyes of the beast were flaming red and full of rage. I trembled while I squeakily finished,

"-go..."