The Hunters of Artemis

Chapter 22: Camp Half-Blood

"We go and consult Chiron."

Apollo followed us into the Big House, where we settled on the couches to wait for Chiron. The Hunters sat on two of the couches while the Campers sat on one of the others. I sat with Rhea and Robyn. Hannah and Atlanta sat on the other. The campers split up: Emma and Olivia, Liam and Noah. 

Apollo sat on one of the single person chairs. He grinned at us while we waited. "Why don't we sing a little song while we wait?" he asked happily. 

I shook my head vigourously. "Yeah, no."

"Aw, come on! Don't you remember your fifth grade talent show? You were great!" I blushed. 

"You saw that?" I asked. 

He shook his head. "No. Your mother sent me the video." I blushed again. I looked over and saw Atlanta smirking at me. 

A clip clopping sound penetrated the awkwardness, which I was thankful for. 

"Hello, Hunters. Campers. Have you completed your quest?" Chiron said, coming out of a hallway. 

I stood up. "No. We didn't find what we were looking for in Jersey, so we came back here to find transportation to Ethiopia."

Chiron nodded and turned to Apollo. "My Lord Apollo. Is there a reason for your sudden appearance?"

Apollo smiled. "Yeah. These kids needed help, so I came to help them."

"But direct interference with your children's quests is forbidden," Chiron pointed out. His back half (his horse half) shrank down into the wheelchair he used when he was pretending to be human. Why he did it at camp, I have no idea.

Apollo waved his hand nonchalantly. "It's technically Lyra's quest, so... yeah."

"You have found a loop hole, have you?" asked Chiron accusingly. "Not to be rude, but..."

Dad laughed. "Oh, I don't take any offense. But yes, I found a loop hole. I will help out my daughters with their quest."

Chiron leaned forward. "And how will you do that, exactly?"

Apollo shrugged. "I'll figure something out. Besides, it's too late for us to leave today." He turned to us. "We will leave tomorrow." And with that, he turned into smoke and disappeared. 

Chiron stood back up. "Well then. It appears you will be staying the night. Hunters, you know the drill. Capture the Flag after dinner. Dinner will be in two hours. You may go back to the cabins, or you may do whatever activities are available."

"Um. That's all the campers against five Hunters. That's not very fair..." commented Liam.

I nodded. "Usually we have all of the Hunters. Can we like, have Camp Half-Blood donate a few girls to our side? Just for this game?"

Chiron stroked his chin. "I suppose we could do that this time. Alright. After dinner, you will choose the girls that will play for the Hunters' side." He concluded the conversation and left. 

I stood up and said, "Alright. The Hunters and I will go get settled in Cabin 8. See you guys at dinner," I said to the Campers before leaving. The other Hunters followed.

We left the Big House, Rhea and Robyn in front, me in back. When we arrived at our cabin, Cabin 8, we dumped our backpacks onto some beds and went to the archery range. It was free, so we took out our bows and arrows and started shooting. Each arrow found it's mark. Soon, it got later, and everyone else, (the Hunters, that is), went to go to the beach, arts and crafts, or sword fighting. I was alone, but I kept going. Archery was like a stress reliever. Back when I first joined the Hunters, I used to imagine that each of the targets was... his... face. It was great. Soon, my anger made me to be one of the best archers in the Hunters.