Celestial - a Percy Jackson fanfic [BOOK ONE]

Chapter five

It was so interesting how all of the kids in cabin eleven - at least the ones that were confirmed of Hermes children - had similar facial features. They all had that sharp Grecian nose, upturned eyebrows, and mischievous bright smiles. Percy and I were on separate sides of the room in our designated spots.

I fiddled with my sleeping bag. It was good material, but nothing like my nice warm bed at home. I wondered to myself, if I just hadn't listened to Grover, hadn't helped him get to Percy, would I have even noticed any change in my life? Would there be any monsters trying to track me down and kill me? I hadn't had any noticeable powers like Percy. I mean, what if there was some sort of mistake? Was I even meant to be at camp half-blood?

"No!" A camper in the bed next to me yelled out, giddily laughing as he dodged a pillow thrown at him from another camper.

I looked back down at my hands. Empty. I didn't have a single belonging that I brought.

"Hey, Cleo," Luke crouched down in front of me again. "I brought you some things you might need."

In his hands was a plastic bag filled with toiletries. I could see a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some other useful things. I realized that I had just been staring at the bag, not responding. He grabbed my hand and turned it palm up, placing the bag safely in my possession.

"Are you doing okay?" He asked, and I glanced up at him.

He had to be at least fifteen, only a few years older than me, but his eyes... they looked like they had seen a lifetime already. The scar that decorated his face, I wondered how it had got there, what this boy has gone through.

"Do you want to be alone, or could you use a friend right now?" He said, and I realized that his hand still rested underneath mine, his thumb moving up and down on my skin soothingly.

I looked back up at him. "I... I'm just overwhelmed, I think. There's a lot of stuff going through my head."

One side of Luke's lips pulled up into a smile. "We've all been there. You'll grow to like it here, I promise."

I tried to smile back at him, but I'm sure he could tell that it was forced. My mind was racing of the events that had already happened today, when a thought struck my mind.

"Luke?" I asked. "Can you tell me about the Oracle?"

Luke's small smile faded and he blew out a sigh. "What would you like to know?"

"I don't know, like who is she?" I sat back against the wall behind me, giving Luke space if he wanted to sit down next to me.

He did, sitting down on the other side of my sleeping bag and making sure to keep his work shoes off of it. He scooted closer. "The Oracle isn't a who. It's a what. It tells us prophecies, gives us quests," he sighed. "I hate prophecies."

"When you say quests, you mean like..."

"Like an adventure or journey to complete something, usually for the Gods," he explained. "Our last question was two years ago. I was sent on a trip to the Garden of Hesperides."

"Did something bad happen?" I asked, and I could tell I struck a chord. His lips tightened and his eyes stared down into his lap. "Oh, I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

He looked back up at me. "It's okay. Yes, it went very badly. We haven't gone on a quest since; Chiron won't allow it."

The moment he finished saying it, a horn blew in the distance. Luke rose to his feet, yelling, "Eleven, fall in!"

Everyone else began for the door, while Luke held out a hand for me to take. I took it, and I felt the callouses on his finger pads as he gripped my hand firmly and helped me up.