The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 8 - Alex - New York

"She's gonna be fine, she's waking up!" a voice came as I opened my eyes ever so slightly, expecting to find myself to be drowning. I held my breath tight, and tried to move my arms, except they felt, broken and- tied up.

Excited chattering and whispers sounded as I finally moved a bit and opened my eyes fully. Dodge was standing right beside me, his eyes closed off in a deep sleep. The sun shone brightly through the windows behind me, and I squinted to see at everyone else, still not used to the sudden light.

A blade, around three feet long was pressed to my neck in an instant. I frowned, my hand on my pendant, ready to take out the trident. My arms were still stiff, and I found it difficult to move.

"Who are you?" a voice boomed, and I looked at its owner at my side. It was a middle-aged man with thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, intense brown eyes, a scruffy beard and- the body of a horse. His upper torso wore a white formal shirt below his gray sweater and brown blazer. I looked at him with wide eyes, still taking in the sight of him. A large bow hung over his side and in his hand, he held an arrow.

"Who are you?" the man asked again.

"Alex," I said quietly, trying to move more freely. My arms were loosening up. "How long have I been here?"

"What is your full name?" another voice said, and this time it belonged to the guy pointing the long sword to my neck. His skin was tan, and he had a superbly tousled mop of jet-black hair, and sea green eyes. In in the midst of his jet-black hair was a gray streak of hair, as though he had colored it so.

"I asked first. How long have I been here?" I asked back, scowling.

"Around a month," the horse guy answered.

I cursed under my breath. "Oh no," I whispered. "They'll be here in no time."

"Who?" said the guy with jet black hair.

"I need to get out of here." I sat up so abruptly that everyone gasped loudly.

"Not until all questions are answered," black hair guy said, pressing his word against my neck harder. I could feel the cold metal on my neck. "What is your full name?"

"I don't have to answer you," I replied, getting up from the bed. "It's for your own good." Black hair head adjusted his sword to my neck once more. Feeling annoyed, I pulled my pendant, and out came a long trident, its golden body blazing in the sunlight. I pointed it at him, ready to strike. His eyes went wide.

"Now, now," said the horse man, "there's no need to fight." The guy with the sword put it down and glared daggers at me, and I stared back at him unblinkingly at him, and my eyes felt as though they were on fire.

"No satyr brought you here, child," said Mr. Horse, "and hence we are suspicious as to how you arrived at Camp Half-Blood."

"The Camp what?!" I asked, shocked.

"It's a camp for all those who are special," he looked pointedly at my trident, "like you."

"Oh yeah? I bet you know everything about me then," I said with an arched eyebrow.

"Not really, but enough to know that recently you have been on the run from many monsters, including the Minotaur," a girl with sparkling gray eyes and blonde hair said, holding up my souvenir. She also had a streak of gray hair, although it was slightly faded. "All of us here," she pointed to everyone in the room, "went through the same thing as you, with different monsters and different people to run from, except we had satyrs to help on the way."

I looked at her with narrow eyes, my shock masked. And then, I looked at the black hair guy, and he nodded at me. I sighed and put my trident down.

"Alright then," said Mr. Horse again, "what is your name, dear?"

"Alexandra Marine," I replied honestly. "I'm sixteen years old."

"And do you have any parent, Alexandra?" asked Mr. Horse. I shook my head.

"All I remember is my name and the lake where I almost drowned," I said. "I don't remember anything else about myself except my birthday and age."

Horse nodded. He stretched out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Chiron, the Activities Director of Camp Half Blood. Welcome." He smiled warmly as I shook his hand. "This-" he pointed to the girl with blonde hair, "is Annabeth and she'll be helping you understand everything you need to know about the Camp and yourself."

Annabeth smiled and pulled me by the wrist outside, away from the crowd. "How'd you find me?" I asked her.

"Percy found you by the shore at three in the morning a month ago, with a starfish covering you face," Annabeth explained. "The kid with the jet-black hair?"

"He did?" I asked. "He doesn't seem like he likes very much."

Annabeth shrugged. "That's the first time I've ever seen him so defensive too. He's a really sweet guy otherwise- don't tell him I said that."

"Got a crush on him, have you?" I asked, smiling.

"Oh no, he's my boyfriend," she said as a matter-of-factly. My grin grew wider. "Anyway, back to you. You made it here alive, to New York, and that's the first test that every demigod needs to pass."

"Yeah, especially if you're from England."

"What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods – the forces we call the Greek gods – are very much alive," Annabeth said. "Chiron has made me by-heart whatever I'm saying, so please bear with me. They're not as big a deal as the metaphysical God with a capital G, but these guys are a much smaller matter to understand."

"So, they basically, live here? In New York?"

"At Mount Olympus, the 600th floor of Empire State Building," Annabeth said. "Come, let's see the woods."

As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees super tall and thick.

"The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed," Annabeth said. I was too shocked to even ask her any questions.

We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables where we discussed a place for Dodge, the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Annabeth said they held sword and spear fights, and the mess hall.

Finally, she showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.

Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops.

In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.

"Each cabin has a different god, like a mascot," Annabeth explained. "That's the Zeus and Hera cabin, and no one ever stays there, really, and there's Poseidon- and Ares, and this is mine, Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy."

"Must be nice," I said. "Where do I stay?"

"We still don't know who your godly parent is," Annabeth replied. "Until we find out who they are, you stay at the Hermes Cabin. Pity though, Percy made a deal with the gods that they would recognize the children by thirteen, I don't understand why they haven't claimed you yet-"

BANG.

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