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Allister was tired.
His head hurt more then he had ever experienced, his chest gasped for air that wasn't staying in his lungs, his mouth tasted dry and acidic, his limbs stung from the various cuts dotted along them, and his vision had been getting fuzzier much quicker lately.
He couldn't hear the monster behind him, so Allister collapsed on the ground in front of a pine tree, clenching his teeth to stop himself from crying. Crying always alerted monsters, so better to suck it up until he could stop and rest.
Dimly, he wanted to beg for the sweet relief of death. He didn't want to keep running without a goal.
He also knew that death would be worse.
Allister dared to let out a strangled sigh, breathing in fresh air. If he stopped for long enough, maybe, just maybe, he would be able to keep running.
The darkness of sleep kept clouding his eyes, even more then the eye sockets of his mask. He tried to fight it off, but before he knew it, his ungloved hand was buried in a bed of pine needles. He didn't have the strength to move it anymore.
Allister hoped that maybe the monster would kill him quickly.
As his eyes closed for what was hopefully the last time, Allister thought he heard a voice. It wasn't anybody he knew, so it was probably just a ghost seeing his spirit leave his body.
-----
Allister blinked open his eyes, squinting in the light.
Wait.
Light?
He bolted up, looking around frantically. He was in some sort of wooden room filled with empty beds and medical supplies, with windows letting in sunlight along one wall, and a closed red door on the opposite.
Allister could feel his mask still pressing on his face, and felt the smallest drop in anxiety, which quickly returned when he couldn't find his bag anywhere.
Alright, quiet yourself. Allister mentally repeated, squeezing his eyes shut. Figure out how hurt you are, and then... figure out if you need to escape.
Shakily counting down from five, Allister opened his eyes again. The sunlight wasn't as blinding as he had originally assumed, instead casting a dappled golden glow over the room. His arms were mostly clear of the cuts he had obtained while running, and his legs didn't feel like they were about to shatter.
He was about to force himself onto his feet when he heard footsteps from the other side of the red door, walking closer. Allister panicked, reaching into his pocket for the dagger he kept on hand, finding his hand coming up empty.
The door swung open while Allister was frantically searching for anything within reach to use as a weapon, and the person walking in had wide eyes, as if not expecting Allister to be awake.
"Oh- Oh dear-" She stuttered, taking a half step back. "Um, give me a second..."
Allister watched, ready to leap out of bed and fight for his life if needed, as the brown haired girl in the doorway turned around to yell at somebody behind it. After apparently receiving a reply, she turned around and closed it, walking closer to the bed Allister was resting on.
"Um, hello. I'm sorry for the awakening, I hope you didn't hurt yourself." She told him, sitting on the bed next to Allister, putting her hands in her lap. "I'm Jasmine, one of the more gifted at healing in camp."
Allister tried to move his mouth to ask a thousand questions, finding nothing to be coming out. He sighed, trying to at least communicate his name.
"'m Allister." He said, dragging every thorn covered word out of his throat. "Wh...?"
He felt his shoulders drop when he failed to even ask where he was. He hated this part of his life. Dragging every word out of his mouth like it was choking him had become old quickly. He used to be so full of life too...
"Are you not able to speak well?" Jasmine tilted her head, wincing with sympathy when he nodded. "Does it have to do with that mask? We were unable to remove it to check for injuries when Barry found you."
Allister shook his head, only feeling slightly bad about the half-lie. The mask was related to why he couldn't speak, but it wasn't the cause. He just happened to gain it from the same event.
Jasmine jolted up, as if just remembering something. She stood up, rummaging around a cabinet for a few seconds, pulling out a mini notebook and a ball point pen. "You can use these to write instead of speaking!"
Allister blinked in shock, before taking the notebook and the pen. Tapping the pen to the paper for a second, he finally wrote something.
[Where am I?]
Jasmine sighed, as if dreading the question.
"You're at Camp Half-Blood. A safe place for people like us."
'People like us'... did this girl think she and Allister were alike?
Unless...
[Do you see monsters too?]
Jasmine nodded grimly, showing a row of scars on her left arm. "Got these defending camp from a rampaging centaur."
A centaur... half horse, half human. Allister had seen one of those before.
[Why can we see them?]
"Because of who our parents are." Jasmine answered, a remorseful look covering her face. "You and me, we're not exactly human."
Oh, if only she knew. Allister thought to himself bitterly.
"We're... something beyond human." Jasmine continued. "We're demigods."
Allister had a feeling that was supposed to be a big reveal, but the term didn't exactly feel familiar.
[So.... what does that mean?] He wrote, as Jasmine looked at him in shock.
"It means that one of our parents is a god." She said slowly, as if waiting for a bomb to explode. "Greek specifically."
One of Allister's parents... is a god. Allister processed this fact, and after a minute of freezing with no movement besides breathing, he shrugged.
[Actually, that tracks. My life has always been one disaster after another]
"You're... taking this concerningly well." Jasmine commented, still looking on edge. What, did she think he'd explode into a fit if she left him alone?
[I have been chased for weeks by a weird creature I can only describe as a monster, I am randomly brought to a camp for people who also see monsters, and I was]
Allister stopped writing suddenly, very aware of his deepest secret. He wasn't giving that away. He crossed out the line, replacing it quickly.
[and suddenly I'm told the greek gods are real and I'm a child of one of them. Yeah, avrage day in the life of Allister.]
He missed his voice. He would've loved to say that with a heavy load of sarcasm. Koi would've been proud of him.
"And this is the camp!" Hop exclaimed, spreading his hand around, showing off the camp grounds.
It was much bigger then Allister expected, stretching what must've been hundreds of feet in any direction. A forest was pressed behind a collection of small buildings, each labeled with a banner above them, although Allister couldn't make out what they said. On one side of the camp, a sandy beach gave way to a blue-ish green lake, a couple of campers in orange shirts playing on the beach or slashing each other with water.
On the other side of the camp, several small patches of ground had been replaced with sand, along with a rock climbing wall and a volleyball net. A few campers were sword fighting or playing with various things around the area, and if Allister concentrated, he could make out a handful of people practicing archery in the distance.
In the middle of it all was a marble circle covered with blue fabric, benches and tables scattered around the space, and a campfire pit in the center. Finally, alone one of the bigger patches of open area bordering the forest, a bunch of cabins stood tall and proud. Allister couldn't quite count them, but he did see a trio of campers sitting on one of the roofs.
"It's pretty cool, ain't it." Hop sighed, smiling. "This is Camp Half-Blood."
Allister nodded, internally agreeing with him.
"Hey, are you the new kid?"
Allister spun around to face the new voice, a taller teen with long dark teal hair tied in a pony tail. They were smiling politely, and had several piercings along their ears. Allister honestly couldn't tell if they were a boy or a girl, and made a mental note to potentially ask.
Allister startled, realizing that they were waiting for him to respond. He nodded quickly, avoiding looking them in the eyes.
"No need to be nervous, I'm just Rika." Rika put their hands in the pockets of their pants, still holding a good-natured smile.
"Yeah, Rika's awesome!" Hop said, grinning. "She's one of the older councilors and is really nice!"
Ah, so Rika was more fem-aligned, unlike Allister. He filed the information away, making a note to ask Rika about tips to present in such an ambiguous way.
"Jasmine mentioned that you couldn't speak, is everything okay?" Rika asked, concern in her eyes. Allister shrugged, pulling out the notebook.
[I haven't been able to speak easily in a long time. doesn't mean I can't, just that it hurts.]
"It hurts to speak?" Hop repeated. "Then why did you try when you woke up?"
[I wanted to test if I could] Allister wrote, like it was the most normal thing.
"Maybe avoid that." Rika commented. "Demigods don't get easy lives, you should keep yourself in the best shape possible."
Allister's grin faded slightly at the reminder that things probably won't get easier just because he escaped the monster.
"I'm taking Allister to the Hermes cabin!" Hop told Rika with an excited grin. Rika sighed fondly.
"Just tell Ash to knock off the questions." She said, walking towards the fighting arena, waving goodbye to Allister and Hop.
Hop grabbed Allister's hand, dragging him in the direction of the cabins. Allister stumbled slightly while putting his notepad back in its holder, but recovered easily.
The cabins were all very different from each other, with different themes, different styles, and different materials. One had walls of seashells and blue concrete, another was gold and white. One had spears and other assorted weapons decorating its roof, and one had random metal scraps littered around the outside.
Chatter could be heard from a few cabins with open doors, and the same trio that Allister had seen sitting on a roof called down to a camper who had a red cape. A small girl with a hammer was being chased by teenager with dark red hair, while an older teen with peppered hair sat outside a cabin with grape vines, drinking what Allister hoped was Kool-Aid.
"That's Larry." Hop whispered to Allister, pointed at the teen. "He's a son of Dionysus, and drinks caffeinated Kool-Aid."
Allister giggled at the mental image, letting Hop continue the journey to the Hermes cabin.
The Hermes cabin was, well, worn down. Chipped brown paint, bricks, and various kinds of wood made up the walls. It seemed to have been repaired often, as if things kept happening to it. A golden staff with two snakes curled around it was hung over the doorway, which was twice as large as any other cabin. Despite the messy appearance, Cabin 11 (as the nameplate said) gave off a warm feeling, like a home.
Hop pushed open the door, letting Allister follow through.
The inside of the cabin was also very patchworked, with random beds and belongings scattered around. Along the walls, several bunk beds stood. Allister counted at least six, with a smaller doorway leading to a bedroom (evident by the sign above it), meaning the cabin could fit at least twelve people without struggle.
The cabin wasn't empty, although many of the beds looked to be in use. Despite this, only three other kids were hanging around. The tallest had spiky black hair, a red baseball cap, and a sleeveless blue jacket. Another kid was sitting on a bunk, this one having smoother black hair and a red and gray zip-up hoodie. The kid in the hoodie was talking with a third kid, who had lilac hair in a bob, an oversized periwinkle sweater, and a kind smile.
All three inhabitants of the cabin froze when Hop and Allister walked in, staring in silence for a few seconds.
"Alright, Ash, Rika has told me to tell you to knock off the questions." Hop said quickly, and Allister watched as the kid in the hoodie giggled. The boy in the cap--Probably Ash--grumbled, but still smiled at Allister.
Rika really held a lot of respect, huh.
"Alright everybody, this is Allister!" Hop announced to the cabin. "He's shy, and can't speak."
[I can speak] Allister grabbed his notebook and wrote.
"But it hurts." Hop refuted. Allister stuck his tongue out, sad the other boy couldn't see him.
"I'm Ash!" Ash exclaimed, grinning with a lot of energy. Allister was pretty sure he was vibrating in place. "I'm your go-to guy for lots of stuff!"
"I'm Goh." The kid in the hoodie added, smiling softly. "Don't mind the crazy guy, he's just excited."
"And I'm Horace." The lilac haired kid said. "I'm unclaimed, like Goh and Hop."
"And I'm a son of Hermes!" Ash butted in, as Goh shook his head.
"Yeah, Ash is one of the few Hermes kids here." He said.
"And I'm a gem because of that!" Ash smirked, leaning back just enough to fall over. Goh and Hop both laughed, while Allister giggled at the sight.
Maybe things wouldn't be so bad in this camp.