~ ☼ ~

It took approximately 9 hours to get back to Camp.

9 hours of no bathroom breaks, stops to stretch, or food (other than the leftovers from breakfast, which were gone by the time we got out of North Carolina and into Virginia). Staying in the car the whole time was the only way we knew how to stay safe - or as safe as we could be.

I kind of wanted to sleep, but I wasn't tired enough, and my stomach ache that appeared at some point didn't exactly soothe me to relaxation.

So, I just talked to Alec and Riley instead, and learned more about what had happened last summer with that Percy Jackson guy. The two of them had theories about where Percy was now, but they didn't know for sure. All they knew was that camp was in danger because some special pine tree was dying, and Percy was probably the only demigod with the powers to find a way to save it.

After that whole story was over, I realized I'd had enough of talking about gods and whatnot for the day. So we talked about music, and travel, and how I never got out of the house.

As I watched the east coast roll by outside my window, I thought, Maybe I'll start getting out of the house more. It's nice to see things other than my TV and computer and phone screen. It's nice to have friends aside from Fall Out Boy.

When we finally got to Camp Half-Blood, it was nearing dinner time. We didn't know what to do with the car, so we just left it and started walking up the hill... when I turned around again to see it one last time, it was gone.

Alec and Riley told me this hill, the one I'd found myself on all those days ago, was called Half-Blood Hill (obviously who ever came up with that name was a real creative genius!) and served as the only entrance to camp. Once we passed under the white sign bearing torches and welcome, I could see everything. There were the cabins, and the woods where we played Capture the Flag, plus other things I hadn't seen yet, like an archery range and what looked like some sort of arts pavilion.

To the left was that big blue house attached to the infirmary, the one with the porch railings I'd vaulted in hopes of escaping all those days ago. Out on the house's deck, two old men sat playing a card game - Mr. D, whom I recognized, and a guy in a wheel chair, whom I did not.

I turned back to my siblings. Riley looked calm and relieved, happy to be back home. But Alec looked straight-up euphoric.

"Finally," Riley said peacefully, "Our quest is over."

Next to her, my brother ran a hand through his hair and laughed with joy. I could see the anxiety he'd so obviously had before start to fade away. "Finally," he echoed. "I can get a shower."

This time, I was the one who chuckled.

———

We all showered, actually. It felt so, so nice to feel the brackish water on my back, to have days' worth of sweat washed away. Detangling my hair afterwards, however, wasn't as fun. But still... it sure was nice to not feel like a disgusting, snake-saliva coated slob anymore.

I finished getting ready before Riley, so, clad in another new, clean Camp Half-Blood shirt (still the garish orange it always was), I decided to leave and wait outside for her.

Just as I was, however, I bumped into the two people from Camp I'd thought about the most on the quest.

(Admittedly, I only knew about 5 Campers aside from Alec and Riley, but still).

Aria and Kiera were laughing with each other at first, until the former stopped in her tracks and blinked when she saw me. Kiera followed her lead, then frowned.

"AJ!" Aria said, shocked. "You're... back. Where were you?!"

I smiled awkwardly, trying not to take the genuine concern in her eyes too seriously. "Uh, it's a long story."

The girls just stared at me.

So, I sighed, and elaborated: "Apollo, um, recruited two of my siblings and I for a quest. We went down to the Outer Banks and killed this snake thing named Python. We just got back."

Kiera narrowed her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Woah..." Aria trailed off, surprise and awe painted in her expression. "That's some like, Percy Jackson-style stuff."

At the mention of this, Kiera brightened. "Oh, AJ, you missed it! I don't know if you know this whole story, but like, basically... Percy and Annabeth and Clarisse were all found. They got the Golden Fleece and healed the Pine and brought Chiron back."

I barely registered what she was saying, but, remembering what Alec and Riley had explained to me, got enough out of it. The Camp was temporarily safe, and back in the control of Chiron, who was apparently a super cool old guy/half horse who ran the camp, more or less. Maybe he was the man in the wheel chair I'd seen on the deck of the farmhouse. I didn't know.

"Oh, wow!" Although the fact that the gods sucked (or at least some of them did) and the titans were trying to hunt some demigods down still stood, it was kinda reassuring to know maybe we were safe for now. "That's... really great."

Kiera began to grin, then stopped halfway through. "Yeah," she said sharply. "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe and whatever. But I have to go to the bathroom."

She moved forward and pushed past me. By the time I turned to glance at her, she was already turning the corner into the restroom.

Looking back at Aria, I grimaced, and she did too. "I'm sorry if she seems rude," she said with a sigh. "She's just... angsty."

I shrugged. "Trust me, I understand that. Probably better than a lot of people."

Aria gave me a polite laugh, but there were shadows in her eyes.

"Anyway," I continued. "I'll let you go after her."

Moving to the side, towards the exit, I left the conversation at that. But Aria called after me. "Hey, AJ?"

I whirled. "What?"

"Just, uh..." she pressed her lips together. "Thanks for like, not ignoring us. I'll catch up with you later."

And then, she left me too, and I was standing alone in the threshold of the girls' bathroom.

Next to me, flies buzzed in and out of the woven privacy fence thingy. Reluctantly, I continued walking outside, only to find another person to talk to - Alec.

He was walking past the restrooms, already long re-dressed in a CHB hoodie, cargo shorts, and some skater-style sneakers. His hair looked much cleaner now, and his skin was glowing in the late afternoon sun.

"Hey!" I said, to catch his attention. "Where are you going?"

Immediately, Alec snapped his head toward me, and came to a stop. "Oh! I was going to the cabin. To look for you, actually."

Why would he need to find me? I asked myself. I told him to just meet Riley and I at dinner.

Realizing I wasn't going to get anywhere saying that in my head, I actually spoke it out loud, and Alec chuckled.

"I was just up at the infirmary," he informed me, "And I was talking to Chiron. And he said he wanted to meet you."

"Oh, the legendary Chiron wants to meet me?"

"Yep. So, before we miss dinner, let's go!"

In a sunny flash, he set off for the house, and hesitantly, I followed him. Some part of me was feeling anxious, but at the same time... I was hardly even feeling it. The minute he'd inadvertently reminded me dinner was soon, the possibility of more strawberry cream soda and german chocolate cake became the only things I could think of.

———

Next thing I knew, I was sitting on a couch inside the house with the man I'd seen earlier, who in fact was Chiron after all. In the hearth near me, a fire was blazing away, and above it, a live leopard head was just hanging out, chewing a piece of sausage Chiron had thrown at him.

I was a little weirded out by that, but... I'd seen worse at this point.

"So, AJ. I just wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to Camp
Half-Blood." Chiron wheeled his chair away from the mantel to face me. "And also, to hear more about why you, Alexander, and Riley were absent for 2 days."

2 days? That's all we were gone? It felt like, 4 years, or something.

"Uh, well..." I bit my lip. "Apollo like, got us to go on this quest for him. And we went all the way down to North Carolina and killed this snake monster for him. And that's pretty much it."

Chiron frowned. I could tell he didn't believe me when I said "That's pretty much it," but I didn't really want to talk about it anymore. I felt like a fool to go on the quest in the first place, anyway. All that effort for Apollo's sake, and not so much as a thanks in return.

"Have you communicated with Lord Apollo since?" the man sitting across from me asked. His voice was warm and comforting, if a bit gruff, like an old, slightly itchy sweater.

I scowled. "No."

"I figured," Chiron responded. He took a ragged breath. "I've known a lot of half bloods who will go on quests for their parents' approval, you know. Most of them do not get what they were looking for, but they find other things along the way. Can I say the same of you?"

I didn't like this. He was going to spring an inspirational lecture on me, I could tell. And I really didn't want to have to sit through that. Outside, everyone else was probably getting ready for dinner, and where was I? Inside, sitting with a nice but unfamiliar man, as he tried to talk me through the daddy issues I'd suddenly developed after my claiming.

"Um, I guess?" I tried to look for an answer. "I made new friends."

And more than that, too. I learned I had powers, learned I didn't need to run from everything, learned I enjoyed visiting the OBX and Princeton and D.C.

But I didn't say any of that. I didn't need to - Chiron seemed pleased with my first reply. He smiled, and said, "There. Isn't that enough?"

Um, no, not really? I wanted to say.

However, I just... couldn't. My heart wasn't really in it anymore. Seeing my angst turned into an old person's philosophical lesson before my eyes had actually pretty quickly diminished it.

And on the other hand... he was kind of right. I was so thankful Alec and Riley were in my life the way they were. Maybe this is dramatic, but we'd always be bonded thanks to this.

I'd never had that experience with someone before. I'd always pushed them away and tried to escape before it could get too deep.

But there was no escaping now.

"See, AJ, it's good that you went on the quest, then."

"Yeah. I guess so."

I couldn't tell if I believed him, or if I just wanted to get out and go to dinner.

But whatever it was, I felt slightly calmer now.

More thankful. Less... bitter. Just as long as I could enjoy the rest of my summer in peace, I'd be okay.

———

Alec was waiting for me when I came out. He was leaning against the railing, simply people-watching, I guess.

The camp had descended into that hour where the horizon line is green and yellow and as you look up it spirals into baby blue and indigo and black. Lights around the camp were gradually coming on, and campers were wandering in from all corners, heading towards the dining hall.

I headed towards my half-brother instead.

When he saw me, he turned. "How'd it go?"

"It went... well." I braced my hand on the wooden pillar next to me. "He basically just said that even if our dad was... y'know, our dad, at least we got other stuff out of the quest."

Alec snorted. "Like what?"

"Like... our newfound friendship, I guess."

"Well, I thought we were gonna be friends anyway, as long as you didn't try to leave again," he replied, playfulness in his attitude. "But yeah, I guess that's true. We definitely figured out the three of us make good fighting partners. A perfect mix of 3 different personalities, coming together. Riley's... Riley. And we're like, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

I snickered. "You do kinda look like a more brunette, skinnier version of young Robert Redford."

"You don't look anything like Paul Newman," he mused, "But you definitely have the talkativeness."

I elbowed him gently, and he laughed, and so did I.

We continued bickering over what movie characters we were, among other things, as we went out into the evening.
I took in the scent of the braziers at the dining hall as we came upon it, and saw Riley sitting down at the Apollo cabin table. One seat was open next to her on the bench, and another was free across from her. That's where Alec and I sat, and we carried on through the night as if it would never end.

After hot dogs and s'mores and a giant sing along, we came back to the cabin. Liakada was waiting where I'd put it before showering - in its sheath on my bunk above Riley. I looked at it one last it time for the night as I fell asleep, and felt... safe.

Though more monsters were out there, I wasn't as afraid as I once was. Again, I was in the woods, at night, but I had a lot more than a heavy, 800 gram bronze sword to defend me, and I definitely wasn't alone. So, I thanked the gods above - from the lovely Demeter to dear old Apollo - for letting me find this cult, this camp for Greeks, and helping me become a hero.

~ ☼ ~

Well, it's not quite the end yet, but look at that! AJ has made it safely back to camp, and I've hopefully made 7th grade me proud. It took me nearly 5 years to finish this book. Stay tuned for the next two chapters, which will bring this first book to an end!

For those of you out there who still care, please vote and comment!!