Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Camp

Three days later: Summer

Finally, summer had arrived—the time of year I both loved and dreaded the most. I relished the abundance of free time, but it also meant an increase in monster attacks that made me loathe the season.

As usual, I woke up feeling groggy and moody. I dragged myself out of bed and washed my face, trying to shake off the Friday night drowsiness. Then, I headed to the shower for a long and relaxing bath.

Once I was dressed, I grabbed the bag next to me. It was filled with spare clothes and various snacks like Cheetos, Doritos, Sour Patch Kids, Mountain Dew, and more, essential for any standard road trip.

Heading downstairs, I saw Mr. Blue on the table. I greeted him with a "good morning" before saying, "Mr. Blue, you know the drill." He simply nodded, seemingly implying, 'about damn time,' but I paid no mind to it.

This was my usual routine every summer—I'd leave the orphanage to avoid attracting monsters and endangering the place. Somehow, I felt like Mr. Blue was already aware of this peculiar aspect of my life.

After bidding farewell to Mr. Blue, I stepped outside and made my way to the bus station, where I found Jenus sitting on one of the benches, enjoying not one, but two sandwiches.

Sneaking up on him, I asked playfully, "So, which bus do we ride?" My sudden appearance startled him, almost causing him to drop his sandwich, but he managed to catch it swiftly.

Impressed, I thought to myself, inwardly clapping at his quick reflexes.

"Dude, next time, don't do that," he scolded, giving me a playful glare.

"Yeah, yeah, so which bus do we take?" I asked again, and he pointed to one of the buses that had just arrived, still munching on his sandwich.

"That one," he replied.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said, eagerly boarding the bus.

***

The bus came to a halt at the edge of an apparently endless forest. Jenus was the first to get off, followed by Marcus, who had a question on his mind.

"Is this where the camp is supposed to be?" Marcus inquired, and Jenus nodded in response.

"Not here, but there," he said, pointing into the forest.

"You mean inside the forest?" Marcus asked skeptically.

"Yep!" Jenus replied without hesitation. He then revealed his goat half by removing the illusion covering his feet, slung his cane over his back, and stretched, exclaiming, "Ah, there it is—freedom at last!"

"Follow me!" Jenus beckoned, leading the way deeper into the forest.

As they followed Jenus, Marcus couldn't help but notice the absence of any signs pointing to the camp's location. He understood why; after all, announcing "DEMIGOD'S CAMP HERE!" in the middle of the road would defeat the purpose of hiding from monsters.

With every step, they ventured deeper into the forest, and Marcus grew increasingly irritated by the distance they had to walk. Suddenly, Janus exclaimed, "AH! Here we are!"

Janus stopped in front of a seemingly small house hidden deep within the forest. Seeing the small farmhouse that was supposed to be their entrance, Marcus gave Janus a suspicious look and asked, preparing himself for action, "Are you sure this is where the camp is supposed to be?"

"Wait a minute, they'll be here in a minute," Janus replied nonchalantly, not noticing the dangerous look Marcus was giving him.

As Marcus counted the seconds in his mind, he caught a whiff of a familiar pungent smell. He stopped in his tracks, trying to locate the source of the odor.

Concerned, Janus asked, "Marcus? Is there something wrong?"

"...monster..." Marcus replied just as a huge humanoid monster emerged from the deep forest, rushing towards them with a club in hand.

"Demi-god, me lunch!" the one-eyed monster bellowed.

"Holy! That's a cyclops!" Janus exclaimed, panicking.

However, Marcus remained calm. For him, this kind of scene, with a monster rushing at him, was as normal as a morning breakfast.

"Back off, Janus," Marcus said, motioning for the satyr to step back. "You'll just be a deadweight."

In sync with the cyclops' rhythm, Marcus dashed forward. With a swift move, he slid between the cyclops' legs and hugged them, causing the giant to stumble and fall to the ground.

Bam!

The sound of flesh hitting the ground echoed through the forest. Marcus wasted no time and climbed up the cyclops' back, readying his fist for a punch. One might think a thirteen-year-old boy's punch would be futile against such a massive creature, but they would be wrong.

As Marcus' fist connected with the cyclops' head, the sheer force caused it to burst, disintegrating the monster into particles, leaving only Marcus and Janus.

"H-h-how?" Janus stammered, his jaw dropping in shock.

Marcus simply shrugged it off. "So where is this camp?" he asked, diverting the conversation. Janus seemed unable to answer when the door of the small house opened, revealing a girl around the same age as Marcus.

At first sight, Marcus was caught off guard by her beauty. He had encountered many attractive girls in the numerous schools he had attended due to his unique situation, but this girl was different; she gave him a feeling he had never experienced before—attraction.

"Annabeth! Is Chiron here?" Janus' voice interrupted his thoughts.

"So Annabeth is her name," Marcus noted.

Annabeth replied, "Nope, but I think he'll be here by this afternoon." She glanced at Marcus, who smiled in return, before Janus introduced him.

"Marcus Phase, a new demi-god I've brought," Janus said, to which Annabeth simply nodded, seemingly unfazed by the introduction.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Marcus," she greeted.

He nodded back, feeling the allure of the camp and its surroundings. Annabeth gestured for him and Janus to come inside, and Marcus followed, remembering Mr. Blue's advice about not keeping a woman waiting.

Upon entering the house, Marcus felt a shift, as though he had crossed an invisible barrier. As they passed through another door, he felt like he had entered a whole new world.

The camp was bustling with kids or campers around his age, ranging from teenagers to seventeen-year-olds, all wearing orange T-shirts with "CAMP HALF-BLOOD" printed on them. Some were even wearing helmets reminiscent of those seen in historical movies, and many carried swords at their waists, some playfully sparring with each other.

But the unusual attire of the campers wasn't the only surprise. Marcus spotted satyrs and what appeared to be nymphs scattered around the camp.

"So this is Camp Half-Blood," Marcus murmured.

"Yeah, this is our camp—welcome once again to the sanctuary of demi-gods," Janus explained.

****

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