Birthright (Forgotten Daughter part 2)

Protector

The man from the school stumbled out of the brush. His neck cracked as he cocked his head on his sloping shoulders. How had he followed them all the way from Brooklyn?

Ali brandished her knife. "Bring it on, Trench Coat."

"Gladly." His choir of voices answered as he threw down his coat. His body seemed to be made of wriggling bugs. Centipedes crawled across the ground around his feet. His body pulsed and expanded into a black mass of flying insects and crawling bugs.

Ali's eyes widened and she took a step back. She'd never been afraid of bugs, but this... was absolutely terrifying. She gripped her knife tighter.

The bug-man roared in a thousand voices and surged forward like a wave.

There was nowhere for her to go. She raised her knife and the insects washed over her.

They seemed to avoid her blade, but she was being smothered. She lashed out wildly, slicing bugs in half. She felt several squash beneath her heel as she stumbled backwards. They smashed into her face and against her body, their rough exoskeletons scraping her skin and drawing blood. She dropped to one knee as the barrage continued. Her strength waned against the crushing wave of crawling legs and hard shells.

Finally, the black wall of bugs dissipated, leaving her heaving for breath and shaken. She pushed herself to her feet and watched as the sea of insects converged back onto their original spot.

Ali noticed a small frail form at the epicenter of the swirling bugs. Her chest tightened. Whatever that thing was, it was controlling the bugs. All she had to do was get to it.

When she stepped forward, a jet of writhing bugs shot towards her. She ducked below them and rolled forward. Without a second thought, she slashed up, feeling the resistance as her blade cut through flesh.

An explosion of golden dust erupted through the trees. Every bug disintegrated in a cloud of glitter.

Ali choked on the fine dust as she stood. She would probably be coughing up bug-monster remains for months. She kicked the leather trench coat lying on the ground. She shuddered as she imagined the man who had once worn it. She turned and walked towards camp.

Walking onto the deck of the Big House, she flopped into one of the deck chairs. "Protector, reporting back with a new camper." She looked up to meet Chiron's gaze. "He better have been worth it."

Chiron examined the plethora of cuts across her skin. "What exactly happened?"

She groaned. "I'll tell you what happened. That kid's scent is stronger than a boys' locker room."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "And you would know that how?"

She crossed her arms. "Do you have any idea how many times I've had to clean the boys' bathroom?" She shifted painfully in her seat. "He attracted the attention of a man made of bugs."

Chiron faltered, not sure how to answer. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Well, our new camper refused to leave the Big House until you arrived. Something about you promising to explain everything."

She groaned and leaned her head against the chair. "Why can't you do it?"

Chiron hit her with his signature sigh. "A man is only as good as his word."

Ali shot him a glare. "Then it's a good thing I'm not a man."

"Aliana." He pressed.

"What?!" She pushed herself to her feet. "I just fought a bug-man!" She gestured towards the woods. "Sorry if I don't feel like giving a tour!"

He gave her a sad look. "I know you're still grieving and I can respect that." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "But can we please just get through the anger phase already." He chuckled at his joke, but Ali gave him a a death glare. "I'm sorry. That was out of turn, but please... just give him a tour. Maybe it'll help you."

She sighed, exasperated. "Fine."
* * *
"But if the Ancient Greek Gods are real, why haven't I seen signs of them?" The blonde boy trotted along behind Ali, having to jog to keep up.

She sighed. "Probably because you weren't looking. A lot of times, we don't see something if we don't want to."

They passed an open-air building filled with picnic tables.

Ali nodded towards it. "That's the dining hall where we eat meals. You sit at a table with your cabin. Each one is marked to tell you where to sit."

"Which table is yours?" He asked as he stared at the fire pit in the center of the room.

She stopped dead in her tracks and he almost ran into her. She turned to face him. "All you need to know about me is that I'm a loner and  you don't want to get on my bad side." She jabbed his ribs with her finger and walked away.

He jogged after her. "How do I know you're not making all of this up? I mean, how can the gods be real? That's impossible."

Ali paused as a roll of thunder echoed through the sky. "You should really be more careful what say about the gods."

He crossed his arms and stared at her. "I think this is some kind of trick. Are there cameras hidden around here or something?" He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hello whoever's watching. News flash: I'm not falling for it."

Some of the other campers turned their heads to look at the strange boy who had just announced to the whole camp that he thought the gods were a joke.

Ali pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright kid. You want proof." She grabbed his arm maybe a little too tightly and dragged him over to the archery range.

"What are we doing here?" He rubbed his wrist where she'd been holding him. He glanced at the bow and quiver of arrows setting on the ground. "What is this, the Renaissance fair?"

"Just watch." She grabbed the bow and knocked an arrow. She let the arrow fly and it thunked into the center of the target. "Okay, Science Guy, what's the probability of me splitting that arrow?"

He scoffed. "It's like a billion to one so... impossible."

She nocked another arrow. "Good." She released and the arrow landed solidly in the exact same spot as the last one, dividing the shaft in two.

The boy's jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered. "You're just really good at..."

She cut him off by releasing another arrow, which split the last one in half. Then she let fly another, and another, and another, each one slicing cleanly through the shaft of the last. She turned to the wide-eyed boy. "Use your science to explain that." She shoved the bow into his hands and walked away.