BABY DON'T CUT - jason grace

Chapter Seven

     So Estella didn't get claimed at the campfire. But apparently she wasn't even meant to be claimed. Even so, that was her least concern. Jason called her best friend a knockout. He was stunned and in awe by her beauty. Estella wanted to crawl into a hole and die. But Jason wasn't even hers to begin with—it was just fake. All of it. So Estella had no right to feel this way. Right?

     Estella laid on one of the beds in the Hermes cabin, where unclaimed kids resides in until being claimed. Of course with Estella's luck, out of her friends, she was the one left on the sidelines, with no godly parent wanting to claim her as their daughter.

     Of course that was the case.

     Estella wasn't looking forward to the next day, where she would be going on a life threatening quest with her friends. If she could even call Jason a friend. Estella had rolled up her sleeves to her long sleeved shirt, and had given herself brand new cuts with the razor kept in her pocket, after everyone in the Hermès cabin had fallen asleep.

     Estella sighed. Tomorrow is going to suck.

•••

     Estella was given a backpack filled with clothes, a knife and a few snacks—like potato chips and chocolate chip cookies. She thanked Travis Stoll, the co councilor of the Hermes cabin.

     Estella walked out of the cabin, wearing her jacket. Not all of her shirts had long sleeves, and she would rather not have anyone notice her self inflicted injuries. Estella continued walking until she noticed Piper walking a little farther up, seeming to have been blinking back tears, and carrying her own backpack. Estella had no idea where they were supposed to go, but she followed her best friend—who greeted her with a slight smile, her mind seeming preoccupied.

     And then they saw a dragon swooping down from the sky.

     "Leo?" Estella and Piper both questioned in disbelief, exchanging shocked looks at each other.

     Sure enough, there Leo was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, "Don't kill me!" Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor. The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"

     Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.

     Estella didn't blame them one bit—it was terrifying. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture —different shades of copper and bronze—a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

     "It's beautiful," Piper muttered. The other demigods, including Estella, stared at her like she was insane.

     The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

     "People of Earth, I come in peace!" he shouted. He looked like he'd been rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were grease-stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. But he looked absolutely delighted. "Festus is just saying hello!"