suggestion: don't listen to long live while reading this. :')
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
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chapter one hundred. ☄︎. *. ⋆
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CAMP RAN A LITTLE LATE, BUT I DON'T THINK ANYONE WAS UPSET ABOUT THAT. It lasted two more weeks, right up to the start of a new school year, and I have to admit they were the best two weeks of my life.
There was just so much relief all around, I think, and that added to it all. The war was over. Grover had taken over the satyr seekers and was sending them out across the world to find unclaimed half-bloods. So far, the gods had kept their promise. New demigods were popping up all over the place. Luckily, we had plenty of room for them now, with all of the new cabins being built in the field. Tons of half-bloods were helping build. Some of the wood nymphs did the dirty work, but still, it was nice to see everyone getting along so well. I even saw some Aphrodite kids and Ares kids working together to install a fire-rimmed vanity in one of the new cabins.
The Hermes cabin was a lot less crowded now, because most of the unclaimed kids had received signs from their godly parents. It happened almost every night, and every night more demigods straggled over the property line with the satyr guides, usually with some nasty monsters pursuing them, but almost all of them made it through.
Things were going to be a lot different next summer, I knew that. Chiron was expecting twice as many campers.
None of them could replace my siblings, of course, but they weren't coming back. I was slowly starting to come to terms with that.
The last night of camp, as traditional, was the bead ceremony. The Hephaestus cabin had designed the bead this year. It showed the Empire State Building, and etched in tiny Greek letters, spiraling around the image, were the names of all the heroes who had died defending Olympus. There were too many names, but I was proud to wear the bead. I put it on my camp necklace—eight beads now. I felt like an old-timer. I thought about the first campfire I'd ever attended, back when I was just a little kid, and how I'd felt so at home. That at least hadn't changed.
"Never forget this summer!" Chiron told us. He had healed remarkably well, but he still trotted in front of the fire with a slight limp. I still felt bad. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honor of the camp."
He smiled at Percy and I, and everybody cheered. As I looked at the fire, I saw a little girl in a brown dress tending the flames. She winked at me with red glowing eyes. No one else seemed to notice her, but I realized maybe she preferred it that way.
"And now," Chiron said, "early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stragglers, and I'd hate to end the summer on a sour note!"
