Lightning Child - Percy Jackson

005

I quickly got over the fact that Chiron, apparently Percy's teacher, was, in fact, a horse. He gave us a tour besides the sweltering heat and suffocating humidity.

We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to theminotaur horn Percy was carrying. Another said, "That's them."

What is them?

The campers were mostly older than me, taller, and I think one of them had a beard. I saw a horde of satyrs all in firey orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD shirts with nothing covering their shaggy hind quarters. I noticed Grover was smaller than them too. Maybe it was a sign.

I watched a satyr playing his pipe as we passed through acres of strawberry fields. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.

"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."

"Yes, child?"

"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"

Chiron's expression darkened. "Yes, child." He paused as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."

"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?" I pressed, but Chiron brushed off the question.

As we got closer to a thick line of trees, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick you could imagine dinosaurs we still in there. honestly, with all this weird stuff, maybe they are.

Chiron said, "The woods are stocked if you care to try your luck, but go armed."

"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"

"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own swords and shields?"

"Swords and shields-?" I Bumbled

"My own-?" Percy continued

"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I'll visit the armory later."

I really wanted to ask what kind of summer camp has an armory, but there was so much else on my mind, so we kept going with the tour. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like much), the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron mentioned they held sword and spear fights.

"Okay, hold on," I stopped walking. "Sword and spear fights?"

"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the messhall."

This all was so hard to keep track of, and did he say not usually lethal? Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

"What do you do when it rains?" Percy asked.

Chiron looked at him as if he'd gone a little weird. "We still have to eat, don't we?"

Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake.They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they werewithout a doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen. Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, even on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a common area about the size of a soccer field dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops.

At the center of the field sat a massive stone-lined firepit. Despite the warmth of the afternoon, the hearth smoldered. Tending to the flames was a girl around nine years old, prodding the coals with a stick. Positioned at the head of the field were two cabins, numbers one and two, resembling his-and-hers mausoleums. Cabin one, the largest and bulkiest, had polished bronze doors that shimmered like a hologram, creating the illusion of lightning bolts streaking across them from different angles. In contrast, cabin two possessed a more graceful allure, adorned with slim columns garlanded with pomegranates, flowers, and walls carved with images of peacocks.

Annabeth Chase, the girl I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left,number eleven. When we reached her, she looked us over critically. I tried to make out the title of the book she was reading, but it didn't look English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean,literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.
"Annabeth, I have a masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy and Eve from here?" He said, prancing away

"Yes, sir."

Among all the cabins, number eleven appeared the most like a typical, worn-down summer camp cabin—emphasis on the "old." The entrance showed signs of wear, with peeling brown paint. Above the doorway hung one of those classic doctor's symbols: a winged pole entwined with two snakes. What was it called again? Uhhmm—a caduceus I think?

Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds.Sleeping bags were spread all over the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set upan evacuation center. I waved sheepishly as the kids began sizing us up. Percy seems somewhat relaxed as if he'd done this all before.

"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."

I stepped into the cabin, still trying to hide my nervousness behind a smile, when-

BHAAM!

I looked back at Percy face down on the ground. He had tripped coming in the door. That must've hurt. There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.

Annabeth announced, "Eve Karter and Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven" "

Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.

Annabeth replied, "Undetermined. Both"

Everybody groaned.