The Forgotten Children

The Prophecy

Leo stared, eyes wide. His mouth agape. Tents, there were hundreds of tents, all in different shapes and sizes, some similar to the one he'd been in. Pure white and more rectangle. Others were tall and steady, some looked like they could only fit a single person in. A couple had pain splattered over them, as if the person who lived there was trying to be more creative by doing it.
One tent even had a plant plat balancing on top. Leo had no idea how it was even up there.

They were in the woods, in a clearing that was big enough to fit four football fields in, though still much smaller than Camp Jupiter and Camp Half blood. They were on the outskirts and walked to the middle slowly. Leo noticed a couple of much younger kids watching him, whispering to each other, in a tiny tent by themselves. Leo didn't know how they'd fit in there together.

They stopped at a huge bonfire. In the middle of the only wooden hut, constructed and calved with great care. It was very giant. Leo could feel the heat coming from it. There were, children, teens his age and older around the camp fire, talking in hushed voices, they all stopped as soon as Leo reached the camp. The oldest stood up, he looked in his early twenties. Everyone there stopped talking as soon as he stood up, looking at everybody. He gave Samantha a slight nod but apart from that ignored their presence.

She lead them to sit at the back, on the floor. Teresa sitting with them, scowling. Leo wanted to shout at her, why are you here if you hate me so much! Everyone was shooting Leo curious glances, some suspicious but most looked just curious.

"Okay, listen up. Is everyone here?!" The young man shouted.

The crowd fell into silence once more, as if waiting for something.

"What-" Leo started to say.

"Shhh!" Samantha told him, fingers on lips. Watching the guy in front intently.

A couple of kids suddenly appeared, Leo recognised them as the ones that had been staring at him from one of the small tents. The young man in front waited for them to sit down, then he looked at everybody and smiled as he said "Okay, repeat after me. Anybody who can't remember it all just watch us and listen"

"We were left out. We were forgotten. They looked at us with doubt. And saw we were rotten. But an outsider, one who is remembered will roar. He will breath his fiery breath. We will be remembered once more and will not be consumed by the silver black death"

Everyone repeated. 

Leo's eyes widened, what...? It sounded familiar? This almost sounded like a-

He shut his train of thought off, glancing at Samantha he whispered "What is that?"

She frowns then sighs looking down "Hope"

Teresa snorted, crossing her arms "A stupid child's song if you ask me"

"Teresa!" She hissed.

Leo noticed Teresa wasn't the only one looking angered by the song or irritated, however it seemed only a couple older teens. All the kids smiled with hope at the song and started chatting excitedly about it.

Samantha saw Leo's confused expression and took a deep breath looking away "You see, when I said we were all Demi-gods that's not quite true. Some of us are, however others are children of Demi-gods or children of immortals. We are all forgotten Leo. The gods just expect our kind to go back to the normal world and live a normal mortal life"

Leo almost felt his mouth fall to the floor. How had this been going on right under their noses?

"But...isn't a normal life good?"

He knew most Demi-gods back in camp half blood would love a normal life, especially after the two wars... He shuddered, one war for him had been enough.

The young man in the front started to talk but Leo's attention was all on Samantha, who scowled, shaking her head.

"Not when you are related to gods one way or another. It's like saying you're useless. You feel useless as well. That's what some of our ancestors and the Demi-gods who founded this place felt like. They waited for a sign like other Demi-gods they were needed. Any sign, any prophecy that hinted towards them finally helping their parents, but nothing. It is said that one even turned himself immoral in the hope of waiting longer for signs, but none came. They were forgotten and looked down on. Not even good enough for monsters to try and attack them. So they created this place. To live like any other Demi-God and not to go back and live like mortals"

Leo almost felt like he was dreaming. He still couldn't get his head around it.

Samantha said slowly, frowning "And the only real thing that gives us hope that the day we can be remembered and show the gods they were fools in not letting us help them, is this prophecy. We don't know where it came from. Only it's been in this camp for thousands of years. Every person here must learn it of by heart and never pronounce it wrong or we risk it being remembered wrong if we leave"

"Leave? But I thought you said you don't get missions?" Leo demanded.

"We don't. Most of us leave when we become adults. Waiting too long for nothing it seems. The younger you are the more hope you have in this prophecy. The older we get it seems like a children's fairy tale" She said sadly, looking at Teresa.

"It is one" She grumbled.

"Then why are you still here!" Samantha suddenly snapped, eyes narrowing.

But to Leo's shock Teresa blushed and turned away as she said sadly "You know why"

Samantha, suddenly looked at her with sympathy and before she could say anything, Leo tensed as he heard his name being said loudly from the front. The oldest guy was talking about him

"-Leo Valdez, welcome our new camp member-"

And all eyes turned on him...