MARTYR | A Luke Castellan Love Story

2- A Rough Start

Jay's green eyes fluttered open, and in her sights she saw the same wooden ceiling from earlier. So, this wasn't a dream..

She was feeling a lot better, so she sat up, all on her own this time. The place was mostly empty except some other kids, lying in their beds like she was. Jay looked over on the nightstand next to her bed to see a clock that read 2:24 pm. In her hazy memory, she remembered being in the woods at around 4 am. 10 hours of sleep, and she was feeling better already??

The girl groggily got up and stood for a moment, contemplating on whether she should explore or stay put. She noticed that her bag was on the floor next to her bed, so she picked it up. Finally, she mustered enough courage to walk out, but not before she put her hair up in a messy bun and rinsed her face off with some water. First impressions matter, right? She took a deep breathe before walking out of the quiet building.

Jay almost gasped at what she saw. All around her were teenagers, either battling with an assortment of weapons or doing crazy things, like climbing rocks walls with excellent speed, or doing extreme parkour. The guy named Will said she belonged here, but has he ever seen her in gym class?? She jumped when someone tapped on her shoulder. Will stood there, a bright smile plastered upon his face.

"I see that you're better" he commented. Jay nodded and gave him a small shy smile. Just then, a shorter boy with dark messy hair walked over.

"Will, I just wanted to-" The boy froze once he locked eyes with Jay

"What, Nico?" Will inquired. Nico seemed to snap out of it at Will's question.

"Just, wondering who the newbie is.." he mumbled. Will grinned and introduced her to Nico, who was the son of Hades. If Jay could remember from History class, Hades was the god of the underworld and death.

"Nice to meet you" She said shyly, a soft smile on her face. Nico nodded, not taking his eyes off hers, which made her a bit creeped out.

"Will, I need you for a second" Nico quickly yanked the boy away, leaving a confused girl behind.

"What is it, Nico??" Will huffed. Nico looked at Will before saying,

"That girl's eyes. Did you see them?" Nico questioned. Will scratched his head.

"Well, yeah. What about them?" He asked, curious.

"They're green. Sea green. Ring a bell?"

"Oh. That could mean.."

"Poseidon. She could be a kid of Poseidon" Nico interrupted

Jay sat on the steps of the infirmary, watching the campers fight amongst eachother. Just then, someone sat next to her. She looked over to see a handsome boy with blonde hair and a scar on his face under his eye, but he also had a mischievous and sly look to him.

"I'm Luke Castellan. Son of Hermes, god of thieves and mail. Also Hermes Cabin counselor" he said. Jay gulped. She was always shy of new people, afraid of how they would think of her.

"I'm Jay..um Jackson. Daughter of..I don't know." She said, but silently panicked, thinking she sounded stupid. But Luke just laughed.

"Well, don't worry. You'll find out who your parent is eventually. Jackson, you say? We have another Jackson here, but its a common last name" He said. She nodded, feeling a bit more relaxed.

"So...this camp..is it like..roleplay? a reenactment?" She asked. Luke chuckled.

"Nope. These fellows here are all half kids of Greek gods, so are you. it's all real" he explained.

Jay nodded and looked at the kids who were training.

Meanwhile, Luke was smiling ever so slightly at her, liking how nice she was. Just then, a camper called for Luke and he stood up.

"Have fun!" he held a thumbs up to her before running to the camper, who was arguing with another kid.

Jay sighed, and decided to just go with this whole "Demigod" thing. She actually felt accepted here, so what does she have to lose? Suddenly, a loud voice boomed near her.

"Oh look! The newbie!" yelled a tall and muscular girl who was wearing a red bandana over her long brown hair. Jay was startled, but she raised her hand slightly in a small shy wave.

"Get her, Clarisse!" yelled a boy from the distance. Jay gasped as the girl grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her towards a restroom area. Her heart raced as fear consumed her. Suddenly, the girl shoved her face in a toilet and flushed. Jay gasped and coughed as she struggled. She heard laughing, and then that was it.

She felt a surge of anger and the pipe in the wall exploded, hitting Clarisse in the face, causing her to let go of Jay. Jay coughed and stumbled, before running out, water dripping from her face. By then, a group of campers surrounded the restrooms.

Jay decided to book it, so she ran and accidentally ran into a group of people. One was a girl with blonde hair, a boy with black hair, and a pale boy with curly brown hair and...

Goat legs??

She decided to ignore those.

"I-I'm sorry!" she stuttered, her face turning red. The black haired boy laughed.

"Running from Clarisse? ah, another victim."

The girl looked at her, her grey eyes filled with sympathy, and said,

"Go to the Hermes cabin. That's where Newbies go before they're claimed. Plus. you'll be somewhat safe there" She then pointed to a wooden cabin with a sign with a pair of winged shoes on it.

Jay nodded before saying thanks and dashed to the cabin. There, a Hermes girl showed her to a spare bed and she sat down on it. A little while later, Luke walked in, a tray of food in his hands.

"Heard that you didn't get anything to eat" he said, handing the tray to her.

Jay looked up at him, a grateful smile of thanks on her face. She was starving, but she was too afraid of exiting the cabin, afraid she would get humiliated again, or worse.

" Tomorrow I'll give you a proper tour of camp. Its the least I can do." He said.

"Thanks" She said, before eating her food. Later, Hermes kids filed into the cabin and talked to the new girl, before laying down and falling asleep. She noticed that Luke wasn't there, and she was informed that Counselors had separate rooms.

She oddly felt a bit unsafe without him near, but she eventually fell asleep.

If this is a magical place where gods are real, wheres the magic?

I'll probably see some tomorrow.