Chapter Two

I woke up in my cabin, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Surely nothing had happened yesterday, right? No one thought I was psycho… It was just a normal day… My hands shaking violently, I pushed myself off of the sleeping bag I always slept with, seeing how no one else was in my cabin.

Staring up at my large father-statue, I let out a deep breath.

Hold it all in…

I held back all my emotions and looked around the place. For some reason, I felt unsafe. Like something at camp wasn't right. Then again, I always felt that way. Changing into black sweatpants and an oversized dark blue hoodie, I walked out of my cabin, only to be greeted by Will.

"Oh, hey- I was just coming to check on y-"

"I don't need your help. I'm fine." I snapped, turning to leave.

"But people've been saying-"

"Yeah. I've gone crazy."

"Listen… August-" Will took my arm. "I really think that they're right. I mean, you tried to run away, you were sobbing on the ground like a crazy person, you've been screaming in your cabin late at night, and of course, you tried to commit suicide."

"I. Didn't. Try. To. Commit. Suicide!" I growled, wrenching my hand out of his grip and smacking him hard on his arm. "Dang it, Will. Don't you get it? Some people LIKE to be left alone. For example, me."

Will stared at me for a long time, looking stunned and rubbing his arm.

"A-August- Stop being difficult. If you never let people help you… Then- Then your life won't get any better." he said softly, taking another step towards me.

"I don't need anything. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you." I responded, taking a step back and crossing my arms.

"Really? Then what was that period of your life when you were four years old at camp and you refused to get help, then you didn't eat forever? You say you don't need help, but you do. I see it. You hide your emotions deep down most of the time and it bubbles you up. Stop and get help…"

"You aren't my therapist and, well, lately, Μου'χεις κανει τη ζωη πατινι'!!!"

He looked offended when I responded, which made sense seeing how I'd basically called him a horrible person. He wasn't, though… That's what hurt me deep down, but I decided to shove it so deep I wouldn't need to worry about it anymore. I stormed away, leaving Will in the dust and spilling out a great deal of Greek curses.

"Jerks, they just don't think right… I mean… Me? A psychopath? I don't look like one! I don't act like one! Maybe if they'd seen drunk psychopaths like I've seen, they'd know what one looked like…" I began to talk to myself, doing little voices in my fake conversation.

"OMG's… Did you see that girl over there?"

"Yeah, the one everyone says is a psychopath?"

"That one… Such a weirdo, right?"

"HAHAHA! I CAN HEAR YOU, IDIOTS!" I laughed in my normal voice, ignoring all the crazy looks I got from the campers I walked past. "I'M NOT SOME PSYCHO!"

As soon as I reached the point of the strawberry fields, a voice came from the side of me, making my eyes narrow, "You sure sound like one for a girl who's screaming, 'I'm not a psycho! Just talking to myself and screaming!'"

I turned around to find the guy from yesterday, Parker or something, standing next to me.

"Go away, or I'll kick your gluteus maximus. Next it'll be up front if you bother me again. Maybe a punch would be a better deal. What would you say, Parker?" rolling up the sleeves of my hoodie, I stood into a wrestling form, not bothered by the height differences.

He raised a finger, "First off, my name is Paxton, not Parker. Second off, I say, no thanks. I'm thinking about not getting hurt again by you, especially when you obviously want to prove you're not a psycho. I don't think that will help your case, will it?"

I blinked. Oh. Paxton, of course. I'd totally forgotten! Mentally, I slapped myself then began to talk.

"Okay, well, give me one good reason I shouldn't punch you in the face, dork! I don't really like all of this reasonable stuff-" I was speaking straight off the bat without thinking prior to doing so. "Sorry about calling you the wrong name. But you can see how similar they are." I forced myself to back down and gave him a strained smile.

If I murdered him, people might think I was a psycho… And I didn't want that.

"It's fine, I've been called worse. But you might want to try not talking to yourself, if you want to pass yourself off as you said, 'not some psycho'." he responded, shrugging.

"Oh. I thought that was what normal people did…" I muttered, frowning.

At that moment, there was the clicking and clacking of hooves behind me and suddenly, Chiron was next to me.

"I enjoy seeing you making friends, August, but we do need to speak." he waved his arm to the side, gesturing me to follow him away from Paxton.

"Whatever you have to say can be said in front of him." I crossed my arms stubbornly and frowned. This was what normal people did, right?

He sighed and shook his head.

"Fine… What you said to Will this morning was unnecessary. He was simply trying to help you and there was no need to make a large deal of it. You'll be placed on bathroom duty for the next week, along with DAILY checkups."

Suddenly, my face was burning as Chiron walked off.

"Have a nice day, kids." he called back as soon as he disappeared.

Paxton turned to me, "So, did you really want me to hear that?"

If possible, my face grew a darker red.

"N-No- Not really…" I responded quietly.

"Okay, because I don't know what to think of that."

I blushed harder and decided to change the subject.

"How long have you known about the gods? And have you been claimed yet?"

"About a day, and no, I have not." he responded to my question, looking at me for a moment.

"Oh. I've known about them for… For a long time. Let's say that…. You got to camp really late for your age. Most kids get here around eight to thirteen. Except for me- Who do you think your godly parents will be?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, other than the fact it's my dad."

"Oh. I hope we aren't half siblings," I made a face, "I already struggle being alone in all of my cabins… I don't need you around. No offense. I just don't want any half-siblings. I'm fine being an 'only child'."

"Huh. No other siblings? Who's your godly parent then?"

"Godly parents," I corrected him, "Poseidon and Zeus."

"Two? Must be weird having two dads and one mom then." he said, looking slightly awkward.

"Not really. I don't have emotional connections to anyone. I try not to make them. I always hurt everyone I love. Besides, my mom's dead. My dads don't ever contact me… I've got no foster family. No orphanage. No friends. What does it matter?"

"So then why do you talk to people, or, for a matter of fact, do you stay here? If you don't make any emotional connections to anyone then why stay here where it's just full of people you can hurt."

I stayed quiet for a moment. I really didn't want to tell him what I felt like, but honestly, he gave off a vibe that made me want to tell him everything and anything.

"I… Well… Anywhere else… I guess I feel useless… I hurt mortals. No one likes me at camp, so how will I hurt them? I'm only here to clean for them in my mind… I just… I also have nowhere to go- I'm a legit monster magnet, so I can't really… Really put mortals in danger like that. It isn't fair to them… To throw away their lives for some girl who thinks she can barge in and try to fit in when in reality, she doesn't. At all," I glanced down and took a step back. "Camp just gives me a place to stay. Somewhere where people could care less if I fell off a cliff. It's either this, or dying. And at this point, I want to be dead. But people like YOU always find me. Take away my chance to rid myself from a world that doesn't need me."

He quietly looked at me for a moment then spoke, "Can I show you something?"

"That sounds like a line from some weird, romance movie, but okay- As long as it's not romance. If it's romance you can go ahead and go by yourself- I'd rather lick a dog's tongue than kiss you." I responded, regaining my snarkiness from my emotional state in a snap.

"Um, no, I don't really know you, but I think it might help if you see this." I screeched as he suddenly grabbed my wrist and we slipped into a shadow.

While traveling, I lost my stomach due to the weird feelings and lost my brain with his hand around my wrist. All adrenaline was screaming throughout me, making my heart beat quickly, but my brain kept yelling 'NO! LET GO!' It was all making me incredibly frustrated.

Suddenly, we appeared in a blackened, destroyed piece of land. Immediately, I wrenched my hand out of his and puked on the ground. After I spilled out my guts, I wiped my mouth off, shivered, and turned back to him, retching.

"You can shadow travel?!" I felt the spit on my chin, so I wiped it off quickly and glared at him. "Well, now we know what your godly parent is: Hades."

He shook his head, "Maybe, but I don't think so."

"Well, only Hades kids can shadow travel, idiot. Also, if this was supposed to make me feel better…"

I looked around and suddenly, the world went topsy turvy, making me crumple and black out into a whole other scene. My mom was standing in front of me, laying on the ground while a monster circled her. I couldn't see the creature perfectly, but I sensed it was bad.

"MOM!"

From the sound of my voice, I was about four… The year my mom died and I was directed to camp.

"Listen- People outside- Go-" her voice was cut when the thing pounced on her, ripping her to pieces in front of me.

I panicked as the monster turned on me.

"G-Go away! I-I don't l-like m-meanies!" I stammered, hurrying back, my small hands clutching a doll my mother had made for me.

Trying not to cry as I looked at the fractions of my mother's dead body scattered, I closed my eyes and poured out my anger into my fingertips. At the time, I'd only done this once before and it hadn't gone so well. This was what I wanted though.

Suddenly, all the outlets next to me burst into flames and I could feel electricity swarming the house, only feeding the monstrous fire. They grew around me, burning my back and catching the doll on fire. The creature screeched loudly and disappeared into thin air. Suddenly, arms were wrapped around me and I was pulled out of the fire, shooting me back to where I was at the moment.

I sat up, hyperventilating and looking around the ashes. Of course… I passed out because this had reminded me of how my house had ended. And my mother. After shakily breathing for a second, I lassoed all of my emotions and shoved them deep down.

Standing up as though nothing happened, I walked over to where Paxton was standing, staring at the destroyed piece of land.

"So, Parker, what is this place?"

"An old home, burned down to the ground by a lunatic who had no idea what he was doing, only frightened by someone who asked for shelter." he sighed.

"Oh. You sure seem to know a lot about this lunatic… Where's he now?"

"Lost, very very lost."

"Oh, hm…" I caught on quickly. It was obvious that he was the lunatic. "He seems pretty fine to me. Nice, sort of shy, a good head on his shoulders, and doesn't seem to be bothered by a whole lot. Which is sort of a superhuman thing. Plus, he's got good hair." I mentally groaned. Had I just complimented someone? Said something nice?

He looked over at me and I met his eyes, catching the small smile on his mouth and giving him a small, real, one back.

"Well, I think he would be touched by what you have said, especially the hair part." he responded, bringing a little bigger smile to my face.

"Huh. I'm glad he is." I really had nothing else to say, so I shut my mouth, forcing myself to look away from his green eyes.

Ew. Emotions. I totally wasn't attracted to him though. Just thought he was nice. But I wasn't about to make a friend, right? I'd just get him killed or something in the end. With those thoughts, a small blush came over my cheeks so once again, I mentally slapped myself.

"Aw, how adorable. The two outcasts getting along." I turned around to face some person I'd never seen before. My hand quickly went to my ring and the sword became a full grown thing. I had a bad feeling about this man… I positioned myself between Paxton and the man, my sword tip pointed at his chest.

"No need for that, I don't intend to make a big fuss." he snarled, rolling his eyes.

A god. Of course. From the way he talked…

"No big fuss or big fuss, I'm not moving. You better go away you fat μεγάλο πισινό." I threatened, the air around me crackling with moist electricity.

The god sighed and waved his hand, making Paxton's knees buckle behind me. I heard his choking and swiped my sword toward the god. When it missed, I dived onto him, trying to tackle him to the ground.

"STOP THAT! QUIT IT ΚΑΝΕ ΑΡΙΘΜΟΣ!!" I cried out, screeching.

The god sighed again, unbothered by me and flicked his hand, sending me flying off of him and smacking into the ground groaning a ten feet away from them. Paxton seemed to stop choking. Good. He was fine. As for my bones, I wasn't sure.

The god seemed slightly annoyed again. He glared down at Paxton's unmoving body.

"Come on." waving his hand, he somehow made Pax get swooped back into consciousness.

Forcing myself up, I nearly blacked out from the pain, though pushed through. I felt like many ribs were broken and definitely my foot and arm. I hobbled over to Paxton and flew my ring back onto my finger. Ignoring the god, I frowned down at him.

"You okay?"

"Not sure yet." he wheezed.

I turned to the god.

"Who do you think you are to just drop into someone's conversation like that! You have absolutely no right to do that, god or no god. You just showed up and disrupted everything! Are you the god of idiocy or something, because you really match all the qualities that one would have! Get out of here! I don't want to see your ugly face ever again in my life. I'd rather hug Tartarus than ever have you around me again."

Paxton crumpled behind me and I turned, picking him up and letting him use my broken bones to lean on. It hurt. A lot. Blinded by pain, I couldn't see two feet in front of me.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we've got to go," I frowned to the god then whispered in Paxton's ear, "Maybe you can show me another time. I'll just teleport us back to camp."

Concentrating the last of my energy on teleporting I waved to the god with my free hand.

"See ya, sucker."

Suddenly, the world spun and we were in the middle of the camp training grounds, being trampled by surprised, charging warriors.