This Can't Be Real Life! (Ch. 9)

The girl ran down the steps and I got a better view of her. She had long, curly, waist-length, ginger hair that was tied up in a long, white ribbon. Her eyes were aquamarine with gorgeous flecks of dark green scattered throughout them. A small line of freckles were splattered across the bridge of her nose. She was wearing a light purple baby doll top that gently brushed the cuffs on her tan shorts and she wore a pair of purple converse high tops. She was a pretty little girl.

"Claire…are you sure you're ready for this?" Chiron asked her. She shook her head violently. Chiron's eyes narrowed. "Then show me."

She pulled something out of her shorts pocket. It was small, roughly the size of a switchblade. She held it out in front of her and muttered something in Greek. In an instant the small item extended to a full bow. She then pulled out a tube of what looked like Chap Stick and tossed it in the air. It became a quiver and appeared on her back. She aimed and fired, hitting someone's pants so precisely, the pants got stuck in the wall behind them. She did all of this within like five seconds. My mouth dropped in amazement.

"There." She said in a sweet voice.

"Well looks like you've been practicing." Chiron said impressed. "We have our three heroes. Pack your stuff today and be ready by dawn tomorrow heroes." Chiron informed us.

"Wow! She's good!" I muttered in Damon's ear.

"Yeah! Well anyway we need to go pack and get to know Claire a little. I mean we are going to be traveling with her for our quest, so we should at least know her a little." He explained. I nodded my head understandingly. We both got up and Damon walked me to my cabin, and then left after he escorted me there.

I began to stuff my bag with the essentials: clothes, toiletries, you know stuff like that. I also slipped my sketchbook in there, too. I was ready and packed within five minutes. I put my stuff on my bed…I mean I don't need it until tomorrow, right? I opened my cabin and ran right into a small red-headed child. We both fell back on our butts and the breath was knocked out of me. A small red-headed girl was sprawled out in front of me rubbing her head.

"Ouch! Well that hurt." Claire muttered.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" I stood up, dusted myself off, and thrust a hand out to the girl. She smiled weakly at me and took my hand.

"It's ok." She looked down at my feet and back up to my head in a sweeping glance. "You're the girl going on the quest too, right?"

"Yeah…I'm Lila by the way."

"Claire." We shook hands and began to talk a little.

"So Claire what cabin are you from?" I asked making small talk.

"Hephaestus." She said proudly, her head held high.

"That's cool and it explains the bow and arrow contraptions."

"Speaking of bows and arrows, who else is going with us? I came in after the first person was announced."

I bit my lip a little just thinking about Damon and I sighed heavenly. "Damon. Damon Carter, son of Athena."

"Cool. A smart one, that's good. He'll keep us out of trouble…hopefully." She giggled.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later. I've got to pack!" She told me. I shook my head and she skipped away gracefully. I smiled at her. She was such a sweet girl but she was packed with skill for eleven.

*Later*

I took my casual clothes off and put my pajamas on, climbing into my bunk bed. I had to go to the big house tomorrow morning, and then I will leave for the quest. I gently lay my head on my pillow and closed my eyes and I was asleep. I began to dream…

I sat in a dark room, and was tightly tied to a cold, metal chair. A rough, cloth material was bound around my eyes. I felt something wet slowly trickle down my left cheek. It was probably blood. I started to struggle a little bit, but that just seemed to make the already tight ropes tighter. I grunted in pain.

"Now child, struggling will get you nowhere." I heard a voice to my right call.

"W-whose there?" I asked shakily.

"That is not very important, is it Lila?" The voice remarked sarcastically. The voice sounded male.

"How the hades do you know my name?" I spat back.

"Oh so that is your name. We were- talking to a young boy and he mentioned a girl named Lila."

"You have Damon, too?" I screamed.

"Finally, so the boy does have a name. He wouldn't tell us his name earlier. He he he." The man laughed evilly.

"Let him go you bastard!" I yelled angrily.

Something zipped through the air and came in contact with my right cheek. I screeched in pain.

"Don't you dare insult me!" I started crying from the pain. I couldn't even rub it to help stop it.

"W-what d-do y-you w-want? W-what d-did y-you d-do w-with A-Athena?" I said in-between sobs.

"STOP CRYING! I'm not going to tell you, pitiful demigod." He said hatefully.

"I'll stop if you take this damn blind fold off of me." I said very mentally hurt.

"Fine. It doesn't matter if you see me really. I'm not in my immortal form anyway." Footsteps approached me and a cold hand grabbed at the cloth over my eyes. The cloth got half-way off and I gasped in horror. Then-

I woke up in a cold sweat. I never saw the face of the man… I looked at my iPod's clock and saw that it was 4:37 a.m. I ran my hand through my hair and slowly, quietly slipped out of bed. I groggily walked to the bathroom. I took my clothes off and jumped into the hot, running water.

While I shampooed my hair I thought of my dream. I mean what was that? I certainly hope that not all demigod dreams are real or come true. I quickly finished my shower and dried off with a soft towel. I put my camp-half blood t-shirt on and a pair of shorts. I dried my hair as fast as I could and ran my hair brush through it. Content with how looked I left the cabin and headed to the Big house.

I glanced at my iPod's clock; 5:30. When I got to the Big house the lights were already on. I knocked on the door and no one came. I let myself in and was greeted with two people yelling at each other. I walked in and watched the people fight from afar…I mean who doesn't like a good fight, right?

"…I need to go with her dad!" someone yelled.

"But only three people can go on a quest and don't call me your father!" another yelled.

"She's my sister and you ARE my father!"

"You weren't meant to happen, Dria!"

"Well, you were the one who got my mother drunk! I guess being the god of wine doesn't always have its upsides, huh Dionysus!" So it was Dionysus and Dria. I approached them a little.

"Alexandria! You better watch your mouth! And you're not going and that's final!"

"But that's where you're wrong!"

"Dria, I am your father and the camp leader and you are to listen to me!"

"Oh so you DO admit you're my father."

Dionysus sputtered in frustration. This is where I decided to put down my fake popcorn and intervene. Vines were starting to sprout everywhere and remembering how I got my scar…I just don't want that to happen again.

"H-hi." I quietly muttered. Dionysus was red in his face but when he saw me he calmed a little.

"Oh hello Lila. You're here earlier than you had to be."

"I had a...nightmare." I said truthfully. Dria looked pissed and left in a huff.

Thankfully, before it got TOO awkward, Damon walked in rubbing his face.

"Ouch! What's wrong with your sister, Lila? She just slapped me and muttered something about me taking her place in the quest or… something?" He complained.

Dionysus scoffed, rolled his eyes, and waved it off leaving the room. Damon and I stared at each other awkwardly and then just shrugged it off. As if on cue, Claire skipped in with Chiron closely behind her.

"Well, you two are in here early. Where's Mr.D?" Chiron asked.

"Well…he…um…I don't even know anymore." Damon sputtered out.

"Ok…well come with me children. I need to discuss the quest with you a little more before you three leave." We followed him to a back room.

Sorry this took so long. I had temporary writer's block, but last night I was able to come up with the dream and the fight so I feel it was a well-deserved wait. R&R