A New Path - Part 4

As crazy as my first morning at camp had been, it was nothing compared to what faced me in the afternoon and evening. It started with learning the eating routine. I walk with my new bunkmates from cabin 11 over to the eating pavillion and barely avoid a big mistake right off the bat. You see, there are many tables in the dining area. More than enough for all the campers and then some. To me, it only makes sense that if a table is full, you find an open table, right? Wrong! Apparently this is a reserved seating situation, no exceptions. One table for each cabin.

I see the cabin 11 table full and am about to find another open seat when someone grabs my arm. "Dude! You want a thunderbolt up your rear?!? You can't sit at that table!" I look at my bunkmate in disbelief, "But how can I fit at table 11? It's all full." He smiles back at me, "Don't worry, we will find a way to squeeze you in." And they did. It was pretty much some people sitting in other's laps, elbows in tight, and alternating breaths with the people next to you. Not the best way to enjoy a meal. I feel like maybe it might be worth it to upset a god if it means 3 extra inches of space, but I guess I have to at least give camp traditions one try first.

The food is brought out and is pleasantly surprising. I knew it would be greek themed and I was expecting something along the lines of what Barnaby ordered back at the truck stop. What I end up with though is absolutely amazing. Roast meat, fresh veggie sides, and a cup that fills itself with pretty much anything you ask for. Whoever caters for this place, I highly recommend them for your next party.

I am all set to dig right in when the strangest thing happens. The tables get up, one by one, walk over to the fire pit and scrape part of their food into the flames. I am not talking about fat or other things that might be considered waste. I am talking about prime bits of food being dropped right into the fire. Poof! Gone. What the heck? I kinda follow the herd up to the fire when table 11 gets it's turn. I get up to the fire and just stand there, not knowing what to do until I get elbowed in the back. I hear a whisper, "It's an offering to the gods. Just say your parent's name and drop something in." So now what? I still don't know who my parent is. I fudge it as best I can and just whisper, "For mom". I scrape the best part of the meat into the fire. I wanted that part for myself, but maybe if I make my mom happy, she will want to claim me. It disappears into the fire with a satisfying "fwoomp", but instead of charred meat smoke, I suddenly smell a pleasant blend of fruit and flowers that remind me of my gandmother's garden back home. I don't know what that means, but I hope it is good.

So, I work my way through the rest of the meal as best I can. I watch the other tables with more than a little envy as they stretch out and laugh with each other. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to cabin 11 for taking me in and there is certainly no shortage of laughter here. I just can't help but feel that this is the table for the social misfits, and it really bothers me for some reason.

As lunch concludes, most of the campers scatter and head off to their afternoon activities. I just stand around looking embarrassed, not sure where to go next. I start tp think about going over to the arena. Not to fight, of course. I have no plans to start gettign cut up or get my armor dented this soon. Maybe I can pick up some pointers though, surprise a few people when I do have to fight, make a good first impression with other campers. Chiron sees me and has other plans though. "Fitting in well, Sean? You certainly look more like one of us now." I shrug, "Yeah, I think I am getting the basics ok. Just not sure where to go now." He nods down at me in understanding. "It will take us a few days to get your measure and find out which classes you belong in. For today, why don't you join the group over by the lake? It will be a good team building exercise and help you get to know a few more faces." He claps me on the shoulder and I head off in the direction indicated.

I arrive at the shore of the lake where a number of campers are attaching colored flags to a group of canoes. I give them a half wave as I approach. "Hey, uh, I was told to come down and join you guys." I get a mixed reaction of general "hi there" and "oh great, another new guy" comments until one of the older girls steps forward. She looks to be maybe 16 and is probably one of those untouchable cheerleader types wherever she is from. "Well, hey there cutie! I'm Keri, daughter of Aphrodite. What's your name?" "I'm Sean, son of...well, I don't know yet." She gives me a wink and a big white smile. "That's ok. Sometimes it takes a while to get that part sorted out. You know how to handle a canoe?" Now being from Cali, I have been on plenty of boats before, just never any that I had to power myself. I shurg and reply with a neutral, "I can give it my best shot." Keri tosses me an oar and scans the other campers. "So, anyone still need a partner?"

A smaller girl raises her hand. She looks to be about 13 like me. She has long, straight black hair tied back with a green ribbon and deep green eyes. Clothing wise, she has the typical orange camp shirt and shorts that everyone else here has on, including me. She holds out a bag of trail mix to me. "Want some? Good energy for the race." I still feel full from lunch, but decide to take a handfull anyways. She smiles as I take it. "Sean, right? I'm Chloe, daughter of Demeter. You sure you know what you're doing?" I suddenly feel awkward, thinking suddenly that maybe I am doing something to look like an idiot. I blush a little and say, "I think so, but if you have any pointers..." She smiles as she grabs her own oar and heads over to one of the boats. "Just do what I tell you and you will be fine. Oh, and listen for the team captain too. She might have orders for us."

I follow Chloe to the canoe. They are small models designed for two people. Twelve boats in total divided into four teams of three. I am on the pink team, the team color being chosen by Keri, who turns out to be our team captain. The rules of the race are simple, do whatever it takes to get one of your team's boats around the circuit and to the finish line first. No weapons allowed in this particular race, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that a few of these racers know some dirty tricks using just oars and boats.

As the race gets underway, I quickly realize I am doomed. This is not anything against Chloe, she is actually pretty good as an individual canoe leader. What we have against us is that I am the new guy that all the other boats want to see get dumped in the lake my first time out. On top of that, Keri decides that she is going to make a run for the finish herself and wants the other two pink boats to do what we can to block the other teams. Combine that with a strong desire from the other teams to dump Keri and her perfect hair in the lake and...yeah, this is going to be rough.

Chloe is pretty good at synchronizing our paddle strokes and we shoot out with the other lead boats, staying right behind Keri and her partner. The other pink boat is not so lucky and we see it get flipped almost immediately by two of the red team boats. Luckily, that cost them time and we find ourselves with only two blue boats and one green in the lead pack with us. Chloe and I try to keep the more aggressive blue boats away from Keri, according to the plan, but they are much more experienced than we are and manage to slip around us and close in Keri's boat.

It looks like green and blue struck a deal before the race, because right as the blue boats hook their oars into the side of Keri's boat, the green boat comes up fast from the other side and tries to add some extra power into the efforts to flip it. Now, Keri's partner is a big guy from cabin 9 and seems to have a very good grasp of how to shift weight around to maintain balance. The ultimate result is 4 boats tangled up with each other while we try to figure out what to do next.

The slower boats start to catch up, so Keri waves us on and we take off as fast as we can. One of the blue boats sees us and tries to catch up. We paddle as fast as we can, but there is no way we are going to outrun them. They are just too strong and get more out of each oar stroke than we do. They pull along side and start using their oars to try to tip us over. One guy swings his oar staright at me. I manage to lean back and dodge it, but the sudden shift in weight nearly causes our canoe to tip over in the other direction. Chloe throws herself against the opposite side of the boat to even us out. Another swing of the oar from blue and I do the only thing I can think of to fend him off by kicking out with my feet. I don't know how it happened, but I must have caught the oar just right because it goes spinning out of the guy's hands and splashes into the water about 20 feet away.

Chloe and I jump on the chance to break away and start paddling furiously towards the finish line. With only one oar now, the blue boat starts falling further and further behind. Only a few more boat lengths to go! Take that suckers! This race is ours! And...SPLASH!!! Something hits our boat hard and we both go flying into the water. I see Chloe flailing nearby and in a state of shock, either from the cold water or maybe just the unexpectedness of the plunge we just took. I grab onto her and try to pull her back to the surface with me. Now let me clarify something. I grabbed whatever I could get a hold of. I did not intentionally grab her THERE! Regardless, I came to the surface feeling rather embarrassed and Chloe came to the surface quite mad at me. I barely notice the naiads high-fiveing each other as the blue boat limps by and crosses the finish. I am too busy trying to stammer an apology to Chloe.

I reach the shore, dripping wet and shivering from the cold. Getting dry and especially staying out of Chloe's way are high priorities for me as I trudge back through the camp. The second is apparently not to be though, as Chiron calls all the campers together for a game of capture the flag. 3 cabin vs 3 cabin, full weapons, full armor, no holds barred capture the flag. I learn that Apollo cabin will be leading one team and has randomly drawn Demeter and Hermes (my temporary home) for allies. Ares will be running the show on the other side with Hephaestus and Aphrodite as their allied draws.

Having no combat experience, I end up tucked away against the very edge of the forest that serves as the playing field for this game. Chloe gets assigned to the same spot. The looks she gave me earlier at the lake were enough to intimidate me. Now that we are alone in a forest and she is holding a wicked looking spear, I am rather terrified.

We both find hiding places behind some bushes and sit there in a tense silence until I can't stand it anymore. "Look, Chloe, I'm..." "Shhhhhh!" she whispers to me as she gives a menacing stare. "Really! I didn't mean to..." "Zip it perv boy! You want to give away our position? I swear, I would rather have my teddy bear here than...EEEEEEEK!"

A big guy in heavy armor and blood red trim comes bursting through the undergrowth heading straight towards the last sounds made, Chloe. I have no time to ponder how such a big guy got to this side of the field so quickly without making any noise. I just know he is bad news for us. I do the first thing that comes to mind and heroicly, or is that stupidly, throw myself between Chloe and our attacker. I manage to get my shield out in front of his thrusting blade and it hits with a satisfying clank. However, not being a combat expert, I fail to factor in that shield angle is just as important as shield position. I learn that lesson the hard way as the blade is redirected right into my shoulder. Luckily, the initial impact already hit me with anough force to knock me backwards and reduce the sword slice down to a deep gash rather than taking my whole arm off.

This attacker is skilled though and knows how to press an advantage. With my momentum already moving me backwards, he lashes out with a heavy bronze boot to me midsection and I go flying. I am already short of breath from the kick and the impact with the ground takes whatever breath I have left over away. My dropped shield goes sliding off into the bushes. I figure I am a goner when I see Chloe drive in at him from the side, spear point flashing. He brings his shield around quickly and manages to knock aside her charge. She makes several more wild thrusts, eventually embedding her spearpoint deep into the top of his boot. The spear sticks in place and the warrior lashes out with the same kind of kick that got me. I see Chloe go down in much the same way I did.

So, call me old fashioned if you want, but I couldn't let Chloe get hit while she is down, even if it is a natural part of the combat process. Despite protests from my injured shoulder, I pull myself up just enough to launch myself at the back of the guys knees. I hit one of his legs and he comes crashiing down to the ground right beside me. I scramble to my feet and grab Chloe, much more carefully this time, to try to pull her to safety. I look behind me and see the big brute getting back to his feet. This is not going to end well. I hold my sword out with my one good arm, ready to make a last stand. And nothing...the guy gets a kinda distant look in his eyes and then just falls forward. As he goes to the ground, I see a brightly colored arrow sticking out of the back of his leg.

A moment later, a girl comes running out of the bushes. Her fancy bow marks her as someone from the Apollo cabin and I let me sword drop down to the ground before my adrenaline gives out and I drop to my knees. The girl is about the same height as Chloe and has similar dark black hair, but wears it in a bun instead of just tying it back with ribbon. She has a brown shirt and green shorts that help her blend in quite well with the forest. Probably a lot smarter than the gleaming bronze armor most of us have on.

Her amber eyes give Chloe a quick once over before giving her the thumbs up and motioning for her to report back to the main group at the flag. Chloe runs off and the girls comes over to me, concern on her face as she sees the state of my shoulder. She pulls something out of her brown belt pouch and dribbles something on my wound. It burns and I can't help but wince at the pain, but the burning dies down pretty quickly and I try to give her an appreciative smile as she starts to wind a bandage over my arm. She sees me smiling and watching her work and turns away blushing. I see her eyes flick back to my face every once in a while and each time she looks away again just as quickly. She finishes up and stands to go. "Thanks." She just stands their quietly, not really sure what to say. "I'm Sean, by the way." She continues to watch me shyly. "Can I least get a smile? Something? Just a little smile?" She blushes, smiles, and runs off into the woods.

I head in the direction Chloe went, figuring I have no chance of keeping up with the Apollo girl if she doesn't want to be followed. I make it back to the flag clearing just as a horn sounds to end the match. Our flag is gone. From all the blood and scattered equipment, I am guessing the Ares kids swept through pretty fast and efficiently.

I walk back up to the main camp, my shoulder already feeling better. Marcus was certainly right about the quality healing they have available. I should really find out that girl's name and thank her again. She did a great job. I get my gear stowed back at the cabin and change into fresh clothes before heading down to dinner. The dinner experience is much the same as lunch, with the exception of a bit more space due to the number of campers recovering from more serious wounds up at the main house.

Afterwards, I get my first experience at the bonfire. Officially, it is a time to socialize and kick back at the end of the day. Most of the songs though are still trianing oriented. A few even point out mistakes I made during the day. Coulda used those earlier... I also learn that this is when they decide to make a big public event out of introducing new campers to everyone that have not already met them. So, basically I get pulled to the center of the circle and paraded around the fire for everyone to see. I am already blushing pretty hard from this and wishing I could get off the stage when it happens.

I suddenly get enveloped in this pale glow. The effect is pretty much like a spotlight from nowhere, making sure I am the center of attention. And then I look down and see that my appearance has completely changed. Not my face or anything, but my clothes are gone and replaced with a bright white greek robe that hangs off one shoulder and stops just above my knees. My skin also looks like it has been covered in bodybuilder oil or something because I am shiny and what muscles definition I have has been magnified several times. Golden bands on biceps and wrists. I gotta say, I like it! Except for one thing...no pants. I am not saying the robe shows off anything private. I just feel a bit exposed down there and having every girl stare and whisper to her closest friend is a little unsettling. I still don't really understand what the heck is going on until Chiron steps forward and using his bellowing voice to proclaim, "Behold! Lord Sean, Son of Aphrodite!"

To be continued...