The Runner

My mind was clear and blind at the same time, trying to stuff all my things into my pack and plan simultaneously. Maybe if I left at night no one would notice, but then how would I sneak out of the cabin? I was hardly a daughter of Hermes! But it was Friday, after dinner everyone would be in the woods for Capture the Flag, then would be the perfect time to escape!

I flopped down on the threadbare mattress with my full pack beside me. This time there would be no taking food, I'd have to take money or scavenge. I sighed, there was almost no mortal money in the camp, the Hermes cabin, of course, was an exception to the rule but stealing from thieves.... I grinned and crept across the room, beginning to rummage through drawers and bags carefully.

After about an hour of rummaging I finally had $357.40 enough to survive in the mortal world for a long time if I was careful. The sheer abundance of mortal money I had found had surprised me, I'd taken no more than a quarter of what I had found.

I heard footsteps approaching the cabin and I hastily shoved the money in my pack before pushing it under the bed and camouflaging it with my unmade covers. The door opened to allow Jim through, his face a mask of sweat, no doubt from training in the arena.

"What are you doing in here?" He said, breathing hard as he searched for a bottle of water on a cluttered beside table.

"Thinking." I told him, avoiding his eyes and staring hard at the floor.

He took a long swig from his canteen before responding. "You can't just avoid training, you know."

I shot him a glare. "Aren't you still mad at me or something? Why do you even care?"

"I was mad at you." He admitted. "But now I'm not, because your my friend and I do care. Now, are you coming to practice."

I stood and walked over to him. "I might be your friend." I told him. "But that doesn't mean you're mine. I don't have any friends here." I stormed out the door, casting an uneasy look at my hidden pack over my shoulder before slamming the door behind me. I leaned against the wall with a sigh, knowing that any friends I had would try to look for me, and that wasn't allowed to happen. It was best that I would just leave and never come back, leaving as few scars behind me as possible. I pushed myself from the wall and jogged to the arena to let off some steam, a single tear hovering in my eye.

Notes