Sarah Lesley

So my trip is kinda hazy. Here's basically what I remember.

I woke to the feeling of thick straw rope around my wrists and ankles. I opened my eyes to darkness, and the smell of fresh hay. I felt a gag over my mouth, as I struggled with the bonds.

No matter what I did, they didn't loosen. If anything, they got tighter, and my wrists are now raw.

With every minute that passed, it seemed as if the bonds were getting tighter. I could feel it getting harder to breath as the gag tightened. After I'm guessing thirty minutes, I heard a door open, and felt a hand on my arm. The binds loosened and the gag fell off. I gasped for air, and tuned over, leaning on my elbow.

I turned around and punched the person in the nose.

"Ow! Geez! What was that for?" Jacob said, holding his nose.

"Oh! Jacob!" I said, lunging at him with a hug. He returned the hug, and said, "Hey Sarah. I know your probably tired and sore, but we need to get you out of here. I was on border patrol and saw you being dragged in a net, so I grabbed a friend and came and got you."

He grabbed my left hand and pulled me down the stairs that I didn't know were there, and into a Pegasus drawn wagon. As usual, my eyes watered with pain from making contact with him.

I sat down on the opposite side of the wagon, and put my head in between my knees trying not to throw up, as the wagon lurched forward and into the sky. I heard protests from below, and my vision turned black as I was bombarded with yet another vision. I saw a cannonball being shot out of, you guessed it, a cannon, and flaming arrows.

"Turn left!" I shouted. Jacob gave me a quizzical look, but didn't protest when his friend turned left, and nearly missed a flaming cannonball.

"Whoa. Close one. How'd you know they were firing at us?" Jacob asked.

"Another time. Please." I said, leaning over the edge and sending an acid pool down below. If you don't know what an acid pool is, well, it was my last meal, being forced UP my throat instead of down. Get it?

I breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh air, my throat burning like fire, and feeling like jelly. I turned back around and slid halfway down the side of the wagon, feeling like poop.

"Ya. Okay. Tell me some other time." He said, grabbing my backpack and taking out a napkin. "Here. Use this." He said, handing it to me, motioning for me to wipe me mouth. Groggily, I half-heartedly wipe my mouth and drop it over the edge.

"Hey Jen? She needs a doctor. She as white as a ghost, and is vomiting up a weeks worth of food."

Jen turned around, took one look at me, and told Jacob to take the reigns. She grabbed a sack from a corner and started setting out bottles of Gatorade and mushroom, and brownies?

She mixed all three in a Gatorade bottle and forced it down my throat. My stomach did NOT like that combo, and in an attempt to get it out, I spit it up over the edge. "Bombs away!" I croaked with a smile. Jen cracked a smile, and shoved a bite of brownie down my throat again.

It stayed down this time, and I started to feel better. My head was still pounding though, and I started to feel clammy. At this rate, I'll have nothing in my stomach, and would have had enough sleep in a week, for a man in a month. My vision faded in and out dizzily. You know what? It's like 11:32, I'm exhausted. I'll tell you the rest in the morning.

GOOD NIGHT.

Okay. I'm good now. Where was I? Oh, right. So basically, I woke up, unable to see, hear or feel anything but pain. A vision of a woman crumpling to the ground in agony. Hearing the screams of terror and pain. Feeling like a building crushed me, then was set on fire.

"It's weird. She can't get through the border. I even tried to give her permission, but it didn't work." Jacob said. I could hear voices next to me.

"I don't know. Maybe the gods don't want her in camp? Or maybe you don't have permission TO give permission. Maybe an older camper needs to." Jen said.

"Could you go ask Chiron? Or a cabin leader to? I'll stay here with her. But hurry. She needs a medic." He said, urgency in his voice. I heard running footsteps on grass, as Jen ran off. Jacob sighed.

"What am I gonna do with you?" He said, stroking my hair away from my face. I shivered from the cold. My eyes opened, to the dark moonlight. Jacob was sitting cris-cross next to me. My head was pounding, and my guy felt empty. I tried to sit up, but my hand slipped in the damp grass, and I slammed into the dirt, increasing my headache.

"Agh." I grunted, holding my head with both hands now.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Take it easy Sarah. You have no fuel. Nothings in your stomach. You threw it all up. Just, lay down, and we'll get you to a bed soon." He said.

I groaned in response, my eyelids droopy from exhaustion, as I rolled over onto my side, facing him. I closed my eyes, unable to fall asleep, but grateful for the break. About five minutes later I heard footsteps approach. I sat up, blurry eyed, and saw Jen and a tall man with short hair.

"So, what's the problem?" He asked.

"She can't get in. She can't get through the barrier, and we don't know why." Jacob explained.

"Uh, I know." I said, timidly raising my hand as all eyes turned on me. "I'm a human. Otherwise known as a full bred mortal. There's no way I can get through your barrier unless you guys let mortals in."

"I, Malcom Gray, give you permission to enter camp." The tall guy said. "Now let's try it."

I stood up wobbly, leaning on Jacob for support. I walked over to a stone archway, and as soon as I got underneath, I was stopped by an invisible force.

"Hmm. We may need Mr. D, or Chiron to try. You okay with camping out here tonight?" He asked.

"Sure. Just bring me a blanket?" I asked. Jen ran and grabbed one, and me and Jacob slept right next to the archway that night. I woke up to a bright light streaming through the trees. I sat up and blinked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

Jacob was already up, leaning on a tree nearby. "Hey. Your up."

"Yep." I said, standing up, and wrapping the blanket around me. "You got anything to eat? I'm starving!" I asked, my stomach grumbling.

"Not yet. Chiron said he'd bring some when he came back." He said, walking over to me. "You okay now?" He asked.

"Yep! I'm all good now. Same old me! Just, REALLY hungry." I answered with a smile. He smiled back, just as a guy in a wheelchair rolled up with two plates with steaming pancakes and syrup, eggs, and last but most certainly no least, BACON. (Echo, that's for you AND me.)

He handed me a plate and a fork, and I sat down and dug in, probably looking like a pig, but hey! I was starving. I heard Jacob and Chiron talking, but I ignored them, stuffing my face with pancakes. I looked up as I took a bite of bacon, and saw Chiron staring at me. His brown eyes pierced me, like he was looking at my insides.

This was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Well, I take it back. Not the WEIRDEST, but it was pretty weird. His guy was a centaur, with the glow of an immortal, but not a permanent immortal glow. It was odd. He had little stars floating around him, like the Milky Way.

I'm not gonna go into detail about what he said, because honestly, I don't remember much. So here's basically what he said. He did the whole, giving me permission thing, and I tossed my blanket to Jacob, AFTER I set down my plate, and walked to the arch.

Notes