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Crystalline Melodies I: Undying Strains

[PRESENT] Mint Flavored Pain-Killer

RECOMMENDED SONG ACCOMPANIMENT: "Start Again" by Red
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MEnuAelysI
I sit up with a start, and am immediately greeted by a gut-wrenching pain in my side. I struggle not to let loose a shout, and barely manage to bite it back enough to muffle it into a quiet groan. Clutching at my side angrily, I slide up against the wall and squeeze my eyes shut. 'What happened?' I wonder.

"Hey."

I open my eyes and standing in front of me is a brown haired girl who looks roughly my age. She wears an unrealistically wide grin, and her warm brown eyes look a bit over-optimistic. That sort of startles me. 'What does she have to be so happy about?'

"I'm Nicole. Nicole Janes. I'm a 16-year-old daughter of--" she hesitates, then sticks out her hand in the standard American greeting, not bothering to finish her introduction.

I use my good arm to take it and shake it. I'm a bit awkward about it, but at least I remember how. "K-Krys…" I mumble, my tongue feeling like a giant cotton wad. "Sōlaha."

Nicole blinks. "Pardon?"

Irritated, I'm about to repeat myself, when I realize I wasn't even speaking English. It's been so long since I've ever actually had to speak it, that it doesn't even come naturally anymore. Now that realization hurts.

"Seventeen." I say, this time taking care that I use the correct English word.

She smiles. "Cool. I--"

She is interrupted by my own fit of coughing. Each bout makes me feel as if my ribcage is being ripped apart from the inside out, and I nearly choke trying to stop it. Nicole rushes over and holds a cup of something sweet-smelling to my lips. I shrink away from it. I never take food or drink from anyone I don't trust, as I can't know what kind of sick things might have been put into it. Nicole, however, looks genuinely confused at my reaction. "It's a…painkiller. It'll help with your side."

Her hesitation throws me off, but there's something about her -- something innocent -- that makes me feel as if I can trust her; at least enough to take the pain reliever. The pain in my rib cage is way worse than any kind of poison I can think of, so I decide it's worth the risk and grab for the cup. I down it in one large gulp, completely ignoring the startled expression on Nicole's face. It tastes kind of like the homemade mint chip ice cream my mom used to make, back when I was seven or eight.

When I'm done, I hand the cup back to her and swing my legs over the side of the cot, struggling to stand.

The Nicole girl puts a hand on my good shoulder and pushes me back onto the cot, firmly but gently. "Oh, no. You're not going anywhere. Not in this condition." I glare up at her, mentally debating the pros and cons of protesting, but eventually my screaming rib cage makes the decision for me. I reluctantly allow myself to relax against the wall, releasing the tension which was actually causing most of the pressure in my chest and side.

Nicole takes a seat in a chair next to my cot and settles back. Her ability to relax so easily in the company of strangers surprises me.

"So, Krys…" She begins, looking thoughtful. "How did you get here?"

For the first time, I realize that I have no clue where I am. I look around frantically, barely able to keep the sudden panic at bay. It appears that, by the rows of cots and tables stacked high with medical supplies, this is the camp infirmary.

"Don't worry," Nicole says. "You're safe. No monsters can get in here."

I look at her sharply. "Mŏnasṭara?"

"Do you not speak English?"

"I do." I say, the words feeling strange and unfamiliar on my tongue. "Sorry. Monsters?"

"Yup. I assume that's what got to you. You were pretty beat up when I found you."

My shoulders sag slightly. "Giant dog-things. Do not remember many else." No, that isn't right. I guess I'll just have to work on my grammar.

"Hellhounds, then. They were probably hellhounds."

I raise my eyebrows. "Hellhounds? Like…like in mythology?"

She nods. "Yes. Exactly like in mythology."

I give her a funny look but decide that it is ultimately best to find out more about this place before questioning its religious principles.

"You didn't answer my question, though. How'd you get here?"

"I walked."

She cocks her head, grinning as if I've just said the funniest thing ever. "Feel free to elaborate."

"Um…I flew. Not literally!" I quickly clear up, not sure exactly what might be taken the wrong way here. "On a jet. Then I took a taxi. Then I walked."

Nicole looks as if she wants to question further, but doesn't push it. "Alright then. How are you feeling?"

"It is not going to heal in five min--" I suddenly realize that the pain has subsided to near nonexistence. I feel it over repeatedly, and the pain the touch causes is less than half of what it was previously. I stand, testing out my slightly widened range of movement. "What was…what was in that?"

Nicole smiles slyly. "We've got our own…herbal techniques. They work a lot better than most medicine you'd find in your average hospital."

Generally, a statement as vague as that would set off a million mental warning bells, but again, there is just something about her…maybe I subconsciously read her, I don't know, but it's gotta be something.

"How about, now that you're feeling better, I take you on a little tour?"

"Uh…sure?"

She smiles widely. I think someday, her face is gonna freeze that way. "Great!" She stands and heads for the door.

"Wait!" I shout.

She stops and turns. "What?"

"Where are my bags?"

"Under the cot. We can come back for them later."

I shake my head. "Uh, uh. Nope. I am not chancing these things getting stolen." I bend down, wincing in anticipation of the pain that doesn't come, and pull the three bags out from under the cot.

She raises an eyebrow, but other than that doesn't protest at all. I sling the bags over my good shoulder and follow Nicole out of the infirmary and into the cool, open, dusk air. I blink repeatedly, my eyes taking their sweet old time readjusting to the change in lighting.

"Alright!" Nicole claps her hands together. "Short tour. It's almost dinner. So. Where we just were is the Big House and makeshift Infirmary. If you need to talk to Chiron or you get hurt in a battle, then that's where--"

"Who is Chiron?"

She stifles a chuckle. "You'll see. Soon. Up here," she points north, "across the river we have the cabins. That's where we campers stay. You'll be in Hermes cabin until you're claimed."
This surprises me. 'Hermes? What, is this camp Greek themed?'

"Bathrooms are just east of the cabins, and the mess hall is just north of those. Then north-west of here is the training arena, and--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. There's a training arena?"

Nicole nods, seeming to be a bit impatient to get to dinner. "Yes. You've got to learn to defend yourself from monsters." Her eyes narrow. "How'd you…how did you fend off the hellhound if you haven't even started training yet?"

I reach into one of my duffels and pull out the blood stained karambit. "Who says I have not trained before?"

She looks surprised, but then smirks. "Nice." She sighs. "Alright. Even further north-west is--"

I can sense how badly she wants to get to dinner, and though I don't know why, I interrupt her. "It's alright. I know you want to go. You can give me the full tour in a day or two.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"I would not have said it if I was not sure."

Nicole smiles widely. "Thanks! I promise I won't forget." She turns to go, but looks at me before running off. "Want me to come with me or get settled first?"

"If you could just point me in the right direction of this Hermes cabin, I'll be fine."

She points north. Just follow the trail. It's number eleven. Hurry! You'll want to get to the mess hall before the food's all gone…that is, if you want to eat." And with that, she sprints off and is gone.

I give a little sigh before beginning my mini-trek to the cabin area.

I have to say, just based on the cabins, this is the strangest camp I've ever seen in my life. Not that I've been in very many, but this one is just plain weird. There are about twenty cabins, placed in a semicircle facing the trail. The weird part is that every single one is completely different. Usually, you'd imagine a camp would make some sense of sameness to keep there from being claims of favoritism, or even just to keep it more organized. But I guess that's not always the case. There are two directly opposite the trail that look like mini Greek Parthenons, one slightly larger and more ornate than the other. One is apparently ocean themed -- 'Is that real sea rock it's made out of?' -- and another is completely covered in vines and flowers and pretty much any other kind of plant you could imagine. There's one that looks like it might be made of solid gold, with how brightly it reflects the last of the setting sun, and still another that looks like the home of a bunch of savages -- a boar's head is mounted above the door, weapons are scattered all over the front porch, et cetera. I could go on forever, listing each of the vast array of differences and describing the strange lack of similarity that is nearly overwhelming about this place. But I decide that a good meal sounds better than musing over the peculiarity of the camp creators' architectural and décor tastes.

I head for the cabin marked as #11 and walk in without even knocking. Luckily, all of its inhabitants are absent -- probably at the mess hall -- and I can have a few moments to by myself before fully subjecting myself to this strange new society.

The cabin itself isn't the cleanest, but it's definitely much cleaner and more stable architecturally than any other building I've slept in before. I guess I should consider myself lucky. This place is like a treasure trove of opportunities.

But what kind of opportunities?

Notes

Again, I apologize for the suckiness of my writing lately...I've been struggling a lot with it, and it's a wonder I'm even getting this much out at a time. I am normally an extremely slow writer, as I do all my editing at the same time I write it (basically I don't use first drafts), but I've been trying to shut that editor off a bit so I can spit things out quicker for you guys. However, I've already gotten a head start on the next two chapters, AND a detailed plan, so hopefully I'll get those out to you very soon.

I don't think this song has a whole lot to do with this chapter, it's kinda just a filler and gives an overall sense-ish of emotional-sense-ish blah blah blah. Song suggestions open.


If you are enjoying this so far, please like and subscribe! Any and all comments are appreciated as well. It's your guys' support that motivates me to write (seriously, with all this encouragement, I'm writing two times faster than I ever have before.) So thank you!

Comments

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@theteenagefandom
Aww, that means a lot. <3 :) I've missed you guys!

Torissa Nikole Torissa Nikole
1/17/16

I would so buy your books if you got them published...not even kidding this is literally my favorite thing.

The story certainly held high expectations with the amazing cover art, the Summary also looked interesting! The thing that threw me off was all the characters. I have ADHD and it's hard for me to keep track of stuff, and sixteen characters just get jumbled around inside my head. ALSO, the updates are chopped up and not consistent, so when you do update the reader forgot where he/she left off and must re-read the entire thing. I'm not trying to be rude though, I love your writing, it's very intriguing and you have a good story line going. The thing is: you haven't updated in three months and that is a very long time BTW. Sorry for the rant, I actually love your story!
#SquirrelHugs
Constrictor Constrictor
7/20/15

@Lucas Fane
You can insult me if you like, but please DON'T insult readers. I appreciate all opinions, positive or negative, so it's fine for you to think it's bad. You're entitled to yours. But if you won't specify WHY you dislike it or give constructive criticism, then please keep your pessimism to yourself, especially if you are going to pick at my friends.
Also, you failed to spell "shittiest" and "slut" correctly. If you're going to criticize, please do it properly.

Torissa Nikole Torissa Nikole
4/22/15