Andrew

---

Andrew hissed in pain as a medic gingerly wrapped a bandage around his broken ribs. He could vaguely hear Chiron speaking softly to Chloe in the other room.
"All done," the Apollo camper said. "Let me know if it starts to hurt again."
"Thanks," Andrew said, buttoning up the short sleeve collared shirt over his wound. Gently pulling a sweater over his head, Andrew felt better as the familiar smell of his cabin came into his mind.
A knock on the door drew him from his thoughts and he saw Chiron standing at the door. "It's good to see you are alright Mr. Henderson," he said.
"Thanks," he said. "But sir, can you tell me what is going on?"
"Rachel gave a prophecy my boy," Chiron said. "Were you thinking about anything in particular when she came from the woods?"
"Uh, I don't think so," Andrew said. "I mean..I've felt a little bored lately."
"Ah, boredom," the centaur said, standing beside him. "Boredom is the God's way of telling you are wasting time."
"I was visited by Janus," Andrew said. "He told me I had to walk away from a certain path otherwise I would die. Do you think that has to deal with the prophecy?"
"It would make sense," Chiron said. "That prophecy was meant for you."
"You're saying Rachel gave me that prophecy? Chiron that's ridiculous, I'm no hero-"
"Nonsense," Chiron said, his tone firm. "Seeing as how she had full eye-contact with you during the event, it was meant for you."
Andrew shifted. The phrase a goddess born from the highest of treason did not bode well with him. Highest of treason could mean anything: betrayal, a fight, stealing, murder.
Andrew swallowed the bile that gathered in his throat, watching Chiron gaze from the room slightly.
"Do not fret my boy," Chiron said. "Everything always happens for a reason. I believe you were put on a path, and now, you must continue."
The centaur walked from the room, leaving Andrew to realize he was once again sitting in the small room alone. He sighed, running a hand quickly through his hair as he stepped out in the hallway running into a figure.
"Oh sorry!" Chloe cried. "I know you're probably sore."
"It's fine," Andrew said, rubbing his side, meeting her gaze. Somehow the green of her eyes became stronger from their walk from the beach to the big house. It seemed to draw Andrew into the ocean depth color.
"I uh, never got to thank you," he said, leaning against the wall. "You saved my life."
"It was nothing," Chloe said, a hint of a blush coming to her cheeks. "I should thank you as well. I don't think I made a good impression on your friends."
"Don't worry about them," Andrew said, giving Chloe a small smile.
Chloe met his gaze for a moment, her brow wrinkling.
"Is something wrong?"
"You're hungry," she said. "Oh! I feel terrible!"
"Don't be, I'm hungry most of the time," Andrew said. "Why don't you come with me to the mess hall? You should eat something yourself."
Chloe bowed her head, nodding. For some reason to Andrew she almost looked like a scolded dog, not believing what he had just said.
Outside the big house, the hustle and bustle of everyday camp life continued. Clairesse stuck camper's heads into the toilets and the Stoll brothers pick-pocketed the Aphrodite cabin as they walked by.
"I'm guessing Chiron explained everything to you in the Big House huh?"
"Yes," Chloe answered. "It wasn't that big of a shock. I've always known I'm different."
"Did your father tell you that? Or mother?" Andrew asked. "My father told me I was a demigod when I was ten."
"No," Chloe said, her expression unreadable. "My uncle always reminded me. He's an unpleasant memory."
Andrew frowned, not wanting to get off on the wrong start. Chloe stopped and turned to him.
"I'm sorry if I sound mad!" She cried. "Honest!"
"Hey it's okay," Andrew said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's isn't my place to pry about your personal life."
Chloe stared at him for a moment as if she were analyzing his words and gave him a small smile.
"You're very kind."
"Uh..thanks?"
"I'm sorry if I seem a little odd," Chloe said. "I just hear so many different thoughts and feelings, it's hard to tell which ones are yours."
"You hear them?" Andrew asked.
"Well not hear like listen, I sort of feel them in a way that I know means a certain thing."
"That's the craziest thing I ever heard!" A voice said behind them. Andrew cursed.
His sister approached, her blonde hair swishing in the wind. Celeste crossed her arms, looking Chloe up and down with judgmental eyes. Andrew guessed this was what his mother was like when she was running low on patience and drunk.
"So you're the one who saved my little brother today?" She asked. "He doesn't need help from you."
"He could have died," Chloe said, crossing her arms. "You could be grateful I saved him. He's your family. Family is everything."
Andrew raised an eyebrow. She seemed so small and frightened, he was surprised she could become defensive so quickly.
"I don't need to be grateful to you," Celeste hissed. A crowd began to gather around them and Andrew glared at her.
"Everyone here at this camp can sense it. You don't belong with your unnatural eye color and your bleach blonde hair. What? Did you dye it?"
"My hair isn't bleach blonde," Chloe answered, her tone calm. "I'm sorry you feel the need to start drama in order to gain attention. You'd think a child of Athena would have processed the pros and cons of that decision."
Celeste laughed for a moment before slapping her.
"Bitch! They might as well call you Crazy Chloe, because you are so out of it you can't even tell what reality is anymore!"
The campers around Andrew began to laugh. Chloe bowed her head, clenching her fists.
"I'm not crazy," she said, fuming.
"Oh," Celeste said. "Looks like Insane Jane here wants to fight me." Celeste lowered herself down to Chloe's eye-line, smiling. "You don't have the guts," she whispered.
Andrew watched as Chloe's emerald-colored eyes burned into Celeste's her hands shaking. Beneath him, Andrew felt the earth rumble as if a monster were waking up from a long nap.
Suddenly, in front of him the earth exploded and slowly a figure began to rise. More explosions popped around them and terrified campers ran from the dining pavilion. Andrew held his side as he moved in front of Chloe, unsheathing his sword.
The beast was at least 20 feet tall with cuts and gashes that steamed in the sunlight. Its head was made of thin translucent flesh that showed the skull beneath. It's beady black eyes scanned the crowd of campers and it roared, telling the others that came with it to attack.
Andrew grabbed Chloe's arm pulling her away from the dining pavilion as they ran.
"We have to get you somewhere safe!" He cried. "You don't have a weapon yet!"
"Does it matter?" Chloe asked. "What are those things?!"
The monsters roared in the distance as Andrew pulled Chloe into the boys showers. Pushing her into a corner, he looked back towards the door.
"Stay here," he said, feeling the earth tremble beneath him. "I'm going to find-"
Suddenly the roof was ripped up from the building, and a giant monster hand reached down, grabbing both of them. Andrew stabbed the pink flesh with his sword, roughly ripping down the creature's palm. It cried out in pain and dropped them. Luckily, Andrew and Chloe landed in a pile of hay from the horse stables.
Andrew stumbled from the hay, sputtering and coughing. He met the monster's hungry gaze and felt his heart stop.
A guttural cry came from behind him as the Ares cabin attacked. Clairesse landed on the creatures shoulders, hoping to stab it in between the shoulder blades. The monster swiped her and her cabin mates off its back, turning away from Andrew for a moment.
"Run!" Andrew told Chloe. "Go! Find Chiron and ask him-"
The monster threw him off his feet away from Chloe and a dozen roars echoed through the pavilion. A few of Andrew's siblings fought another monster a few yards away, successfully killing it.
Andrew recognized Steve's form creeping towards the beast. He yelled as he stabbed the beast in the foot, twisting his blade. The monster tossed him away like a rag doll as it turned back to Andrew. It's hungry eyes came closer and Andrew waited for death to come when the beast cried out and collapsed in front of him. The other campers that had hidden or fought came from their hiding places, gathering around him.
Andrew held his head as he gazed into the smoke, looking at Chloe who wiped the monster blood from his sword. Her eyes widened as the crowd stared at her.
Offering Andrew a hand, she helped him up.
"I'm sorry if it smells like sulfur," she said. "The blood was thick and green."
"That's okay," Andrew said, wrinkling his nose as he took his sword back. "You have pretty good instinct for a newbie."
"It's called beginner's luck," Celeste said, shoving past Chloe.
"I almost didn't recognize them," Andrew said, ignoring her as he gazed down at the monster's steaming body. "Normally they have fur."
"You know what that was?" Chloe asked.
"They're called kranío thirío in Greek, but more commonly referred to as Skull Beasts."
"How did you kill it?" Chloe asked. "It seemed impossible."
"When they have fur it's harder to see, but if you look closely enough you can find the small patch of bone that's thin enough to cause heavy damage. I've read about them before."
Celeste stumbled from her place, glaring at Chloe.
"Get away from her Andrew! The skull beasts only appeared when she came along! She's going to summon more monsters! She's crazy! She's going to kill us all!"
"Celeste stop it!" Andrew cried. "Chloe didn't do anything like that!"
"Stop defending her!" Celeste yelled back at him. "She's a..she's a...she's a monster."
Chloe's eyes widened at Celeste's rambling and ran away, heading into the woods. Andrew glared at his sister.
"You should learn to act like an Athena child for once," Celeste hissed. "She's different Andrew, and if you keep hanging around her, you're going to get killed."
"Good," Andrew said. "At least I won't have to listen to you anymore."
He turned to the woods and ran after Chloe, hearing the campers behind him disperse back into their normal routine while Celeste remained at the forest's edge.

---

"Chloe!" Andrew shouted. "Wait! You shouldn't go off alone!"
Andrew peeled his way through the thick trees finding himself at the docks of the canoe lake. Chloe stood at the edge, staring out at the setting sun. Andrew walked quietly behind her, shifting on his feet.
"I'm really sorry about Celeste," he said. "She has no boundaries whatsoever."
"Thank you for defending me," Chloe said. "You barely know me and yet, you stand against your own family."
"Celeste is technically my half-sister," Andrew said. "I've never really thought of her as anything besides annoying."
Chloe chuckled quietly for a moment before meeting Andrew's gaze.
"You know she isn't the first one to call me that," Chloe said. "My cousins gave me that nickname at a young age."
"Crazy Chloe?" Andrew asked.
"Yes," Chloe said, hesitating. "Do you think I'm crazy?"
Andrew met her gaze again and shook his head.
"I like to have a rationale behind everything," he said. "If you were crazy, I'd have to be crazy too."
Chloe stared at him for a moment before offering him a genuine smile. She blushed, and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"It's getting dark," Andrew said. "I'm surprised you haven't been claimed yet."
"Chiron said that if I wasn't claimed tonight I could just stay in the Big House."
"This might sound weird," Andrew said. "But I've been trying to figure out who could be your parent."
"That doesn't sound weird at all," Chloe said. "I've been trying to figure out the same thing."
"Okay," Andrew said, tapping his chin. "Is your uncle related to your mother or father?"
"Mother," Chloe said.
"That narrows it down to all of the male gods," Andrew said. "You don't really seem like you want to build stuff or blow things up so I guess that eliminates Ares and Hephaestus."
"Chiron said my father would send a sign," Chloe said, looking back towards the camp. "What was yours like?"
"I didn't really have one," Andrew said. "I found out I was a demigod when I was ten. I came here that summer and stayed in the Athena cabin. My father knew who my mother was."
"Have you ever met her?" Chloe asked.
"No," Andrew said. "I haven't really needed to. She gives me guidance when I need it."
"I guess she's really helpful with homework?"
Andrew laughed, seeing Chloe's smile widen.
"Who knew you were such a jokester?"
"I don't really make jokes all too much," Chloe said. "They're kind of corny."
"Well I guess that eliminates Hermes unless you are a really good pick pocket."
"That sounds cool," Chloe said. "But it's wishful thinking."
"What do you know about your Dad?" Andrew asked.
Chloe sighed, pausing for a moment.
"Not all too much," she said. "I don't have any memories of him. My uncle always said that he and my mother were inseparable. Then I was born and he disappeared. He did name me Chloe, however."
"Really?"
"Because of my eyes," Chloe said, meeting Andrew's gaze. "In Greek, Chloe means little green shoot."
"I would think that name would be more appropriate for a child of Demeter," Andrew said. "But I can see why your father gave it to you. Is Chloe short for anything?"
"Nicolette," Chloe said. "My father preferred Chloe. My uncle said that to him, I was his treasure. It never made sense to me when I was young. If I was so precious to him, why leave me behind?"
Andrew bowed his head.
"I think most of us ask ourselves that question. The thing is, we've just never figured out how to answer it."
Chloe met his gaze for a moment, her eyes burying themselves in his. Andrew felt a gentle breeze blow between them before a bright light appeared over her head.
"What's happening?" Chloe asked.
"You're being claimed," Andrew said. "Come on. We've got to get you back to Chiron."

Notes