CHAPTER ONE
( the minotaur attack )

    "MAIA, WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!"

    Mornings in camp were always the same for me. Sure, I always did my best to follow the same pace as my cabin members — who were the most morning people you'll ever meet — but it never worked out. There were times where I was so rushed into making it on time for breakfast at the mess hall, but ended up going out in my pijama pants. I will never get the image of the whole camp laughing at my sense of style, I even get chills just by thinking of it.

     Oh! Where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself and I'm already ranting about my embarrassing memories. My name is Maia Díaz, I'm twelve years old, and I live in Camp Half-Blood, situated in Long Island. What's that, you may ask? Well, it's the only place on Earth safe for people like me; demigods.

     I'm sure you've already heard that term by now, but if you haven't, I'll give you a short explanation. Demigods are half-mortal and half-god, simple as that. And yes, before you freak out, the gods are real. I haven't met any of them, but from what I've heard, they're pretty cool. Only few in camp have had the pleasure to even be in the presence of them up in Mount Olympus, and I'm preparing myself for when I have the opportunity.

     I'm a daughter of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun and light, music, poetry, prophecy, etc. It is exhausting to say it every time someone asks, but I've gotten used to it by now. As I mentioned earlier, I haven't met any of the gods, which includes him. The sad part is that I'm not the only one with this type of luck; there's probably thousands of kids at camp who haven't met their godly parent just like me.

     Here at Camp Half-Blood, we're separated into cabins based on who our godly parent is. There's twelve different cabins, each of them for every god in Mount Olympus. I, obviously, stay in the cabin dedicated to Apollo — also known as Cabin seven — and I'm not alone. Some cabins are filled with demigods, while a few are empty. This indicates that there's no children of that god and just made out of respect. I suspect they're probably filled with cobwebs, and it's intended to keep them that way.

     "Maia, I swear, if we're late because of you, I will shoot you with an arrow," There were the verbal threats again. This time, made by my dear cabin mate ( and half-sibling ) Molly Reyes.

     Molly was few years older than me, already having two summers in camp by the time I got here. She was much taller than anyone else in the cabin, and everyone was pretty much used to her sharp demeanor. She made sure that neither of us accidentally set the cabin on fire, and yet, she wasn't the head counselor.

     Her hands were on her hips and she was furiously tapping on the floor out of impatience. "Are you coming or not?"

     "I am!" I had been busy tying the shoelaces of my converse for the past five minutes, since I easily got distracted whenever my other cabin mates argued for the simplest things. I tied the knot of the second shoelace and jumped out of my bunk, not before I muttered something under my breath. "So bossy."

     Molly snapped her head in my direction, stopping by the door. Her eye was twitching and I felt myself swallow at the action. "What was that?"

     I froze, taking slow steps towards the door she was blocking with a nervous smile on my face. I was not going to repeat what I had just said, but my cabin mates didn't think the same way.

     "She called you bossy!" Will Solace, another member of the cabin, yelled out in an accusative tone. He was younger than me and everyone else in the cabin, so he did his best to fit in. He had joined camp just a few weeks ago, and was already figuring out his place in camp.

     I looked at him in betrayal, and I tried to ignore the failed attempts of restraining laughter from the other cabin mates. I was ready to defend myself, but another voice interrupted. This time, it was Lee Fletcher, the actual head counselor.

     "Please, we're already late for breakfast as it is," he intervened. "We can deal with your silly feuds afterwards."

     "Finally! A voice of reason!" I gestured toward Lee, who didn't seem at all impressed. He sighed and pressed a hand to his nose, already tired of the shenanigans, since we did them almost every morning.

     Molly had rolled her eyes at my words but moved aside to let me through the door and toward the outdoors. The smell of pinewood and grass never got old for me, even after all my time in camp. It was a fresh, spring morning, and the flowers that the Demeter cabin had planted were blooming in all their glory. The rest of the cabin followed behind us, and we noticed that no one else was around the cabins, which indicated everyone was already at the mess hall.

We made our way to the mess hall, where the tables were full and chatter scattered around the place. As we were approaching the intoxicating smell of the hot breakfast food, Molly bumped into me to catch my attention. I looked up at her with a frown, and she leaned down enough for me to hear her.

"Next time, just think of the insult, don't say it out loud," Molly began, and we entered the mess hall. The other cabins didn't pay us much attention, since they were digging into their plates. "That way, you don't risk getting heard."

I stopped, and wasn't sure I heard correctly. "Are you giving me advice on how to insult you?" The question was stupid ( and it sounded weird coming out of my mouth ) but I needed the confirmation.

"I'm just saying," Molly shrugged as we sat down on our table. "If you're gonna do it, at least do it right."

That was the weirdest part about my cabin. We could fight over the stupidest things, even threaten to cause the other pain, but we gave ourselves advices. Even if she was harsh on her exterior, Molly was a nice friend. She was the one who taught me how to deal with the confusion of finally learning who my father was. She even thought me how to properly use a bow and arrow after a hundred failed attempts.

     Now, every day during breakfast, Lee took responsibility of how to plan out the activities for the day without fail, saying it was better to have a schedule than to run around. He always listened to what the other members had to say about the schedule, and even added their suggestions to the plan, well, sometimes. There were times where Molly and Michael voted to spend half the day in Arts & Crafts so we didn't have to spend time in the heat, but that request was denied.

     Other than the schedule, Lee also divided the cabin into smaller groups for the planned activities. Once they settled on what they were doing for this sunny day, it was time for the groups. If you were quick enough, you were able to save yourself from being stuck at the stables. It happened to me on my first week, and let's just say I haven't been the same since. Those pegasi and I do not get along well.

     On any other day I would've fought to the death with Michael on who got to practice archery first, but today was different. My mind was set on being free right after breakfast so I could go to the Big House and talk to Chiron about my dream from last night. And yes, you're probably questioning why should I visit him for one stupid dream, but this is a huge deal in the demigod world. Dreams indicated a message from someone else, or in this case, a glimpse of what could happen in the future. And if there was someone on camp that could offer me advice other than my friends, it was Chiron.

     Chiron was the activities director here at Camp Half-Blood, and was also an extremely wise man— I mean, centaur. I probably should've mentioned something earlier, but now's the perfect time for it. Chiron is a centaur, which means that his upper body is human and the lower half is horse-like. He's trained thousands of other Greek heroes during his extensive lifetime, such as Achilles to name a famous one. I hope that one day I enter his list of greatest heroes along with those legends, but a girl like me could only wish.

     Anyway, I raised my hand on the table to catch Lee's attention, and he immediately did his best to quiet down the others to let me voice my opinion. Molly was drinking her juice in silence, but her eyes looked eager to hear what I was going to say. Michael was about to cut me off, thinking I was about to take his spot in archery — like I normally do — but Lee shut him down with a look.

     "Yes, Maia?" Lee called in his regular voice.

     "This may sound weird, but can I have free time after breakfast? I need to talk to Chiron."

     "Why would you want to — OW!"

     "Shush, Michael," Lee lowered the hand he used to smack Michael at the back of the head. "We don't need to ask questions."

     Michael glared at the side of Lee's head while rubbing the sore area, meanwhile Molly squinted her eyes at me. I swallowed and avoided her glance, knowing she could easily read my emotions if I made eye contact with her.

     "Of course you can, Maia," Lee noticed he hadn't answered my question so he spoke up. "Just don't be late to the other activities."

     I nodded at his instructions. Satisfied, he dug up the rest of his plate and inspected the table to see if anyone else was missing to finish. I had only ate a small part of my own plate, leaving the rest for a really enthusiastic Will, who wanted extra food. Since the other tables of camp were already scattering out of the mess hall and into the other parts of camp, I took this opportunity as a chance to leave for the Big House. If I hadn't been too distracted in watching my steps to my destination, I might've pained attention to a certain someone following behind me.

     I walked through the grass in silence, using this time to recollect my thoughts on how I was going to tell my dream to Chiron. It wasn't the first time I've had this specific dream, and that scared a part of me. What could it mean?

     "Maia!" I heard a familiar voice call to me.

     I turned on my heel and saw my best friend Annabeth run to catch up with me, panting to regain her breath. Her blonde hair was brushed up all over her face with loose strands hanging down, but that was her regular look. Since we've lived on this camp for almost five years now, we haven't gotten the chance to dress formally in a long time.

     "Going to see Chiron?" she asked, falling into step with me. Her beaded necklace dangled from her neck as she moved.

     "Yep," I told her, trying my best to even my voice. I didn't want to look nervous.

     "Is it the same dream as before?" Annabeth questioned, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. She was the first person I told about my dream, and being the daughter of the goddess of wisdom, she told me to talk to an expert on the topic.

"Yeah," I still replied silently. A part of me was embarrassed from being this worried about some stupid dream, and I prayed to all the gods that could hear me that it was just an exaggeration of mine.

"Hey," Annabeth placed her hand on my shoulder trying to calm my nerves. "I'll join you. You look like you need company."

I smiled at her in thankfulness and nodded. No matter how old I got, I'll always be grateful for having a best friend like Annabeth. She linked my arm with hers and together, we walked the rest of the path over to Chiron's home in camp, also known as the Big House.

Now, since the name already indicates it, it's a large old sky-blue house with a white trim and had four floors, including the basement and the attic ( which hold great importance ). It is also used as the camp's infirmary, which my cabin somehow administers. The house got its name when a camper said 'Now that's a big house', and the name stuck ever since. Annabeth and I arrived at the end of the path and climbed the steps to the deck of the house, already spotting the man — again, Maia? — centaur I wanted to speak to. He and Mr. D, were sat in two of the lawn chairs on the deck and were playing their usual game of Pinochle.

Chiron lifted his eyes from his cards and his eyes softened when he spotted Annabeth and I. "Girls, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Before Annabeth and I could even speak, Mr. D smacked his stack of cards to the table out of annoyance. "Can't you bother someone else, Maria?"

Annabeth adverted her stormy grey eyes somewhere else to resist the urge to roll her eyes at him, but I wasn't that bothered. Sure, I'm offended that the own camp director doesn't know my name even though I've been here for a long time, but I always thought he did it on purpose. Due to his punishment and being stuck here for 100 years, he's seen thousands of demigods arrive and die all in a short period of time; I think he just pretends to not know our names so he doesn't get attached to any of us.

Chiron didn't pay any mind to his antics and urged me to speak up. I shuddered, knowing there was no turning back now. "It's my dream."

Chiron's soft expression transformed into a dull and serious one, which tied my stomach in a knot. I hated this whole thing and wished I hadn't told him, but now I had no choice but to stay and recall what had happened. He stood up from his spot on the deck and his large centaur form took place. Mr. D looked deeply offended due to the fact that he had dropped out of the game with no hesitance.

"Come inside, girls," Chiron said in his serious tone before diverting his eyes to Mr. D. "I'm afraid we'll have to pause the game."

Mr. D made a sound of protest and muttered something incoherent under his breath, which I couldn't hear since I was already stepping inside the house. Annabeth was still on my side, and both of us followed after Chiron into his office, which was also used for official business and showing new campers the orientation film. Chiron gestured for both of us to sit in the empty chairs, to which we did. Up to this point, I could feel the knot tightening by every passing second.

"Now, Maia," Chiron spoke again, his tall figure hovering over me in the chair. "Can you tell me what happened in your dream?"

I swallowed and flickered my eyes to Annabeth. She nodded in encouragement and that's when I inhaled a deep breath before I said anything. Gods, what I would give to not have those types of dreams anymore.

"It was the same as always," I told Chiron, who stayed silent and urged me to speak. "I was stuck in this. . .arena of some sort. People were watching, cheering, kind of. There was a guy with blond hair, pointing a sword at me and another boy the same age as me."

Chiron nodded. "And what did that boy look like?"

I closed my eyes and did my best to remember. "He had black hair. That's all I know."

"Okay," Chiron had his hand pressed under his chin in thought. "What happened then?"

"The blond guy was yelling at the boy."

"What was he yelling?"

"'Choose death, I'll kill you and let her go'," I quoted exactly as I remembered from the dream. I cracked one of my knuckles to ease the nerves I was feeling from recalling the smallest piece of information from that dream. "'Choose life, I'll kill her and let you free'."

When I stayed silent recollecting my thoughts, Chiron thought I was finished. "That's all?"

I knew I had to tell him now, or else I never will. The thought of even remembering the dream brought a chill down my spine, but this was Chiron. He was the only one on the planet that may know what to do.

"No," I shook my head, and took a sharp breath. "The boy chose life."

At my words, Annabeth couldn't help but hitch her breath in shock. Her eyes searched Chiron's, almost as if they were having a private conversation through silent gazes, and I cowered back in my chair due to the exclusion. It seemed like it was something I wasn't aware of, and that worried me deeply.

I dared myself to speak once again. "Do you know what this means, Chiron?"

He shook his head in denial, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm afraid not."

I squinted my eyes at him, trying to find any sort of lie mixed up in his face or words. I didn't know if it was real or part of my desperation, but I could've sworn I saw him advert his eyes over to Annabeth in hopes of her help. There was something they were not telling me, and even if it will take me a long time, I was going to figure it out.

"Do not worry, my dear," Chiron could sense my frustration. "These types of dreams could mean anything. They aren't always glimpses of the future, sometimes they're glimpses of the past. Some don't even come true at all."

That kind of eased my nerves down, but it didn't quite make them disappear. I didn't know what else to say, so with my mind still swarming with doubts and fears about the dream, I stood up from the chair.

"Thank you, Chiron," I said to him, although he didn't quite offered the advice I was looking for.

"I'm deeply sorry, Maia," Chiron apologized profusely. "I wish I could offer more help."

I flashed him a smile, and Annabeth stood up from her own chair too, allowing Chiron to guide us back to the door. Mr. D was still outside, though he had completely abandoned the Pinochle cards and was chugging down a can of Diet Coke. He didn't even notice us walking out into the deck, although Chiron was with us.

Before I could step down from the deck and leave the Big House, Chiron placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "If you have this dream again or something else is added to it, tell me right away."

I didn't quite figure out the urgency in his eyes, but I agreed to his terms. "Sure."

This relaxed him, and he removed the hand from my shoulder so he could return to his rightful lawn chair. Annabeth was eyeing me carefully as we both walked away from the Big House and were stepping into the path back to the rest of camp, which was half a mile away. The only sound around us was the one my shoes made every time I took a step, snapping twigs in half or stepping on leaves. The silence was egging and driving me over the edge, since I knew how much Annabeth liked to chat whenever she deemed it possible.

"Okay," I got tired of waiting so I stopped on my tracks and crossed my arms. I raised my eyebrows at my best friend. "Spill it."

Annabeth did her best in trying to look innocent, though she must've forgot I had been her friend since we were seven years old. I already knew all of her ticks and her habits, especially the small things she does when she's hiding something.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she tried to deflect, kicking a pebble onto the grass.

"You know something I don't," I continued, my arms still crossed. "Chiron and you shared this weird look. What is it about?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was to plan you a secret birthday party?"

"No."

"Okay then."

I eyed her carefully. "Annabeth."

She looked away to avoid my eyes. "Don't give me that look! It's not that important."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically, not buying her excuse. I removed hands from my chest and placed them on my hips. What was so secret that not even Annabeth could tell me about it?

"Really," Annabeth mirrored my tone. She pushed on my shoulder playfully. "Now, come on."

She copied the voice that a whiny child could make, eager to keep moving. "Last one back to the archery range is a rotten egg!"

"Oh, you're on!"

THE REST OF THE DAY in camp went along as usual. I was able to assist to my remaining activities with my cabin and won the race Annabeth and I had made to the archery range. Due to my victory, Annabeth was forced to do my laundry at the end of the week along with her own. This was one of those rare times I won a bet like that, so I had to make sure to rub it in her face for at least three weeks.

Unfortunately, the dinner and campfire regular routine was cut short due to the break of an intense storm, but this only caused campers to insist on being outside and be out in the rain since they claimed it was much cooler. But because he didn't want anyone to catch a cold, Chiron sent us all back to our respective cabins without hearing any protests. From what I could see through the window of my cabin, the heavy rain was flooding all of the campground and the strong wind was blowing the leaves off the trees in the forest. I didn't even want to imagine how it would look like once the sun was up.

Tiredness entered my body way earlier than usual, and I blamed that on the fact that I wasn't able to eat my entire dinner plate. Michael noticed we were all growing tired and insisted on all of us to be asleep by the time he made it out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth. I envied my cabin mates, since they were able to lay their heads on the pillow and almost immediately fell asleep. I wasn't that lucky.

No matter how tired I was, I could not bring myself to fall asleep. I didn't know if it was due to the wind crashing into the door every now and then, or because of something else. I was slightly afraid of what might happen once I closed my eyes, scared that I might revisit the dream I had last night. So, every single time my eyes were drooping, I instantly jolted awake like someone had poured cold water on my face.

I stared at the roof of the cabin with bloodshot eyes, tired yet not wanting to go to sleep. The rain was still pouring outside, and just when I was about to stray away into my own thoughts and lose all signs of reality, I heard a loud noise from outside. Startled, I jumped up at the sound and waited in silence to check if I heard it right and it wasn't part of my imagination. Once I heard the exact same sound again, I made my way out of bed and put on the closest pair of shoes I could find.

I don't know why my first instinct wasn't to wake Michael up and tell him what I was hearing, but what I knew was that I didn't have time for that. I made my way outside of my cabin into the rain, not caring if I was soaking my pijamas. Once I was outside, I heard it again. Much clearer this time. It was a roar of some sort. I waited again to confirm I had heard right, but this time I couldn't hear anything else.

Scared that something was wrong, I ran the fastest I could toward the Big House in search of Chiron. I didn't care if my lungs were begging for air and my legs were aching from the run. I ran, still hoping to hear any other sound that would shake away this type of worrying that I was feeling in the pit of my stomach.

     I reached the Big House, and rushed inside not caring if I was soaking wet from the rain. I was hoping to find Chiron still up in his office/apartment, but what I was not expecting was to see Annabeth there. I didn't have time to voice my confusion though, since I came down here for a reason.

     "What's wrong, Maia?" Chiron questioned once he saw my state.

     I did my best to bring air into my lungs. "Someone. . .outside. . ."

     That's when we heard it. A thud from the outside of the house, almost blended in if it weren't for the rain's abrupt stop. Chiron frowned in confusion at me and the timing of the sound, though he didn't say anything. Without a word, all three of us rushed toward the source of the sound that came from the outdoors.

     There, collapsed in the porch of the Big House, laid a boy approximately the same age as me. His black hair was soaked wet and glued to his forehead due to the rain, and he looked absolutely tired. My eyes were then focused on what he was holding in his hands, and then realized that he wasn't by his own.

"He's the one," Annabeth spoke up. "He must be."

     "Silence, Annabeth," Chiron scolded, his eyes stared at the boy with a hint of familiarity. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."

authors note:
hi, long time no see. first chapters are always the worst i swear. i promise it won't take long for me to update new chapter.

i did my best to match my writing to uncle rick's style lol i hoped i did him justice.

-see you soon, bex