Aletheia━𝐢.( PJO/HP )

𝐢𝐢𝐢. CAMP HALF BLOOD

▬▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER THREE ▬▬▬▬▬

BASIL WAS WITH HER WHEN she woke up in the camp's infirmary. The Stoll brothers had woken up earlier and were already getting started on the tour. The wound in her arm was gone without a scar. After getting checked out by a couple of children of Apollo—who all had sun-kissed skin, blonde hair, and sky blue eyes—she was ready to leave for her camp tour.

"Oh, but the back of your calf has some scars though from when the Chimera scratched you," Will Solace said as he helped her hop off the bed. "But that's okay. You'll get more."

She didn't know whether to say 'thanks' or 'is that supposed to comfort me?' so she just settled with an "Okay. Thanks for healing me."

He sent her a blinding smile. "No problem."

After that, Basil let her walk around the camp to get her energy back. During the walk, Esmerelda couldn't help but stare at everything she saw. Basil wasn't kidding when he said demigods didn't live long. The campers—who all wore bright Camp Half-Blood tee-shirts, looked to be as young as her. The oldest she saw was a teenager that was maybe fifteen. Another thing she noticed was the not-so-human campers. Satrys were walking around without their pants on and showing everyone their furry goat legs and hinds. There were pretty girls that melted into a glittering lake or a tree—Basil said they were naiads and dryads. A group of mean looking kids were duking it out with literal swords, cutting each other up while the audience cheered with blood-thirst. Basil wheeled her away from them, saying that they were kids of Ares and warning her of their ruthlessness.

There were many other things that Esmerelda marveled at other than the people. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture—an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena-except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. They had a sandpit that some campers were playing volleyball in. There was a small, pollution-free lake where people were canoeing. There was an archery range that was currently occupied by—most likely—Apollo kids. Walking past them on a wooded trail were other campers who were leading in horses, and some of them even had wings.

"This place is so cool," she told Basil, who grinned at her obvious excitement. "Man am I glad I didn't die on that road trip. I would've regretted missing out on seeing this place."

"There's more where that came from," he said, looking just as eager as her. "Wait 'till after you watch the orientation film. Then you'll get the whole tour of the place."

"Hey, whatever happened to all those monsters from last night?" She asked, suddenly remembering the slightly traumatic events from before.

His face fell. "Well, the campers that were on guard duty managed to kill the hellhounds."

"But the Chimera?" She asked, having a sinking feeling about the answer.

He bit his lip. "Nobody could kill it."