Blood Of The Hero

Chapter 2

"Urgh..." I groaned, slowly opening my eyes to adjust to the brightness of my surroundings.

"Percy?" A familiar voice spoke, and I turned to it gently. I opened my eyes to see a hopeful looking Grover stare right back at me.

"Grover...? Where am I?" I managed to muster up the strength to speak, getting up in my bed and looking around.

I was in what looked like an infirmary ward, in a hospital bed beside a couple of chairs and a coffee table. All around me was the same layout, with various different people in beds being attended to by others who seemed similar in age to me, only they all had a band on their arms with a crest of the Sun. On the table next to me was the helmet that Miss Dodds dropped when she died, and a huge black horn.

He grinned. "You're at Camp Half-Blood."

If I wasn't already awake, I was definitely now, my eyes snapping open and my mind being flooded with millions of thoughts.

"W-wait. So everything was real?! M-my mom's actually gone?" My voice broke towards the end as I felt the back of my throat start to ache and my eyes begin to well with tears.

She was my rock, the only constant I had  in my life. No matter how crazy everything got, she was always there for me. She was such a pure woman who kept up with my constant expulsions and fucking Gabe, and she did it all with a smile on her face.

She was the sweetest woman to ever walk the earth, and the last person who deserved death, especially at the hands of a cow.

"I'm sorry Percy. O-only if I was a bit stronger, or got you to Camp a little earlier..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence, but I shook my head, refusing to let it break me.

That was just something I would have to go through privately, I couldn't be vulnerable in a completely new and alien environment like this one.

"Why are they on the table?" I swiftly changed the topic after a pause, pointing towards the headdress and the horn, and Grover seemed all too happy to go along with it.

He grinned excitedly. "Well, it's not too common a demigod, especially a newbie, ever defeats a monster as strong as the Minotaur, let alone two! You also killed a Fury, that's insane! I just thought I'd bring the horn as a spoil of war an-"

"And I thought I would do the same, so I brought Alecto's helmet." Another familiar voice interrupted Grover, and my jaw dropped when I turned to look at it.

It was Mr. Brunner, but that wasn't the shocking part. The thing that had me baffled was the complete lack of legs he had, and I'm not talking about the wheelchair. The man was completely equestrian from the waist down, tail and all.

"Chiron!" Grover happily greeted, and ny jaw dropped even further.

"Ch-chiron? The centaur?! The teacher of Heracles?" I spat out each question in disbelief and Mr. Brunner seemed all too happy to confirm each one with a nod.

"I was also the teacher to Theseus, Achilles, Oedipus and... Perseus." He said the last name with particular emphasis, and I felt goosebumps run down my spine.

"Well, thankfully, you had minimal injuries when Grover brought you here, simply exhaustion. So am I correct in saying that you are fit to have the tour of the camp now?" Mr. Brunner, no, Chiron said.

I shrugged, still in utter disbelief at everything that was happening.

"Excellent. Come along."
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Chiron took me around the camp, explaining this new, magical world to me as we went along. And honestly, Grover was right. He really could explain it much better.