Chapter Two- Stryker

I fell against the table and saw Dakota hit her head against a chair.

Parker dragged me away from the glass, causing the shards to cut my arms pretty bad. Mr. Neve carried Dakota to the living room.

The lion hopped into the house and roared again, setting its sights on us. Dakota screamed and I think Parker did too. I suddenly got an idea. The lion burst into the living room and I dove between it's legs. I dashed into the kitchen and opened drawer after drawer. I finally found the drawer I was looking for and pulled out a huge knife.

I ran back to the door and saw the lion about to attack. I whistled and the cat turned its attention to me. I gulped down my fear and held the knife up.

"I've seen alley cats bigger than you!" I taunted.

The lion crouched and narrowed its eyes. I threw the knife and it bounced harmlessly off the cat's fur. I yelped as it pounced. I jumped out of the way just in time, but it swiped at my stomach and I felt pain shoot through me. I grabbed another knife and waited. The lion made the mistake of roaring again and I threw the knife as hard as I could. It sailed through the air and sunk into the lion's mouth.

The cat's eyes widened and I threw another knife as it gagged. It slumped but didn't fall. It turned away from me and swiped at Parker.

"Pray to your mom!" he yelled, agiley dodging the paw.

"My mum? My mum is gone! Why would I pray to her?" I yelled back.

Mr. Neve shielded Dakota. "Pray that she gets you and Dakota to Camp Half-Blood! Pray now!" he said frantically.

I pressed my hands together like one would pray, and looked up. "Mum? Mum, if you're up there, get me to this Camp Half-Blood!" I felt stupid, but all the sudden I felt warm on the inside, like I was drinking hot chocolate. I felt a slight pull in my gut and Mr. Neve pushed Dakota to me. I caught her before she fell and suddenly there were colors all around me. Bright colors that one can only dream of surrounded me. I held tightly onto Dakota and I felt like I was moving a thousand miles an hour, even though we stood still. Suddenly I felt like I was falling.

We tumbled out of the sky and landed with a thump on soft grass. I helped Dakota up and looked around. A rainbow burned in the sky and suddenly it began to snow. I shivered and suddenly noticed a girl and a boy sitting on top of a hill. They gave us strange looks, but then again, I would too.

The girl leaned forward. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Stryker and this is Dakota," I said, shifting my weight so she wasn't leaning on me as heavily. "Where are we?"

The girl and boy looked at each other and got up. The girl had curly blonde hair and bright gray eyes. The boy had black hair and shining green eyes. "Do you know who you are?" the boy asked.

"I don't even know who you are, so if you'd care to explain, I'm all ears," I replied as angrily as I could.

The girl smiled a bit. "I'm Annabeth and this is Percy."

The boy, presumably Percy, smiled a bit too and waved. I rolled my eyes. Great, a charmer, I thought.

I finally noticed the searing pain in my arms and stomach. I looked at my arms and saw them covered in cuts and bruises from the glass. My arms looked like someone had put them through a blender, and that's being nice about it. I noticed a red stain on my white shirt and slowly lifted it. A huge gash was prominent and it was still bleeding rather bad. I got dizzy seeing my own blood and realized how hard it was to focus on anything. I put a hand to my forehead and my skin felt cold. I began to shiver more violently and Dakota had to steady me. She was in no condition to help me, but she was trying her best to keep me from falling.

Annabeth stepped forward and caught me as I stumbled again. I was seeing spots and they seemed to be eating away at the sides of my vision. I tried my best to stay consious, but I felt myself slipping as the world around me went dark.

---

I felt someone in the room with me and I opened my eyes. There was a boy who looked about my age and who looked considerably taller than me, just sitting down. He had dark hair swept to the side and deep blue eyes. He saw that I was awake and smiled slightly. He put the book he was reading down, but I couldn't read the cover. At first I thought my dyslexia was being a jerk again, but I realized the book wasn't even in English.

"How are we feeling?" he asked. He had a slight Southern accent.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "Just peachy," I said angrily. "Where's Dakota?"

The boy patted my head. "All in due time, my dear."

I rolled my eyes and he cocked an eyebrow. "Nice eyes," he commented.

I narrowed my "nice eyes" and he laughed. He handed me a small mirror and I held it up, not taking my eyes off the boy. I slowly looked into the mirror. I threw it down and yelped.

"Bloody hell! What's wrong with my eyes?" I yelled. The mirror had reflected my face, a little battered up, but none the less, my face. Now no comments about how it's my face that scared me. What shocked me were my eyes. They were shifting colors rapidly, going from blue to green in a split second. They even turned a shade of red before changing to orange.

The boy smiled and patted my head again. "You're a human collidascope!" he said before pulling a glass off the table. "You should drink this," he said.

"I'm not drinking it until you drink some first," I said cautiously. The boy rolled his eyes and took a tiny sip. He spread his arms after handing the glass to me.

"Healthy as a pegasus!" he exclaimed and I gave him my best you're crazy look.

I took a sip, expecting juice because there were ice cubes in it. But as I continued drinking, I was filled with warmth, and the taste of cookies was suddenly in my mouth. They tasted like the sugar cookies Dakota and I loved to bake. I sipped eagerly until the liquid was gone.

I looked at the boy and he smiled. He pulled a plate off the table and handed me a golden square. When I didn't eat it, he took it from he and said, "Here comes the choochoo train!"

I snatched it from him and popped it in my mouth. "Blimey! It tastes like a brownie!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself.

He smiled again and said, "Well they've decided that I should be the one to tell you."

"Tell me what? Where's Dakota? Is she okay?" I sat up and winced. The pain in my stomach was still there and I lifted my shirt to find the gash bandaged. Blood had seeped through the cloth and dried. I realized someone had changed my shirt to an orange one and I blushed, hoping the boy wasn't the one who had.

The boy waved a hand. "She's dead and she said she hates you," he said seriously.

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Jeez, I'm just kidding. Don't you Brits have a sense of humor?" he said, rolling his eyes.

"I was born in America, you twit. Now before you delve into this whole telling me thing, can I ask you a question?" I frowned, not wanted to talk to this annoying child anymore. Okay, so he wasn't a child, but he acted like one.

"I guess. I mean, anything for you, your highness," he said, bowing from his chair. "All hail the Queen of England!"

"Shut up, I'm American!" I said, glaring.

"Your question?" he said casually.

"What's your name? Or did your parents give you away before they could name you for being such an annoying little boy?" I pursed my lips and looked at him with a smirk on my face.

The boy frowned a bit before regaining his cocky smile. "My name is Channing. And for your information, I lived with my dad for twelve years."

"I don't want to know about your personal life. I suppose you're not going to tell me your last name, are you?" I said, pouting.

Channing flashed a smile. "Not until I learn your last name. That Dakota chick wouldn't tell us anything. So I'm interested, British girl. What's your name?" he asked, poking my arm.

I crossed my arms and winced. The pain in my stomach was going away, but it still hurt. "My name is Stryker Mensi. Now are you going to tell me this big secret or not?" I asked impatiently.

Channing smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. "Interesting name, Stryker. I like it. My last name is Tenebre," he said, poking me again.

"Just tell me why I'm here!" Memories flooded back to me. "Parker!" I gasped.

Channing's face darkened. "He didn't make it. The little satyr became the most adorable little plant though. The man made it out. Your father has been informed that you are here, but he seemed a bit relieved to tell you the truth. Your sister is hot, by the way."

I felt a pang of misery. "Parker is gone?" Channing nodded. "Parker is gone and I could have saved him!"

"No you couldn't have. What you did back there was pretty amazing, considering you don't even know what you are yet," Channing said and he ruffled my hair.

I swatted his hand away and glared. "What am I then? Some kind of freak? Wait, don't answer that," I added quickly.

"You're what we call a demigod. Or half-blood, if you wanna sound mysterious. Now, doll face, you're obviously not Aphrodite cabin. You could be a Hermes, but the eyes beg to differ," Channing said, with his cocky smile still in place.

"What? What's a demigod and what's wrong with Aphrodite cabin?" I asked, more confused than ever.

Channing rolled his eyes. "Nothing is wrong with the Aphrodite cabin. It's what's wrong with you, sugar," he said, and patted my shoulder. "Just face it, you're not pretty enough." He winked at me and I slammed my fist into his arm. He didn't even wince. "Oh, sweetie, don't be mad at me! I was only kidding. You radiate beauty." He winked again and I closed my eyes.

"What the bloody hell is a demigod?" I asked slowly.

"Ah, to be or not to be! That is the question. Why bother with the other ones that are running through your simple mind?" Channing was having a great time annoying me, and I sighed.

"Please," I begged. "Just tell me what the heck a demigod is."

Channing softened a little bit. "A demigod is a child of a god."

"You mean to tell me that I'm Jesus?" I said, laughing.

Channing cracked a smile again. "No, you weirdo, a Greek god. You, my little friend, are half Greek god," he said and I laughed nervously.

"Yeah and you expect me to believe this?" I asked skeptically.

Channing nodded. "Took me a while to get used to it too. Now here's where it gets fun. Sometimes you can tell right off the bat. The eyes usually give it away. You see a kid with gray eyes, he's most likely Athena. Electric blue eyes, you got a Zeus. Sea green eyes, Poseidon. Then of course it gets a little more complicated. Purple eyes could be Dionysus, or they could be Hecate. Your eyes are just plain weird," he said brightly.

"That's it, I'm leaving," I said bluntly and tried to stand but Channing pushed me back down.

"You can't. Wanna know why? 'Cause the second you leave this camp, monsters will come for you. And meaner ones than you saw earlier. The Nemean lion is nothing compared to what could have happened," he said.

I glanced up at him and he smiled softly at me. "Besides, you have Dakota to worry about. She's already been told and she seemed to take it well. She never fainted, unlike someone I know," he said, nudging me softly.

"The cat thing ripped my stomach open!" I exclaimed.

Channing kept talking. "Hayden Giorno talked to her. Hayden is persuasive. She's also crazy, so don't listen to her."

I raised an eyebrow at the boy and he shrugged. He lifted me up and I winced again. "Someone holds grudges. What did you and this Hayden chick date?" I asked and Channing scowled.

"No. Let's just say we're like night and day." Channing got me standing and led me out of the room. I had to lean heavily on him, much to my dismay, and he smirked. "You sure are packing some weight. What are you, like a hundred pounds?"

I glared at him and he smirked wider. "I'm actually one hundred and two pounds, thank you very much."

"Mhm, that's so much better, darling."

We walked out of the house and out onto a porch. Two men sat at a table playing some kind of card game. One of them was in a wheelchair and the other was sipping from a Diet Coke.

The man in the wheelchair smiled a bit and said, "Hello, Stryker. Feeling better?"

I sighed. "I have a hole in my gut. I've been better."

"We've been looking forward to you waking up," the man said.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

Channing snorted. "Only forty-eight hours."

I rubbed my head. "Blimey! I don't think I've ever slept so much in my life."

The man sipping the Coke rolled his eyes. "Demigods, all the same. Lazy, lazy, lazy."

I scowled. "Who do you think you are?"

Channing's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. "Um, Stryker―"

The man held up his hand. "I think I am in charge of this camp," he said.

"Oh yeah? Got a name, big guy?" I asked. That's how Stryker deals with jerkish adults. The moment it came out of my mouth, I regretted it.

The man stared at me for a moment with a smug look on his face. My vision began to change and I was no longer sitting on a porch. I was suddenly in a vineyard, being surrounded by vines and grapes. I squirmed and they wrapped tighter around me. I couldn't breath when I heard a pop, and suddenly I was back on the porch, grabbing at my neck where the vines once were.

"My name is Mr. D. You shall address me as such if you want to keep your sanity. Now scamper off to the undetermined cabin where you belong," he said. I decided I hated this guy.

"I hope you know that you don't scare me," I said, scowling.

Mr. D rolled his eyes and sipped at his Diet Coke. "A rebel, eh? Well I'll break you later. For now, why don't you just talk to Chiron." The name Chiron sounded vaugely familiar, but I couldn't place it.

I glared at him while the man in the wheelchair rolled over to the other side of the porch and Channing steered me away from Mr. D.

"What are you trying to get yourself killed?" Channing asked, grabbing my shoulders.

I shook my head. "He's just a jerk. And I've delt with enough jerks in my life," I said simply.

Channing shook his head and gazed at me. "What?" I asked.

"Hmm?" he said, snapping out of whatever world he was in.

"You were looking at me funny," I said.

"Must have been your stupidity showing."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"You're such a child!" I exclaimed and he smirked.

Chiron cleared his throat. I glared at him. I definitely wasn't in the mood.

"Stryker, do you know anything of the Greek myths?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Not this rubbish again."

Chiron smiled. "You know, last child tried to stab me with a fork. You're taking it quite well," he said.

"Who was the last kid?" Channing asked.

"Hmm, I believe it was Chase Sieg. Anyway, I assume Channing has told you that you are in fact a demigod. Now, in Greek mythology―"

"I know! Half god, half human. I've gathered that much. Now what I want to know is why you people believe in this crud." I glared at the man. "I want proof."

Chiron sighed. "I suspected as much." He began to rise from his wheelchair and suddenly a hoof was on the ground. Another one hit the floor and soon the two hind legs were exposed.

I gasped as I looked at the once wheelchair bound Chiron. I knew where the name sounded familiar from. He was a centaur. Chiron stood in front of me, half horse, half man.

"Does this convince you?" he asked.

I nodded slowly, eyes wide. "But I still don't think that I'm a child of a god. There's no way you can prove that."

Channing suddenly smiled, focusing on a point above my head. "Yeah? look up, Britain."

I glanced up and staggered backwards. Above my head glittered a rainbow. It shimmered thousands of colors and looked like it was made of dew drops. It slowly faded as I gazed awestruck at it.

"Iris, interesting," Chiron said. "Looks as if we'll finally get to use that cabin."

"Who's Iris?" I asked.

"Goddess of the rainbow," Chiron said, smiling down at me.

Channing smirked. "Told you so!"

I looked back at them. "I guess I might actually believe you," I said meekly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Channing said, still smirking.

"Shut up, twit," I said.

"Well it explains the eyes," he said.

I crossed my arms and glared at Channing. "You are possibly the most annoying little boy I've ever met."

Channing looked pretty proud, but a girl's voice behind me said, "Believe me, if you don't already hate him, you will."

"Hayden," Channing growled.

I turned around and saw a girl with golden hair and eyes that matched. She was very tan, almost like she had bathed in sunlight. She was pretty, but she had a way of looking down her nose at me, like I wasn't worth looking at.

Then I saw Dakota. "Dakota!" I exclaimed.

She smiled and hugged me. "I'm glad you're alive."

I flashed a quick smile and said, "Me too."

"I saw you get claimed," Dakota said bluntly.

"Oh, yeah? Pretty cool wasn't it?"

Dakota smiled a bit. "Mine was better. I got a little snow flake and it actually snowed above me. So I win." She winked.

"Wait, who is your parent?" I asked cautiously.

"Khione, goddess of snow," Dakota said, and smiled.

A/N: Ever heard of Khione? Didn't think so. Tell me if you have, I'd love to talk to you(:

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ψcamille elisabethψ