Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Campfire Announcements and Nighttime Memories

The camp fire blazed, a burst of light among the enveloping inky blue darkness. The first few stars twinkled into existence on the sky along with a first-quarter moon, casting its silvery white light on the waves in the distance so that it seemed to be sprinkled with white glitter. A cool summer breeze swept across his skin, ruffling his black hair ever so slightly. His heart pounded against his chest and his stomach felt like it had twisted into a knot. Gazing down at the ground, he fingered his clay beads absentmindedly, rolling the round clay surface between his fingers as he thought about what he was going to say to the campers. He thought of his parents, who always seemed to be so full of confidence whenever addressing a crowd. He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves.

Looking around at the campers gathering for the announcements and the sing-a-long before bed, Andrew spotted Lauren. Her hair looked like pure white light as it blew ever so slightly in the summer breeze. Her deep blue eyes flashed as they caught the fire light, brilliant blue against her fair skin. She waved and flashed a reassuring smile at him before going off to fulfill her duties as the head Aphrodite counselor. Right now, that meant keeping the gossip contained among the obsessive whispers passing among the Aphrodite kids. More and more campers strolled in, and one of the Apollo campers started a sing-a-long to keep the spirits up. The flames rose higher and higher as the energy of the campers grew. Among the various singing voices, laughter carried through the air. Everyone seemed to be having an excellent time, reflected by the bright yellow flames of the camp fire that blazed higher and higher.

Eventually, the flames began to decrease in size as the campers grew more worn-out, and turned to an almost pinkish color. Andrew knew this was his cue. Feeling more confident than he had earlier, he stood and addressed the campers surrounding the camp fire.

“I know there have been rumors circulating the camp about the new recruit. For those of you who have not heard them, or who are seeking verification, we found a demigod wounded in the woods, and was brought to the big house where she received immediate medical attention. She has not yet been claimed and until then will be trained like any other camper as soon as she is strong enough. In the meantime, the Apollo campers advise limited visitors please.”

He paused, looking around at the campers to make sure he’d covered all the basics and stopped any twisted rumors from forming for now. After being chased around and attacked by a griffin, Emily deserved to enter into camp without any rumors to worry about.

“Also, we have capture the flag planned for this week,”

A cheer went up from among the campers and the flames rose ten feet, casting a momentary bright and brilliant light among the campers. Andrew glanced back at Chiron, who nodded. The announcements were over.

Andrew sat back down as the rest of the campers dispersed, heading for their assigned cabin. He didn’t feel particularly tired, and didn’t want to go back to his empty, lonely, secluded cabin. He found himself staring into the flames, which had now depleted to nothing more than a few feeble flames as most of the campers were gone, some possibly asleep already.

He thought of all that had happened that day. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen the girl before today, but he couldn’t remember where.

Not wanting to be up after the camp curfew, Andrew reluctantly trudged back to his lonesome cabin, knowing it would be a long, possibly fretful night.

His thoughts buzzed around in his head, trying to come together to form the bigger picture. It couldn’t be a coincidence- there are no coincidences when you’re a demigod. When wisdom and water become intertwined…the two halves shall the other find…she who is three shall take they who gave birth… wisdom and water…Athena was the goddess of wisdom…Poseidon was lord overall water…Athena and Poseidon...Annabeth and Perseus Jackson….

His parents had been gone too long, had not even contacted him as much as they usually did. No iris message. No message through dreams. Not even a phone call or letter or hidden message. Nothing. She who is three shall take they who gave birth…

He reached his empty cabin and gently pushed open the door. He did not want to sleep. He could not sleep, but he had to. No one can stay awake forever. Not even one described in the great prophesy.

The moon was already high in the sky when Andrew finally fell asleep, and was immediately engulfed in a vivid dream.

He saw himself, a lot younger, maybe only three or four years old, with a wide grin spread across his face as he played with a baby girl, who was struggling to stand upright on two feet. Andrew was encouraging her in this endeavor, catching her whenever she began to fall back down. The sun shone above, making the little girl’s curls appear to be golden. His mother sat close by, smiling at the two children playing together.  The little girl finally was able to stand upright for a few seconds, and started to put one foot in front of the other to walk before plopping back to the patio floor. A shadow crossed over the back patio. Andrew looked up to see that the once white fluffy clouds had collected to form a dark storm cloud. For some reason, it seemed to look almost green.

His mother frowned, glancing back at the two children with a worried expression. From the distance, a jet of water soared into the sky like a firework. White as a sheet, Andrew’s mother scooped up her two children, the small girl in one arm and the little boy holding onto her hand, hurrying them inside the

house. Andrew’s naive self looked frightened at this drastic change of events. His mother led them down to the basement and into a small closet Andrew had never seen before. Inside were a few bronze shields, swords and daggers, all sheathed in leather. An assortment of snacks and water lay in a small cupboard. Next to that was another identical cupboard, but this contained some blankets, pillows, spare clothes, and wash rags. His mother reached into that cupboard and laid a blanket across the ground, laying the baby girl carefully upon its soft surface. The only light came from a small window about four feet above, but a lamp lay in a corner, not yet turned on.

Andrew felt his mother’s strong hand turn his face towards hers.

“Listen to me, Andrew. You listening?”

Andrew nodded, scared by his mother’s frantic whispers.

“You need to stay here, watch over your little sister, okay? Mommy is going to go find daddy. I’ll be back soon. Just stay put, okay?”

Andrew nodded, his eyes moist with tears. The situation was so dire. He was going to be in charge of watching his baby sister in a small closet hidden in the basement while his mother and father were in some kind of trouble.

His mother stroked his hair lovingly, trying to soothe his nerves.

“I love the both of you very much. Never forget it.”

She kissed him on the forehead then left the little closet, closing the door behind her.

Andrew had no idea how much time passed. He just sat on top of the little blanket, trying to comfort his little sister who seemed to finally begin to realize that her mother had gone and she was left inside a dim closet underground. Her lower lip quivered, and she looked like she was about to start wailing. Andrew stalled the reaction as best he could, playing little games with her, clapping his hands and tickling her tummy and wiggling her fingers and toes.

 

A flame flickered to life in the corner of the closet like a lit torch. Andrew was frightened to pieces. His mother had always told him to never play with fire. It was dangerous. Now it was emitting smoke in the corner of the small closet hideout. And it was spreading to block the doorway, his only exit. The little Andrew was torn. His mother had told him to stay put, to stay where he was. But now a fire was going to consume the whole room. He would be dead if he stayed put.

Andrew thought of his dad, who could summon water at will. Water would put out the fire. The little boy tried his best to imagine a spurt of water dousing the flames. His parents had always told him never to use his powers without their permission or supervision. His dad had told him countless bed time stories of times he had gotten in big trouble for using too much of his water power, causing volcanoes to explode, nearly drowning human-eating horses, all that. It felt like someone had given him a jab in the gut. He doubled over, but was rewarded by a small spring of water sprouting right in front of the flame. Smoke billowed where the salt water and fire met. It began to fill his lungs and Andrew coughed, finding it hard to breath. His little sister began to cry, but her cries were chopped off by violent coughs as she tried to rid her lungs of the burning smoke. Tears streamed down her face. Andrew hated the sound of her struggling, but he couldn’t think of anything to do. He was only in preschool. All he knew was stop drop and roll, but that was only after you got your clothes on fire. The small salt water spring Andrew had succeeded to create was now nearly completely evaporated, and the fire had completely blocked the exit, filling the small enclosure with smoke. Andrew’s lungs burned with each intake of breath. His little sister’s golden curls were blackened and her face painfully strained as she struggled for breath. The tears had evaporated, leaving salty tracks on her cheeks. Andrew held her in his arms, the two of them struggling for breath from the suffocating flames.

A dog appeared in the doorway, seemingly unaffected by the flames which had now reached the cabinet with the snacks and water as well as the other full of fabric goods, both fueling the fire and adding yet more smothering smoke in the air.

Andrew was very confused at the appearance of the dog. They didn’t have a dog. What was it doing here?

Then another dog, identical to the first, appeared in the doorway. It bounded over and snatched up Andrew’s little sister.
You need to stay here, watch over your little sister, his mother had told him.

Andrew struggled to get up, his muscles straining to work with so little oxygen. The other dog snarled at him, blocking his path to the other dog which now held his little sister in its mouth by her shirt collar. The dog retreated out of the room, disappearing with his little sister. It may have been Andrew’s imagination but he swore the flames seemed to make a pathway for the dog to go through without getting burned.

Andrew’s lungs felt like they were being slowly bar-be-qued. The dog in front of him ceased its snarling and ran back the way it had come, leaving Andrew there to burn to death.

Just then, a giant wave of water washed over the flames, dousing them in one big splash. All that was left were the ashes of the cabinets and smoke lingering in the air. Andrew saw his dad rushing towards him. A second later, Andrew was safe in his father’s strong arms, as they headed away from the scene and up the stairs. At the top, he caught sight of his mom, her normally clean curly blonde hair looking almost brown by all the sand and dirt coating it. There was a burn on her arm and dirt all over her, like she had run through one of those desert sand twisters.

She turned towards them, relief spreading across her face at the sight of her little boy, only to be replaced by panic at the absence of her baby girl.

“No, no, no!” she whispered, scanning the horizon as if hoping she could spot the little girl. She looked like she wanted to run off and search but Andrew’s dad put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. The two halves shall the other find.”

His mother looked back at her husband, tears streaking her face.

“But-”

“I know, Annabeth. I know.” His voice broke and a tear began to trickle down his face as well.

“No use fighting against a prophecy. They always come true.”

His mother broke down, sobbing as her husband held her close. Andrew, was confused as he could be about what they were talking about and why they hadn’t gone off to rescue his little sister from those dogs or whoever had set that fire or something. Guilt washed over him. His mother had trusted him to watch over his little sister, and he had failed her. His little sister, so innocent, so strong, so cheerful, so sweet, was gone. Perhaps as good as dead.

Andrew huddled up in a ball, shaking with sobs. He felt his parent’s hands hold him, heard the comforting whispers, but it all seemed to come from worlds away. It was his fault his little sister was gone. He had failed to meet his mother’s expectations and instructions. He swore to himself that he would never let that happen again. Ever.

His parents carried him off to bed, silent tears still streaming down his face. His mother tucked him in and kissed him goodnight.

“I love you so much, Andrew. I’m glad at least you’re safe.”

And with that, she closed the door.

Andrew’s younger self had almost fallen asleep when he thought he could see a greenish glow from under his bed. He sat up, but could see no one. A voice spoke, though Andrew couldn’t recognize who it was or where it came from.

“You’re an only child now. And that’s what you’ll remember for as long as it is the truth.”

The green light seemed to engulf him for a second, then left, leaving him in bed, snoozing away peacefully.

 

Andrew woke up with a start, face beaded with sweat like he really had been in that smoky room. All the pieces fit together now. He glanced out the window, where the sun was now just above the horizon. It must have been maybe seven in the morning. Andrew got up and over to the same picture he had studied only yesterday morning. The family of four smiled up at him now. Why had he never remembered anything about his little sister before? He had always remembered the promise he had made, but never remembered why. This dream had to be a memory from his past. It seemed weird that he didn’t remember such a traumatic experience. For some reason, those last few sentences came back to him-

You’re an only child now. And that’s what you’ll remember for as long as it is the truth.

He felt like he was on the verge to something huge. He needed to take a step back and just look over it all. Just a little time to sort through his thoughts before the day started. Alexander came to his mind immediately. He would understand. Just a walk around the camp with his best friend to clear his mind, to sort through the many thoughts swarming through his mind. If he just took a step back, he was sure he’d be able to see the bigger picture.

 

Same as last time, this is literally a rough draft. No revision done whatsoever. Feedback is appreciated. :)

Hoped you enjoyed it!!