I groaned as I woke up, finding myself back in the Hermes cabin. It was night and everybody was sleeping. I tried to get up only to hiss, as I felt an incredible amount of pain in my ribs. After getting knocked out by Clarisse, I woke up about ten minutes later. An Apollo demigod did his best to patch me up and told me not to move around too much, as I've suffered some bruising.
It wasn't so bad, I said, until he told me that just before he and his siblings patched me up, I suffered a cracked rib and a broken nose, which would explain my nose feeling funny. They did their best, but thanks to Ambrosia, without it being a factor, they can't heal it completely. No wonder the camp is okay with kids using real weapons to fight each other; they have a healing item and a bunch of healers.
By the time I returned back to the Hermes cabin, it was nearly curfew. Percy was worried about me and asked if I was okay. I was annoyed by the fact that he wasn't celebrating the fact that made one of the demigods bleed, a strong one at that. Though he told me Clarisse is punished for having to do extra chores due to going too far. I remembered looking at the campers. I could see them glancing at me; some of them looked like they wanted me there. But now people were looking at me with interest.
Even their whispers and tone have changed:
"Have you seen what he did? I saw him actually hit Clarisse and hit her pretty good!"
"Are we sure he's mortal?"
And so on. I felt my chest swell up, and for the first time, I felt happy being in this place. For the first time, I've proven someone wrong. So, regardless of whether they hate me or not, I've shown everyone that I'm not just your average helpless mortal. I couldn't stop grinning. Even Percy quit it before I started bombing hospitals.
I glanced at the clock, which told me it was about five in the morning. I wanted to stay back in bed and chill or even go to sleep. But I'm way too happy remembering that satisfying moment when I made Clarisse bleed even a little. The thing about my ADHD is that when I get excited or hyped, my legs instinctively want to get up and pace around. I can't tell you how many times I got reprimanded by teachers in Yancy Academy because I kept jumping around in my dorm whenever I was listening to my favourite music.
That's why I felt restless right now, my body telling me to jump or walk around to escape the intense energy my brain was creating. I slowly got up quietly and tiptoed from the piles of sleeping bodies as I opened the door and exited the cabin. I know you're not supposed to exit your cabin, but I was too restless to go back to sleep. I closed the door as gently as I could and quietly walked around the camp at night.
It's hard to see due to the darkness, and there is barely any light at all. I squinted hard as I walked through and went deeper into the woods. I've brought my gladius just in case, strapped to my hip. Eventually, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I could see. I sighed as I relaxed, the calmness and eeriness. Sometimes, when the cameras in Yancy need repairing because they are old, I sneak out and enjoy the night.
Though it wasn't quiet, the streets were still busy with people, even so late or so early. That's the life of an American kid in the city. But in camp, everything was still and calm. As I walked around, I could hear a faint sound. At first, I didn't know what the sound was, but after following it, I realized it sounds like a sword's whoosh whenever you swing it fast.
I crept behind the tree and looked to see the person making the sounds. It was Luke; he was in an open spot where no trees blocked his sword swings. He was illuminated by moonlight, like a stage shining light down on the main character. Luke was swinging his sword expertly in the air, totally in focus.
I was amazed. I didn't get to see how good he really is because he was toying with that Ares camper, but now, I can see why he's called the strongest at camp. The way he moves, it was like...Honestly, I have no clue what to compare it to, it was simply mesmerizing. Luke spun around and slashed at the invisible enemy before thrusting, before he took a deep breath and stood up.
"Quit hiding, I know you're there."
I flinched slightly. The way he said it, it felt menacing and cold at the same time. I slowly got out of my hiding spot and stepped into view. He looked at me and blinked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Clay? What are you doing here?"
I gulped. "I could ask you the same."
He wiped the sweat off his face. "I'm training and...I can't sleep. What about you?"
"I've been thinking about what happened earlier, when I fought Clarisse."
"Ah, good job by the way. You may not have won, but I didn't expect you to toss your sword, so you landed a few hits." He winks. "It's not practical in an actual fight, but since you were in a duel setting, it really didn't matter."
Luke sits down next to a tree and taps on a spot beside him. I went and sat right next to him, where we just chilled and stared at the full moon.
"You're pretty good with your sword." I find myself saying.
"Thanks, I've been training for years."
"People say you might be the strongest at camp other than Mr. D and Chiron."
Luke laughed.
"I don't know about that, but I do feel I'm pretty tough."
We stayed quiet, just enjoying the moonlight. My eyes moved to him. Tall, handsome, strong, respected. I clench my fist and grit my teeth. I felt angry and frustrated.
"How did you get this strong?"
My question made him look at me with a raised brow. "Well, I trained a lot..."
"I don't know if that scar doesn't seem to be a training accident."
Luke's face darkens at the mention of his scar. I quickly felt bad. What was I doing, being a douchebag without a good reason?
"I'm sorry, I'm moody for some reason."
"...It's fine, I guess," Luke says. "You're right anyway, while being at camp did hone my skill, it wasn't just because of that, back then..."
He bites his lip, contemplating something. "I ran away, my mother...Well, I don't want to get the details, but I ran away from home, leaving me to fend for myself, fighting monsters. That's probably the reason why I'm probably one of the strongest demigods out there despite not being a big three child. Chiron told me that an adversary breeds strength; he's right about that."
"I see, sorry you had to go through that."
"It wasn't all bad," Luke's lips transformed into a bittersweet smile. "I had a friend with me, a fellow demigod. Her name...is Thalia. Thalia Grace."
I could see his tone of voice and face that he was playing happy yet also sad memories.
"Thalia always saves me whenever we fight monsters, and I don't want to leave her behind. I trained hard to keep up with her, and we found Annabeth, who also ran away with us. It's fun, hard, but fun..."
I frowned. "It didn't last long, did it?"
He chuckles bitterly. "Nope, that's the life of a demigod. Grover found us and tried to lead us back to camp, but on the way, a whole group of monsters started to chase us...Thalia stayed back and held them off."
I swallowed. "She's gone, isn't she?"
But to my surprise, Luke shook his head.
"No, not quite." Luke's face darkened again. "Thalia's father, the king of gods himself, Zeus, took pity on her and turned her into a pine tree. Her tree strengthens the magic shield around the camp."
Luke scoffed. "It's crap, utter crap. I will never understand Zeus not stepping in himself but deciding to turn her into a tree."
I nod my head, understanding why Grover failed his first mission; he wasn't able to lead all of them back in time, and Thalia paid the price. Poor Grover, not only did he fail, but he must be suffering a ton of guilt.
"That's why I trained, trained hard and got stronger, so I'll never be helpless and I refuse to play puppet at destiny's hands," Luke said.
Eyes filled with anger and determination. It was once again quiet between us. After a few minutes, I see Luke's face shift from his normal one. He then got up and stretched before sheathing his sword.
"Come on. I may like you, but you really shouldn't be out this early. I'll lead you back." He took a few steps forward before I got up and called out.
"Wait!"
He turns around, "Clay?"
"Can you-...Can you please train me?"
"Huh!?" Luke's eyes shot open in surprise.
"M-Me? Why?"
"Well, duh, you're the best at camp. And you're the only one probably willing to train me."
Yes, no one else would be willing to help a filthy mortal like me. They'd just make me do their errand or be their lackey.
"Luke, you've seen my performance today."
"Yeah?"
"I...want to get stronger. Strong enough to hold my own with all of you."
Luke seemed hesitant and unsure. "I don't know Clay, I'm busy-"
"Please, Luke! It doesn't have to be all the time, we can do it at night!"
Luke cringes. "Please watch what you say..."
"Just please, I need to get stronger!"
Luke bites his lip and seems unsure. No, not unsure, he's probably thinking of a way to let me down easily without hurting my feelings. I can't lose him; he's the only person who could teach me. I don't want what happened to Clairisse to happen again! I racked my brain trying to think of something or offer anything that would get him to train me. Then an idea popped into my brain. It was a long-shot plan, but I think it's the only option I have.
"What about we have a wanger!" I said. "If I land a hit within five minutes, you'll train me."
"What's in it for me?"
"I...I'll be your personal lackey for the whole summer, doing anything you say without question and even doing your chores."
Luke's eyes gleamed. I smirked internally and got him. Luke draws his sword and places it on his shoulder.
"Challenge accepted, but are you sure you could do this?" He asked, pointing at me. "Sure, you only need one hit in, but not only am I stronger and more experienced, but your body hasn't fully recovered yet. I don't mind if we postpone our little challenge."
My eyes narrowed, and I drew my sword out too, getting to a fighting stance. I hated the way he was underestimating me; I'll show him.
"I'm fine."
Luke smirks. "If you say so, you only get five minutes-"
I didn't let him finish as I rushed at him, swinging. Luke dodged my first slash and then blacked with the other. And this repeats several times. I pushed my still-aching body forward, trying to land even a single hit, while Luke, with one arm, parried or blocked my attacks. I raised my blade in the air only to freeze when I suddenly realized I was staring at Luke's sword tip.
"Don't be aggressive, you're wasting your stamina for nothing," I growled as I pushed away his blade before attacking him. Again, he backed away to avoid it.
But I took his advice and slowed down the pace of my attacks, only swinging to find openings. I tried an overhand large swing until Luke spun and pushed my leg with his own, making my face crash to the dirt. I groaned as I got back up, clutching my sore side.
"Don't go for big swings unless you're confident you could break my guard or hit me." I grabbed a fistful of dirt and whipped around, and threw it at him.
Luke flinches and covers his eyes. My mouth twitched with a grin. I got him. But just before I could even think of moving my sword, Luke spun around before kicking me straight to the chest, causing me to suddenly lose air and all my previous injuries to flare up as I was knocked to the ground, coughing while clutching my chest.
"That wasn't too bad," Luke called out.
I coughed as I pushed myself up using my sword as a cane to lift myself. I glared at Luke, who still oozes with confidence. Damn, no matter what I do, I can't even land a single hit! The power gap was even larger when I fought Clarisse. I lowered my sword, suddenly feeling helpless.
Can I really even land a single hit? Sweat dripped from my face as I pondered this. No, Clay, you got this, just a single hit, and he'll be your trainer. But how could I do that? I can't throw my sword like earlier; he already saw that!
"Clock is ticking, you only have like what? Two minutes?"
I clicked my tongue. This is so unfair. What could I do? I stared at his sword, which was an xiphos like pretty much every sword in this camp. I think I'm the only one probably wielding a gladius at camp...wait, that's it! It's a huge gamble and I might actually die, but I have to win.
I took a deep breath and charged forward as I gathered saliva in my mouth. I swung over and over, more aggressively this time.
"I told you to-"
I spat at him, which landed in his eye and face. He recoiled in disgust
"Dude! That's so-"
"Rah!" I roared as I swung my blade, and he blocked it with his blade.
I became reckless, hitting him with reckless abandon while he was still shocked at my spit attack. This time, Luke counterattacked, which I wanted him to, and I steadied and greeted my teeth as I lowered my sword. Luke's eyes went wide as he didn't expect me to drop my guard. It was too late to stop his blade, which travelled and hit me in the shoulder. But it didn't hit me, it passed through.
While Luke was stunned and still needed time to bring his blade back up, I thrusted, aiming at his face. Luke eyed the sword with gritted teeth as he tried to pull back, but it wasn't my real attack. Luke realized too late as his eye shifted only to find my other free hand going low and travelling to hit his abdomen. While his eyes earlier eyed the sword, causing him to push his head away, it left his entire body open. My punch collided.
We didn't move for several seconds. I was panting heavily while Luke, who wasn't hurt, eyed my fist in his gut in shock before he backed away, sheathing his sword and wiping his face to reveal an excited grin.
"Sorry about hitting you," I say, rubbing my head.
"Sorry? By the gods, Clay, that was amazing!"
He ruffles my hair. Still grinning. "Gross, but amazing. Nice one!"
I felt my cheeks redden, but I couldn't help but feel proud of myself for landing a hit. A full-on punch. It might not hurt, it might not have done anything in a real fight, but I felt happy.
"Well, I guess I got to keep my end of the deal, huh?" Luke grins, putting his hands to his sides.
"Okay, I'll make a man out of you, Clay Brandon."