I Must Be Hallucinating (PG-13)(Open)

Kyriakos flew out of the field, scrambling to turn and run up the dirt road. He thought he had lost it, but now wasn’t the time to stop and check. Barely breathing, he raced along the gravel, trying to find a sanctuary somewhere. A grassy shoulder appeared to his right, and Kyriakos jumped on it, the soft grass slightly more comfortable under his worn sneakers than the gravel. Without warning, he went sprawling, landing face down on the grass, unable to breathe at all. Perfect, he thought bitterly. After everything I’ve been through, it won’t be a bloody monster that’ll kill me. Gasping for breath, he struggled to his knees to see a lone pine tree not more than two hundred meters in front of him.

A pine tree? he though. I’m hallucinating. That can’t be real. Kyriakos hadn’t eaten in at least three days, and he hadn’t slept in at least four. He should have passed out somewhere, but the monsters kept him on his feet, always on the move, always on alert. He struggled to his feet, stumbling towards the pine tree. If he could touch it, he would believe it was real. If his hands grasped nothing but air, he would know he was definitely hallucinating. Kyriakos kept moving forward, not seeing the full picture. Finally, less than twenty meters from the tree, he noticed the dragon. I’m definitely hallucinating, he thought. A pine tree could exist out here. A dragon couldn’t. Kyriakos swayed on his feet, praying he could get a little further before passing out.

The growl behind him made him jump, and brought him back again. He spun on his heel, watching the hellhound thunder down the dirt track. Shit, he cursed. Kyriakos’s eyes whipped back and forth between the dragon beneath the tree and the advancing hellhound, trying to gauge the danger. Finally, he made up his mind, deciding the hellhound was the greater danger. Still unable to breathe, but knowing it was a matter of life and death, Kyriakos charged past the tree, hoping the dragon wouldn’t come after him.

Kyriakos wasn’t prepared for the steep downhill drop on the other side of the tree, though. Tripping over his own feet, he rolled down the hill, landing flat on his back, his head slamming into the solid ground. The force of the impact seemed to jolt everything in him, and all the grief he had been holding off for weeks came crashing down. Kyriakos squeezed his eyes shut as the tears came pouring down. Aniketos is gone, he thought. What’s the point in going on? What’s the point of living? He clenched his teeth, preparing for the strike of the hellhound. He was going to die now anyway, so it might as well be by the hellhound. If not less painful, it would at least be quicker. Here I come, Aniketos, he thought, still gasping for air. Here I come.

Jeni sat in Thaila’s pine, so many different things running though her mind. She couldn’t keep her mind from racing. Thoughts streamed in, each one different from the last. She closed her eyes, and images of Jess filled her mind. When she found her, always looking behind her to make sure that the monsters hadn’t gotten her…seeing that best tear her limb from limb…
All of a sudden, the tree shook violently, sending poor, unsuspecting Jeni out of the tree and plummeting toward the ground. She landed on her back, knowing that she was, yet again, covered in grass. She sighed as she stood up, and looked around to see what had caused her fall. That dragon wasn’t there…hrm… she thought. how strange… When Jeni looked on the other side of the hill, she found the dragon…engaged in battle with a hellhound.
Jeni’s eyes grew wide, and she turned to run down the hill, toward camp. Only she forgot how steep the hill was and how clumsy she was…and well, she went tumbling down the hill. When she came to a stop, she landed on something…or someone really. She sat up quickly, apologizing almost immediately. “Oh my gods, I’m sooo sorry! I didn’t mean to. I just saw that hellhound over there on the other side of the hill and I freaked, you know!” She said in one breath. She took a deep breath and continued. “I’m mean, seriously, I really, really sor—Um…are you okay?” She asked, her voice worried.

Something slammed into Kyriakos, hard, and his body instinctively reacted, curling in on itself. This is it, he thought, clenching his teeth tighter, preparing to be ripped limb from limb. I’m really about to die. A moment later, though, he heard a different, startling sound. Somebody was talking to him. Kyriakos attempted to make out the words, but it was a little difficult. Loosening only the slightest bit, he opened his eyes, the tears still streaming down his cheeks, still choking for air. He quickly searched around himself, looking for the danger he knew had to still be there. All he saw in his limited vision, though, was a pale face surrounded by a mass of dark hair. The hellhound was nowhere to be found.

Kyriakos struggle to sit up, but that only expended more effort, more energy, and more air that he didn’t have. Gasping for breath, Kyriakos knew his face was likely red by now, and rapidly turning purple. He tried to keep calm, to keep cool, but it wasn’t overly easy. Finally, something that someone had said made its way to his brain, and Kyriakos fought hard to respond. ”Are you okay?” No, he wasn’t okay. He was lost, he was in an unfamiliar country, his family was gone, he had been on the run for over three weeks, he was dirty, he was hungry, he couldn’t breathe. He was going to die if he didn’t get help soon.

Knowing he didn’t have time to say all of that, Kyriakos sucked in short, rapid breaths, trying to survive on the little remaining air he had. Finally, he spoke. “Hos…hos…hospital,” he choked. “As…asthma.”

Her eyes widened when he choked out asthma. “Alright, hold on.” She said, getting up. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, and then some, up the hill to her bag at the base of the pine. Jeni nearly tore apart her bag looking for her inhaler. When she finally found it, she practically fell back down the hill. She slid on her knees nearly falling on top of him again. “Um, here.” She said, putting it in his hand. “That might help…” she said. She could still hear the worry in her voice. And she was. Jeni knew exactly what an asthma attack felt like. Heck, nearly every time she ran, unless she used her inhaler prior to running, she would feel she airways constrict. And she hated it.

Kyriakos could hear the worry—and a hint of fear—in the voice as it went running off. He closed his eyes again, trying to keep calm, hoping whoever had spoken to him was getting help. At the rate things were going, he would be dead in minutes if he didn’t get any help. Thankfully, Kyriakos heard hurried footsteps not more than two minutes later, and he opened his eyes in relief. Unfortunately, the person moved into his line of vision, and Kyriakos saw that she was alone. He silently cursed until the girl pressed something into his hand. He brought it in front of his face, and very nearly cried with joy. Kyriakos ripped off the cap of the inhaler, brought it to his mouth, depressed the canister, and held his breath as the medicine worked its way through his airways, down to his lungs. He had to use it twice, but Kyriakos could feel his bronchial passageways loosening, his lungs opening up, and his breath coming in shorter gasps.

Finally, he had regained control, and he pushed himself into a sitting position. Kyriakos took a few deep, slow breaths, relishing the fact that he was still alive. He had been absolutely positive he was going to die. He looked around him, taking in his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was. There were a few small buildings off in the distance with a handful of young people milling about. Not too far from where he was, a large, blue, three-story house stood. Kyriakos looked further, and was a bit startled by what he saw. There was a pavilion, an amphitheatre, and an arena, all in the style of ancient Greece—all in the style of home. Kyriakos wondered exactly where he was, but he pushed the thought out of his mind as he searched for his savior.

He turned to his left, and saw the girl on her knees, still looking a bit nervous. She had a soft, pretty face and bright blue eyes, all framed by her long, raven hair. Kyriakos smiled at her and held out the inhaler. “Thank you,” he said, his Greek accent very apparent, despite the perfect English. “You saved my life. I—thank you.”

Jeni blushed as he thanked her. “Um, it was really no big deal…” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She returned his smile and took her inhaler back; she placed it in her back pocket. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why where you crying?” she asked, her brow furrowed. “I mean, if you don’t want to tell me, then I understand and all. It’s just I don’t like to see people cry, even if I don’t know them. And I’m just going to shut up and stop rambling now…” Jeni looked down at her hands, positive that her cheeks were even a darker crimson than before. “By the way, my name’s Jeni.”

“Jeni,” Kyriakos repeated, the name flowing smoothly off his tongue. “My name is Kyriakos. Kyriakos Areleous. Saving my life is a big deal. I would have died without you. Do not minimize that great act.” Kyriakos smiled at her again before his mind turned to the question she had asked. The smile slowly faded, and he turned his eyes to the ground. He couldn’t say why, but he suddenly wanted to tell this girl everything. Instinct said he could trust her, and she seemed so worried about him. Struggling to keep the tears from returning, Kyriakos looked up, focusing his chocolate brown eyes squarely on Jeni’s bright blue ones.

“I…it’s…I…” Kyriakos stuttered, trying to find a way to start. “My family is dead,” he stated bluntly. “My brother, my parents, all of them. They were murdered by a hellhound, a mythological creature that shouldn’t exist in the real world. With the hellhound staring me down, I didn’t know what to do. Instinct told me to run, so I did. I’ve been running for weeks. I don’t know exactly how long. I only know that I’m being hunted by monsters and the police, and I can’t let either of them get to me. I don’t know about the police, but the monsters don’t give up at all, much less easily. Throw in asthma, and it’s a miracle I’ve lived through all the weeks of running. Asthma in itself is hard to deal with, but when you’re trying to run from monsters without the ability to breathe, everything is ten times worse.”

Kyriakos paused, all the memories flooding his brain. He ran a hand through is hair, and was surprised to realize how long it had gotten. It had barely covered the base of his neck back in Florida, but now it was hanging well past his shoulders. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and picked up the story again. “The myths have been coming alive before my eyes,” he said. “Hellhounds, the Minotaur, telekhines, the empousa, they’re all myths, but I’ve seen them all. I don’t know what they’re all capable of, but I know hellhounds can kill. With that knowledge, the only thing I was concerned about was getting away. But now I’m lost, I’m not in my own country, I don’t know where I am, I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m dirty, and everything I’ve been running from is catching up to me all at the same time. I…I…I don’t know what to do next. I need help,” Kyriakos whispered, tears springing to his eyes again.

Jeni sat there, looking back at his brown eyes, listening intently to what had happened to him. She could see the pain, all the confusion, every emotion. She could even she his eyes start to water as he spoke of his family dying, him running, everything that had happened to him. When he finished, he had tears in his eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. “I-I know what you’re going through. Losing your family and all.” She rubbed the back of her neck, having a clenching feeling in her gut. “So, if you wanna talk about that or something, I’m here and stuff. Ok?” she said. “So, um. About the whole monster thing…they’re real. Like, in the real world, they’re really there, and you’re not crazy or anything. I know that you probably don’t want to stay here; not knowing exactly where you are and stuff, but I’m telling you. This is the ONLY safe place for people like us. And the people here, they can get you a place to stay. There are really nice showers, nice warm beds, and tons of delicious food. And the best thing for you to do is to just stay here.” Jeni said, putting emphasis on the really important pieces of information.

Kyriakos smiled sadly when Jeni offered him an ear if he needed to talk. He mumbled a quick thanks before Jeni spoke again. She was saying Kyriakos should stay, that where ever he was was the safest place for people like him and Jeni. Kyriakos was rather startled by that statement. He didn't want to stay. He wanted to go back to Greece. He wanted to go home. But...going home would be impossible. He knew the police had his passport. The picture from it had been on the news the day after his family's murder. If he even walked into an airport, he would immediately be taken into custody. Besides that, he didn't have any money to pay for the passage home. Even if he did, what would there be to go back to? Aniketos and his parents were gone. There was nothing left for him in Greece.

Kyriakos buried his head in his hands, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. After a few deep breaths, he spoke, refusing to look up. "where is here?" he asked. "Whi is it the only safe place? What do you mean by 'people like us'?" Kyriakos finally looked up, seaching Jeni's eyes. He had so many questions, but all he wanted were answers. "Jeni," he said. "If you know something important, you have to tell me. I--I just have to know it."

Jeni sighed. She looked at the ground, thinking of how to start with making herself seem completely insane. Oh, come on! After what he’s been through, I doubt that this will freak him out much! her own voice echoed through her mind. She sighed again and began explaining. “Ok, what I’m about to tell you may sound insane, but trust me, every bit of it is true.” She looked Kyriakos in the eyes, positive that he own had that same serious look that her mother had mastered before she died. “You know how that in Greek mythology, the Greek gods would come down to earth and have a child with a mortal, right? Well, that’s us. We are those children. And that’s not all. All those heroes; they were real. They lived and died, just like everyone else on this planet.” She took a deep breath, and continued. “And this, this place is Camp Half-Blood. This is where those kids go to when the outside world, the mortal world, isn’t safe for those few who are cursed to be children of the gods.” Jeni looked back down, staring at her hands that rested in her lap. She wanted to say something, anything really. But she couldn’t force the words out. “So,” she started. “does that clear anything up for you?” She asked and she started to pick the grass by her knees.

Jeni began her explanation by telling Kyriakos it would sound insane, but he listened intently all the same. Whatever Jeni had to say would be important, and he had to hear it. She started talking about the Greek gods, and the myths about demigods. She continued on to say that that was them, that they were demigods. At this, Kyriakos’s head fell back, and he closed his eyes with a sigh. Of course. If some of the myths were true, why couldn’t all of them be true? Kyriakos wanted to speak, but he waited for Jeni to finish first. She was now telling him about where he was. Apparently it was called Camp Half-Blood, and it was pretty much the safe house for children of the gods who couldn’t survive in the ‘mortal’ world anymore. Jeni paused for a moment, then asked if that cleared anything up. Taking a deep breath, Kyriakos tried to find the right words.

“Why am I not surprised?” he finally said. “Hellhounds are real, hydras are real, so why wouldn’t the gods be real, too? I can’t believe this,” he sighed, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair again. Realizing what he had just said, he shook his head again. “No,” he said. “I can believe it. It’s just…Μάρτυς μου ο Θεός.” Kyriakos sat silently for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to say next. He shifted his focus to the camp itself, looking around at his surroundings. A large blue house stood just off to one side, and a giant strawberry patch stood off to the other. In the distance, he could see an odd collection of Greek style buildings, and a few smaller buildings that looked a bit like small houses. He imagined those were the cabins the demigods stayed in, but they looked unlike anything he ever would have expected from a camp. Still taking everything in, he spoke to Jeni. “Tell me more about this place. What do you do here? Where exactly do you stay? I—I should probably stay, so where should I go?”

Jeni smiled, remembering what it was like finding out about the gods. “Well, here at Camp Half-blood, you can do a ton of stuff. Like there’s archery, sword play, and rock climbing to name a few. ” she said, starting her usual hand gestures. “Well, obviously, people stay in the cabins…unless you’re like a special guest or something and have permission to stay in the Big House. But seeing as you’re unclaimed, and I doubt that you have permission to stay at the Big House…you stay in the Hermes cabin, with me, the other unclaimed and Hermes kids.” she said “Wont that just be fun?” at this, she smiled.

When Kyriakos asked about camp, Jeni smiled. She explained that almost anything could be done at Camp Half-Blood from archery to sword play to rock climbing. Kyriakos pressed his lips together, not saying anything. He wasn’t a fan of violence before everything had happened, but he was even less so now. He knew violence killed. His parents, his brother, his best friend were all gone because of a rogue, violent dog. If he knew that, what would make him want to go out and battle somebody with a sharp weapon? Self defense, the little voice in his head said. It was a natural instinct, and learning to fight would be the only way he would be able to survive. Suppressing a sigh, Kyriakos listened to the rest of what Jeni had to say.

She mentioned the Big House, which Kyriakos automatically assumed was the giant blue house standing off to the side, then said that he would be staying in the Hermes cabin with her, the other unclaimed demigods, and Hermes’ children. Hermes was best known as the god of messengers and travelers, so it only made sense that unclaimed demigods would stay in his cabin. Unfortunately, he was also well known as the god of thieves. This time, Kyriakos really did sigh. He had few possessions left that any of Hermes’ children could nick from him, but if they dared touch what little bit he did have, he would be more than upset.

Kyriakos dug into his pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses with bent, metal frames and cracked lenses. He stared at them for a few minutes, emotion threatening to take over him again. Finally, taking a deep, shaky breath, he looked up at Jeni again. “Can you please take me to the Hermes cabin?” he asked softly.

Kyriakos sighed, and pulled out a pair of broken glasses. Why would he want to keep those? she thought as he just stared at them for a moment. He asked if she could show him where the Hermes cabin was…and of course this made her laugh slightly. “Of course I’ll take you. I mean, seriously, you didn’t even have to ask. What, did you think that I was going to abandon you right here, after I just told you a HUGE piece of information about yourself? I may not have been the best person to tell you that, but that’s not going to stop me from AT LEAST showing you around camp.” She said, standing up. She offered her hand to him. “So, would you like me to take you straight to the Hermes cabin, or would you like a tour of camp?”

Despite the fact that he was lost in memories, Kyriakos didn’t miss Jeni’s confused, slightly critical gaze. After everything she had just told him, he felt like he owed it to her to explain. Swallowing hard, he tried to hold back the new wave of emotion threatening to overtake him.

“They’re my brother’s,” he said. “Were my brother’s. Aniketos was killed by that hellhound. This is all I have left of him. I didn’t even get to say good-bye. He was already gone when I found him, and my only choices were to run or join him. I let my head rule my heart and ran. I didn’t realize I still had Ketos’ glasses until I was halfway across Miami. This is all there is to remind me of my family, of who I am. I just can’t get rid of them.”

Kyriakos looked away, blinking back tears. “It’s one thing to lose your family,” he choked, “but it’s so much worse when you’re the one to find them dead on the floor, you’re suddenly alone in an unfamiliar country, and you don’t know what to do.” Still staring off into the distance, he shook his head, trying to pull himself together. Get a grip, kid, he told himself. You have to get over it eventually.

Jeni then stood up, offering not only to take him to the Hermes cabin, but to show him around camp as well. Glad that somebody was willing to help him out, Kyriakos willingly took her hand, pulling himself up. “A tour would be great,” he said. “It would be nice to know what exactly I’m dealing with if I’m going to end up staying here.”

Jeni started at the glasses in Kyriakos’s hand. “I know what being the one to find your family dead feels like.” she swallowed, forcing the emotions back down. “My mom and cousins died in a freak accident where a drunk driver crashed through the wall of our house, crushing them under the rubble and car. My aunt was at work, so I was the one to find them. My mom’s leg were crushed, only the left hand of my cousin, David, and I couldn’t even see Kim, the other cousin. Unlike you, I didn’t have the option of running away. I had to stay there and endure 2 weeks of my aunt yelling at me for ‘killing’ her kids.” She sighed, and put her hands in her pockets, starring at the ground. “Well, anyway, let’s head to the Hermes Cabin.” She said, walking away, expecting him to follow.

When Jeni spoke, Kyriakos put his head in his hands, feeling more miserable than before. The fact that she understood what he was going through didn’t make things any better. It really only made things worse. Kyriakos had already been hoping nobody else had to go through what he did, but, of course, nothing ever went the way he wanted it to. Jeni had been through a very similar experience, and then some. Knowing that made Kyriakos hurt, and he wished there was something he could do to comfort her. All that came out of his mouth, though, was “I’m sorry.”

Clearing his throat, Kyriakos began again. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I would never wish my worst enemy to experience that. I'm-I-I'm sorry." Then, taking cues from Jeni, Kyriakos shut up. Hanging his head, he shoved his hands and the glasses in his pocket, and moved to follow her. Letting the subject drop completely, he tentatively answered Jeni's statement with one of his own. "I-I'm the new person here," he said. "You're the tour guide. Feel free to take me wherever I'm supposed to or should go."

Jeni looked at Kyriakos, mentally slapping herself for bringing up her past. And again, there’s the explosion. She said nothing, but she wanted to. She wanted to apologize for bringing up her past, for trying to comfort him but not succeeding. She hated the fact that she could do a thing, that she could even comfort the guy without making him feel worse. She wanted to make it better, wanted to bring his family back. Though she just continued walking without a saying this toward what she was forced to call home. The dang Hermes Cabin.

Welcome to the Newbie Express, enjoy the ride. she thought with a sigh.

((Sorry it’s so short, brain’s dead. Blame dumb 3-Chapters-in one-test >.<))

((It sucks. I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to say.))

Jeni said nothing, just continued to walk. The way she carried herself, Kyriakos could tell she was still upset about everything that had happened. He wished he could say something to make her feel better, but he didn’t know what. Besides everything that had just recently happened to him, he had no experience whatsoever with death. He really wanted to say something—anything—but he was too overwhelmed at the moment. Finally giving up on even trying, he simply followed along behind Jeni, letting the silence hang heavy between them. Only when a strange mish-mash of buildings appeared before them did Kyriakos pause and let a small “wow” escape his lips.

Jeni chuckled when Kyriakos let out a small ‘wow’. “Impressive isn’t it?” she asked with a laugh, acting as if the past few minutes hadn’t happened at all. “Obviously, these are the cabins. Though, we’re still building some for the Minor Gods. It used to be just the 12 Olympians, but then Percy…Well, that’s a story for another time.” She said with a small smile as she walked down to the Hermes Cabin. “Alright,” she said, turning around to face him when they reached the door. “I’m just going to go ahead and warn you now. It’s crowded; EXTREMELY crowded. And don’t forget that you’ll want to keep all of your precious belongings, like your brother’s glasses, with you at all times. I mean, unless you want someone to steal them. But even then, make sure that what you enter this cabin with, you leave with it. Understand?” she thought that this might have been a small overstatement, but it was true. Unless Kyriakos wanted his things snatched, then he might want to keep all of his valuables to himself.

Feeling that she had covered everything, she turned around and entered the cabin. Just as always, it was terribly crowded. People’s stuff was spewed all over the room, but most of the sleeping bags were up against the wall; just a few here and there, some with sleeping campers(a VERY bad idea) and some were just abandoned. “Go find a spot that you like. Though I suggest somewhere near me if you just want people to leave you alone. A lot of people here avoid me for some reason.”