Chapter one Welcome to camp (Told by Max when she came to camp) I breath in, stepping into the barrier with my friend the saytar. “You ready?” He asks, I nod though I’m not 100% sure. That was 1 year ago when I got to camp. I step into the barrier looking around. I see kids who are shooting arrows. Other kids are sparing, one is manipulating the water. Everyone so happy. I see this scrawny kid, he’s playing with fire. “Wow” I say looking around, “Ben is this actually happening? Am I dreaming?” I ask my saytar. He shakes his head “Maxine, I have goat legs you think your dreaming?” I glare at him “I said not to use my full name” he shrugs it off “come on Max. Chiron needs to see you” I freeze “did-did you say Chiron? Like the Chiron?” He nods “yeah” likes it perfectly normal. I follow before he can surprise me again. Ben takes me to this big house (I found out later that it was it’s literal name) when we step inside I immediately see the centaur. I put my hands in my pockets of my hoodie. “H-hi” I say “I’m Max” he smiles warmly, “hello Maxine. I’m Chiron. Ben here has told me about you” Maxine? I think he knows my full name? Does he know I go by Max instead of Maxine? “Um- I go by Max. Maxine is only to my mom” I say looking around at the cheetah print every where “why don’t you sit Max.” He says motioning to the couch, I sit down fidgeting with my twin rings, a gift says my mom’s voice in my head from your father. Chiron eyes my rings “do you know what a demigod is?” He asks sitting in a wheelchair. I nod “like Heracles and Perseus. And the Amazons” he nods “you know your history, good. Do you know who the Greek gods are?” I nod again, “Yes. Hera, Zeus, Hephaestus, Iris” he smiles “good. Your school had an excellent teacher” I shake my head “I didn’t get this information from school. My mom, she taught me all about the Greek Mythology. She made sure I knew everything” he nods thinking like he’s calculating something “you said your mom right? Do you have a father?” I look away still fidgeting with the rings “no, he left us after I was born. I have a step-dad, and I had a half-brother” he asks “had?” I look at the ground “he was killed, drowned. If I had—” Ben sits next to me hugging me. “Sir, her brother was 10 when he drowned. She was there, and she tried to save him. But know she won’t go into water. She is scared of water now” Chiron doesn’t say anything, for a while there is a long silence, but then he says “take her to the Hermes cabin, we’ll see if she’s claimed at dinner” Ben nods and takes me to this cabin, almost overflowing with kids. When I enter 2 boys introduce me to everyone. “Hey newbie” says one “I’m Travis Stoll” the other one says “I’m Conner Stoll. We’re the sons of Hermes. Will be you cabin head counselors while you’re here. Are a Hermes kid or undetermined?” Ben answers for me “undetermined for now, Max I have to go but I’ll see you at dinner” I nod “bye Ben” then I turn to the two boys “you said that you were the sons of Hermes. Does this mean that the Greek gods are real?” They look at each other with a knowing glance “oh boy” says Travis “let’s talk about that later ok?” I nod. Looking around the cabin, there is a lot of kids here I think Conner points to everyone saying there names and if they are undetermined or Hermes kids. “There is a lot of undetermined kids here” I say looking at everyone one girl speaks up, I think her name is Frankie, “Max, this cabin is the literal reject cabin. But every know and then kids get claimed. I’ve been here long enough to know, newbies don’t get claimed right away. Leo was an exception” she says. I nod understanding a little, Travis puts his hand on her shoulder “Frankie, don’t bring her hopes down.” He then he turns to the whole cabin “ok people,” he says in this commanding voice I didn’t know he had in him “tonight we have capture the flag, we are with the Athena, Poseidon,Hephaestus, and Zeus cabins. Three different teams, we are the blue team” everyone grumbles “again?” My eyes light up capture the flag? I think I’m great at that! A bell sounds in the distance “ok Hermes cabin” says Conner “Let’s go get armor, capture the flag is starting” I walk to the door until Travis calls me back “Max?” He says “those rings” he points to my rings “what about my rings?” I ask. “Who gave them to you?” He asks “um my dead beat father” I say looking at my rings, Travis nods “I know how you feel about your dad. But pass me one of your rings” I pass him one, he looks at it then gives it back “flick your wrists at the same time.” He says as I put the ring back on “ok?” I say flicking my wrist, just then two daggers appear I drop the daggers “what in the world?” I scream at him as the daggers turn back into rings I grab them again “what the hell just happened?” I ask fury in my eyes “Max chill. That gift is your power for now. We’ll see who claims you”
