CHAPTER ONE
I’m attacked da a demon puppy
I was sitting on the floating dock at foca, guarnizione Harbor Beach. I came here to think. This dock usually floated at high tide but it was low tide so the dock was just sitting on the sand. The smells of low tide floated into my nose. I had grown accustom to this smell, seeing as though I came here very often. It was the smell of pesce and lobster.
Today, I had come here to wonder what was wrong with my life. My mother had died when I was 2 years old so I was too young to remember, but every night I strained all the energy out of my brain trying to remember her. I never could. Also, I had ADHD and dyslexia, and all my teachers wanted me medicated and sent to a crazy school for, well, crazy people. I was an 11-year-old girl with più problems than most adults.
As I was contemplating life with a mother, I heard footsteps in the sand behind me. It sounded four-legged; not just two, but it could be just another stray dog. I turned my expecting to see a tourist asking "Where are the seal? This is foca, guarnizione Harbor". But instead I saw a giant sleek black dog. No not dog, thing. Sleek black thing. That makes più sense. It had glowing red eyes.
"Woah", I stuttered. I had never seen anything this big besides in a zoo, “calm down puppy."
I guess I shouldn't have called it puppy. It growled mostrare two rows of razor sharp canine teeth. I screamed for someone to help me. All the tourists on the spiaggia looked up to see what was wrong. They would yell something like "Get a life!" and "Don't go scarring the young ones!" I wanted to yell at them that there was a giant dog with lava-eyes about to take me to the depths of who-knows-where. But I realized if they thought this thing, was nothing it would be pointless to ask them for help.
Just as I was saying my final prayers, my best friend Lauren came hobbling down the beach. Well< it looked like hobbling at least. And not galloping which I later learn that it was. I never found the fact that she was running down the spiaggia without her crutches until after I was out of life-or-death situation.
"Lauren! Thank God! Help," I yelled hoping she was normal and could see this thing.
"Oh Gods. No! No this can't be happening!" Lauren practically yelled.
"Well are te going to do anything?" I yelled back at her. I was getting irritated.
Lauren opened her mouth to say something, but it was too late. The black dog pounced on me. It felt like the weight of two school buses filled with kids sitting on superiore, in alto of me. I had my eyes clenched shut. I heard galloping from farther up on the beach. I don't know how I heard this, seeing as though it was 50 feet up shore. I wasn't surprised to her galloping, but on the beach? I was più interested in tiring to get this thing off of me.
CHAPTER 2
My best friend kills a beast from Hell
I pushed as hard as I could but this thing had its mind set on killing me. I heard Lauren come over.
"Lauren! What are te doing just standing there! Help get this thing off!" I screamed.
Evidently, none of the tourists on the spiaggia were paying any attention to the little 11 anno old getting mauled da this demon creature thing.
"Chiron!" Lauren yelped.
"Who the heck are te talking about?" I screamed once again. Lauren wasn't paying any attention to me.
The galloping on the puntellare, riva was coming closer. Maybe this "Chiron" was on a horse.
"Lauren. Take this. Give it Artemisia," a deep voice said. No one ever called me my real name. No one.
"No Chiron. I'm going to do this myself," Lauren detto in her sad attempt at being brave.
The successivo thing I know, Lauren has a sword in her hand and came slicing down on the thing. It turned to dust. There I was. Lying on a dock, covered in thing dust, and some complete stranger knew my real name.
"Artemisia. We need to leave now," detto the man. I'm supposing that this was Chiron.
He threw me up on to his horse, along with Lauren. He galloped away. Suddenly, we were going at like a million miles an hour. The Maine scenery was rushing past us like a blur.
"We're here," Chiron said.
"Where is here?" I asked. There were trees about 70 feet tall and then there was one pine albero that was taller than all the rest. There was a gate that had something written on the superiore, in alto of it. I strained my eyes to try to read it, automatically supposing that is was in English. It shocked me when I realized that I could read it. The only problem was that it wasn't in English.
I was wonder what was "Camp Half-Blood". The sign detto it was Camp Half-Blood.
"Artemisia, follow me." Chiron detto behind me. I turned and almost screamed. He had a man's head, but a white stallion’s body.
"What are you?!" I questioned, smothering the need to scream.
"I am Chiron. I am a centaur," He detto as calmly as anyone would expect someone to say that their half-horse.
I opened my mouth to say something, but Lauren interrupted me.
"Chiron, Artemisia has had a really long day. Can I get her a place in cabina 11, and tomorrow maybe can we give her the tour?" Lauren said. It was the first time she'd ever called me "Artemisia".
"Of course," Chiron said.
"Come on Artie," Lauren said, signaling for me to come with her. Everyone called me Artie o some other form of Artemisia. Any except the full version.
CHAPTER 3
My best friend is magically made smart
Lauren led me away from Chiron, and through the gates.
"What's going on? Where are your crutches?" I asked Lauren as soon as we were out of ear shot of Chiron.
"I'll let your guide tell te that. I'm not at liberty to say," Lauren muttered. I had never heard her use a phrase like "at liberty to say". I mean where did that come from?
"Wait. Guide?" I was even più confused than before.
Lauren didn't reply for a while. She was leading me down a hill, covered in perfectly maintained grass. Right in front of me, there was a giant house. It was two stories, with probably an attic. There was a porch out front, and there was a girl about 13 and a man about 50 years old, sitting at tavolo playing cards. He was dressed in a horrifying Hawaiian shirt. I swear, those things must be an insult to people from Hawaii.
Behind the house, were acres upon acres of fragola fields. Maybe this was a place for weird "centaurs" that liked strawberries a lot. But, the girl didn't seem, like a horse. But looks can be deceiving. Lauren brought me up on to the porch. There I realized that the weird old man was playing cards. Not with other people, but with other floating cards. This made me even più confused.
"Mr. D Artemisia is here," Lauren detto to the weird old man. I guess his name was Mr. D.
"Well does it look like I care about this brat?" Mr.D whined. I guess he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
"She needs a guide," Lauren said. If someone had done that to her in foca, guarnizione Harbor, she would have broken down into tears. This giorno just kept getting weirder and weirder.
"Annabeth. mostra Artemisia around," Mr.D said.
I was about to correct him but he shooed me away.
The girl came forward.
"Hi, my name is Annabeth," she said. She was about 5 foot 4. She had gorgeous curly blonde hair and grey eyes. Wait, grey eyes? I'd never seen that before. She was wearing an arancia, arancio t-shirt that detto "CAMP HALF_BLOOD"
"Where am I?" I asked hoping that this Annabeth could answer my questions.
"You are at Camp Half-Blood. Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141 Long Island, New York 11954," Annabeth explained. She led me off the porch.
"Half-Blood." I repeated," Half what Annabeth?"
"You know the Greek Gods and Goddesses?" Annabeth asked.
"Kind of. Why?"
"You are here because te are half Greek god. So are all the other kids at this camp."
I swallowed. "No. I think te have the wrong person. I have dyslexia and ADHD. I'm not that special."
"That's what makes te special. Your half Greek blood is accustomed to Leggere Ancient Greek, not English. And you’re ADHD. Those are your battle instincts. They'll keep te alive in a battle."
"Then who’s your parent?"
"Athena, the goddess of battle strategy and wisdom."
"Then whose mine?"
"We don't know yet. They'll have to claim you. But just between te and me, I can probably figure out who your parent is."
"How?"
"Just tell me a little bit about yourself."
"I am a night person. I hate boys. They irritate me. I'm really good at archery."
"Oh no. No no no." Annabeth mumbled.
"What? What what what!"
"We need to go talk to Chiron. Now"
Great not that crazy horse dude again. Annabeth turned, and ran up the hill. Chiron was standing right inside the gates.
"Chiron! I think I know who Artemisia's mother is!" Annabeth cried.
Chiron took Annabeth away.
CHAPTER 4
A half-horse shows me a camp for half-gods
A few minuti later Annabeth came back with Chiron. She looked like she was about to cry, while Chiron just looked extremely concerned.
"What? What did I do?" I asked. No one was answering my questions.
"Annabeth. Go get Artemisia a place in cabina 11 for now. Tell Luke that she needs a spot now." Chiron detto in a very strict voice.
Annabeth ran down the collina towards a set of 12 cabins. The strange thing was that each cabina was different. There was a red one, and oro one and the one that caught my eye, was the glowing silver one.
I cringed at the thought of having to stay in a cabina with at least one boy. I just hated boys. They were always so immature and rude.
"Come on Artemisia. I'll give te the tour."
Chiron led me down the hill. He showed me the Rock bacheca of Death. o that's what I call it at least. There was lava streaming down it. There was a kid that kind of looked like Annabeth. He was climbing the bacheca like nothing was happening and there was absolutely no risk of dying. He showed me the canoa lake and the Archery range. I felt the most at home here. All the places at this so called "camp" were really weird, but this is the one place that almost felt like it was pulling me in.
Chiron was mostrare me a few più places, but I really wasn't paying attention. The ADHD part of my mind was off wondering somewhere, while the other part of my brain was trying to avvolgere itself around that my mother wasn't dead and that she was a goddess.
"Here we are at the cabins. You'll be staying in that cabina over there," Chiron detto as he pointed to the only normal looking on. It was made out of logs. I looked for the glowing silver cabin.
"Whose cabina is that?" I asked. Hopefully I could get a different cabin.
"Uh, that is Artemis's cabin."
Artemis. It sounded like my name. Maybe she was my mother.
"Can I stay there?"
"No. No not at all."
Chiron led me into cabina 11. There were tons of kids sitting on sleeping bags. Including boys. EW. I don't think I can do this.
CHAPTER 5
I have to spend the night with a boy- EW
I took a death breath. Chiron led me through the door.
When my adjusted, I saw at last 20 kids sitting on their sleeping bags. They had sad expressions on their faces like than were so unloved. A boy (ew) about 17 stepped forward.
"Hi. My name is Luke," he said. He had sandy blonde hair. He smiled. I loathed it when boys tried to get me to like them because it was never going to happen. And I mean never. I would be content if I never got married.
"Hi," I forced myself to say.
"You must be Artemisia. Annabeth told me about you," Luke said. Great. I thought I could maybe trust Annabeth. Well not any more. She actually tells things to boys.
'Luke. te can probably take it from here," Chiron detto to Luke. I realized that Chiron wasn't inside the cabina with me. He was right outside of the cabina door. He was too tall to get in the door. That was actually kind of funny.
"Bye Chiron," I said.
"OK let's find te a spot on the floor," Luke detto as he led me farther into the cabin.
I had to step over people and step on the ends of sleeping bags in order to get the back of the cabin. There were bunks but each one was filled.
"Here te are. te can take this spot," Luke said.
I sat down. No one was talking to me. Maybe ten minuti later, Luke came over.
"So. Who’s your parent," I asked trying to be a sociable like my teachers always told me to be. 'Go be sociable Artie. Why don't te go be with your friends?’ I'm the only one in my whole school that actually understands how stupid boys are.
"Hermes. God of thieves and messenger to the gods," Luke muttered as if he wasn't happy about his father being the god of thieves.
"Who is my parent?" I asked. I have to know sooner o later. I would preferably NOT learn it from a boy, but I would take it.
"Annabeth told me had her suspicions," he muttered. He keeps muttering. I don't know why, but he needed to talk louder.
There was a horn in the background.
"It’s cena time. Come on. Fallow me," Luke detto as he stuck out his hand. I guess it was to help me up. I just looked at it with disgust. "Well OK then."
The whole cabina walked outside to an outdoor pavilion. There were 12 tables, just like the cabins.
I sat down where the Hermes cabina was sitting. I barely had enough room for my hand. There were too many people at this table, yet there were empty tables.
We got through dinner, which was very uneventful. We went to cabin. Luke got me a sleeping bag and a few Camp Half-Blood T shirts. I spread my sleeping bag out on the floor.
CHAPTER 6
I learn that I am a forbidden-baby
I bunched up my t-shirts and placed them at the head of my sleeping bag. Great, I thought this is going to be a great night.
I couldn’t fall asleep. My brain was going a million miles an hour. I tried to get off the topic of y mother never claiming but I couldn’t. The one time I want my ADHD to do something, it abandoned me.
I finally fell asleep. I had a horrifying nightmare.
I was in a forest at night. A woman came out of the trees in front of me. She was absolutely beautiful. She had her hair pulled back and she had a silver braided head band. No, not head band, hippie band. It wrapped around the superiore, in alto of her head. She had gorgeous brown hair that shimmered in the moon light. She had a silver dress on that came flowing down to her knees. She had a bow and arrows strapped on her back.
Then it hit me. She was my mother. I tried to speak but my mouth wouldn’t let me. I raised my hands to see if I was really there. My hands faded in and out. They were shimmering.
From behind her, a voice sounded.
“You broke the oath, Artemis. te will pay.”
The woman looked surprise and fell to her knees.
“No father! Please forgive,” she cried.
I tried to help her, but I couldn’t’ move. I was paralyzed.
I woke with a start. I was the last one awake. Luke walked over to me.
“You were screaming in your sleep,” Luke detto as he felt=t my forehead with the back of his hand. “Are te sure you’re OK?” Luke asked. Although I never trusted boys, he did look genuinely concerned.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” I said. I pulled my legs out of my sleeping bag. I still had my clothes on from yesterday, which was a gray camicia that detto ‘Yes I’m a girl, yes I’m an athlete, yes I’ll kick your butt’ and jean shorts.
Luke walked away but I still went to the bathroom to change. I walked into the grey concrete building and into the “demi-goddesses” bathroom.
There were maybe 5 girls that were applying makeup and gossiping. They looked at me with disgust. I had never felt the need to wear makeup.
As I walked into the stall I heard one of them say “Oh my Gods! When I was at sword practice with Luke he detto that he really liked me!” This was followed da blood-curdling screams and the sound of jumping.
I pulled on my clean camicia and unlocked the stall door.
There was a sound of a horn, and the girls exited the bathroom. I walked out of the stall. I looked in the mirror. My brown hair was all messy. I pulled it back into a low ponytail and pulled a hair tie off my wrist.
I ran out of the bathroom. I saw that the Hermes cabina was lining up. We lined up in order of Authority so I was dead last.
Breakfast was very uneventful again, but when Luke detto we were going to the Archery range later, it mad my whole daylight up.
Annabeth found me after breakfast.
“OK I’m here to take te on the official tour of camp,” She said. She was wearing an arancia, arancio t-shirt just like mine except she had a black collana that had 6 beads on it.
Annabeth took me to some new places that Chiron didn’t mostra me. She took me back to the canoa lake.
“Any questions, commenti o concerns?” She asked.
I was fighting the urge to tell her about my dream. It got the best of me. I blurted it out. I just couldn’t stop.
“Oh no. That’s not good,” Annabeth detto as she started walking towards the Big House.
Once we got there, Annabeth found Chiron and they had a quick argument. Chiron finally gave in.
Annabeth came out.
“Come on Artie. te don’t mind if I call te that right?” she said.
“No. No I don’t mind.”
Annabeth lead me to the Archery range. There were farfalle in my stomach. I wanted to prove myself with my archery. It seemed like it was the only thing I was good at.
Annabeth handed me a bow and arrows.
“Go ahead. Take a shot,” she detto with a slight smirk on her face.
I grasped the bow. I pulled back my arm, and I lined up the scopes. I took a deep breath and released my hand. A perfect bull’s eye. There were cease fires all over the clearing. Campers gathered around me. I did it again, but this time I aimed a little to the right so I didn’t hit the other arrow.
“Archer, cease fire!” Chiron’s voice rang through the silent crowd.
Instinctively I stopped.
“Artemisia, your mother has claimed you,” he said.
I looked around for a sign. I looked up and saw a spinning hologram of a bow and arrows.
“All welcome Artemisia, daughter of Artemis.”
CHAPTER 7
I finally get away from all those dumb boys
I stood shocked for a few moments. I couldn't believe it. I was claimed.
"Wait what?" I stammered.
"You are the daughter of Artemis," he detto with proud look on his face, like the look my father never gave me.
Wait. Why did he say "the" like I was the only one. I looked around at the rest of the crowd. They all had looks of shock on their faces. Luke and the rest of the Hermes cabina had come to the range. Luke had the same expression as the rest of the crowd. They all looked at me like I was some forbidden child.
Chiron walked forward. The hologram had faded da now.
"Come one. We need to get te into your cabin," he said. He led me out of the range. It seemed like he was almost sheltering me, like what body guards do.
"Why were they looked at me so queerly?" I said.
"Well, Artemis made an oath to her father when she was young. She detto that she would forever be a virgin goddess. We haven't had any children of Artemis here for a few millennia," Chiron detto in a very serious tone.
I finally knew what my dream meant. Wow this is kind of scary. My father was a hunter. He always blamed me for my mother’s death, yet she never died. She's an all powerful being.
"Where is she then?" I asked. I desperately wanted to meet her. She was my mother I had always dreamed of having. She was alive. I was still getting over the fact that my father had never told me.
"She has a group of girls called the Hunter's of Artemis. They travel the world killing monsters of the world. The girls are granted immortality, if they promise never to have any interaction with boys. That is probably why te hate boys so much," he explained.
Everything was making sense now. I hated boys. My mother hated boys. Except for my dad apparently. I loved archery and hunting. So did my mother. In fact she was the goddess of the hunt. While my brain was figuring things out, Chiron had leaded me back to the Hermes cabin.
"Go in and get your stuff. You'll be going to cabina 8,"
I went inside. I stepped over people’s sleeping bags to get to mine. I wadded up my t-shirts and shoved them to the bottom of my sleeping bag. I gathered my sleeping bag in my arms and ran towards the door.
Chiron led me across the clearing towards the glowing silver cabin. I was excited that I was getting to stay in the cool cabin. I was thinking this until I remember what Chiron said. `We haven't had any children of Artemis in a few millennia`. Great. I was going to be alone. Well, at least I wasn't with any boys.
The front of the cabina looked just like a regular little house that te could find anywhere in foca, guarnizione Harbor. Well, except for the fact that it was silver.
I walked in the door. It had 4 bunks on either side of the room. There it smelled like the lab in my school house. It looked like some people stayed here sometimes but it hasn't been a few years since they'd been here because there were cobwebs all over the bunks.
"Um? Chiron could I possibly have something to wipe this off these webs," I asked. I don't have any problem with spiders, it's just I don't like them crawling in my hair.
He took a duster out of his pouch that he had on his back. I took it. I turned and picked a bunk. I started sweeping, but when I turned around, Chiron was no longer there. I set up my sleeping bag and lay down. I starred at the ceiling. This was my cabin. No one else's. Just mine.
CHAPTER 8
My best friend explains why she’s half goat
I laid there for a few minutes. I saw dusty cobwebs coating the roof. On one of the walls, someone had written “PERCY JACKSON LOVES ANNABETH CHASE” in big red letters. Well, I thought, I’m going to need to paint over that. My mind trailed off. My dad had been lying to me my whole life. Then my mind trailed off, and somehow I got on the topic of Lauren. I thought about how I hadn’t seen her in the crowd when I got claimed. My cuore sank. Whenever I had an archery tournament just at my archery range, she would be there, cheering me on. Here I was; claimed da some immortal goddess and my best friend wasn’t da my side. Just as I was thinking that, I heard a knock on the door.
I threw my legs over the superiore, in alto bunk ledge. I leaped down and ran to the door. I found a familiar face standing at the door.
“LAUREN!” I cried. I tackled her with a hug.
“ARTIE!!” She cried back. This is the Lauren I knew.
After a couple of tackle-hugs, Lauren brought me into the cabin. She sat down on the letto across from the one I was sitting on.
“You’re hoping that I’ll just tell te that this is all some sort of cruel joke,” she said, starring down at the ground.
“Wait, I was?” I guess that I was, but I didn’t know that I was thinking that.
“Never mind...” she muttered.
“What is this whole thing about Artemis being virgin goddess and such?”
“Well, let’s just say, that when she was born, she asked for multiple things from her father, Zeus. She asked for più names than her twin, Apollo, and to be able to be a virgin goddess forever. She had kept this promise for eons. Until about 11 years ago. We knew something horrible had happened when we got a chilling prophecy. You’ll fallow the footsteps and run in the woods; you’ll defy civilization and hunt what no mortal could. We were hoping that it was a child of Apollo that fulfilled this prophecy, because Apollo’s children also have impeccable aim. It’s just that with the fallow in the footsteps thing, we couldn’t help but think it could be Artemis. Chiron sent out all of the best satyrs out to find the child. He gave up after about 7 years. About a year-and-a-half ago, Chiron sent me up to foca, guarnizione harbor. He detto it was either going to be one of the big three, o he didn’t say what. I hoped and prayed that it would just end up being like Aphrodite, o Ares. When I first saw you, I knew te weren’t Aphrodite, o Athena. Once I got to know you, all of the others went out the window. I had chilling suspicions that te were a daughter of Artemis; I just hoped and prayed that it was Apollo.”
“Wait. A satyr? Care to explain?”
“Well, satyr’s are half-goat. We work here at Camp Half-Blood finding new demi-gods.”
Lauren explained some più stuff, but I was spacing out. Lauren was the only 5th grader with a few pimples. She had her long, wavy brown hair in a messy bun. Every once and a while, she would run her fingers through the superiore, in alto of her hair, then she would adjust her bun. She did this a lot. She would rarely have her hair down. She would have her hair up for sleeping. Then she would bring it down in the morning to brush it, then immediately put it back up.
After a few minutes, Lauren stopped talking. I was watching the dust in the cabin, as sunlight ran through it, leaving little speckles of dust everywhere.
“Were te even listening to me?” she asked after a few moments.
“No,” I admitted quietly.
Lauren laughed.
“So, now what?” I asked. I wanted to go back to the range but, I didn’t think I was going to be allowed back.
“Well, do te want to go to the range?” she asked as a smile slide across her face.
“YES!”
I jumped and smacked my head against of the bed. I rubbed my head. I ran to my stuff, instinctively. Then, I remembered I didn’t have my bow. My shoulders sagged.
“I thought te would do that,” Lauren detto with a smile on her face,” So I brought te this.”
She held out a brand new bow. It was the one I had wanted for years. And it came with a back-strap and the kind of arrows I had been using my whole life. My cuore sank, when I realized that I didn’t have the ones all my Friends signed from archery camp. I picked up the arrows. I looked closely. There were little tiny signatures of my friends’ sayings things like I Amore te Artie!
“Thank te so much!” I cried.
This was like Christmas, in the middle of June!
CHAPTER 9
I win an unexpected title
Lauren led me out of the cabin. We walked in silence to the Archery range. I walked in, fallowing Lauren. There were CEASE FIRES throughout the range. I walked with proud to an empty lane. Everyone's eyes were on me. I pulled my arm back, and lined up the scopes. I breathed in. As I exhaled, I let go of the arrow. I heard it soar through the air. There was a thunk when it hit the target. Before I even pulled my bow down, there were gasps across the quiet range. I looked down range, as my eyes adjusted.
"Woah! The new girl just got a bull’s-eye!" some kid down range from me said. I looked through my scopes to get a better look. A little to the left. It wasn't perfect. So I pulled back, lined up my scopes, breathed in, exhaled, and released.
"Another one?" the same kind yelled.
I had been doing this since I was 3. I now understand why my father started me so early.
I popped a few più bull’s-eyes, purposely putting them in different spots.
A crowd had gathered around me. A kid stepped forward.
He was short and had a scrunched up face. He scowled at me.
"My name is Michael tasso, yew and I challenge te to a duel," he said.
We replaced the target with a clean one.
"Ladies first," he detto as he gestured.
I stepped forward. I pulled, lined, breathed, exhaled, and released.
Bull’s-eye.
"Good luck," I detto as I walked proudly towards the stunned crowd, and over to Lauren.
"Michael tasso, yew is the best archer at camp. His father is Apollo, Artemis' twin," Lauren whispered in my ear, as Michael took his first shot.
His shot was just a tad shy of hitting mine. Pretty good I thought, but he's going to have to do better than that to beat me.
I stepped forward. I usually panicked under pressure, but today I felt cool, calm, and collected.
I popped another bull’s-eye, splitting my precedente Arrow in half.
"Once again, good luck," I said, as I took my place successivo to Lauren.
She had a smile on her face. I could tell that Michael was nervous. I mean who wouldn't be. A new girl just got claimed da a virgin goddess, and she was on her way to beating the best shot in camp. He released at the wrong time. He released as he was breathing in. His shot flew out of the bull’s-eye, and into the surrounding area.
I could see Michael's face start to bead up with sweat. He brought his bow down. His hands were shaking.
I walked up. I knew that this shot was one I had made at least a hundred times, but I had never had this many kids with their eyes glued to me. I pulled back, and released. I opened my eyes. I had diviso, spalato my secondo Arrow in half.
There was a moment of complete shock. Luke stepped forward. I had forgotten that the Hermes cabina was here.
"Everyone! We have a new camp-best-shot!" Luke yelled.
I’m attacked da a demon puppy
I was sitting on the floating dock at foca, guarnizione Harbor Beach. I came here to think. This dock usually floated at high tide but it was low tide so the dock was just sitting on the sand. The smells of low tide floated into my nose. I had grown accustom to this smell, seeing as though I came here very often. It was the smell of pesce and lobster.
Today, I had come here to wonder what was wrong with my life. My mother had died when I was 2 years old so I was too young to remember, but every night I strained all the energy out of my brain trying to remember her. I never could. Also, I had ADHD and dyslexia, and all my teachers wanted me medicated and sent to a crazy school for, well, crazy people. I was an 11-year-old girl with più problems than most adults.
As I was contemplating life with a mother, I heard footsteps in the sand behind me. It sounded four-legged; not just two, but it could be just another stray dog. I turned my expecting to see a tourist asking "Where are the seal? This is foca, guarnizione Harbor". But instead I saw a giant sleek black dog. No not dog, thing. Sleek black thing. That makes più sense. It had glowing red eyes.
"Woah", I stuttered. I had never seen anything this big besides in a zoo, “calm down puppy."
I guess I shouldn't have called it puppy. It growled mostrare two rows of razor sharp canine teeth. I screamed for someone to help me. All the tourists on the spiaggia looked up to see what was wrong. They would yell something like "Get a life!" and "Don't go scarring the young ones!" I wanted to yell at them that there was a giant dog with lava-eyes about to take me to the depths of who-knows-where. But I realized if they thought this thing, was nothing it would be pointless to ask them for help.
Just as I was saying my final prayers, my best friend Lauren came hobbling down the beach. Well< it looked like hobbling at least. And not galloping which I later learn that it was. I never found the fact that she was running down the spiaggia without her crutches until after I was out of life-or-death situation.
"Lauren! Thank God! Help," I yelled hoping she was normal and could see this thing.
"Oh Gods. No! No this can't be happening!" Lauren practically yelled.
"Well are te going to do anything?" I yelled back at her. I was getting irritated.
Lauren opened her mouth to say something, but it was too late. The black dog pounced on me. It felt like the weight of two school buses filled with kids sitting on superiore, in alto of me. I had my eyes clenched shut. I heard galloping from farther up on the beach. I don't know how I heard this, seeing as though it was 50 feet up shore. I wasn't surprised to her galloping, but on the beach? I was più interested in tiring to get this thing off of me.
CHAPTER 2
My best friend kills a beast from Hell
I pushed as hard as I could but this thing had its mind set on killing me. I heard Lauren come over.
"Lauren! What are te doing just standing there! Help get this thing off!" I screamed.
Evidently, none of the tourists on the spiaggia were paying any attention to the little 11 anno old getting mauled da this demon creature thing.
"Chiron!" Lauren yelped.
"Who the heck are te talking about?" I screamed once again. Lauren wasn't paying any attention to me.
The galloping on the puntellare, riva was coming closer. Maybe this "Chiron" was on a horse.
"Lauren. Take this. Give it Artemisia," a deep voice said. No one ever called me my real name. No one.
"No Chiron. I'm going to do this myself," Lauren detto in her sad attempt at being brave.
The successivo thing I know, Lauren has a sword in her hand and came slicing down on the thing. It turned to dust. There I was. Lying on a dock, covered in thing dust, and some complete stranger knew my real name.
"Artemisia. We need to leave now," detto the man. I'm supposing that this was Chiron.
He threw me up on to his horse, along with Lauren. He galloped away. Suddenly, we were going at like a million miles an hour. The Maine scenery was rushing past us like a blur.
"We're here," Chiron said.
"Where is here?" I asked. There were trees about 70 feet tall and then there was one pine albero that was taller than all the rest. There was a gate that had something written on the superiore, in alto of it. I strained my eyes to try to read it, automatically supposing that is was in English. It shocked me when I realized that I could read it. The only problem was that it wasn't in English.
I was wonder what was "Camp Half-Blood". The sign detto it was Camp Half-Blood.
"Artemisia, follow me." Chiron detto behind me. I turned and almost screamed. He had a man's head, but a white stallion’s body.
"What are you?!" I questioned, smothering the need to scream.
"I am Chiron. I am a centaur," He detto as calmly as anyone would expect someone to say that their half-horse.
I opened my mouth to say something, but Lauren interrupted me.
"Chiron, Artemisia has had a really long day. Can I get her a place in cabina 11, and tomorrow maybe can we give her the tour?" Lauren said. It was the first time she'd ever called me "Artemisia".
"Of course," Chiron said.
"Come on Artie," Lauren said, signaling for me to come with her. Everyone called me Artie o some other form of Artemisia. Any except the full version.
CHAPTER 3
My best friend is magically made smart
Lauren led me away from Chiron, and through the gates.
"What's going on? Where are your crutches?" I asked Lauren as soon as we were out of ear shot of Chiron.
"I'll let your guide tell te that. I'm not at liberty to say," Lauren muttered. I had never heard her use a phrase like "at liberty to say". I mean where did that come from?
"Wait. Guide?" I was even più confused than before.
Lauren didn't reply for a while. She was leading me down a hill, covered in perfectly maintained grass. Right in front of me, there was a giant house. It was two stories, with probably an attic. There was a porch out front, and there was a girl about 13 and a man about 50 years old, sitting at tavolo playing cards. He was dressed in a horrifying Hawaiian shirt. I swear, those things must be an insult to people from Hawaii.
Behind the house, were acres upon acres of fragola fields. Maybe this was a place for weird "centaurs" that liked strawberries a lot. But, the girl didn't seem, like a horse. But looks can be deceiving. Lauren brought me up on to the porch. There I realized that the weird old man was playing cards. Not with other people, but with other floating cards. This made me even più confused.
"Mr. D Artemisia is here," Lauren detto to the weird old man. I guess his name was Mr. D.
"Well does it look like I care about this brat?" Mr.D whined. I guess he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
"She needs a guide," Lauren said. If someone had done that to her in foca, guarnizione Harbor, she would have broken down into tears. This giorno just kept getting weirder and weirder.
"Annabeth. mostra Artemisia around," Mr.D said.
I was about to correct him but he shooed me away.
The girl came forward.
"Hi, my name is Annabeth," she said. She was about 5 foot 4. She had gorgeous curly blonde hair and grey eyes. Wait, grey eyes? I'd never seen that before. She was wearing an arancia, arancio t-shirt that detto "CAMP HALF_BLOOD"
"Where am I?" I asked hoping that this Annabeth could answer my questions.
"You are at Camp Half-Blood. Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141 Long Island, New York 11954," Annabeth explained. She led me off the porch.
"Half-Blood." I repeated," Half what Annabeth?"
"You know the Greek Gods and Goddesses?" Annabeth asked.
"Kind of. Why?"
"You are here because te are half Greek god. So are all the other kids at this camp."
I swallowed. "No. I think te have the wrong person. I have dyslexia and ADHD. I'm not that special."
"That's what makes te special. Your half Greek blood is accustomed to Leggere Ancient Greek, not English. And you’re ADHD. Those are your battle instincts. They'll keep te alive in a battle."
"Then who’s your parent?"
"Athena, the goddess of battle strategy and wisdom."
"Then whose mine?"
"We don't know yet. They'll have to claim you. But just between te and me, I can probably figure out who your parent is."
"How?"
"Just tell me a little bit about yourself."
"I am a night person. I hate boys. They irritate me. I'm really good at archery."
"Oh no. No no no." Annabeth mumbled.
"What? What what what!"
"We need to go talk to Chiron. Now"
Great not that crazy horse dude again. Annabeth turned, and ran up the hill. Chiron was standing right inside the gates.
"Chiron! I think I know who Artemisia's mother is!" Annabeth cried.
Chiron took Annabeth away.
CHAPTER 4
A half-horse shows me a camp for half-gods
A few minuti later Annabeth came back with Chiron. She looked like she was about to cry, while Chiron just looked extremely concerned.
"What? What did I do?" I asked. No one was answering my questions.
"Annabeth. Go get Artemisia a place in cabina 11 for now. Tell Luke that she needs a spot now." Chiron detto in a very strict voice.
Annabeth ran down the collina towards a set of 12 cabins. The strange thing was that each cabina was different. There was a red one, and oro one and the one that caught my eye, was the glowing silver one.
I cringed at the thought of having to stay in a cabina with at least one boy. I just hated boys. They were always so immature and rude.
"Come on Artemisia. I'll give te the tour."
Chiron led me down the hill. He showed me the Rock bacheca of Death. o that's what I call it at least. There was lava streaming down it. There was a kid that kind of looked like Annabeth. He was climbing the bacheca like nothing was happening and there was absolutely no risk of dying. He showed me the canoa lake and the Archery range. I felt the most at home here. All the places at this so called "camp" were really weird, but this is the one place that almost felt like it was pulling me in.
Chiron was mostrare me a few più places, but I really wasn't paying attention. The ADHD part of my mind was off wondering somewhere, while the other part of my brain was trying to avvolgere itself around that my mother wasn't dead and that she was a goddess.
"Here we are at the cabins. You'll be staying in that cabina over there," Chiron detto as he pointed to the only normal looking on. It was made out of logs. I looked for the glowing silver cabin.
"Whose cabina is that?" I asked. Hopefully I could get a different cabin.
"Uh, that is Artemis's cabin."
Artemis. It sounded like my name. Maybe she was my mother.
"Can I stay there?"
"No. No not at all."
Chiron led me into cabina 11. There were tons of kids sitting on sleeping bags. Including boys. EW. I don't think I can do this.
CHAPTER 5
I have to spend the night with a boy- EW
I took a death breath. Chiron led me through the door.
When my adjusted, I saw at last 20 kids sitting on their sleeping bags. They had sad expressions on their faces like than were so unloved. A boy (ew) about 17 stepped forward.
"Hi. My name is Luke," he said. He had sandy blonde hair. He smiled. I loathed it when boys tried to get me to like them because it was never going to happen. And I mean never. I would be content if I never got married.
"Hi," I forced myself to say.
"You must be Artemisia. Annabeth told me about you," Luke said. Great. I thought I could maybe trust Annabeth. Well not any more. She actually tells things to boys.
'Luke. te can probably take it from here," Chiron detto to Luke. I realized that Chiron wasn't inside the cabina with me. He was right outside of the cabina door. He was too tall to get in the door. That was actually kind of funny.
"Bye Chiron," I said.
"OK let's find te a spot on the floor," Luke detto as he led me farther into the cabin.
I had to step over people and step on the ends of sleeping bags in order to get the back of the cabin. There were bunks but each one was filled.
"Here te are. te can take this spot," Luke said.
I sat down. No one was talking to me. Maybe ten minuti later, Luke came over.
"So. Who’s your parent," I asked trying to be a sociable like my teachers always told me to be. 'Go be sociable Artie. Why don't te go be with your friends?’ I'm the only one in my whole school that actually understands how stupid boys are.
"Hermes. God of thieves and messenger to the gods," Luke muttered as if he wasn't happy about his father being the god of thieves.
"Who is my parent?" I asked. I have to know sooner o later. I would preferably NOT learn it from a boy, but I would take it.
"Annabeth told me had her suspicions," he muttered. He keeps muttering. I don't know why, but he needed to talk louder.
There was a horn in the background.
"It’s cena time. Come on. Fallow me," Luke detto as he stuck out his hand. I guess it was to help me up. I just looked at it with disgust. "Well OK then."
The whole cabina walked outside to an outdoor pavilion. There were 12 tables, just like the cabins.
I sat down where the Hermes cabina was sitting. I barely had enough room for my hand. There were too many people at this table, yet there were empty tables.
We got through dinner, which was very uneventful. We went to cabin. Luke got me a sleeping bag and a few Camp Half-Blood T shirts. I spread my sleeping bag out on the floor.
CHAPTER 6
I learn that I am a forbidden-baby
I bunched up my t-shirts and placed them at the head of my sleeping bag. Great, I thought this is going to be a great night.
I couldn’t fall asleep. My brain was going a million miles an hour. I tried to get off the topic of y mother never claiming but I couldn’t. The one time I want my ADHD to do something, it abandoned me.
I finally fell asleep. I had a horrifying nightmare.
I was in a forest at night. A woman came out of the trees in front of me. She was absolutely beautiful. She had her hair pulled back and she had a silver braided head band. No, not head band, hippie band. It wrapped around the superiore, in alto of her head. She had gorgeous brown hair that shimmered in the moon light. She had a silver dress on that came flowing down to her knees. She had a bow and arrows strapped on her back.
Then it hit me. She was my mother. I tried to speak but my mouth wouldn’t let me. I raised my hands to see if I was really there. My hands faded in and out. They were shimmering.
From behind her, a voice sounded.
“You broke the oath, Artemis. te will pay.”
The woman looked surprise and fell to her knees.
“No father! Please forgive,” she cried.
I tried to help her, but I couldn’t’ move. I was paralyzed.
I woke with a start. I was the last one awake. Luke walked over to me.
“You were screaming in your sleep,” Luke detto as he felt=t my forehead with the back of his hand. “Are te sure you’re OK?” Luke asked. Although I never trusted boys, he did look genuinely concerned.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” I said. I pulled my legs out of my sleeping bag. I still had my clothes on from yesterday, which was a gray camicia that detto ‘Yes I’m a girl, yes I’m an athlete, yes I’ll kick your butt’ and jean shorts.
Luke walked away but I still went to the bathroom to change. I walked into the grey concrete building and into the “demi-goddesses” bathroom.
There were maybe 5 girls that were applying makeup and gossiping. They looked at me with disgust. I had never felt the need to wear makeup.
As I walked into the stall I heard one of them say “Oh my Gods! When I was at sword practice with Luke he detto that he really liked me!” This was followed da blood-curdling screams and the sound of jumping.
I pulled on my clean camicia and unlocked the stall door.
There was a sound of a horn, and the girls exited the bathroom. I walked out of the stall. I looked in the mirror. My brown hair was all messy. I pulled it back into a low ponytail and pulled a hair tie off my wrist.
I ran out of the bathroom. I saw that the Hermes cabina was lining up. We lined up in order of Authority so I was dead last.
Breakfast was very uneventful again, but when Luke detto we were going to the Archery range later, it mad my whole daylight up.
Annabeth found me after breakfast.
“OK I’m here to take te on the official tour of camp,” She said. She was wearing an arancia, arancio t-shirt just like mine except she had a black collana that had 6 beads on it.
Annabeth took me to some new places that Chiron didn’t mostra me. She took me back to the canoa lake.
“Any questions, commenti o concerns?” She asked.
I was fighting the urge to tell her about my dream. It got the best of me. I blurted it out. I just couldn’t stop.
“Oh no. That’s not good,” Annabeth detto as she started walking towards the Big House.
Once we got there, Annabeth found Chiron and they had a quick argument. Chiron finally gave in.
Annabeth came out.
“Come on Artie. te don’t mind if I call te that right?” she said.
“No. No I don’t mind.”
Annabeth lead me to the Archery range. There were farfalle in my stomach. I wanted to prove myself with my archery. It seemed like it was the only thing I was good at.
Annabeth handed me a bow and arrows.
“Go ahead. Take a shot,” she detto with a slight smirk on her face.
I grasped the bow. I pulled back my arm, and I lined up the scopes. I took a deep breath and released my hand. A perfect bull’s eye. There were cease fires all over the clearing. Campers gathered around me. I did it again, but this time I aimed a little to the right so I didn’t hit the other arrow.
“Archer, cease fire!” Chiron’s voice rang through the silent crowd.
Instinctively I stopped.
“Artemisia, your mother has claimed you,” he said.
I looked around for a sign. I looked up and saw a spinning hologram of a bow and arrows.
“All welcome Artemisia, daughter of Artemis.”
CHAPTER 7
I finally get away from all those dumb boys
I stood shocked for a few moments. I couldn't believe it. I was claimed.
"Wait what?" I stammered.
"You are the daughter of Artemis," he detto with proud look on his face, like the look my father never gave me.
Wait. Why did he say "the" like I was the only one. I looked around at the rest of the crowd. They all had looks of shock on their faces. Luke and the rest of the Hermes cabina had come to the range. Luke had the same expression as the rest of the crowd. They all looked at me like I was some forbidden child.
Chiron walked forward. The hologram had faded da now.
"Come one. We need to get te into your cabin," he said. He led me out of the range. It seemed like he was almost sheltering me, like what body guards do.
"Why were they looked at me so queerly?" I said.
"Well, Artemis made an oath to her father when she was young. She detto that she would forever be a virgin goddess. We haven't had any children of Artemis here for a few millennia," Chiron detto in a very serious tone.
I finally knew what my dream meant. Wow this is kind of scary. My father was a hunter. He always blamed me for my mother’s death, yet she never died. She's an all powerful being.
"Where is she then?" I asked. I desperately wanted to meet her. She was my mother I had always dreamed of having. She was alive. I was still getting over the fact that my father had never told me.
"She has a group of girls called the Hunter's of Artemis. They travel the world killing monsters of the world. The girls are granted immortality, if they promise never to have any interaction with boys. That is probably why te hate boys so much," he explained.
Everything was making sense now. I hated boys. My mother hated boys. Except for my dad apparently. I loved archery and hunting. So did my mother. In fact she was the goddess of the hunt. While my brain was figuring things out, Chiron had leaded me back to the Hermes cabin.
"Go in and get your stuff. You'll be going to cabina 8,"
I went inside. I stepped over people’s sleeping bags to get to mine. I wadded up my t-shirts and shoved them to the bottom of my sleeping bag. I gathered my sleeping bag in my arms and ran towards the door.
Chiron led me across the clearing towards the glowing silver cabin. I was excited that I was getting to stay in the cool cabin. I was thinking this until I remember what Chiron said. `We haven't had any children of Artemis in a few millennia`. Great. I was going to be alone. Well, at least I wasn't with any boys.
The front of the cabina looked just like a regular little house that te could find anywhere in foca, guarnizione Harbor. Well, except for the fact that it was silver.
I walked in the door. It had 4 bunks on either side of the room. There it smelled like the lab in my school house. It looked like some people stayed here sometimes but it hasn't been a few years since they'd been here because there were cobwebs all over the bunks.
"Um? Chiron could I possibly have something to wipe this off these webs," I asked. I don't have any problem with spiders, it's just I don't like them crawling in my hair.
He took a duster out of his pouch that he had on his back. I took it. I turned and picked a bunk. I started sweeping, but when I turned around, Chiron was no longer there. I set up my sleeping bag and lay down. I starred at the ceiling. This was my cabin. No one else's. Just mine.
CHAPTER 8
My best friend explains why she’s half goat
I laid there for a few minutes. I saw dusty cobwebs coating the roof. On one of the walls, someone had written “PERCY JACKSON LOVES ANNABETH CHASE” in big red letters. Well, I thought, I’m going to need to paint over that. My mind trailed off. My dad had been lying to me my whole life. Then my mind trailed off, and somehow I got on the topic of Lauren. I thought about how I hadn’t seen her in the crowd when I got claimed. My cuore sank. Whenever I had an archery tournament just at my archery range, she would be there, cheering me on. Here I was; claimed da some immortal goddess and my best friend wasn’t da my side. Just as I was thinking that, I heard a knock on the door.
I threw my legs over the superiore, in alto bunk ledge. I leaped down and ran to the door. I found a familiar face standing at the door.
“LAUREN!” I cried. I tackled her with a hug.
“ARTIE!!” She cried back. This is the Lauren I knew.
After a couple of tackle-hugs, Lauren brought me into the cabin. She sat down on the letto across from the one I was sitting on.
“You’re hoping that I’ll just tell te that this is all some sort of cruel joke,” she said, starring down at the ground.
“Wait, I was?” I guess that I was, but I didn’t know that I was thinking that.
“Never mind...” she muttered.
“What is this whole thing about Artemis being virgin goddess and such?”
“Well, let’s just say, that when she was born, she asked for multiple things from her father, Zeus. She asked for più names than her twin, Apollo, and to be able to be a virgin goddess forever. She had kept this promise for eons. Until about 11 years ago. We knew something horrible had happened when we got a chilling prophecy. You’ll fallow the footsteps and run in the woods; you’ll defy civilization and hunt what no mortal could. We were hoping that it was a child of Apollo that fulfilled this prophecy, because Apollo’s children also have impeccable aim. It’s just that with the fallow in the footsteps thing, we couldn’t help but think it could be Artemis. Chiron sent out all of the best satyrs out to find the child. He gave up after about 7 years. About a year-and-a-half ago, Chiron sent me up to foca, guarnizione harbor. He detto it was either going to be one of the big three, o he didn’t say what. I hoped and prayed that it would just end up being like Aphrodite, o Ares. When I first saw you, I knew te weren’t Aphrodite, o Athena. Once I got to know you, all of the others went out the window. I had chilling suspicions that te were a daughter of Artemis; I just hoped and prayed that it was Apollo.”
“Wait. A satyr? Care to explain?”
“Well, satyr’s are half-goat. We work here at Camp Half-Blood finding new demi-gods.”
Lauren explained some più stuff, but I was spacing out. Lauren was the only 5th grader with a few pimples. She had her long, wavy brown hair in a messy bun. Every once and a while, she would run her fingers through the superiore, in alto of her hair, then she would adjust her bun. She did this a lot. She would rarely have her hair down. She would have her hair up for sleeping. Then she would bring it down in the morning to brush it, then immediately put it back up.
After a few minutes, Lauren stopped talking. I was watching the dust in the cabin, as sunlight ran through it, leaving little speckles of dust everywhere.
“Were te even listening to me?” she asked after a few moments.
“No,” I admitted quietly.
Lauren laughed.
“So, now what?” I asked. I wanted to go back to the range but, I didn’t think I was going to be allowed back.
“Well, do te want to go to the range?” she asked as a smile slide across her face.
“YES!”
I jumped and smacked my head against of the bed. I rubbed my head. I ran to my stuff, instinctively. Then, I remembered I didn’t have my bow. My shoulders sagged.
“I thought te would do that,” Lauren detto with a smile on her face,” So I brought te this.”
She held out a brand new bow. It was the one I had wanted for years. And it came with a back-strap and the kind of arrows I had been using my whole life. My cuore sank, when I realized that I didn’t have the ones all my Friends signed from archery camp. I picked up the arrows. I looked closely. There were little tiny signatures of my friends’ sayings things like I Amore te Artie!
“Thank te so much!” I cried.
This was like Christmas, in the middle of June!
CHAPTER 9
I win an unexpected title
Lauren led me out of the cabin. We walked in silence to the Archery range. I walked in, fallowing Lauren. There were CEASE FIRES throughout the range. I walked with proud to an empty lane. Everyone's eyes were on me. I pulled my arm back, and lined up the scopes. I breathed in. As I exhaled, I let go of the arrow. I heard it soar through the air. There was a thunk when it hit the target. Before I even pulled my bow down, there were gasps across the quiet range. I looked down range, as my eyes adjusted.
"Woah! The new girl just got a bull’s-eye!" some kid down range from me said. I looked through my scopes to get a better look. A little to the left. It wasn't perfect. So I pulled back, lined up my scopes, breathed in, exhaled, and released.
"Another one?" the same kind yelled.
I had been doing this since I was 3. I now understand why my father started me so early.
I popped a few più bull’s-eyes, purposely putting them in different spots.
A crowd had gathered around me. A kid stepped forward.
He was short and had a scrunched up face. He scowled at me.
"My name is Michael tasso, yew and I challenge te to a duel," he said.
We replaced the target with a clean one.
"Ladies first," he detto as he gestured.
I stepped forward. I pulled, lined, breathed, exhaled, and released.
Bull’s-eye.
"Good luck," I detto as I walked proudly towards the stunned crowd, and over to Lauren.
"Michael tasso, yew is the best archer at camp. His father is Apollo, Artemis' twin," Lauren whispered in my ear, as Michael took his first shot.
His shot was just a tad shy of hitting mine. Pretty good I thought, but he's going to have to do better than that to beat me.
I stepped forward. I usually panicked under pressure, but today I felt cool, calm, and collected.
I popped another bull’s-eye, splitting my precedente Arrow in half.
"Once again, good luck," I said, as I took my place successivo to Lauren.
She had a smile on her face. I could tell that Michael was nervous. I mean who wouldn't be. A new girl just got claimed da a virgin goddess, and she was on her way to beating the best shot in camp. He released at the wrong time. He released as he was breathing in. His shot flew out of the bull’s-eye, and into the surrounding area.
I could see Michael's face start to bead up with sweat. He brought his bow down. His hands were shaking.
I walked up. I knew that this shot was one I had made at least a hundred times, but I had never had this many kids with their eyes glued to me. I pulled back, and released. I opened my eyes. I had diviso, spalato my secondo Arrow in half.
There was a moment of complete shock. Luke stepped forward. I had forgotten that the Hermes cabina was here.
"Everyone! We have a new camp-best-shot!" Luke yelled.
