prolodge
July 10th, 20 years ago
“I can’t believe this! I was so dumb to trust them!” He yelled out, throwing everything he owned in a bag, which sadly amounted to a few changes of clothes, a toiletry case, and a clay bead necklace. “They don’t care about me! No one ever has!” He screamed as hot tears pooled in his eyes.
He leaned against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, praying that the pain would go away. He’d spent years in this run-down cabin, waiting, hoping to be claimed by his father. He’d trained harder than any of the other kids, but it didn’t seem to matter. He had watched dozens of other young demigods be claimed. He shook himself out of his thoughts as he slammed his trunk shut. “I’m sick of this rat hole! I’m going to make my dad notice me even if I have to kick him in the face to do so.” He muttered as he marched through the long line of crowded together run-down bunks.
He looked out the window at the setting sun, knowing the rest of the cabin would be back soon from supper. He planned to be long gone by then. If not, well, he didn’t really want to think about it. “They’ll give me some half-hearted speech about how I just need to hang a little longer. I’ll be claimed soon if I just keep training and working hard. They’ll probably tell me that I’ll even go on a quest one day.” He scoffed.
He froze when he reached a worn cot that had a bright pink bag. It used to belong to his best friend until she was claimed. By the end of the night, the spot had already been filled by another unsuspecting camper. His face hardened as he stared at the worn mattress. “She won’t even talk to me now that’s she been claimed. I helped her get claimed, and then she forgot I ever existed.” He muttered to himself.
He clenched his fist hard as the memories flooded his mind of Zia on the day she was claimed the bright sign floating over. He didn’t even realize how hard he was clenching his fist until the stitches on his left hand busted, and blood trickled down his palm. “I don’t have time for this!” He screamed out, shaking his head so hard his dark brown hair fell over a massive cut that ran across his face blinding him in his right eye.
He walked out of the cabin, letting the door slam behind him one last time, not caring that the door fell off its top hinge. As he walked towards the woods, the only way out without being seen by the entire camp, he heard the laughter rolling from the Mess Hall, and anger flooded his whole body. He yanked off his camp necklace and stared at it, wondering what he should do with it. He looked up and saw Cabin 15, the Hypnos cabin, in the distance. He smiled slyly as an idea came to mind.
He ran as fast as his lanky legs could carry him towards the cabin. He peeked in a window and saw that the cabin was empty. He opened the window and slipped in, looking for Zia’s horde of stuffed animals. He remembered helping her carry every last one of them to this cabin after she was claimed. That was the last time she talked to me. He thought as he stared at the overstuffed bed.
He put the necklace of her oversized stuffed horse, the one she slept with every night even though she was fifteen. He knew that it wouldn’t take her long to figure out what was going on. They all knew she belonged in this cabin, but it took her dad over three years to figure that out. It doesn’t matter anymore, man. You don’t have to play their game now. He reminded himself, turning away from the bed and quickly heading for the window.
As he ran towards the woods, he heard someone whisper in his ear. “I know your pain. If you work with me, they’ll get what they deserve.”
The boy froze, trying to find the origin of the voice. “Who’s there?” He asked as he looked towards the north woods, which were famous for driving people insane. “Come out and show yourself!”
“Who I am is not important. All that matters is what you want. Work with me, and we can make these people pay for the way they treated you since you set foot on this cursed ground. The gods are weak and need to be taken out of power.”
What the voice said sounded too good to be true. It was so alluring the boy wanted to take it. “Fine, what is it you want me to do?”
