Chapter Text
(Y/N)’s Perspective
“All hail, (Y/N), daughter of Thanatos, god of death, reaper of souls.”
The only thing I could do was stand there. Daughter of Thanatos. That was one of the few names I knew in Greek mythology. My mother had taught me about him, and now it made sense why. She had still loved him, even when she’d died.
I knew there would be no cabin for him. Hades didn’t even have his own cabin here, and he was one of the big three.
Everyone stared at me like I was a monster, and there was a ringing in my ears, and people were running. Why were people running from me? Was I a monster? I didn’t mean to kill Jay, but I did, so I guess I was something close to it.
Nico was staring at me as well, but he wasn’t scared. He seemed to be more mesmerized than anything else. The Ares kids, on the other hand, were seething. They may have been Ares kids, but I swear I could see death in their eyes. It scared me, knowing that they were physically the strongest kids in camp.
Would it be so selfish to run again? Nico would follow me, and it was daytime, so it wouldn’t be that hard to find me. All I wanted to do was get out of there, so I ran into the forest again. Back to where I knew I would be safe. Zeus’ fist.
Expecting Nico to follow me, I kept running and didn’t stop. Not when people called my name, and not when twigs tore at my own skin and clothes.
When I arrived at Zeus’s fist, there was a small opening in the rock I had never noticed before. Even though it was nighttime, I knew how dangerous caves could be, so I waited for Nico to arrive, and eventually he did. Out of breath and panting.
“Look what I found,” I said once I heard him running up behind me. He was never the quietest person around, from what I knew of him.
“Let me see,” Nico almost whined, gently punching past me to get a look at the entrance.
“I think it’s an entrance of some sort, look.”
“We should go in!” He said, shaking my shoulder and jumping up and down.
“I think you’re mental,” I said, trying to make some space between the entrance and myself in case he got any ideas.
“Please?” He asked, giving me his best puppy dog eyes
“Fine, but just this once.”
“Come on!” Nico said, basically dragging me into the cave. Both of us climbed into the entrance and dropped into a dark hallway. It was almost pitch-black, but there was a faint green-like glow. The air smelled like it had just rained and was crisp. It reminded me of the alleyways Leo and I would hide in to sleep or just get rest.
“This place is creepy,” Nico said, hiding behind me from seemingly nothing. “But in a cool way, if that makes sense.” He grabbed my hand for comfort, and I was surprised he would want to be this close to me, let alone hold a killer's hand. I was extremely glad it was dark, because my face felt hot and like something was tickling the inside of my stomach.
“Are-aren’t you afraid of me?” I asked, scared of the answer. The question had been on my mind ever since the incident. What if he was and was just pitying me? Or worse, what if he wasn’t and didn’t care for his own life? These questions swirled in a fury in my head, burying themselves in my bones and finding a home in my core.
“No, it wasn’t your fault. You’re new to all of this, just like Bianca and me. Don’t blame yourself for things that aren’t your fault.” He sounded genuine, like he could never hate me, no matter what.
“I just murdered someone. I think I’d have my fault as much as my powers,” I doubted.
“Nobody’s taught you how to control your powers yet. It’s like math. How can you expect someone to know how to multiply without teaching them first?” He had a point, but still, taking a life was wrong. Even if it was an accident.
“Come on, (Y/N). Let’s get back to camp,” Nico said, gently tugging me along with him.
“Yeah, they’re probably looking for me,” I said, pulling my hand from his own and following him out of the cave.
I was practically pried from Nico once we got back from the cave and pulled to the big house by Clarisse. Chiron was waiting for me by the fireplace in his wheelchair with his hands folded in his lap.
“Ah, (Y/N), would you like a seat?” He gestured to the chair opposite him. “We have lots to discuss.”
Two hours later, I walked out of the big house knowing I could probably make a whole presentation on Thanatos. I was told some of my potential powers and how to keep them at bay. The trick was keeping my emotions in check at all times. That in itself was already hard enough, but knowing that the Ares kids might want to avenge their late brother, it would be one hundred times harder.
It really didn’t help that everyone who saw me on my way to the Hermes cabin would look the other way or ignore my existence completely. The only people whom I knew wouldn’t completely ignore me were Chiron, Nico, Travis, Connor, Percy, Bekendorf, and Lee. They would probably be the only ones willing to talk to me.
The first thing I did when I got back to the Hermes cabin was look for Nico. I just needed someone to listen, and I knew he would be more than happy to. Oddly, there was nobody in the cabin when I entered. Only the faint whispers of shadows all around me. They were trying to warn me. “Daughter of death, a daughter of the underworld is doomed to die,” they said, but I paid no mind.
After the Hermes cabin, I checked the arena, but nobody, not even the Ares kids, were there. The next place I thought to check was the mess hall. It was around eleven, so maybe they were eating lunch, but as suspected, nobody except a few Dionysus kids sat at the otherwise deserted tables. Finally, I checked the archery range, where the Hermes cabin was practicing along with the Apollo cabin.
Awkwardly, I walked onto the field, feeling out of place without Nico by my side. Walking through the range, I searched for Nico. When I finally spotted him, he was standing with a blonde kid whose name I didn’t know.
Something in my stomach burned. I felt like it was eating at me from the inside out. I could tell the new emotion wasn’t rage, nor was it sadness, but I couldn’t quite tell exactly what it was. Nico was my friend, not this random blonde kid’s. I had known him before anyone else in camp. I tried my hardest to push the feeling down, put it in a cell where it could be forever caged, but this felt stronger than any emotion I had ever felt.
Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't realise someone was standing next to me until they cleared their voice to speak, “Hey, kid. You’re (Y/N), right?”
I turned around to see a boy with black hair and brown eyes staring down at me.
“Y-yeah, how… do you know my name?” I mentally smacked myself for stuttering.
“Well, you’re an outcast. Of course, I know you.” He said the fact like it was obvious. It wasn’t.
“What do you mean by ‘outcast?” I asked defensively. This guy didn’t even bother to introduce himself before calling me things and not bothering to explain or even pretending to be nice about it.
“Outcasts are kids like you and me who don’t have a cabin here. Children whose parents are minor gods, or in simpler terms, not Olympians. Make sense?” Once he explained that, it made more sense why he had come up to me. There was something about him that was different. Not like anyone I had met at camp so far.
“Yeah. Whose your godly parent?” I really hoped asking that wasn’t pushing any boundaries and seemed like a normal question anyone would ask in a camp like this.
“Nemesis. I know who yours is. I think it’s pretty cool to have a child of Thanatos here. As far as I know, you’re his first-ever child. Guess he really loved your- actually never mind. My name’s Ethan, by the way.”
Repeating his name in my head to remember it, I wondered if we could be friends. He seemed nice enough, well nicer than most people in this camp, and he was willing enough to come up to me to talk.
“How old are you, kid?”
“Eleven. I turned eleven three weeks ago.”
“Nice, I’m sixteen. If you want, I can teach you things nobody else in this god-forsaken camp can.” He did not seem to like being at this camp, and honestly, I could relate. People were mean, our parents ignored us, and one of the directors was a recovering drunk.
“I think I would like that,” I said, offering my hand for him to shake. It felt almost good to make a friend who might have the same views as me.
“Okay, first lesson is archery. Get a bow and some arrows, then look for me at one of the targets.” With that, he walked away before I could ask any questions.
For a few moments, I stood there, amazed that I somehow managed to find someone willing to teach me the ways of being a demi-god. Maybe, just maybe, he could be my role model, and I could follow in his footsteps, become as great as he seemed to be.
Forgetting about my bracelet that could turn into any weapon I wanted, I went to look for a bow before remembering and tugging off my bracelet from my wrist. I watched as it turned from my black sword to a black bow. Testing the tension, I pulled it back and watched as an arrow formed out of shadows. When released, it engulfed my target in shadow and disappeared.
Exited, I ran to the target that Ethan was standing at to show him my cool weapon.
“Look!” I exclaimed, holding the bow out in front of me so he could get a better look. It seemed to be completely made of shadows and dark matter. “It was a gift from my father, the night I ran away.”
“That’s cool,” he said, sounding not that enthusiastic. In reality, he sounded a bit jealous of the fact that I had gotten a gift from my godly parent. I couldn’t blame him, though. Mine had ignored my existence for eleven years until I accidentally killed someone; only then was I good enough for him to call his own.
“First, grab an arrow. Then nock your arrow, or in simpler terms, place it on the string. Then, draw back the string. Finally, aim and fire.”
I followed his steps, save for the first, knowing I wouldn’t need it, and released the string. Ethan watched in awe as my arrow of shadow hit the target perfectly and made it disappear.
“Bulls-eye,” he whispered before saying something I wasn't able to hear and turning back to me. “You need to join us when you're older, okay.” I may have been young, but I was not as naive as people made me out to be. It was basically common sense not to make any deals before getting all the details. For all I knew, I could’ve been joining a cult run by psychopaths.
“Whose ‘us’?” I asked, trying to pry more information out of him and see if he would tell the truth.
“My friends,” he lied. “Just promise me you will.” Ethan held his hand out for a pinky promise, and I closed my hand over his, not accepting it.
“I’ll think about it, but I can’t promise anything.” He was really underestimating me, and it was annoying. Everyone thought that just because I was a child, I was dumb enough to dive into anything someone older than me said headfirst. I wasn’t. I had to raise myself, be my own parent. Most didn’t. I didn’t have the luxury of having a happy childhood.
“Just remember how long your father neglected you when deciding.”
“Okay, I promise to think it all out before making my decision. Let’s just get back to archery for now.” I put both hands back on my bow to get ready for more advice.
“This time, when you nock your bow, stand sideways. It gives you better control and aim of the bow, okay?” He positioned himself to show me how to stand, and I gladly took the advice, finding the new position more natural and comfortable.
“Great job,” Ethan said once I hit a bull's-eye from a different target. “Now, try to hit a moving object. He grabbed a small beanbag from seemingly nowhere and tossed it into the air. Pulling back the string, I waited until the perfect moment to let it fly through the air.
Bull’s-eye.
“That was amazing, (Y/N)! I’ve never seen anyone get it on the first try.” Etan seemed genuinely happy, which I guessed didn’t happen very often for the sixteen-year-old boy.
I was so happy that I ran up and hugged him. So much emotion made Ethan collapse. It was terrifying. Thinking I had killed someone else, I knelt on the ground to try to feel his pulse.
Thankfully, it was still beating.
Being desperate to find someone who could help, I looked for Travis or Connor, but didn’t find either. I looked for Lee, who was also nowhere to be found. As a last resort, I ran to Nico. Thankfully, he was still with the blonde kid.
“Nico!” I yelled, trying to get everyone's attention. “I need your help,” I said once I was finally close enough for him to understand me.
“(Y/N), what’s wrong?” He asked, clearly startled and on edge. It wasn’t often that I asked someone for help, and even he knew that.
“Ethan,” I breathed, “He fainted. I need to get him to Lee.”
“I can help,” the blonde said. Now, up close, I could tell he was a child of Apollo. He had this sunny aura around him that was so calming and warm. “Lee is my older brother, so I’ve picked up a thing or two about healing.” I already knew I didn’t like the kid. First, he takes Nico from me, then he buds into my conversation with my best friend. It was like they wanted to make me feel left out, and it was obvious that they felt a certain way about each other by the red tint on their cheeks. Remembering what Chiron told me about controlling my emotions, I tried to get them under control, bury them somewhere deep inside of me where they would never see the light of day.
“Follow me.” I barely managed to keep my voice steady while speaking to the blonde.
We ran back to Ethan’s body, which was unsurprisingly still on the floor where I had left it. “He’s still alive, just unconscious,” I said, trying to make the situation look better.
“What happened?” Blondie asked, moving to the other side of Ethan and kneeling beside him. He hovered his hands over Ethan’s body, emitting a warm olden slow.
“I hugged him a bit too hard.” It came out as a reluctant whisper, but still loud enough for Nico’s friend to hear.
“Interesting. Nico, would you be okay with (Y/N) holding your hand for a little while?” He asked. It was a dumb question since we had held hands already, but I understood why he asked. “Nico, tell me exactly how you feel, and if you start feeling faint, let go immediately.” I hated the fact that someone my age could just boss us around, and I hated it even more because I didn’t know why I felt that way.
I felt Nico grab my hand hesitantly, as if he were a bit afraid to touch me, but eventually leaned into it. My cheeks went warm at the action, my palms sweating a bit. Still hating the heat that I felt when Nico and I touched, I tried to think of anything else. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful. It seemed that all I could think about was the brunette boy beside me. He plagued my thoughts and therefore made me feel uncomfortable, but not in the worst way.
Before I knew it, Nico pulled his hand away. I looked at his hand to see white where my hand held his, like I was draining the life force out of him.
“I-I’m so sorry!” I said, sad that I had hurt someone I loved. “I didn’t mean to!” If he wasn’t afraid of me before, I was sure he was afraid of me now. I’d just done what I had promised myself I’d never do again. Twice.
“It’s okay, (Y/N). As I said earlier, it’s not your fault. You can’t control it yet.” As he was saying this, he looked like he wanted to hug me, but he hesitated out of fear. I could see it so clearly in his eyes; it was as if I could see his soul through them.
“I think I know why most people faint when you touch them,” Blondie started, never looking at me, “and why each person has a different reaction. It’s based on how you feel about that person. Take Jay, for example, you two were fighting, and you got mad, so when you punched him, he– well, you know. Then Ethan, you hugged him because you were happy, then Nico, well– I don’t really know what happened there, but he still had a different reaction than the other two.”
It made sense, but I still felt bad. If I got mad at someone and touched them, they’d have a pretty big chance of dying. If I got happy and touched someone, they’d faint. It seemed that all I was capable of was harm, and since I’d gotten to camp, all I’ve been doing is harming people.
“That makes sense,” I said quietly, my voice being taken by the wind. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Ethan should be waking up in a bit, don’t worry. He won’t remember anything; it’ll just feel like he took a long nap.” The blonde walked off after that, not offering a goodbye or even giving me a name.
“Who is he?” I asked Nico, the last word tasting sour on my tongue.
“That’s Will. He’s from Texas.” It was weird that he was from Texas, because everyone says that they have a southern accent, but Will didn’t. Maybe that accent was from somewhere else in the south, like Georgia, or maybe even Tennessee. It was the home of country music after all.
Eventually, Ethan woke up, and I snuck off into the woods. Making sure Nico didn’t see where I was going, I made my way into a section that had seemed to be calling my name since capture the flag. It was never begging for my attention, only asking, waiting. It was as if it knew that I would go sooner or later, so it was patient enough to let me get done what was most important before luring me into its depths.
I’d never been much of a nature person, so when I saw all the nymphs hiding behind the trees, I was wowed by their beauty. They looked to be friendly, but if I touched them, I knew that they would cease to exist, dust in the wind.
The further I dared to venture into the forest, the more lush the brush seemed to get, and the darker the forest seemed.
After wandering in the forest for a bit, I stumbled upon a tree that was completely dead. It was strange because all the trees around it were lush. It looked like a sore thumb being in the middle of that forest, making me wonder how nobody had ever found it. The tree was white in color, and the trunk looked to be at least the length of a truck.
I looked around it to see if maybe it was a secret hideout of some sort. The more I looked, the more details I noticed. On one side of the trunk, there were engravings of ancient Greek that roughly translated to things such as ‘freak’ or ‘killer’, which made me wonder who had lived here and who had written the messages.
After five minutes of searching, I found a special lock. It looked like a small pad to place your hand on, or a card of some sort. I touched the cold white metal, but after a few moments, nothing happened. Then I tried to activate it with a power blast through my hands, which I’d only learned how to control that day. I let all my pent-up emotions out onto the lock.
I thought about how only a few hours prior, I’d killed someone, about how my mother was dead, and how I’d never see Leo again, but my breaking point was thinking about how I’d hurt Ethan cause when I opened my eyes, my whole hand had gone black.
A beeping sound came from the lock, and a hole the size of a door opened from the trunk of the tree. I walked into the dark of the tree, trying to find a light switch. While I wasn’t scared of the dark, I could still see better with light. Dragging my hand against the wall, I felt the light switch and flicked it on.
The room was lit up by bat LED lights on the ceiling. There was a single bed in the corner of the room with purple sheets and a grey pillow. There was a small-ish couch along with a TV and a CD player, which had at least twenty different movies scattered about the coffee table. A small collection of books sat in the corner opposite the bed, and a door was next to it. I guessed it was the restroom. Venturing further into the room, I noticed picture frames with different people in them, all of whom seemed to be from different times; the walls were a deep purple, and the floorboards were made with black wood.
When I finally reached the back of the cabin-like room, I saw a sign. It read: Thanatos.