Abby makes it to Camp...

Reaching the top of Half-Blood Hill, I took a moment to sit down and catch my breath. I'd been running for five minutes straight after fighting off a chimera that'd decided to have me for lunch, so I was pretty much out of it. Taking deep, ragged gulps of air, I pulled my knees up to my chin and loosened the grip on one of the daggers I clasped in my hand. My torso was soaked in blood, and on closer inspection, the ends of my hair were as well.

Aw, fuggit. I'll have to take a shower now, I thought as my fingers skimmed across the surface of the eyepatch I wore over my right eye. It hadn't been too affected, thank the gods, though a slight amount of blood trickled from it and down to my chin. Ugh. This day was shaping out to be really bad.

Able to breath normally again, I hauled myself up and looked around the area with my good eye. Turning towards Thalia's Pine, I noticed a small backpack hanging from one of its branches. So that satyr I hitchhiked from Seattle with did leave my belongings in a safe place... hmm, I'll have to travel with him more. Trustworthy guy. Retrieving the backpack, I used it to clean up some of the blood on my jeans, then looked down at the cluster of buildings situated near the bottom of the hill. Camp hadn't changed much since I was last around, though there appeared to be a lot more newbies populating the place. And Cabin Two, usually brimming with children of Hades and minor gods, looked like it was deserted. Huh. Everyone must've been relocated to the basement then, since I recalled overhearing Dionysus and Chiron discussing plans to move them.

Sighing, I fixed my eyepatch, slung the backpack over my shoulder and trudged down the other side of the hill. It was going to be a long summer.