Random fanfiction

It was only a legend, but they say that many years ago, a terrible monster attacked the small town of Kirbling in Kentucky. That same day, a mysterious, young hero had appeared, and fought off the monster with his bare hands. Ever since that day, the town of Kirbling has held an annual athletic competition for youths aged 11 to 17. The competition was like the mini version of the Olympic Games, and consisted of several sports, races, and other activities. The games were called the Freeton games, after the young hero James Freeton, who had saved the town in 1823. My name is McKay Freeton. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no. I am not related to James Freeton. You see, my grandfather, Lionel Smith, changed his name to Freeton when he heard of the legend. Don’t ask me why. Anyway, my dad was born with that name, and so, incidentally, was I.

Anyway, in general, I kinda suck at sports. The only reason I ever enter the games is for the sword-fighting competition. I am the undefeated champion in the sword fighting arena. And this isn’t fencing as you might think; this is hardcore, freestyle sword fights. Naturally, we use batons shaped like swords to fight, and I got the hang of it in just a few years. Before you knew it, I was champion three years straight. The rules are simple: No hitting people in the head, you can’t use anything other than your sword to attack, and if you get hit in the chest three times, you lose. The challengers would have to get through the preliminary round. The remaining four from the preliminary round had to fight each other in pairs. Then the victors of each pair-up would fight each other, and the winner of that match would fight me.

This year, my challenger surprised me. It was a girl. From watching her matches, I could see that she had easily cleared the preliminary rounds, and practically swept through her other matches. I had to be on my guard this year. I had learned from her opponents that her name was Lila Takahashi. It was weird because she has a Japanese-sounding name, but she didn't look Asian at all. Anyway, I was getting ready for my match of the day. Her strength somewhat worried me, but I’d faced opponents more difficult than Lila. At least I thought I had. I was practicing my jabs on the wall of a building when Lila appeared, seemingly from nowhere. “Hey” she greeted. I lowered my baton. “Hello” I replied. “Your name’s Freeton, right?” she asked. “You related?” she asked again before I could reply. She was looking at the statue of James Freeton that was standing tall in town square. “No” I said simply, and resumed my jabbing at the wall. Lila looked to be a year younger than me, and I was 15. She had long, black hair and her eyes were like black holes, while her face was so pale, it seemed she’d never gone outside before.

I jabbed at the wall once more, but a baton parried my move. Lila stood ready with her weapon, grinning at me. “I know this.” I said, putting on a smile of my own. “You’re trying to learn my moves before our fight so you can counter my strategy.” Lila’s grin only widened. “How’d you guess?” she mused, although I was pretty sure she already knew the answer to that question. Suddenly, I had a great idea. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.” I said, and raised my baton.

Lila lunged with a forward strike, but I blocked it and stepped to the right for a jab at her waist. Truth is, I was throwing the fight. I was trying to give her a false impression about my skills, that way she would underestimate me. Lila anticipated my strike and stepped out of the way, then went for a slash at my chest, which I could have parried, but didn't. Despite the fact that she was a girl, the blow did hurt. I was sent a step back before she went for an overhead slash. This girl was relentless. I blocked the slash, and right away she tried to jab me in the chest. I sidestepped, but she took her distance and tried again. This time, I let it hit me a second time. “One more time and you’re out!” Lila warned. I just nodded and came in close for a side slash, but she ducked under it and did something that looked like an uppercut to get me in the chest a third time. I had never seen that move before, and I had to prepare for it in the match. “Dead.” She said, and lowered her baton. I did the same. “Guess you got me.” I sighed.
We didn't say much else to each other, and eventually Lila left. Lila was confident, that was sure. Especially now that she thought she could actually beat me. I had to watch out for that uppercut though, I’d never seen it before and I had to find a way to avoid it before the match, which was a few hours away.

***

The match was a few minutes away. Lila was already at the arena, which was basically like a giant stage in the middle of the area. It was raised about three feet from the ground, and was made of wood. Lila was talking to the announcer on top of the stage. When the announcer saw me, he shouted “Hey! My gladiator man! Come up here!” I obliged and walked up the wooden steps to meet him. Crowds of people were already gathering around the arena. “Hey, gladiator. I want you to meet Lila. She’s..” he started, but I finished for him. “My opponent. I know, we've met.” Lila seemed more stern and serious than a few hours ago, and her black hair was a complete mess. “Well, that’s great!” the announcer said. There was a moment of silence as Lila looked at the sky. Her pale skin was ghostly in the sunlight. “Well, gladiators, you better make your last preparations. The match starts in…” he looked at his watch, “Four minutes.” He finished. The announcer’s name was Jackie, and he had an annoying habit of calling all the competitors gladiators. I think gladiators existed, like, ten thousands years ago and fought for others’ amusement. I wouldn't really know because of my dyslexia. History had to be my least favorite subject by far. I mean, no TV for Dinosaurs? How did they survive?

Four minutes passed like four seconds, all I could do was go and grab a baton before the bell sounded, calling the competitors to their stations. I climbed the stairs and found Lila at the other end of the arena. “Alright ladies, gents, and anything else attending this match!” Jackie said over the microphone. He made it sound like there was something else attending this fight. “Are you ready for some action?!” he shouted. His deep voice was torturous over the microphone, but the crowd still managed to scream “Yes!” back at him. “Alright! McKay and Lila! No more pleasantries! In the name of Freeton!” he shouted, and rang the bell.

That was my cue. I ran at Lila, but she just walked towards me. She was overconfident. When we were within range of each other, I tried to jab, but she sidestepped to the right , then came in close for a side slash. I was trying to keep my distance, afraid of that uppercut, and simply dodged the slash. I came back in for a forward strike, facing her directly, but she blocked it and counterattacked with a sudden lunge strike at my chest. I tried to parry, but she was too fast, and I was hit once. “Ouch! The champion loses a point!” Jackie announced. That was another move I hadn’t seen before. Apparently, she was also holding out on me before. It was time to unleash the fury.

Now that Lila was confident, I had my chance. I started by side slashing her, which she parried, and counterattacked with an overhead slash. I sidestepped it and took a reverse grip on my baton, then stabbed Lila’s chest. A clear hit for the entire crowd to see. “A nice comeback for the champion, and a little setback for the challenger!” Jackie announced. We were now tied again.

Lila looked a little surprised, but I wouldn’t stop. She launched an overhead slash, but I blocked it and locked my baton with hers. For a moment, we locked eyes. The darkness in hers seemed to be sucking the color from mine. Then, I broke the lock by pushing her baton aside, and went for a jab. She sidestepped so that she was beside me, then side slashed for my chest. I managed to duck under it, but barely, then got up and slashed at her. She rolled under it, and came back up behind me. I turned around, but by the time I had, she’d jabbed me in the chest. “Looks like the challenger’s back for revenge with a surprise strike!” Jackie said. He didn’t sound so enthusiastic anymore, and the smile that had covered his face earlier had melted away.

Lila was tougher than I’d first suspected. Now, I only had one life left. Lila took another swing at me from the side, but I ducked under it and came back with a jab. Suddenly, I was under the impression that she had slowed down, and my jab easily made contact. I didn’t hear Jackie’s announcement for that hit.
We were once again tied. Lila looked somewhat worried, and I didn’t think it was because she only had a life left. Still, I lunged. She blocked my lunge and came in close. She was waiting for me to make a mistake so that she could uppercut me. I wasn’t going to let that happen. She launched an overhead slash, but I dodged and stepped back. “What’s wrong, McKay? You Afraid?” she mocked. That got me riled up, and that’s where I made a mistake. I came in close and slashed at her. Lila ducked under, and I got ready to lose my title.

The uppercut came so slowly that I could have gone to get some snacks while I was waiting for it. With a gasp, I realized that everything had slowed down. “Time hasn’t slowed down, gladiator.” A familiar voice said behind me. I turned around to find Jackie the announcer. “You’ve just sped up.” He said. He sounded the same, but he looked different. His hair short brown hair was pointing towards the sky, like it was static, and his eyes had a yellow glint to them. “What the heck is going on? Did you do this?” I asked. “No, no, my boy. I think you’ll find that you did.” He said.

And that was the last thing I heard from Jackie.

Jackie’s form began to change. He began to stretch out, become wider, and then he began to grow. As he did so, his skin seemed to peel away, revealing what looked like scales. He raised to 8 feet … 10 feet … 20 feet, and then his legs disappeared and turned into a tail. He flopped down to the ground. His head had become that of a snake. In fact, he was a snake. A giant, twenty foot snake with yellow eyes, that is. I was too stunned to move. Suddenly, something grabbed me and turned me away from the horrid sight. It was not the snake, thank god, but it was Lila. “Don’t look! It can paralyze you with its eyes!” she warned. “We have to leave. Now.” She said. I wanted to protest, I couldn’t just leave the crowds with that monster, but I feared for myself. Lila and I began to run. I wanted to look back, but I couldn’t. From the slithering noises I heard behind me, I knew it was following us.

Then, Lila did the last thing I expected. While we were running from a vicious giant snake, she reached into her pocket and grabbed a cell phone. “What the hell are you DOING?!” I shouted at her out of exasperation. She didn’t answer; she simply punched in a number and began talking to someone. “John! Early departure! Giant snake! Get the van ready!” she screamed into the phone, then threw it at the snake behind us. I heard a hiss sound, but I didn’t dare look. So far, we had run across town square, and were now on the road, dodging slowed-down cars that were being pushed aside by the giant serpent. Suddenly, a black van cut through all the other cars. The driver screamed “Get in!” and we happily obliged. Before we knew it, the snake was far behind us. Still, we did not attempt to look at it.

I woke up an hour later. From what Lila told me, I had fainted after we got in the van. I asked all the usual questions a person would ask after getting attacked by a giant snake. “What just happened?! What was that thing?! Who are you?! This is crazy!” I screamed. The driver asked Lila to calm me down. My heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it would burst out of my chest any second. I was still in the back of the van, with Lila kneeling over me and another guy driving. “Listen, we’re here to help you. We’re bringing you to a safe place.” Lila told me. Her voice was somewhat soothing, so I cooled down a little bit. “What safe place?” I asked. “A place for people like…us,” she said. I had no idea what she meant by that. “Okay, I’m going to come clean with you. But you have to promise you’ll believe me,” she said.

“Have you ever heard of the ancient Greek myths? Gods, monsters, and heroes. Stuff like that.” She began. “Uh…like that card game, Mythomagic?” I suggested. “Yeah, kind of. Mythomagic is based on the Greek myths.” She explained. I nodded and let her continue. “Well, it’s all real.” She finished. I felt like I could laugh my head off right then and there. I suppressed a chuckle, but Lila seemed to notice. “Oh yeah, then how do you explain that thing back there?” she asked, as if I had said something against what she had said. It was true, I thought I’d seen something like it in Mythomagic. My brother, (well, my adoptive parents’ son) played Mythomagic for about a year before he got bored with it, and I remembered stepping on a figurine that looked a lot like what we had just seen. It had gone with a card labeled ‘Drakon’. That made me realize that, although it was insane, it was the most rational explanation for this. Unless… “A government experiment gone wrong.” I answered. “Oh for- can we just throw him out now?” the driver complained. “John, shut up.” Lila retorted. “Yeah, John, shut up.” I repeated. John reluctantly did what he was told.

“No, McKay, it’s the Greek myths. They’re true. The gods and monsters and stuff used to be in Greece, but they moved here to America, I guess you could say,” Lila explained. It all still sounded retarded to me, but I listened on. “Now, sometimes, the gods have kids with regular people – whom we call mortals,” she said. “Who’s ‘we’?” I interrupted. “You and me, now listen. The kids of those unions are half-god, half-mortal. We’re known as demigods,” she finished. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was a demigod, and my father, who had walked out on my mom the minute he found out she was pregnant, was a god? It was impossible. Then again, that snake from earlier was saying something different. “So…you’re a demigod? And him? And…me?” I asked the obvious question. “Yeah.” She replied. “You have dyslexia, don’t you? And ADHD? All demigods have it. You can’t read English well because you’re born with the ability to read ancient Greek. And your ADHD is really inborn battle reflexes. You’re made to be a hero.” Lila said.

This was so scary, but so awesome at the same time. After that, Lila told me that I’d never have a normal life again, and that I’d be taken to a Summer Camp for demigods called Camp Half-Blood. She explained that there were people like us all over the world, primarily in America because that’s where the gods settled. Unlike the gods, we had short lives, like other people, but we had special powers inherited from our godly parent. Lila was a daughter of the night goddess Nyx, and John was a son of Apollo, the sun god. We didn’t know who my dad was yet, and they told me I’d find out soon enough.

Camp Half-Blood was on Long Island, so we had to travel a while before we could get there. On the way, we visited the Empire State building, and Lila explained that it was the current location of Mount Olympus, the gods’ home. We arrived at a big hill called Half-Blood hill, which was the entrance to camp. I noticed a large pine tree, with what looked like a piece of golden cloth on its branches. From the hill, I could practically see the entire camp. It was no ordinary boring summer camp, that I can say. Suddenly, a winged horse swooped past us in the sky, and almost took my head off. The horse was absolutely majestic. Its wingspan was at least 7 feet, and it was a as dark as night. “Watch it, Thorne!” Lila suddenly shouted at it, and then I realized there was someone riding the creature. “Sorry, sissy!” the rider shouted, and flew his horse away. “Brothers…” she mumbled under her breath, while I resumed my marveling at the camp. In the distance were what seemed like houses, or perhaps … cabins. There were also various areas which looked like they were used for sports, the closest one appeared to be a volleyball court. Pegasi swooped through Camp Half-Blood’s skies as we proceeded to go down the hill.

“Should we bring him to the Big House?” John asked Lila. He said him in a disrespectful tone that slightly angered me. “Yeah, Chiron will want to see him.” She replied. I wanted to ask what Chiron and the Big House was, but I was too busy looking at a pair of weird people playing in the grass. Their top halves were normal, albeit somewhat hairier than most, but their bottom halves were…goat. John caught me looking at them. “Satyrs. They’re harmless. You’ll get used to them.” He said.

Soon, we arrived at what was certainly a big house. The building looked rather old, and was painted sky blue, with wind chimes hanging here and there. There was also an eagle weather vane on the top of the house that gleamed in the sunlight. Sitting on the Deck was a man in a wheelchair. He had brown hair and a rather scruffy brown beard, and his eyes seemed fixated on me. “John, Lila, you’re back. And I see you succeeded in bringing us our new camper.” He said. He sat in his chair at the edge of the stairs. It seemed he wanted to come down, but I had no idea how he’d be able to, being in a wheelchair and all. Then, all of a sudden, he leaped from his chair, and transformed into another half-man. He wasn’t like the Satyrs playing with the grass. He was a half man-half horse. I stepped back slightly, somewhat intimidated by his large figure. His lower half was that of a beautiful white stallion, and his upper half was that of the man I had seen in the chair, which now stood empty at the top of the stairs. “Don’t be afraid, young one.” He reassured. “I am of no danger to you.”

“It’s good to meet you, McKay. My name is Chiron, I’m the activities director at Camp Half-Blood.” Chiron said. He trotted over to where I was standing and shook my hand. I had to reach up to actually be able to shake hands with the tall stallion-man. “I’m a centaur. You’ll see many of us here at Camp Half-Blood, though not all may be as…thoughtful as me, you could say.” Chiron explained. He put on a comforting smile and led us all inside the Big House. We came to a room that looked mostly like an office; I guessed it was Chiron’s. By now, he was back in his wheelchair, his horse half having magically disappeared, replaced by a pair of fake legs. “John, could you please ready the orientation film? I’ll be with Lila in the other room.” He said. Lila and he went away, and closed the door behind them. John and I were left alone in Chiron’s office, much to both our dismay. I didn’t like John, nor would I ever, that I was sure of. He had an air of overconfidence; something I hated. “Alright, newbie. Watch and learn.” John said. I noticed he was about a year or two older than me, perhaps 16 or 17, as he already had a blonde stubble across his chin that matched with his blonde hair. His facial features were rather rugged, while still remaining elegant in a way, and his light brown eyes were smaller than most.

The orientation film was mainly about Camp Half-Blood and how things worked there. It mentioned Chiron was a centaur, and also showed some of the other species of friendly monsters to be found such as nymphs and satyrs. Apparently, the Greek gods were first in Greece, obviously, but they moved to America because they – and their world – follow western civilization. Since America was more or less at the height of the world right now, it was no surprise that the gods had made their new home here. It told of the many demigods that the gods bore, and it told me that I’d never have a normal life again, which I found partially disappointing. My life was pretty boring before, so I didn’t care too much. While I was watching the video, I also tried to keep an ear on Lila and Chiron in the other room. They were talking about something, and Chiron sounded rather worried. I only caught him saying “Yes, then it is as I feared. I’ll tell him more.” After that, Chiron and Lila came back to join us and the film ended.

There was a moment of silence. A new man had joined us. He was rather chubby, especially around the face, and his hair was black. Not like Lila’s hair, but almost too black, which made it look somewhat purple. “So, this is your brother, Chiron? He doesn’t look like much.” The purple-haired man said. I was about to retaliate with a hundred insults of my own when Lila shouted, “Dionysus!” at him. The man simply ignored her. Who did this overgrown cherry think he was? I wanted to slather Dionysus with insults about his scruffy hair, and fat face, but Chiron spoke, trying to break the tension. “Well!” he boomed, unnecessarily loudly. “I hope you liked the orientation film, McKay.” He said. That’s when I realized he knew my name, but I hadn’t actually told him yet. “Follow me, I need to talk to you alone.” He said. I followed him into the other room, everyone was watching me. John shot me a distasteful glare, Lila looked at me with worry in her black eyes, and Dionysus looked down on me like I was less important than him or something. I gave him a hateful look in return, and then closed the door behind me and Chiron.

“So, do you know what’s going on now?” Chiron asked. His smile had faded and his tone was dead serious. “Yeah, I think.” I replied. “Good. McKay, you are no ordinary demigod. Remember when time seemed to slow down back in Kirbling?” he asked. How did he know this stuff? I figured there was no point in asking. “Yeah,” I said. “That was you. You did that. No ordinary demigod can do that, you know. I only know one person who can do that. His name is Kronos. He is my father.” Chiron explained. “Is he a centaur?” I asked. “No.” Chiron answered. “You see, before the gods existed, there was another set of immortal beings: their predecessors, the titans. The first gods were fathered by a titan known as Kronos, the king of the titans and the lord of time.” He explained. If Chiron was the son of Kronos, then he was technically the half-brother of the gods. That must be awesome, I thought. I couldn’t be more wrong. “McKay, your scent is one of the strongest I’ve encountered in a long time. A scent is something that allows monsters to detect demigods. That, coupled with the fact that you managed to stop time for all mortals and un-enchanted objects, leads me to one conclusion.”

I suddenly realized why Dionysus had called me Chiron’s brother only a little earlier.

“I’m a child of Kronos. I’m your half-brother.” I realized. Chiron nodded. “How he managed to father you while he’s cut up into little pieces, I don’t know, but yes, you are his son. Only a child of the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, or a demititan had a smell that strong.” Chiron said. “But is this…good or bad?” I asked. “Bad, McKay. Very bad. Believe me, I know. Kronos ate all of his children except Zeus, who later forced him to regurgitate his children.” Chiron said. I felt like I wanted to throw up. I had an immortal cannibal for a dad. For all I know, he might be planning to eat me too. Just great. I sat down on a nearby chair and grabbed my stomach, trying not to think about what that might have looked like. “Zeus and the gods overthrew Kronos by chopping him up into little pieces and throwing him and his brothers into Tartarus, so I have no idea how he could have sired you.”Chiron said, though I got the impression he was talking more to himself than to me. He sounded distant, as if he were thinking of a way to deal with this situation. “Demititans don’t do too well here at Camp Half-Blood. It’s been a while since we had one, but every time there is one, it doesn’t end well for anyone.” He said. Super, now I was a menace to the entire camp. “We will have to keep your true identity a secret from the other campers, alright McKay?” Chiron requested, though it sounded more like an order than a request. I nodded.

“One more thing,” Chiron started. “The gods don’t like you. They see you as a threat to their existence. Because you’re my brother, I have reasoned with Zeus to spare you, but if you don’t prove yourself worthy, he might change his mind.” He finished. I felt bad that my half-brothers and sisters up there on Olympus wanted me dead and also that my dad was an evil overlord. This day had suddenly turned from freaky-awesome to freaky-freaky. Chiron and I came back out of the room and into the office. Everyone was still there, John and Lila were talking to each other while Dionysus was fumbling with a piece of paper. I looked at him a little closer, and thought I recognized him. “Hey…” I started, approaching Dionysus. “I recognize you. You’re the wine dude from that card game, Mythomagic.” I said. He looked up at me and scowled. “Don’t call me that!” he bellowed, though he wasn’t very threatening. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me that…” he mumbled under his breath. Lila motioned for me to come towards her, and I left Dionysus with his paper. “Don’t make him angry. Mr. D is the camp director, so you don’t want to get him mad. He’s also a god.” She told me. John chuckled when he saw my face. It was a look of disgusted surprise. “That guy? A god?” I whispered, so he wouldn’t hear me. “Yeah, he’s the god of wine. Zeus sent him down here as a punishment for chasing around a nymph or something.” John chimed in. “Fifty years he’ll be down here with us.” Lila said. “Don’t feel bad if you don’t like him, because he doesn’t like you. He has a problem with demigods.”

Soon after, Lila, John and I left the Big House and started walking again. Satyrs, centaurs and pegasi were starting to become a regular sight. I noticed that the other centaurs were much wilder than Chiron, and I wondered how they could ever be related. That reminded me of the fact that I was related to a centaur myself. In about 2 and a half days, my entire life had been shattered by this strange new reality. I would never see other people the same way again. They were just regular mortals, while I was … a god.