Hunter got out and walked to the rear of the green Chevy Impala. The trunk popped open and he grabbed the bags out and set them on the ground. The car powered down and the doors swung open. Marina, Kyle, and Marina’s mother all stepped out.
“Thanks for letting me stay with you this summer, Mrs. Goldman.” Hunter said, closing the trunk. She walked over and hugged him.
“Oh anytime, dear!” She squeezed him tightly. A similar hug had been given to him by Marina just last summer. He felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his head.
“Tha- Thanks, Mrs. G.” He hugged her back. He gave Marina a look of terror as his air supply stopped.
“Okay, Mom! Bye!” Marina said, trying to shoo her mother away. She broke off the hug and turned to look at her daughter. Hunter gasped as air started to return to his lungs.
“Oh, Marina! Stop being so sour. I haven’t even hugged your boyfriend goodbye, yet.” She walked over and hugged Kyle. He groaned a little as his air supply was cut off.
“Tha- Thanks, Mrs. G.” He managed. Marina’s mom let him go and stepped away.
“Alright. I’ll let you kids go. Marina. Iris message me later tonight. Have a good year, kids!” She waved goodbye and then got into her car and drove off. Hunter, Marina, and Kyle all picked up their bags and made off for the camp.
“I’m glad I didn’t have to go to my grandparents’ house. I’m allergic to cats and they have 6 of them.” Kyle said. He shuddered at the thought. Marina walked up beside him and grabbed his hand.
“I’m glad you didn’t go there too.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Hunter rolled his eyes. Kyle leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. Soon enough they were flirting and giggling again. Hunter cleared his throat loudly.
“Half-Blood Hill is up here.” He said trying to get away from them. He ran up the hill and stared down at the camp, already bustling with activity. He walked down the hill and entered into the cabin area. He found the Artemis cabin and walked in. Hunter immediately dropped his stuff and plopped down onto his bed. He inhaled the smell of the cabin. ‘Fresh rain and cypress trees.’ He thought to himself. He got back up and walked out into the camp. He waved to people that he knew and caught up on how their summers were. He had just finished talking to a couple of satyrs when Will ran up to Hunter, excitedly.
“You have got to check this out. The Hephaestus kids helped me out with this.” He lifted up his shirt and revealed the belt buckle he had gotten from his father, Poseidon, last summer. He grabbed the golden horseshoe that was embedded into the brass of the buckle. He pulled the horseshoe out and it grew into a large trident. “Huh? Huh? And wait that’s not even the best part. I tried to control water, but no dice. I can talk to horses, but it took me a while to figure out my power. Let’s go to the arena and I’ll show you.” Hunter shrugged and followed Will to the arena. They stood at opposite sides of the arena. “Okay…GO!” He charged at Hunter who drew his knife and charged back. The two of them sparred for a while. Neither of them making any resounding victories over the other. Hunter had just won a match and had his knife to Will’s throat when Will gripped his trident and struck the ground with the end of it. The ground shook beneath Hunter’s feet. Nothing severe but enough for Hunter’s legs to wobble. The tremor stopped. Hunter’s eyes widened.
“What…was that?” He asked Will. Will had a big, dumb smile on his face.
“That, my friend, is proof that I am a son of Poseidon. I can cause small local earthquakes.” He said. He pretended to dust off his shoulders. Hunter punched him in the arm.
“Just be careful to not knock me on my butt the next time we’re fighting a monster.” The two of them laughed as they walked back to the Dining Pavilion. Everyone had just sat down for dinner when Chiron stood up front. He cleared his throat a couple of times.
“Before we get things started I have a few announcements to make.” Chiron slipped on his glasses and looked down at a piece of paper. “There are some new instructors this summer. First of all, Willi—“ Will glared at him. He made it clear it was ‘Will’ not ‘William.’ “Excuse me. Will Monterey will be teaching spear and sword fighting this summer.” The hall erupted in applause. Chiron motioned for them to quiet down. “Also Hunter will be teaching knife fighting and will lead small groups into the woods. FOR educational purposes.” The hall erupted in applause again. Hunter stood up and bowed. “Kyle Julius is the new Demeter cabin counselor. Finally, Marina will be in charge of the forges from now on.” Chiron motioned for the applause to begin. He let it run its course before finishing with, “Welcome to Camp Half-Blood! Let’s have a great summer!”