Ezekiel Kel
Location: Thalia’s Tree -- Within Camp Boundary
Another summer, another three months full of new kids getting hurt and asking any one of the Apollo kids dumb questions. Ezekiel sat on one of the tables they had set up for rapid response, fielding some of those annoying questions. Are you guys always here?...Yes...What do you do?...Save lives and count the leaves as they fall... How long have you been here?...Four score and seven years ago... Wow! Did you know your hands glow?...Shit! When did that start?... Hey, now your eyes are glowing! Why do you look like that? Still, no matter the age or experience, they never seemed to get the whole, fuck off look.
Like clockwork, satyrs brought in new and old camp kids with mountains of injuries. Sometimes he wondered if the satyrs even did anything these days. Still, sometimes it was the satyrs themselves injured. He had already helped a few kids out and was keeping his eyes trained on the trees beyond Thalia’s Tree. Music pumped from the stereo under his table and he bounced his foot along to the beat of Jaxson Gamble. The music helped to keep him focused but the steady bass also gave him a pace to follow so he could get kids in and out. Any of the minor scraps were told to suck it up or go to the big house to be dealt with after supper. The more serious ones, like limbs missing or unconsciousness were generally dealt with right away. Hence the little triage set-up.
”Heads up,” Ezekiel noted. There was movement just beyond the tree line followed by a great war and then three people, one being dragged, who came into view and were pulled over the line. Two Apollo kids stood at the ready if reinforcements were needed. They were usually swapped out by any older kids who had been around the block a few times and could easily defend. The young girl was taken to a different table and work was started on her immediately. She was unconscious thankfully. Ezekiel could see from his stationary position that her hip was dislocated and there was a lot of blood as well.
Ezekiel didn’t get to watch his siblings work long when another group came through, this time with someone quite awake and screaming. Great. Ezekiel jumped off his table and quickly washed up his hands as the boy was laid onto his table. He was fairly young, a new one. Ezekiel pitied the new ones. They were coming here to be kept safe, not hurt or nearly killed to come here. Training started early for these kids, whether they liked it or not. The boy’s shirt was torn and three distinct marks lay clawed across his chest. Ezekiel sighed and pulled the remains of the shirt off before he started to assess the rest of the boy for injuries. He looked at the others who came and saw minor injuries and another serious one who he instructed to sit down while he looked after this serious one.
”Essie, you’re gonna have to pin him,” he told the daughter of Hermes. He wondered if she had heard the latest yet. Apparently a muse had gone missing, well taken and her mother, along with her twin who was also present to this screaming fest, was a muse.
The kid started to thrash and Ezekiel had to tie his legs down before he started to clean the wound. With the shock and blood loss, the kid fell out of consciousness which he was more than happy with. He placed both hands over the boys chest, shut his eyes and let the power of Apollo’s healing flow out of him.
It took time but Ezekiel got the wounds to close. He replaced the kids shirt before he sat down and drank heavily from his water bottle. He felt a little dizzy but it wasn’t so much from the healing. He looked up at the twins and frowned at them.
”Stop that,” he said.
“What?” They asked innocently before the eldest one grinned.
”Your museness,” he grumbled. They laughed together before Essie stood up and walked up around Ezekiel.
“We are simply trying to help,” she said and kissed his head. Instantly the dizziness cleared and he frowned. Sure he liked them. He always seemed to be able to write better when they were around but beyond that, they were a handful.
”Have you heard of Calliope? She’s missing apparently.” The twins fell silent, doing that freaky silent conversation thing.
“We’ve heard nothing. What happened?”
”No idea. Just heard today. Think we are discussing it later. She’s not your mom is she?”
“No, Thalia is,” they said before clasping hands and disappearing. Ezekiel jumped and shook himself. He hated when they did that. Of course, who wouldn’t? He didn’t have time to muse about them for another few kids came stumbling in that required his attention. There was no sleep for the wicked.
