My story

Well, I guess this is my journal. Chiron recommended, or basically ordered, us to keep on. I heard some of the campers argue with Chiron about this journal, especially those from the Ares cabin. They argued that they don’t have enough time to sit and write in a journal. I get a kick out of that, we don’t do much in the night. Chiron just tells them that the journals will help write the history books in a few hundred years, and then he trots off. Did I forget to mention Chiron is a centaur?

I guess I better tell you a little about me. My name is Ryan Martin and I am a son of Athena. At 16 years old, I am about six feet tall and weigh close to 150 pounds. I have dirty blonde hair; which is long, but not quite down to my shoulders. My eyes are grey, but my mortal friends say they are a dark blue. My mortal family lives in Northern Utah. I have two siblings, Garrett and Megan; both are demigods. Garrett is two years young than me and is in Athena with me. Megan is five years younger and from the Hermes cabin. It is kinda weird growing up with three demigods in one house. Both my parents can see through the Mist. My dad is a professor at Utah State University. I guess that is why Athena took a liking to him. My mom works in a hospital as a pharmacist. I still have no idea why he fell for her. Anyways, I go to Sky View High School and play on their football and ultimate Frisbee teams.

That’s enough about me, now I will write my story. It has been one year since the last quest. Clarisse La Rue (From Ares Cabin) went out to find the Golden Fleece (to save Thalia’s pine tree which had been poisoned). For once on a quest, she didn’t take anyone with her. But Percy Jackson (Poseidon) had this vision that he had to go on this quest. So he, Tyson (Cyclops and Percy’s half-brother), and my older sibling (and head counselor for our cabin) Annebeth Chase snuck out of camp to retrieve the fleece.

To get back on subject, it has been a year since that quest and I have been getting quite bored. There was a quest to go save Artemis (and Annebeth too) from the Titans, but I did not know about it until Percy snuck out of camp. In wouldn’t have been much fun though, they had to go with the Hunters of Artemis (who are not very kind to boys). I want to go on a quest but I haven’t had my chance yet.

It was the early part of winter break and I was sitting next to the lake, having a picnic with my girlfriend Nicole. Her dad is Apollo, the god of music and many others. You could tell that just my looking at her; she always had a good tan and a dazzling white smile. Her long, light blonde hair was braided down to the middle of her back and her blue eyes shown with excitement. It was great and all, Camp Half-Blood, Nicole, this picnic, but I still felt bored. I looked at the lake and sighed.

I must have sighed louder than I thought, because Nicole asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just….” I trailed off, still looking at the lake, “I am bored of this place. I am sixteen now and I have not gone on a single quest.

She put both her hand on my face, turned me to face her, then said, “Your time will come, I can promise you that.”

“How can you promise me that?”

“Because, silly, my dad is the god of oracles.” She grinned.

“I thought your dad was a banker?”

She laughed, and then kissed my forehead, “That is my step dad, silly. But, when you do get a quest, who will be your two companions?”

“Well you, of course, and Jon Gutierrez.” I replied, having thought this over many times.

Nicole bit her lip. The Ares and Apollo cabins didn't quite get along.

I saw the look of disapproval on her face, “Come on, Jon is easily the nicest guy from Ares.”

“I guess,” She said, “I bet it is because he is so short he can’t store as much hate and violence as the rest of them.”

I laid back, rib cage hurting. We got a kick out of teasing Jon. We assumed he did the same to us. Tears were starting to form in my eyes.

“That’s not very nice.” A voice said behind us.

Still laughing, we turned to see a seventeen year old boy around 5’7 or 5’8 with short black hair and freckles that crosses his nose. He had the beginning of a mustache starting to grow.

I grinned at him, “Well, Jon, you are short.”

“Yeah, I know.” He grunted.

We walked over and sat down next to me. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

“No we were just talking quests.”

“A quest would be awesome. I would love to get out of camp.”

A conch horn blew through the night.

“Dinnertime.” Nicole sighed

I quickly scrambled to my feet. I held my hand out to Nicole. She took it, I pulled her up. After she had stood up, she slipped her hand into a more comfortable position in mine.

“Hurry up, lovebirds,” Jon teased, “I’m hungry.”

After dinner we all retired to our cabins for some R&R. Tonight was capture the flag. I looked down at my watch. It didn't really work, but not that I cared what time it was, a conch hour rang every hour. I pushed the timer button and instantly my clothes began to change. My orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt began to change into a bronze breast plate. I grabbed my New York Yankees beanie. In my hand the beanie began to change into a bronze Corinthian helm. You've probably heard about Annabeth’s magic hat, well she’s not the only one with a gift from Mom. This magic suit of armor was given to me by Athena for my 15th birthday. It has only been good for Capture the Flag, not much else since I haven’t been on any quest.

This whole week we have been busy building alliances. I convince Jon and the rest of the Ares cabin to be on our team. Garrett recruited the Hephaestus with promises of shower privileges. And Malcolm, our temporary head counselor, enlisted the Hermes cabin. Not the best fighters, but there is a bunch of them. To oppose us: Apollo, Aphrodite, Demeter, and Dionysus (Mr. D’s twins). The hunters decided to sit this one out. Wusses.

“Looks like an easy fight.” Jon laughed behind me.

I turned, tightening my forearm greaves, “Nothing is ever easy.”

“You Athenians don’t know how to fight.” Jon gloated, swinging his sword Destructor.

I dove to the ground to avoid being decapitated. “And you Ares don’t know how to safely use your weapons.”

“Sorry.”

I pulled out my sword. A two-foot celestial bronze blade led down to a silver hilt. On that hilt were engravings of owls, the symbol of Athena. I made the blade during the sword making activity with some help from the Hephaestus cabin) couple of years ago. The next morning the hilt appeared on the foot of my bed. The hilt was so detailed; no one but a god (or goddess) could have made it. Annebeth was impressed.

“Mother must really like you.” She teased.

The hilt had a name printed in English, it read Brightblade.

Jon looked at my sword admiringly, “I still can’t believe you made that.”

“I just made the blade, my friend.”

A conch horn interrupted our conversation. Chiron galloped to the front of the pavilion.

“Heroes!” He announced, “You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but not bound or gagged. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Remember no maiming or killing is allowed. Let us begin.”

Everyone cheered. I slid my helmet on. The blue plume stayed in front of my face. I hate those things. Malcolm worked his way to the front.

“Blue team, advance.” He ordered. The blue teamed cheered and charged into the forest. I hung back, walking with the Athena cabin.

“I think Hephaestus should stay on defense,” I suggested, “Beckendorf and Jake guard the flag, the rest on border patrol.”

Malcolm nodded. Almost everyone murmured their agreement. Almost.

“How about I take this one?” Garrett said. I looked at him. He is young and impulsive, but this would be a great learning experience for him.

I smiled at him, “Sure.”

We decided to set our flag behind the big pile of rocks known as Zeus’ Fist. I always wondered why they called it that. If you turned your head sideways you could maybe see a fist. Any ways, Garrett went with my idea of having the Hephaestus cabin guard the flag. Garrett was arguing with Sherman and Mark (both from Ares) about the attack plan.

“We should charge up the middle, grab the flag, and get back,” Sherman growled.

“That is not a great plan,” Garrett pointed out.

“Ok, shorty, what do you got?”

Garret grinned, “Glad you asked, Ares you take the middle. Their strongest defense would be there.”

“I just said that!” interrupted Sherman.

“I wasn't finished. You are mainly a distraction. Hermes will take the left side and hold them there. Athena will take the right and draw them over there.”

“Then who is going for the flag?” Connor Stoll (Hermes) asked.

“We will send two extraction teams to retrieve the flag.” Garrett said calmly, “Malcolm and I to the left, in between the Hermes and Ares cabins. Ryan and Jon will take the right side, in between the Athena and Ares cabins.”

“Hold on, why do you guys get the glory of getting the flag?” Travis Stoll, Connor’s older, though they looked identical, brother, whined, “Hermes won’t get any of the credit.”

“Because I am sending our best fighters to retrieve the flag.”

Mark scowled, “Hold on, are you saying that you are better than me, pipsqueak?”

“Yes,” Mark looked ready to kill him, “In stealth fighting. You are more of a see and kill type fighter.”

Mark just scowled some more, “Fine, do your stealth fighting.”

A conch horn blew. The game has begun.

The different cabins ran off to the assigned spot. Only four remained. Me, Malcolm, Jon, and Garrett. The heard the sounds of metal on metal, kids yelling and swearing. Your typical combat sounds. We waited for about 5 minutes.

“Now we go.” Garrett said. We ran our different ways. Jon and I to the right, Garrett and Malcolm to the left.

“I want to fight so bad.” Jon whined.

“Just be patient,” I warned.

We ran swiftly through the forest. Or about as swiftly as you can run with bronze armor and weapons. A figure appeared in front of us. He was looking back. He was a short, who looked like a weasel. He was Michael Yew from the Apollo cabin. He didn’t seem to see us going towards him. We reached him before he turned around. I put my sword in my left hand. I stuck out my arm and clotheslined him. I struck him in the throat. He got hit so hard he almost did a backflip. He twisted around and landed on his chest. I knew that hit had to of knock him out.

“Good shot.” Jon laughed.

“Yes. Yes it was.”

We stopped running at some bushes right before a clearing. Right in the middle of the clearing was the flag, colored gold with the Apollo cabin’s symbol on it.

“It seems to easy.” Jon whispered

“It is too easy.” I whispered back, surveying the tree lines.

A figure jumped out of the bushes to our left. He was running straight for the flag. I realized it was Garrett. You fool. This is easily a trap. Garrett almost got to the flag when the first arrow struck. He was lucky they were using heavy tip arrows. They don’t kill you, but you will fill bruised up the next morning. I struck Garrett in the stomach. He doubled over. Then came three more. One hit his side, the next in the thigh, and one in a place you don’t want to be hit. Just watching it made me hurt. Garrett fell to the ground. I was pretty sure he was out of this game.

I turned to Jon, “We need to take out those snipers. You go to the left, I will take the right. Tell Malcolm to be ready to get the flag.”

Jon nodded and took off into the forest. I started to move slowly to my right. After about 5 yards, I could hear some laughter in front of me.

“I don’t want to boast, but that was my arrow that knocked him out,” a voice bragged.

A second voice argued, “No it wasn’t, Rob, it was clearly mine.”

“You’re just jealous because I’m a better shot that you, Parker,” the first voice, Rob, teased.

“Will you two just shut up!” A familiar voice barked, “There might be more.”

I decided this would be the best time to launch a surprise attack against this group, right in the middle of this conversation. They would never see it coming. I had to work hard to not maniacally laugh.

Rob laughed, “Well, if there were any more we would have heard them by now. Right, Par-“

He never finished. My shield hit the back of his head and Rob fell first onto the ground. Parker scrambled back, reaching for his bow, but I knocked him out with hilt of my sword. I faintly heard a bow string being pulled and instantly brought my shield up in front of my chest. A heavy tip arrow hit it with a dull clang. I dove in the direction I assumed the arrow ha came from. I made solid contact with a body and heard a grunt. I wrestled my attacker to the ground. I jumped to my knees with my sword pointed at….Nicole.

“Why, hello handsome.” She grinned.

“You aren't someone I would expect to be one defense,” I said.

Nicole pouted, “I didn’t want to be, but Lee said I would be best for defending. So he stuck me
here with these two idiots.”

I stood up, sword pointed at her. She may be my girlfriend, but it still was capture the flag. I whistled a three note song. Another tune, a short four-note song, replied. Jon crawled out of the bushes.

“Hello, Nicole,” Jon said with a slight smile, “Only found four guards on the left. Can you believe it? They are going against Ares and Athena, and they only have four guards to the left. It was no challenge.”

Nicole’s eyes turned murderous. “No challenge?! We from Apollo know how to fight!” She hissed.

“Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Your dad is not the war god.” Jon sneered

“That is enough!” I said, raising my voice. I hated to yell. It hurt my throat.

“She started it.”

“Well I’m finishing it,” I snapped.

Jon turned and spit into the bushes, “Okay what do we do now?”

“Find Malcolm and tell him it is clear to retrieve the flag.” I said, “Then escort him back to our side.”

“Wilco,” he replied, “but what will you do?”

“I will go ahead since I am faster and clear a path.”

“Good plan.”

Jon turned and jumped back into the bushes.

“I’m not going to let you get the flag.”

I turned and faced Nicole. She had drawn her celestial bronze dagger. She hated close combat.

“Nicole, I don’t want to fight you.” I said, eyeing the dagger.

“Too bad,” she frowned, then lunged at me.

I quickly caught her dagger with my sword blade, slid down to the hilt, and flicked my wrist. Her dagger flew into the bushes.

“Sorry about this,” I quickly said.

He eyes rolled up into her head after I hit her helmet with my shield. She collapsed onto the ground. I knelt down and put my hand over her mouth. I was breathing easily, always a good sign. Parker and Rob started to groan and roll around. I decided it would be a good time to leave.

I looked towards the flag just in time to see it vanish in the trees. I turned and ran back towards the river. I could see the two teams fighting in the distance. I saw and Malcolm running up the middle with the flag. One of Mr. D’s kids, Castor I think, turned and saw Malcolm and the flag.

“They got our flag!” He shrieked.

Everyone turned to find the flag. Jon and Malcolm made a hard right to avoid being mobbed. I was sprinting towards the river when I heard yelling and saw a flash of silver on our side. It was Lee Fletcher with our flag, the Hephaestus yelling and chasing after him. At his speed and direction, he was going to cross the river before Malcolm.

I altered my course and ran straight for him. I crossed the river and had about five seconds to think of something. My football instincts kicked in. He didn’t see me until it was too late. I tackled him. I threw my shoulder into his hip, making sure to wrap up. We fell down and he dropped the flag. I stood up to see Malcolm cross the river with the flag. Our team erupted into cheers. A conch horn blew. Chiron galloped towards us.

“Congratulations, Athena cabin,” he said, “for a second straight victory.”

Our cabin roared. Even Garrett, who just woke up, managed a smile.

“Campers!” Chiron announced, “You have one hour until curfew. Enjoy the night.”

With that he galloped off. I walked around looking for Nicole. I found her sitting with the Apollo cabin, who were treating anyone who got wounded. She sat there rubbing the back of her head.

“Hey,” I said.

She looked up, “Hey.”

“Sorry about hitting you in the head,” I apologized.

Nicole shrugged, “No need to say sorry. It is capture the flag with real combat.”

I offered out my hand, “Let’s head over to the lake.”

She hesitated, then took my hand, “Okay.”


Chapter 2 More to come. Suggestions and characters would be awesome.

Nicole and I sat out by the edge of the lake. It was a peaceful night. The naiads smiled playfully at us. We were the only two campers out here. I could hear the terrible singing over at the Apollo campfire. That made me smile.

Nicole sighed, “I wish I was a better sword fighter.”

That comment caught me off guard, “What?”

“You saw how easily you defeated me. I would not be much help in a fight.”

I held her hand, “Sure you would. I would take you over anybody to watch my back.”

She lowered her head, “I thought you would want Jon?”

I stared into her eyes, “I would take you over him any day.”

Nicole tore her gaze away from me. She looked at the calm lake. She looked unconvinced.

“And don’t worry about losing to me.” I said, trying to cheer her up, “I am the best sword fighter in camp.”

Nicole cracked a small smile, “What about Percy?”

“He is not at camp at the moment, is he?” I grinned.

She laughed, “It’s getting late. We should probably get to our cabins soon.”

“Yeah.”

Nicole leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

“Goodnight,” She whispered

“Goodnight.”



You’ve probably heard that demigods have the most bizarre dreams. I have had many strange ones, but tonight’s beat them all.

I dreamt I was somewhere covered in snow. I did a full circle. All I could see was snow. Over there some snow; oh look a hill covered in snow. The only thing that was not snow was a strange man kneeling in the snow in front of me. He had to be at least 6 and half feet tall. His nose was pointed like a hawks and he had eyes like a magician. He had shoulder length silver hair and a matching beard that was trimmed short. He looked kind of like Santa Claus, expect more mean and not fat and jolly. He wore a pure black robe; it was like looking into space. He wore a cape that was bright silver. It was so bright I thought it was giving off its own light.

The strange man spoke, his voice deep and guiding, “My lord, the gods seem to know of your uprising.”

“Yes, you fool! You think I don’t know that.” A different voice snarled.

Even in this dream, I shuddered. That voice was cold and heavy. It was like someone just threw a snow covered mountain on my back. My knees felt weak.

The strange man bowed his head, “My apologize, Lord Kronos. The gods have banished me to this wasteland; I wish to rule over a better region. May I offer my allegiance to the army of Kronos?”

“Coeus,” Kronos spat, “you and your army shall have the honor of serving me.”

My mind started to put pieces together. A million thoughts ran through my mind. Kronos was the King Titan. This is not good. If the gods knew of Kronos’ uprising and they were doing anything about it, this was extremely bad.

The scene changed. I was standing in the throne room of Olympus. I could only tell you that because I have been here once with the year rounders.

“You will be my hero for this quest, Ryan.”

I turned to see a woman of great beauty and immense power. Her long black hair fell down over one shoulder. Her stormy grey eyes bore into me. It had to be Athena, my mother.

“Now wake child,” She whispered.

I woke up on the floor of the cabin. Everyone else was still snoring around me. I peeled my face off the floor and stumbled over to the door. I opened it and ran towards the Big House. I loudly knocked on the door. Nothing happen for what I estimated to be a minute. I am not a patient man, I knocked again while calling out, “Someone open up! I need to talk to Chiron or Mr. D.”

The door swung open. Inside stood Chiron wearing a Party-Ponies 2003 t-shirt and had curlers in his tail.

“What do you want, child?” He asked, “It’s three in the morning.”

“My mother sent me a dream; I think she wants me to go on a quest.”

I told him the dream Athena had sent to me.

“That is most troubling.” Chiron said once I finished,” Come inside and we will talk.”

I walked past Chiron and into the living room. Seymour snarled at me from the wall.

I sat down on the couch, “Good to see you to.”

Chiron’s voice asked from the kitchen, “Would you like something to eat or drink?”

“No, thank you,”

Chiron trotted into the room, a mug in his right hand, “Manners, such a nice thing to have in a young man. Now let us talk about this dream of yours.”

I nodded, “There were two men in the dream.”

“Two Titans.” Chiron corrected.

“Right; two Titans, Kronos and Coeus. They are building an army to fight the gods.”

“Correct”

“Everyone knows who Kronos is, but who is Coeus?” I asked.

Chiron stared out the window, towards the cabins, “Coeus is the Titan of the north, of wisdom and far sight. After the Great Titan War, he fled north to avoid the wrath of Zeus. He is also known as Polaris.”

“The North Star.” I said dumbly.

“Naturally, it seems your mother wants you to stop Coeus from increasing the strength Kronos’ army.”

I stared at the table. I felt sick to my stomach. Me against a Titan, I had no chance.

Chiron walked over and kneeling next to me, “Do not be afraid, Ryan. Your mother chose you for a reason.”

“I guess so.”

“I believe it is time for you to visit the Oracle.”

I continued staring at the table. This was it my chance to get out of camp. Nicole had told me it would be coming soon. You gotta love that girl.

Chiron got up and turned towards the stairs, “Follow me.”

I got up and followed him up four flights of stairs. We stopped under a green trapdoor.

“I can go with you no further,” Chiron said, “I will be waiting in the living room.”

With that, he turned and left down the stairs. I looked up at the trapdoor then pulled the cord.
I stepped to the side as the wooden noisily fell down. It could use some grease.
In the attic there was a whole bunch of stuff. These were items others have collected on their quests. Hopefully I could have something up here someday.

Against the wall leaned a mummy in a torn and worn down tie-dye shirt. This had to be the Oracle.

The Oracle jerked upright. I jumped backwards, knocking into a table. Something went clunk on the other side, but I didn’t check, the Oracle was freaking me out. The Oracle’s mouth dropped open and a green mist poured out. It surrounded me, but I managed not to bolt for the door. A raspy voice spoke in my mind: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

I swallowed back my fear and took a step forward, “What is my quest?”

The raspy voice spoke in my mind again: You shall go and face the Northern Star, To stand up to fear or you will not go far, One of magic shall help on the way, a warrior of light shall save the day

With that, the Oracle fell back against the wall. I stood there focusing on the prophecy. I shook myself back into focus and walked towards the trapdoor. I glanced back at the Oracle, still slumped on the wall.

Chiron was waiting for me in the living room. He wasn’t alone, four others sat with him. One was Mr. D, or Dionysus as you may know him, looking incredibly sleepy in his leopard skin pajamas. Malcolm sat on the couch next to him. Jon and Nicole were sitting in the two armchairs. The only one who seemed somewhat awake was Nicole. She looked straight into my eyes and frowned. I mouthed I’ll tell you later.

“This better be good, Brian.” Mr. D yawned, “Chiron insisted I had to wake up.”

“My name is Ryan, sir.”

“Ryan, Brian, you don’t live long enough for me to care.” Dionysus complained, “Now, how about you tell us that prophecy.”

I repeated everything the Oracle had told me. During this, Mr. D stared at the wall, like if he was trying to remember if he left his light on. Everyone else was focused on every word.

“Well the obvious thing is that you have to find the Northern Star, or Coeus, and confront him,” Malcolm concluded.

Chiron stroked his beard. “To stand up to fear,” he pondered.

“”Maybe he will have to fight a giant spider or something like that,” Jon suggested.

Just the thought of a giant spider made me shiver. I couldn’t stand those thing. Any kid from Athena’s cabins was freaked out by spiders. It has been that way since our mother turned Arachne into the first one. Now Arachne’s children (spiders) will find you were ever you are. All over a stupid weaving contest.

Chiron must have seen my worried face, “Ryan has enough to think about without worrying about spider.”

Mr. D sighed, “I think the boys should just go on his quest, the sooner he leaves the less campers I have to worry about.”

“I agree,” Malcolm said, and then frowned, “to the first part, not the second part.”

“Alright,” Chiron said, “Ryan, Argus will be waiting to take you to the airport at 8 this morning. It is obvious your two companions are Jon and Nicole. The camp store will supply you with whatever is possible.”

“Th-thank you.” I stuttered

“Well don’t just stand there; you only have four hours until you leave. If I were you I would go get some sleep.

After a sleepless four hours, I met Jon and Nicole at Thalia’s Pine. Jon and Nicole were dressed ready for the quest. Jon an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt under a light jacket. He had a dagger on the hip of his jeans, and he wore a new pair of Nikes. Nicole was wearing the same shirt and also had jeans on. She was wearing a thicker, warmer pink jacket. She looked so good it made my heart hurt.

“You know, it will be cold where we’re going.” I teased Jon.

“I know. I got more,” He said as he swung off a camo backpack that I didn’t notice before. He unzipped it and inside was three full sets of snow gear, some armor, and his sword. “I even got some stuff for you guys.”

Nicole peaked over my shoulder, “How did all that fit in there?” She asked

“I don’t know,” Jon replied, “It was a gift from my dad, along with the shoes.”

“What do they do?” I asked.

Jon shrugged, “I think they are just shoes.”

“Okay.”

I looked down the hill to the Camp van. It read Delphi Strawberry Service on the side, the code name for Camp. Argus stood leaning on the door, waiting for us to go.

“I think we should get going.” I said aloud.

“Roger that,” Jon shouldered his bag and ran down the hill to the car, “Shotgun!”

I swung my bag onto my shoulder and picked Nicole’s up with my left hand. She slipped her hand into mine. Together we walked to the van.

She grinned at me, “I bet you are pretty excited lead this quest.”

I gave her hand a squeeze, “Actually, I am more nervous than excited.”

She stopped me feet away from the car, “You will do fine. You are a natural born leader.” She said, staring straight into my eyes. Then she kissed me. That lifted my spirits up a lot. I was about to reply when Jon called out from the shotgun seat, “Oi! Lovebirds! We've got to get going.”

We both laughed, and walked to the door. I pulled open the door and threw the bags in back. I stepped to the side and bowed, “After you, My Lady.”

Nicole laughed, “Such a gentleman.”

“You two make me sick,” Jon complained from the front. Nicole grinned and climbed into the back and I followed shutting the door behind me. I took a look back at Thalia’s Pine, wondering if this would be the last time I see Camp. Chiron was trotting down the hill towards us. I rolled down my window.

“Argus will only take you to the airport; you should have enough mortal money to purchase a flight north.” He said, trotting to a stop.

“Thanks,” I replied turning back to the front.

“Ryan,” Chiron said. I turned back towards him; his face was full of concern, “Be careful. With the Titan uprising, we can’t lose any more campers, especially you three.”

“I will”

Chiron looked sad. It made me think about all the heroes he has sent off who have never returned.

Oh great, I thought, I am freaking myself out.

Chiron gave us one last forced smile, and then galloped off. Argus started the car and drove us away from camp.


Half an hour later Argus dropped us off at the airport. That’s where the trouble started. Turns out there weren't any flights going any further north than Augusta, Maine. We had to argue with another customer about who would get this flight. We attracted quite a crowd. Eventually we won out, buying the last three tickets.

“Well,” Jon sighed, “That was troublesome.”

I looked at the clock. After trying to purchase the tickets and checking in an hour and a half has passed. I looked at the boarding passes, “We have about 2 hours until boarding time. How about finding some food?”

“Sounds great!”

“Sure,” Nicole said.

We walked around for about ten minutes. We had to stop to drag Jon out of a Biker’s bar, reminding him that the sign said you had to be 21 or older to enter.

“I won’t get a drink,” he complained, “This place feels like home to me.”

I rolled my eyes and Nicole gave a small smile. We final somewhat agreed on a Panda Express. Jon kept complaining.

“I still think we should have eaten at the bar,” he whined as moved through the line.

“That place would’ve been bad for us,” Nicole said, “being the daughter of the god of oracles I could feel that.”

Jon grumbled something about Ares liking bikers, but the argument was over. We paid for our food and left the line. We managed to find a booth to sit in. Nicole and I sat on one and Jon sat on the other side. Jon kept talking to himself while eating. Nicole picked quietly at her food. I was just about to dig in hen I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see three female airport security guards.

“Excussse me, boy,” The one with her hand on my shoulder said, “There ssseemsss to be a problem. You three ssshould come with usss.”

I thought it strange how much emphasis she put on her s’s. Maybe she had a lisp. I didn’t want any trouble, so I said, “Alright, we’ll come with you. But can we finish our food first?”

“No!” The talker snapped, “Throw is away and follow usss.”

We got up from the booth, threw away our uneaten food, and followed the guards. We walked down, the opposite of our gate. I glanced up at a clock, we still had an hour until boarding time and this couldn't possible take that long.

The guards stopped at a door with a sign that read Authorized Personal Only (Don’t ask me how long it took me to read that). Two more female guards stood on each side of the door. They nodded to the talker, opened the door, and went inside. The talker went inside and we followed.

Once we cleared the door it slammed shut behind us. Nicole slipped her hand into mine. I couldn't blame her something didn’t feel right. A light came on temporarily blinding me. When I could see again, I noticed there were at least 20 more guards in here, all women.

The talker stepped forward, “We know what you are doing. You must be ssstopped.”

I looked into her eyes, which for some reason were yellow like snake eyes. Contacts maybe?
“You must be mistaken. We are just going to see our uncle up in Maine.”

“Lord Kronosss hass told usss you were coming. We would be honored to do hisss busssinesss” She hissed.

“It’s a trap!” I yelled, pushing the mode button on my watch. My sword appeared in my hand.

Jon drew out his dagger. Nicole didn’t move her face full of terror.

She hissed again, “No need for violence. You will die quick and easssy.”

My mind was in overload. We had gone through these type of scenarios in monster fighting
class, but this real with monsters who would actually kill us.

“Now come and die peacefully,” the guard said.

Then she began to transform. Her skin turned into scales, he legs into stumps ending in snake tails, and, worst of all, teeth turned into fangs.
I swore, “Scythian Dracaena!”

The snake women must of liked hissing, because the talker hissed, “Lord Kronosss doesss not appreciate you attempt to ssstop Coeusss from joining our cause.”

“The Titans are evil. They will destroy everything I love,” I said, “Stopping them is only way to protect them. Nicole, get that door open now.”

She didn’t move. The lead dracaena slithered closer, “Then you shall die!”

Then she charged. I gripped my sword with both hands, “Jon, get it open. I will hold them off.”
He nodded and went to the door. I stepped in front of Nicole. The lead dracaena reached me. She swung her sword at my head like a baseball bat. I ducked under and stabbed her in her exposed stomach. She cried out then turned to dust.

“It’s locked,” Jon cried.

I sliced through another dracaena, “Then unlock it!”

A third dracaena stabbed her sword at me. I deflected it, spun, and slashed through her. She too exploded into dust.

“Door’s open!” Jon yelled behind me. I shoved a dracaena back into the crowd, grabbed Nicole’s hand, and bolted for the door. Jon was holding it open yelling at us to hurry up. We dove out the door and Jon slammed it shut behind us. The door shuddered against the impact of the snake women. Jon leaned against it. Mortals passed by not noticing anything strange.

“The door won’t last long. We've got to get out of here.” I said. Jon nodded. Nicole just stared blankly ahead. I snapped my fingers in front of her face. She shook her head. “I said we need to leave. We don’t have time to wait for the flight. How about we get a car?”

We sprinted down a hall way led to the escalators. We flew down those, I accidently knocked over someone’s luggage. We kept running out the automatic doors and until we reached the rental kiosk. No one was inside, so I snuck in and grabbed a set of keys. I felt a little bit guilty so I dug out the last of my mortal cash and left it on the counter.

The keys read A7, so we ran until we found that spot. “ You've got to be kidding me,” Jon sighed. It was a baby blue minivan. Inside there were five seats. Two apart in the front and a couch like chair in the back. There was plenty of room in the very back for luggage or perhaps a temporary bed. Jon started to argue to go back and exchange for something better. An un-human roar rang out and we decided the van would be alright. Jon said he would drive because of the six month rule. I didn’t care, so I tossed him the keys. As he ran to the driver’s side of the van, I grabbed Nicole’s arm and pulled he into the back seat. Jon turned on the ignition and the car sputtered to life. Jon switched to reverse and started to drive. He shifted again and we headed for the exit. He made a hard right, sending Nicole crashing into me. There was no sign of the dracaena between us and the exit. I blinked my eyes and a dozen dracaena appeared in the exit.

“Watch out!” Nicole screamed.

Jon floored the accelerator, “Hold on!”

The dracaena still stood in the way. The monsters must have been very determined to kill us or just plain dumb. My money would go on the second option. Jon didn’t slow down. We hit the monsters going 50 m.p.h. They scattered like bowling pins. Jon didn’t take his foot off the accelerator until we reached the highway.

“Kronos knows about our quest,” I muttered.

Nicole still seemed dazed, “Yeah.”

I looked her in the eyes, “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, averting her gaze.

“No, you’re not. You can tell me.”

Nicole was still looking out the window. “Just seeing you fight those monsters made me realize how real this quest is. It could be so easy to lose everything I love. I have never been this scared before.”

“Nicole, I promise you this. Everyone will make it back on this quest. I swear.”

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “Okay,” she said softly.

I held her hand in between mine, “You better get some rest. Today has been rough on you.”

She nodded and rested her head on my chest. She started snowing moments later. I smiled. I leaned my head back against the chair rest. Soon, I too was asleep.

In my dreams I saw the army of Coeus. There were dracaena, giants, and other creatures I couldn't name. They had set up a temporary camp in the snowy plain I had seen earlier. I turned and behind me stood Coeus himself, to his right stood a tall demigod in full battle armor. Coeus smirked, “The gods shall pay for what they did.”

I got jarred from my dream by my face smashing into the window.

“Ow,” I said.

Jon glanced back. “He lives,” he joked, “Sorry about that bump back there.”

“It’s okay. How long was I out?”

“About four hours.”

Nicole was still asleep on my chest. I moved a strand of hair out of her face.

“How are we on fuel?” I asked Jon.

“Oh gods, I didn’t even think to check,” Jon replied, pausing to check the fuel, “We have about a quarter of a tank left.”

“Let’s find a gas station and fill up.”

We drove for another 10-15 minutes until we found an off-ramp that led to a gas station. I woke Nicole up, who grumbled a little. We decided Nicole and I would go pay for the gas while Jon filled the van. We were also planning on swinging by the Wendy’s built into it.

“I felt so useless back at the airport,” Nicole sighed.

I handed the cashier a stack of mortal cash, “What do you mean?”

“When we got attacked at the airport, I just froze up. I told you I am no good in a battle.”

I frowned as we walked in front of the glass doors. I gave Jon a thumb up. He nodded and
vanished behind the van. I grabbed Nicole’s hand and led her into the Wendy’s.

We order about sixty chicken nuggets and three large drinks. We found a booth in the corner next to a window. Nicole leaned her head on my shoulder. The light through the window made her look like a goddess. I stroked her hair, “You need to eat something.”

She didn’t answer.

“I know you have had a rough day. The only way to feel better will be to get some food in you to refuel your energy.”

That sounded lame, but I still waited for an answer. Nothing. Then she started to snore. She fell asleep.

Great, I thought, I have about sixty chicken nuggets to myself now.

As if Jon heard my mental complaining, he appeared on the other side of the booth.

“I hope these aren't all for you?” He said taking a bag.

I smiled and held a finger to my lips, “Quiet. She’s asleep.”

Jon just laughed and grabbed another bag. I stomach rumbled. It would be good to get some food in me too. I though back on it. I haven’t eaten anything since Camp. I reached into the bag when Jon froze. “Turn around slowly,” he said. I slowly turn around trying not to move Nicole. When I saw what he saw, I froze too. At the register stood two of the female guards from the airport. They were holding up a paper. I didn’t need to see what was one the front to know they were after us.

Jon shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “You think those are the dracaena from the airport?”

“No doubt,” I said, “Now let’s get out of here.”

We cleaned up quickly and left. Nicole was grumpy about being woke up for a second time but she fell asleep once we got moving. I drove so Jon could get some rest. An hour later the gas station was a fair distance behind us.

“You sure you’re good enough to drive?” Jon asked, crawling to his bed set up in the back, “I don’t want to get into a car crash.”

I stared straight ahead to avoid throwing a punch, “I’ll be fine.”

Jon grunted and settled down in the back. Soon I heard louder snoring coming from the back. I kept driving down the highway, heading north.

“You are a good friend.” A voice said from the passenger seat.

I probably would’ve jumped out of my seat and got us in a car crash if it hadn't been for my seat belt. A woman just appeared in the shotgun seat. She wore a t-shirt and jeans. She had long black hair and a beautiful face. She could of passed for a mortal. But mortals don’t just appear in a van going 60 mph. They also don’t radiate immense power. She was an immortal.

Please be a goddess, I silently prayed. After the dracaena, I didn’t want things to get any worse. Her stormy grey eyes focused on mine.

“Mom?” I asked.

“Yes.” She replied, “Keep your eyes on the road.”

I turned back to the road. I had drifted over two lanes and was going 20 miles over. Smooth. I slowed down ad straightened out the wheel. Athena reached over and touched the wheel, “Now we can talk.”

I still kept my eyes on the road. I didn’t want to drift again. Athena sighed, “The wheel is enchanted. You don’t have to worry.”

“Oh,” I muttered. I turned to face her. “ Aren't you not, um, supposed to talk to your children?”

“We cannot directly help you.” She answered, “But we can talk.”

“Okay. But why now? Why not when we’re stopped? Would that be easier?”

She shook her head, “My son, this will be the only time I will be able to talk to you alone.”

“Okay,” I said again, still confused.

Athena rolled her eyes, “Moving on, I know you have a question for me.”

A million thoughts ran through my mind. Since she is a goddess, could she tell me the next Powerball numbers? How about my future? Or how to get rich? I decided to know more about my quest.

“Why Coeus? Why stop him instead of Hyperion or Atlas?”

Athena pursed her lips, “Coeus might not be as well-known as the others but he is still a Titan and therefore a threat. You friend Percy will take care of Atlas. Hyperion, we will deal with in the future.” She leaned back and rubbed her temple. “Coeus has been quiet for the past few millennia. As you know, he has pledged himself to Kronos. We know Hyperion, Atlas, and Krios have already returned to Orthys. Prometheus is edging towards Kronos. Many minor gods are too. Coeus has not yet moved his forced to add to Kronos’s. He is a force we can stop. And I believe you are the one who can stop him.”

Wow. Talk about belief. My mother, the all-powerful goddess Athena, thought I could stop a Titan. That is a lot of trust she had in me. Thunder rumbled in the sky. Athena looked up and seemed worried.

“I've been here too long.” She said, staring at the sky. “Zeus doesn't want any more immortals missing.”

I nodded. At camp we had hear that Artemis was MIA, which is why Percy, Thalia, Grover, and some of Artemis’s hunters went on a quest. Athena leaned over and whispered, “I believe in you. Your friends will be of great help later on. Good luck.”

She touched my forehead and everything went black.


For once I didn’t have any dreams. I woke up lying in a queen size bed. How did we get here? I remembered my conversation with Athena. She must have set us here. I heard some loud snoring to my right. Nicole was passed out in another bed. I heard a snort and found Jon crashed on a couch on the other side of Nicole. I grabbed the clock on the desk in between the two beds. 9:40. Dang, we slept long. Being the person that I am, I decided to wake them up in an interesting way. First, Jon. I walked over to him, calculated my angle of impact, and body slammed him. He let out a quick grunt as the air flew out of him. I had to move fast before Jon could speak, he might warn Nicole. On the way I hit the time set button on my watch, causing my sword and shield to appear into my hands. Next to Nicole, I bashed my sword and shield together. Clang! Nicole yelped and fell out of the bed. I laughed and fell down to the ground.

“What the heck?” Jon gasped.

I got up wiping a tear from my eye, “You over slept.”

“You could’ve got us up without being so mean,” Nicole pouted while leaning on the bed. Her hair looked like it had been through a tornado. I gave her a sarcastic smile. She punched me in the arm, hard.

In 2 more hours we were ready. Nicole alone spent an hour and a half in the bathroom. I will admit her hair looked nicer when she came out. After his bathroom time, Jon sat on the bed and ate all of the breakfast we ordered.

I came out of the bathroom, flattening my hair, “You guys ready to go?”

“Not yet,” Jon said, “I still have to pack.”

“Dude! We were here for one night.”

“Couldn’t find my toothbrush.”

I shook my head. Nicole walked up to me and squeezed her hand into mine, “I am.”

I gave her a smile, “Jon, just come find the van when you are ready.”

I had to let go of Nicole’s hand to put on my backpack and pick up hers. As soon as I had both packs she held my hand again.

We took ten minutes trying to find the can. Why couldn’t Athena get us a better parking spot?

I unlocked the car and threw the bags into the back. I went to the back seats were Nicole was waiting for me.

“Day two,” she grinned.

“Huzzah,” I said half-heartedly.

“Ryan, don’t worry. You are doing amazing. We had a rough start with those dracaena but you handled it great.”

Then Nicole kissed me. That lifted my spirits up. I loved it when she did that. I smiled.

Nicole stopped kissing me, “Don’t smile. It makes it harder to kiss.”

We kissed again. Nicole threw her arms around my shoulders. I put my hands on her hips. She put her hand on my chest and gentle pushed me back. I didn’t resist falling onto my back. We continued kissing. My arms were wrapped tight around her back. We switched sides and I was above her. Nicole gripped my head, her finger going through my hair. We stopped for a moment and stared into each other’s eyes.

“Um…”

I jumped and turned to find Jon standing in the driver’s doorway. His cheeks were a bright red. I felt hot-faced myself. I looked back at Nicole, whose face had gone maroon. Jon shuffled his feet. “Sorry,” he apologized, “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

To break the awkwardness I laughed, “You’re fine. We should probably get going anyways.”

I gave Nicole another quick kiss and crawled into the shotgun seat. Jon shifted the gears and drove us out the hotel’s parking lot.

About 3 hours later, we pulled off into a town called Plattsburgh, which was still in New York. We had to refuel and I was getting hungry. I let Jon find us a place to eat because I was too busy trying to estimate where we might find Coeus. I figured he was somewhere in Canada and we had about an hour drive until the border. The car jerked to a sudden stop causing the maps to tumble to my feet. As I was picking them up, the engine died.

Jon grinned that joker grin, “How about this place?”

I tried to read the sign on the door, but with my dyslexia, all I could read was Msronte Dnuot.

“Monster Donut?” Nicole translated.

Monster Donut? That name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t put my tongue on it.

“Donuts are a type of food you can eat at any time of the day.” Jon said proudly.

They both were staring at me. This place didn’t sit quite right in my mind, but my stomach growled. My hunger beat out my suspicion. I nodded and we walked in.

Inside of Monster Donut, there was nothing to get suspicious about. As we opened the door, one of those electric bells went off. Its walls were an annoying turquoise and the floor was tile. A teenage girl with long blonde pigtails sat behind the counter, texting on her iPhone. When she saw us, she looked up and pocketed the iPhone.

“Hi!” She said very enthusiastically, “And welcome to Monster Donut. How can I help you three demigods?”

I frowned. How did she know we were demigods? Nicole seemed to be thinking the same thoughts as me. Jon didn’t seemed fazed by this, “Yeah, I’ll have 2 chocolate covered ones, a sugar coated, and, um, one of the glazed with sprinkles.”

“Okay she said pushing buttons on the cash register, “Will you two be having anything?”

"I don’t think we should be here.” Nicole said pulling my hand towards the door.

The girl gave a big smile, “No need to worry, young demigod. Everything will be fine soon.”

I put my hand on Jon’s shoulder, “We should go.”

The girl just laughed, “There is no leaving.”

I ignored her and turned around. Two more girls were standing in the door. There were identical to the one behind the counter.

“We will be honored by Kronos for spilling the first blood of the new war.” The one behind the counter, I decided to call her Number One, sneered. The other two laughed an evil laugh.

I hit the time set on my watch and my sword and shield appeared in my hands. Jon pulled his daggers from his belt and another hidden in his sleeve. Nicole was frozen to the spot, eyes wide with fear. The girls hissed in unison at the celestial bronze.

“No hero can defeat us,” Number One, and then began to change. Her skin turned white, her eyes completely read and she grew fangs. And then her hair burst in to flames. I was expecting the fire alarms to go off any moment. She hopped over the counter and a metallic clang echo from when she hit the ground. She had a pair of mismatched legs, one was a donkey’s leg and the other a human leg made of bronze.

Nicole recognized the monsters, “Empousai.”

Number One laughed, “Congratulations, you know what we are.”

The other two laughed too.

I stepped forward, “Look, we don’t want any trouble.”

Number One smiled, “But we do.” Then pounced. I lunged at her chest. It should have killed her, but she was too fast. She side-stepped then clawed at my head. I brought my shield up just in time. Her claw hit with more force than I thought possible and I went flying. Nicole screamed. My back hit a glass window, I heard a crack, prayed it wasn’t my back, and fell onto a table. My vision cleared enough to see Number One flying through the air towards me. I rolled off the table not a second too soon. Her claws grazed my t-shirt, tearing up the sleeve. She flew past me and smacked face first into the window with a wail. I quickly got to my feet and swung my sword at her dazed body. As soon as the celestial bronze cut into her she turned into monster dust.

I turned to Jon and Nicole. Nicole was still rooted to the spot. Jon was struggling to fight the empousai and protect Nicole. It was an unfair 2-on-1 fight. He had claw marks all over his chest and arms. The monster weren’t evaporated, so I guess Jon hasn’t gotten a hit on them yet.

He needed my help. I charge into the fight. One of them branched off to fight me. This was the one Jon was focused on and took a step after her. The second empousai saw this opportunity and kicked him in the chest with her donkey leg. Jon dropped his weapons in surprise, stumbled backwards, and tripped over a table leg. On the way down, he hit his head on the counter and didn’t get back up.

The attacking empousai brought my attention back to her. She swiped downwards at me. I side-stepped and slashed down. She wasn’t as fast as Number One and she poofed into dust. I turned only to get body slammed to the ground. When the world stopped spinning, I was on my back with the empousai crouched over my chest.

“Your death will be the beginning,” she hissed. She raised her left hand. Weird, a leftie. Then I saw the wicked looking claws, now so weird any more. I closed my eyes, waiting for my emanate death. When it didn’t come, I slowly opened my eyes. The empousai was gone. In her place was a dagger.

“No one hurts my friends.” Nicole said through grit teeth.

I got to my feet, awestruck, “That was amazing!”

She gave me a small smile, looked at the dagger in her hand, and then fainted. I caught her before she hit the ground. Great, two unconscious demigods. The smoke alarm started. I better get us out of here before we get into more trouble.

Nicole came to first.

“What happen?” She asked.

I flashed my award winning smile, “You saved my life that’s what happened.”

She climbed into the front seat. She sat there rubbing her forehead. “Everything is a little bit
fuzzy, what exactly happened?”

I told her the fight, exaggerating her being the great heroine and me the poor defenseless boy in distress.

“Did I really kill that empousai?” Nicole asked.

“I wouldn’t be driving this car if you didn’t. This quest would have been over.”

She gave me a grateful smile then looked out the window. She was silent for a while then the snoring started. She was asleep.

“How does she do that?”

That was Jon. I checked out the rear view mirror. He was sitting up rubbing the back of his head.

“I swear she could be the daughter of Hypnos instead of Apollo,” he said.

I laughed, “How does the kid of the big old war god feel?”

“Gods my head hurts. What happened?”

I repeated the battle I told Nicole, toning down the part about me being the boy in distress part.

Jon whistled, impressed, “Dang, that was very brave of her.”

“Yeah,” I replied, “It took a lot of guts to fight those monsters.”

“Hey, I fought two of those things.” Jon pointed out.

I laughed again, “You also got knocked out by them.”

“Don’t laugh,” he said defensively, “You didn’t fare so well yourself. She had to save your sorry behind.”

“I killed two of them though.”

“Blah, blah.”

We both cracked up. Jon looked down at his shirt and yelped.

“Did you not think to give me any nectar or ambrosia?” he whined.

“No.” I admitted, “I was in a hurry to get us out of there and I was the only one conscious too. There should be nectar in the back.”

Jon grumbled something unintelligible then crawled in the back, “By the way, where are we?”

I risked a glance at my map, “My guess is we are about 10 minutes from the Canadian border.”

Jon grunted. He came back to the front wearing a U.S. Marines shirt. He wants to enlist into them once he is done with camp. You could ask that kid anything about them, he knows his stuff.

“Those empousai ruined one of my favorite shirts,” he said, “That shirt was from when I got stabbed by the flag from Hephaestus cabin.”

I laughed remembering that stain. The flag missed his body completely but he would tell you a story, in which the flag impaled him in the gut, and then he fought off twenty campers, and ran the flag back himself. The truth is he got in the way of Clarisse and she wasn’t going to stop. I had to pull him out of the way to avoid death by flagpole.

“Don’t laugh.” Jon said defensively, “I was very tough and brave getting that flag.”

I laughed even harder, “Dude, if I didn’t pull you out of the way you would have been a sheesh-kebab.”

Jon just grinned at me. Normally the guys from Ares cabin are jerks but Jon was the exception. When he got mad you could tell Ares was his dad, but most of the time he was an awesome guy to hang out with. He had a good sense of humor, he would listen to you, and will treat you the way you treat him.

“Here you go.” Something landed in my lap. I quickly glanced down and saw our passports.

“Way to think ahead,” I said complementing him.

He shrugged and I laughed. We were getting somewhere now.


First of all, if you love snow, beautiful scenery, and beautiful scenery covered in snow, then Canada is the place for you.

The second thing you notice is the giants. These are not your kill-you-then-eat-your-flesh Laistrygonian giants, but the peace loving Hyperborean ones. They each stood about 30 feet tall with blue skin and white hair. Like I said, they were peaceful. They just walked around the landscape, picking up random objects and playing with them. I saw one using two full grown bull moose as easily as I would use a toy.

Jon eyed them warily, “Those things hostile?”

“Nah, those are Hyperborean giants. They are way peaceful.” I said.

I heard a gasp from the shotgun seat. Nicole must’ve woken up.

“It’s beautiful,” She whispered.

“Yeah, if you take out the giants,” I joked.

I turned back to the road, something was gnawing at me, something didn’t feel right. Then we got hit. My body flew to the right causing my head to whip. I lost my grip on the wheel and we flew off the road. Nicole screamed as we rolled down a hill. The van hit something and came to a complete stop. I slowly sat up, my head throbbing. When my vision cleared, I saw Nicole leaning against the crushed door. She was awake but had a cut above her right eye which was bleeding badly. I hear a low moaning coming from the back. I quickly turn to see Jon lying on the ground in bad shape. He didn’t have his seat belt on so he had it pretty bad. He was unconscious for one, his left arm was bent at an awkward angle, and blood dripped down from his hair line.

I shook my head, eyes still fuzzy, “Nicole, I need you to get our bags outside. I’ll take care of Jon.”

Nicole continued to stare at a spot, shocked. I shook her and she shuddered and looked at me. I repeated what I said then she nodded and headed into the back. I opened the door and clumsily fell out. I struggled to my feet and forced the door open. Jon was even worse to look at up close. His left arm was definitely broken. I leaned in a grabbed his shoe, praying his leg hasn’t broken either. I slowly started to drag him out when an engine roared behind me.

At the top of the hill was the sickest Harley-Davidson I’ve ever seen. It was black with a flame decorated engine. It had shotgun holsters on both sides of the bike. The only thing I didn’t like was the seat; it looked to be made of human skin.

The man riding the bike was much scarier than the empousai. He looked like a member of one of those violent bike gangs you see on TV. He was wearing worn-down jeans, a skull t-shirt, a leather jacket on top of that, and a blood-red bandana over his long black hair. His face would have been handsome if it hadn’t had so many scars. I looked at his eyes and jump, they were flames. His eyes locked with mine. That moment I saw terrible things; my friends lying dead, family also dead, Camp Half-Blood in flames. I shook myself clear of his gaze, figuring out who he is.

“Hello cousins,” Phobos said dryly, “Looks like you’ve had some trouble.”

I don’t know if my quest could get any stranger. One day in and I have fought empousai and dracaena, and now have met two gods. Phobos pulled out a knife from his belt and started picking at his fingernails.

He sneered, “What happened here?”

“Something hit us while we were driving down the highway.” I said suspiciously.

“What about Jon? He looks hurt.” He said craning his neck to peer over me. I could detect the fake worry in his voice.

“He’s hurt pretty bad. Could you help us?” Nicole asked.

Phobos stepped off the bike and checked his reflection in the knife blade, “Why would I want to help?” He sheathed the knife and looked at me, “When it is my desire to stop you.”

I was confused, “What?”

Phobos started to pace at the top of the hill. “The Olympians have no respect for us minor gods. They treat us the same way they treat demigods.” He spat a lougie. “When Kronos is in charge, we will get the recognition we deserve.”

I stood there shocked. A god wanted us dead, that’s just great. Instinctively, I reached for my watch. I stopped when something cold and sharp stuck into my neck.

“Not so fast, demigod.” The sword wielder said. He walked in front of me. He had even more scars on his face than Phobos. He wore a similar biker’s outfit too. They were probably a team. My brain couldn’t remember who hung out with Phobos. Nicole beat me to it. That was the second time this quest.

“Deimos,” She squeaked.

The sword dude, Deimos, laughed, “Well the pretty lady know who I am.”

“Back off,” I warned.

“You’re in no condition to be giving orders.” He dug his sword deeper into my neck.

“Deimos, that is enough!” Phobos ordered, “The Athena child is mine.”

“Why do you get the best one? I got a girl and an unconscious brother, that’s not fair.” Deimos
yelled back.

Nicole shot me a look. I think it said, we need to get rid of these losers. Man she is awesome. Her right hand extended so all five fingers were out, then four, three. I glanced at Phobos and Deimos, who were still arguing. When Nicole ran out of fingers, I knocked Deimos’ sword to the side and tackled him to the ground. I used my momentum and rolled off of him. I hit my watch, not caring for what came just needed my weapons. In seconds I was in full battle armor. I glared at him through my owl faced helm. I spun my sword around in my hand. Deimos stood 5 feet away growling.

“Here’s your chance to fight the best one,” I taunted.

Deimos roared and charged at me. He lunged at my chest. I knocked his sword away and hit him in the face with my shield. He stumbled backwards and tripped over a snow covered tree root. I glanced at the top of the hill. Nicole was fighting dagger on sword with Phobos. Phobos was forcing her to only play defense with his strong offensive. I looked back at Deimos and he was gone. Something told be to go to the right, so I did. A sword cleaved through the area where I just stood. I turned and Deimos swung again. I got my sword up too late. I managed to direct it away from my heart. Unfortunately, the place it went instead was my left shoulder.
The sword sank all the way to the hilt. I screamed in pain. My shoulder was on fire. I punched
Deimos in the gut, he doubled over, and then I brought my sword hilt down on the back of his head. Deimos crumpled to the ground.

I fell to one knee. My shoulder was still on fire. I dropped my sword and grabbed the hilt of Deimos’ sword. Very slowly and painfully, I started to pull it out. My shoulder was in agonizing pain. With a final quick jerk, the rest of the blade came out. I picked up my sword and looked up the hill.

Nicole wasn’t fighting anymore. She was on her knees crying. Phobos stood over her, eyes glowing bright red. I tried to run up the steep hill, but with my shoulder it was impossible.

“Nicole!” I yelled, “It’s not real! Phobos is showing you what you fear most.”

If Nicole heard me, she didn’t show any reaction. If anything, she was crying even harder now.

“Nicole! Focus on what is real! Us! This quest! Come on!” I pleaded.

“Foolish, demigod,” Phobos laughed, “No one can break my power.”

Nicole struggled to her feet, “Your overconfidence betrays you.”

Phobos was stunned, “What? How?”

Instead of answering Nicole stabbed at him. Phobos, still stunned, managed to jump back. He wasn’t fast enough, the dagger went two inches into his hip. He howled. He turned to me, eyes glowing, “This isn’t over.” He snapped his fingers and vanished. He and the unconscious Deimos appeared on the motorbike. He revved the engine once and they were gone.

Nicole ran down the hill and into my arms. Ouch. She hugged me tight. I bit my tongue to keep from yelling out. Nicole had her eyes closed shut.

“It was terrible,” she sobbed, “he showed me Deimos killing you and Jon. My family all dead!
Camp burned down to the ground. It was so realistic. Oh, it was awful.”

She broke into a fresh wave of sobs. She buried her face into my chest, and I winced. I lifted my right arm and gave her a tight one-armed hug. Nicole pulled back and put a hand to her face. Her fingers came back red with my blood. She looked me in the face with wide eyes.

“Ryan, you’re so pale.” She started inspecting my body, “You’ve been hur-“

Nicole found the wound. Her face was a mask of concern, “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“You are more important than this wound, I’ll live.” I replied, “We should get Jon out of the
van too.”

“Not until you get some ambrosia,” Nicole ordered.

I laughed, winced, and then said, “Okay, get the bags; there should be ambrosia in them. I’ll get Jon out.”

She gave me a quick nod and vanished to the back of the van. I stood in the open door and assessed how to get him out. I grabbed his leg and pulled slowly. I stopped him at the door.
Grabbing his not-broken arm I sat him up. I put the arm around me and started to drag him away. I got that same feeling that I had right before Phobos hit us. I turned to the van,
“Nicole! Get out of there!”

The van exploded sending Jon and I backwards. We hit the hill hard enough to knock my breath away. My head whipped back and hit a rock. My vision was fuzzy as I sat up. The van was a flaming wreck.

“Nicole,” I whispered.

I fell back onto my back. My sight started to go dark. I saw a head appear above me. It looked around, long black hair whipping around.

“Help us,” I said weakly, and then passed out.