I was standing on top of a cliff. Down below were were wooden spikes, ready to go through me if I fell. A voice urged me to jump.

     "What's wrong? Don't be scared. You'll be alright." the voice seemed to come from the sky, "If you can't even do this, how are you supposed to save those you love?"

      "But I might die. Plus, I-I'm afraid of heights." I admitted.

     "You must overcome your fear soon." the voice said, "Or you will lose everyone you care about."

     Then I realized that this was all just a dream. Suddenly everything began to blacken and I heard someone calling my name.

     "Jake! Jake! Wake up! Please!" 

     The voice sounded familiar. Mom.

     When my vision turned completely black, I awoke.

     "Jake! Jake! Wake Up!" 

     "What is it mom?" I said sleepily.

     She yanked my arm and I fell off the bed. I landed on the ground hard. When I stood up, I got a good look at her face. She looked frightened. 

     "What's wrong?!" I asked.

     She ran to my closet and grabbed a pair of black jeans and a red t-shirt. "Get dressed. Now!"

     I quickly obeyed and put them on as fast as I could. What happened to her? She's never acted like this any of the eleven years I've been on this planet. When I was dressed, I looked at the clock.

     3:53 A.M.! Why in the world are we up at this hour? Before I could ask anything, she grabs my arm and pulls me out the door. She runs through the hallway and I struggle to balance since I kept jerking forward because she was still holding my hand.

     When het outside, she digs in her pocket and brings out her car keys. She then sprints toward out car which was parked two house to the right due to the cars our rich neighbors, the Durksons had. I was still jerking forward by the time we reached the car. She lets go of my hand, finally, and goes around to sit in the driver's seat. 

     "Get in!" she yells.

     "OK, OK." I said as I tried to open the passanger's seat door, "It's locked!"

     She gets in and opens it from the inside. I quickly open it and get in. Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm supposed to be thirteen to sit in the passanger's seat blah blah blah.........   but mom looked like the world was ending.

     Before I could close the door, she hits the gas petal and speeds off.

     I close the door and quickly put on the seat belt. 

     "Mom!" I yelled. 

     She ignored me.

     "What's happening?!" I yell louder.

     "They found you." she said.

     "They who?!" I began to get irritated.

     "The monsters." she said with a grave look on her face.

     "Ha ha ha ha ha. Nice one mom." I laughed. Then I got a look at the speedometer. 

     We were going 160 miles per hour!

     "Mom, slow down!" I yelled.

     She ignored me again.

     I looked out the window. The New York city lights were beautiful as always.  As I looked out at the city, I caught a glimpse of a house crashing down. Next to the fallen house, I saw a giant creature. It was at least ten feet tall or more. It wore battle armor and had a giant club in its hand. The part that really caught my attention was its one eye on its face. It cant be......

     I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing random things, but it still stood there. As we sped farther away from it, the more I came to believe that what I just saw was a-a-a cyclops.

     "Mom, is that a cyclops?!" I yelled while pointing at it.

     She finally took her eyes off the wheel and looked at where I was pointing and gasped. "Why did you say it name?!" she yelled at me.

     "What's wrong with that?!" we were now yelling at each other.

     I looked back at the cyclops to find it doing what I think was sniffing the air. Then It looked directly at me. What?! It heaved its club a little higher and headed off running toward us. Thank god it was slow.

     "Mom, you better step on it!" I yelled.

     "What do you think I'm trying to do?!" she yelled back.

     I looked back at the cyclops again. Big mistake. I screamed with terror, which wasn't really the manly thing to do. My mom jumped and accidentally veered the car left, hitting another car that was parked next to the curb. She hit her head against the steering wheel and blood began to drip from her forehead.

     "Mom! Are you OK?" 

     "I'm fine honey, just a bump." she said while smiling at me.

     She obviously must've hit her head on the steering wheel harder than I thought. 

     "Just a bump?! Are you crazy?! Lets go get a doctor!" I said.

     "Please don't worry about it." she said as she put the car in reverse mode and then in drive, speeding off again like nothing ever happened. 

     I used all my strength and managed to rip off some of my t-shirt and held it out to mom. "At least use this." I said.

     She smiled and took it with her left arm and held it against her forehead. She was the most skilled person I knew who was able to drive with one hand so well, so I wasn't that worried.

     After a few minutes of driving, (and me resisting the urge to turn around to look at the cyclops), I fell asleep and had another dream.

     I was once again standing on the same cliff I was on before. I took a look under the cliff, hoping to find that the spikes were gone, but unfortunately, they were still there. 

     "Why can't you do it, Jake?" the voice from before boomed from the sky once again, "Don't you want to save her?"

     "Her who?" I asked.

     "I mean Emily," the voice said.

     "Mom?"

     "Yes, Jake."  it said, "Hurry and jump and then you might be able to save her."

     I hesitated.

     "Hurry! Before it's too-" it never got to finish because my vision began to blacken again and I woke up.

     I woke up to find myself being carried on someone's back. I immediately recognized the scent as my mom's. "Mom?"

     "You're finally awake." she said.

     All of a sudden, we heard giant footsteps. It became louder and louder until my eardrums felt like they were going to burst.   

     "Can you walk?" she asked.

     "Of course." I reply.

     When she set me down, I took a look at where we were. "Mom, where are we." I ask.

      "This place is called Half-Blood Hill." she said.

     "That's a weird name." I said.

     She smiled. "I guess so."

     The loud footsteps got our attention in a zip. She sprinted up the hill and I chased after her, barely being able to keep up.

     Don't get the wrong idea. I'm actually faster than her, but waking up this early in the morning made you tired.

     I was dark out but I could see my mom running ahead of me and a faint glow in the distance. 

     All of a sudden, she came to a stop. I quickly stopped myself and halted a few inches from her.

     "We wont make it." she said. I could sense the terror in her voice that she tried hard to hide.

     "Make it where?" I asked.

     "Camp." she replies.

     I was confused now. "So we're going to a camp? Really mom?" I said.

     "Not 'we', you are," she said, "And it's not any ordinary camp. It's meant for special people like you."

     "Wh-" I began.

     "No time to waste. Get running and don't look back! I'll be right behind you!" she yells, "Go!"

     I obey and run like my life depended on it, which it really did. Now that my life was on line, I was full awake and covered lots of yards quickly as I ran. "So mom," I said.

     I turn around to find that she wasn't there. I stop and look around but she was nowhere nowhere to be found.

     Suddenly I felt a gust of wind as something flew by me. I turned around just in time to get a glimpse of a woman sailing by me.

     "Mom!" I exclaim.

     She crashed down a few feet from me. I quickly run to her and kneel beside her, ignoring that there was a cyclops chasing us.

     "Mom!" I yelled again.

     She had a very deep wound in her stomach and blood was coming from her mouth. Tears began coming from my eyes and wouldn't stop.

     "Don't cry," she said as she slowly lifted her hand and wiped away my tears, "I knew this was going to happen, Jake, and I accepted my own fate. So please, don't cry."

     "Mom, please! Don't go!" I yelled.

     "You must make it up the hill, Jake." she siad.

     "No one cares right now mom!"

     "Please can you smile one last time for me," she said, "Please?"

     With all the tears on my face and sadness in my heart, I managed my best smile for her.

     She smiled back at me. "Good. Now go, please, I'm begging you." she said, "Goodbye, my son."

     And with that, she went silent and lay there motionless. She was dead.

     "Mom!" I yelled at the top of my lungs

     I got up and turned around to find the giant cyclops in full view.

     It made loud roar that shook the ground beneath me. I bent down and grabbed some dirt from the ground and looked directly at its one eye and then made up my mind.

     I charged.

     The cyclops heaved its club and swung. I let my instincts take over and I quickly duck, allowing his to take off a strands of my jet black hair, instead of my head. When the club stopped by its side, I quickly run to it and clim on. I was so glad that I was a good balance or I would've fallen off and killed myself instead of it killing me. I charged toward its ugly face with anger filling my mind. It realized what I was doing, he swung his giant arm, hoping to knock my off. I immediately dropped to the floor and the giant arm swung over my head. The wind almost knocked me off but I hung on. When the arm bassed me, I charge again. When I was in punching distance, I threw the dirt and jumped off its arm as quick as I could. 

     As it roared in agony, I charge up the hill, remembering what mom had said. 

     When I reached the top I almost fainted at what I saw.

     The monster was wraped around a pine tree. On one of the pine tree's branches hung what looked like a golden fleece. The monster's yellow eyes never took their gaze off me as I walked closer, hiding my fear.

      A dragon, I thought as it began to unwrap its body around the pine tree and stood up.