A loud shriek escaped from Ms. E's mouth as she swung her tails until it wrapped around Sean's body. "Sean!" Mark exclaimed. The snake lady laughed evilly and threw Sean across the room. He cried out and hit the wall. It took Mark a moment to realize that the teacher was actually Echidna, the mother of monsters in Greek Mythology. She turned toward him next.

"And now for you, Fischbach!" She swung her tail and attempted to wrap it around his waist. Instinct kicked in and Mark dove out of the way. Her tail barely missed his head. He hid under a desk despite it not helping him much, and Echidna's tail had swung and knocked over a lot of desks. Mark yelled and dove out of the way yet again. 

***

Alex had been standing outside for a good while, so when he looked through the window he jumped back and kicked off his shoes. Trying the handle, it wouldn't budge, stepping back he jumped up and kicked the door open, he reached in his bag for a sword that he had hid with powerful magic.

"Mark!" Alex yelled seeing that Mark was looking between Echidna and Sean. "Get to Sean! Hurry!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Mark sprang to his feet and ran over to Sean who started to recover. The monster swung her tails again tripping Mark with one of them and sending him sprawling onto his back.

"I knew there was something off in that hall last night!" Alex yelled tearing Echidna's attention away from Mark and to him. "Leave them alone!" Echidna laughed and swung her tail striking Alex in the chest he groaned as his back hit a computer on the opposite side of the room.

"And I should have known you'd been involved, Satyr!" Echidna yelled.

***

Mark looked over at Alex's feet and, rather than seeing bare feet, he saw hooves. Sean groaned and sat up. Mark crawled over to him and helped Sean stand. Echidna took another swing at them this time they ducked. The two raced for the door, doing their best to get out while they still could. Sean safely got out but Mark paused and saw that Alex was ready to take on Echidna.

"Go!" Mark yelled. "I'll hold her off!"

"Don't! Mark, she'll kill you!" Alex yelled, but Mark grabbed Alex by the arm and shoved him out the door. He turned back to the monster and attacked her with all his might. The fight went on and Mark nearly got his ass kicked. He didn't take chances, and wished he could get his hands on a sword. Something formed in his hand and he saw it was in the shape of a blade. Smirking the blade weighed balanced in his hands and avoiding another attack, Mark parried Echidna's tail attack. He studied her movements and saw that she was only using her tails, which made things easier since her tails could reach further. But the minute she used her tails again, he created a distraction and sliced her second tail clean off. She screamed in pain. With the distraction in place, Mark ran out of the room, giving Alex the chance to tie the door knob.

"What the hell is going on?!" Sean demanded. "What was that thing and why did she call us Demigods?!"

"I don't have time to explain. Come on, we have to leave." Alex said.

"He's right, and even though I distracted her, it's not gonna last long." the trio ran down the hallway, all they could hear was screaming and banging. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He'd summoned a weapon out of thin air and sliced a monster's tail. "Where are we going?!" Mark yelled.

"A place where I know we'll be safe." Alex said, with no specifications. They ran out onto the street, where students were watching in surprise. Mark didn't quite know what they were looking at, but all he could see was the monster in the room yelling. Wherever that place was, Mark wanted to know. He watched as Alex pulled out a golden coin, which he then tossed it onto the road. It glowed and out of it came a yellow taxicab.

"What the hell?" Sean said. "That can't be possible."

"Either way, we got to get going before that thing comes to get us." Mark said. Sean nodded, and the trio climbed in. There were three old ladies who were driving it. Even though Mark would want to question it, he stayed quiet.

"Where to?" the women had torn up clothes and their hands were so green and boney that Sean swore they were monsters.

"Long Island Sound! Go! NOW!" he demanded. The drivers started the car and drove faster than light toward Long Island. Mark and Sean held onto the seats, keeping themselves in place. Mark had his eyes closed, wishing that he could keep his mind off the drivers.

"How in the hell have they not gotten a ticket yet?!" Sean exclaimed, holding on for dear life. "Please tell me when it's over!" Sean closed his eyes. They didn't know how long they'd been on the road, but eventually the car seemed to stop. Mark uncovered his eyes and saw that they were at the base of a forest, mostly dark. Mark and Sean checked everything to make sure that they were still intact. They climbed out, followed by Alex. 

***

Out of everything Sean had to be stuck with, he had to be stuck with Mark and a strange goat man, whatever he was. He remembered what the monster called him. Well, two things: one she had called Sean and Mark Demigods and two she called Alex a Satyr. He'd never heard of a satyr before, even in his own culture. Pushing his thoughts aside, he stared at the large amount of trees that lead to practically nowhere. His stomach turned, and he didn't know what to do or how to react. But the amount of shadows within the forest strangely made him feel at home. Shadows were also a place in which he enjoyed being in. They were dark and anything could hide in the trees' shadows.

"Why are we standing at the base of a forest?" Sean asked. The driver started the car and drove away, causing the group to watch and witness the cab disappear into a strange mist.

"Because this is where camp is going to be," Alex responded. "Come on." The trio walked through the forest, which had so many creepy creaks and groans from the trees and a gentle breeze blew through them, making the trees touch each other, touching their branches. They were walking for a long time when they heard growling.

"Anyone else hear growling?" Mark said. The growling grew nearer and Sean paused, expecting something to jump out of the bushes.

"What growling?" Sean asked. When Mark stared past him, Sean gulped nervously. "Please tell me that there's nothing behind me." Alex and Mark backed away. Sean glanced at Mark's hand and noticed a sword had formed.

"Sean," Mark warned. "Don't make any sudden moves."

"There's something behind me, isn't there?" Sean asked. Mark and Alex nodded. Sean turned around and came face to face with a large black dog. It growled, showing its teeth. The creature was ready to attack. Foam came out of the corners of its mouth. The friends turned on their heels and took off running. Alex ran ahead of them, but Sean didn't feel like the creature was a threat. It needed to be calmed down. The dog chased them, weapons in hand. Sean stayed as close to Mark as he could.

"What is that thing?!" Mark exclaimed.

"A hellhound!" Alex yelled. "They're Hecate's animals!"

"Why is it in our world?!" Sean yelled. "Shouldn't it be banished to the gates of hell?!"

"Don't call it the gates of hell. They show up on our land if someone has summoned it!" The trio took a few sharp turns but eventually neared a large gate with words written on it. Sean read it easily: Camp Half-Blood.

"Get to the gates!" Sean ordered. "I'll meet you on the other side!"

"Sean?!" Mark yelled as Sean turned to the creature. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"You got to trust me!" Sean begged. Mark nodded and took off ahead of Sean. The young Irish man watched his friends cross the threshold to safety. Sean approached the dog and held out his hand. Telling the dog that he would not hurt him and that he could be protected. The dog paused as if registering what Sean was doing. The hellhound's eyes were as black as night and Sean didn't think about anything he was doing. Like any other dog, the hellhound sniffed at Sean's hand, his tail thumped at the ground and its tongue was sticking out. Surprised that the dog would listen to him. Ignoring his friends, he lifted his hand and placed it on the dog's head. "It's okay Finbarr," Sean remained calm. "My friends are nice people. Come on." Sean and Finbarr approached Mark and Alex. Sean saw the look of shock on Mark and Alex's faces when the hellhound hadn't attacked them.

"Let's get inside." Alex said, allowing everyone, including the hellhound, inside. 

***

Alex, Mark, and Sean walked into the camp. He was home. Of course, the sight impressed Mark and Sean. Alex saw the excitement on Sean's face. Cabins were in different parts of the camp, from the hills to the U at the center of the camp. Another cabin, the cabin of Hades, had recently been included at camp, but it didn't leave off with campers. Hades was one of the big three gods.

"Mark, Sean," Alex said. "Welcome to camp half-blood!" Alex held out his hands in a gesture to show the entire camp. Alex had left his shirt and pants. He'd revealed his goat-like hindquarters and small horns on his head gave him a more comfortable sensation.

"We have a lot of questions that need to be answered." Mark said. "What is this camp? Why were we attacked by the Echidna, and what is a demigod?" Alex turned to Mark and Sean. Sean was busy petting his new dog, and Mark had his arms crossed.

"Half-god, half-mortal." A voice said. Mark jumped and turned to see Percy Jackson standing right behind them. Percy was an eighteen-year-old demigod with sea-green eyes and brown hair. His camp half-blood shirt stood out with the camp necklace around his neck.

"Um, who are you?" Sean asked.

"Meet Percy Jackson," Alex said. "The counselor for cabin three, and the son of Poseidon."