Chiron went silent on the other end. He did not know what to say. A child of the big three was rare, well, not as much as it was years ago. But that the child had survived almost to eighteen was impressive.

"Sir?" Alex said on the other end, forcing Chiron out of his thoughts.

"Right, well, this is a situation," Chiron said. "Monitor them, Alex," he continued. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"I think there's a monster hidden in the school," Alex explained. "I haven't pinpointed the exact location yet, but I'll keep my guard up at all times."

"Good, if danger increases, bring them to camp half-blood immediately." Chiron moved his hand through the missed and their connection was severed, leaving Alex in the bathroom by himself. He turned off the water and walked out, almost colliding with Mark and Sean.

"Sorry guys," Alex laughed nervously. "Where are you going?" the two were in a hurry to get out of their dormitory, which was the worst idea possible for them to think of.

"Just going to look around campus," Sean responded with a sparkle in his eyes. "Would you like to join us?" Alex hesitated for a split second, but instantly nodded his head.

"I need to learn this place, anyway." Mark smiled, and the trio walked out of the room together. They walked through the halls, which had gotten quiet because of everyone getting used to their new rooms and surroundings. Some of them were most likely tired and relaxing, mostly. Alex glanced at Sean's arm and noticed a tattoo that look similar to a pitchfork. "What's that?" Sean glanced at his arm and saw the curved tattoo and a line straight through the curve.

"Oh, it's a tattoo." Sean responded, but Alex rolled his eyes.

"I know it's a tattoo, but why does that look like a bident?" Alex asked.

"It's not. It's a tattoo for a game called Bloodborn," Sean answered. "I guess it does kinda look like a bident." Alex shrugged his shoulder. And the group had arrived at one of the further hallways in the school when a hissing sound emerged. Alex noticed around the corner that there was a large shadow that resembled a snake. He paused, and the shadow grew small. "What was that?" Sean asked. Alex pretended not to catch the smell, but it hit his nose with a lot of strength. The smell was not human, nor was it an animal. It was the smell of a monster.

"I think we should get back to our room," Alex warned. "I have a bad feeling about this place." Mark groaned, Alex frowned, from Mark's posture, Alex had a bad feeling that Mark wanted to attack it head on.

"What are you afraid of?" Mark asked. "Let's find out what we heard."

"I'm sure it's nothing more than the wind." Sean agreed. The two made a move to step forward, forcing Alex to stand in front of them.

"What part of: Bad feeling, don't you get?!" Alex exclaimed and grabbed his roommates' arms. Another push, and Alex forced the two to turn around. Taking them back to their room. Despite their protests, the two were indeed tired and would much rather go to bed instead of staying out any longer. 

***

The very next day rolled around. The sun shone brightly on Mark and Sean's faces, making them sit up in their own beds. It was a new day in Mark's new home and new school that he still did not want to be in. He sighed and walked out of his room at the same time Sean followed. Their hair was a mess, and they still wanted to stay at home.

"Another day, a new adventure." Mark said.

"I can't believe it's the next day already." Sean responded.

"Let's get ready. I'm actually quite hungry." Mark answered, rubbing his eyes. They walked into their kitchen, where Mark opened the fridge and Sean made some coffee. Mark wasn't used to making his own food, but it was time for him to learn. He just hoped that he wouldn't destroy the kitchen or even the whole school. Mark was in the middle of making some breakfast when Alex came downstairs.

"I bet today is going to be a good day!" Alex said enthusiastically. "What classes are you two taking?" Mark finished making breakfast and placed food on the plates. Sean poured coffee into three cups then placed it on the table.

"I have Greco-Roman History followed by English." Even though Mark did not enjoy learning about Greco-Roman history, at least he could survive as much as he could. And it all turned out well since Sean had similar classes. Though he couldn't help but think about things going wrong. He shook his head, assuming that he was only being ridiculous. Finishing up their breakfast, the trio walked out of the dormitory and made their way toward the other classes where students were going through and scrambling to get to their first period. A few quick turns and the three made it into the classroom. There were fifteen students altogether not counting them. They dealt with a few problems, but at least they found their seats. The teacher at the front, a woman named Ms. E, stood with her arms crossed. An eyebrow was raised, and she looked at them disapprovingly.

"Glad the three of you could finally join us," she said. Sean let out a small smile, and the trio got to their seat. The late bell had gone off and Mark was already getting his items out of his bag. "Now that we're all seated, I'll hand out your textbooks for the year." Ms. E handed out Greco-Roman history textbooks, Mark opened it and started flipping through the book, but his dyslexia kicked in and he had to rub his eyes despite the letters switching around and forming strange letters he hadn't seen before. Mark frowned and glanced over at Sean. Sean was rubbing his face, giving Mark the sense that he was struggling as well. "Everything okay Mr. Fischbach?" Ms. E asked, forcing Mark to snap out of his focus. The minute that Mark looked at Ms. E, he tried to remain calm as he swore he saw that the teacher had two snake tails on her.

"Yeah," he said, unsure of what else to say. "Everything is fine." Mark held back the dyslexia and ADHD problem. This was a clean slate for him. Ms. E nodded her head and grabbed a small piece of white chalk. She scribbled on the board, writing out names of every Greek or Roman that ever lived. The class went by slowly and already Mark was struggling to stay calm and moved uncomfortably. Mark glanced at Alex, who was currently chewing on the tip of his pencil. Worry and concern shone over his face and Alex constantly glanced between him and Sean. The rest of the class period went by in a blur, each student filing out of the classroom towards the end of the period. The trio was last to leave, and they gathered their belongings, making their way toward the door. But before they could set foot in the hallway, Ms. E cleared her throat. The trio paused and turned to face her.

"Mr. McLoughlin, Mr. Fischbach, I need you to stay behind." She said. Alex pirouetted on his heel and got between Mark, Sean, and the teacher.

"We should go guys." Alex said. The teacher scoffed, like they had stabbed her in the chest.

"Don't worry Alex, they'll be out in a minute," she said. "I just need to speak with them." Mark nodded toward Alex, but despite his protests, Alex walked out of the room and closed the door. Ms. E walked toward it and locked it.

"What did you want to talk to us about, ma'am?" Sean asked politely. Saying nothing, the teacher walked over to the blackboard and erased the information.

"Did you really think you could hide here?" Ms. E asked. Mark and Sean glanced at each other, then at the teacher, in confusion.

"I don't understand." Mark responded, his stomach in knots.

"You thought it was a good idea for your parents to hide you here, Demigods?" she continued. "I won't keep you much longer." She turned to face them and blurted out in straight laughter. Light formed around her and she grew in size. Mark and Sean backed away, stunned. Her legs split, forming two large snake tails and her head became grotesque, hair became more serpent-like and her lips became black, all over her body instead of normal skin. Scales appeared and seemed to ooze out a disgusting liquid.

"What did she just call us?" Sean asked but stopped himself the minute they saw the serpent body Mark and Sean's eyes widened. Standing before them was a half woman and half snake.