THALIA GRACE-DAUGHTER OF ZEUS & AMELIA GRACE

AGE: 12.

LOCATION: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

I managed to decipher the front of the magazine: AMY GRACE-DEAD! It showed a picture of the famous movie star. I flinched. Standing next to me, Luke frowned. "Thalia, I don't know…"

"I know what you're going to say," I interrupted. "I'm not going back. I don't care. She didn't care!" I leaned against the magazine rack and felt tears come to my eyes. "I'm not going back. Ever."

Luke sighed. "Your mother is dead. If you want, we can head back. I don't know how long we'll be able to keep the monsters away from us here in California, but the only city we haven't tried yet is San Francisco."

"San Francisco," I repeated. "Sounds good to me." I was already trying to forget the magazine. It wasn't working. Mom was dead. Dead. Like Jason? No. I refused to believe that Jason was dead. Jason was surely alive…He was only three. Three years old, and my brother goes missing. Forget Jason, I told myself. He's...gone. Mom's gone. Dad's gone. All of them are gone. All I had left was Luke, a son of Hermes. He was my friend, and my only shot at a safe life I had left.

"Our parents aren't going to help us now," Luke reminded me. "My father abandoned me. Your father left because of your mother. We're on our own."

We walked out of the store. "No, were not." I stared ahead.

A huge hellhound was running at us. Luke took out his sword, Backbiter, and slashed at the hellhound. It dissolved into mist.

I heard screaming, "DIE MONSTERS DIE!" Luke and I exchanged glances and ran towards the noise.

A little girl with blond hair and gray eyes stared up at us. "Kill the monster!"

"We did," Luke muttered. "Who are you?"

"Annabeth."