Chapter 1

When i saw that unknown cellphone number on my handphone calling me, i never would have expected Grover.

First of all, my mum had only recently given me that phone, ignoring my objections towards it. I know, you're probably thinking i'm insane and although i have done things that can be used to prove that, this wasn't one of them. As a demi-god, monsters were always out there waiting to, well, eat me and by using a handphone, i would just be sending out a flare and making it easier for them to find me. And of course, i was against that. However, my mum insisted that i got one for emergency use, though i can't think of any emergency where my phone could help me kill a monster or something. What was i to do? Call the police? Yeah right. The mist would probably have them seeing cyclops as old grannies. anyway, since it was new, i hadn't added much of anybody onto the contact list yet so the unknown number could have been anyone's.

Secondly, the last time i had seen him, Grover had headed out to spread the news of Pan's death and to tell others his last words and advice, which was that the key to saving the wild was to work hard towards this goal themselves, instead of just waiting for a miracle to happen. I mean, how exactly could this be dangerous? At the most, the nymphs and satyrs would just pelt him with acorns, like, well, they have done before. It wasn't like that would give him a brain concussion or something, unless those acorns were made of metal and the throwers were steroid addicts.

Thirdly, why would grover, scared of sudden vibrations, have a cellphone?

When i picked it up, all i heard was his hyperventilating voice saying "Percy...(static)...help...(more static)...in Singapore, Northstar...(static getting real irritating)...trapped by..." and then he hung up. I frantically dialed the number again but it couldn't get through. I had heard about Singapore before and if i was correct, it was a country all the way in South-East Asia. America. South-East Asia. How exactly was i supposed to get there? Why exactly was he there? I mean, i know he was supposed to spread the message to nymphs and satyrs all over the world but couldn't he have finished USA first?

I ran out of the school, hailed a cab and got us driving to Annabeth's school. Grover sounded like he was in lots of trouble and i needed help on giving him my help and Annabeth would be good at that. On the way out of school, i met Paul and told him i had to go. He understood what i was saying(ever occured to you how often these emergencies happened?) and said he would cover up for me. I have to say Having a school teacher who was also your stepdad was a perfect combination if you were planning to make truancy a habit.

Taking the risk, i called my mum on her cell to tell her about Grover. I really wanted to help him and it wasn't like i didn't know where he was. However, this quest wasn't going to be in America, which is kind of weird considering how all the olympians are actually here.

"Percy?"

"hi mom."

"what's happened?" her voice was layered with anxiety and slight panic. This wasn't called an emergency phone for nothing.

I explained the situation to her and asked her to call annabeth to tell her about it too(one call received and one dialled was a bit too much for my nerves). After some hesitation, my mum reluctantly agreed to letting me go find grover, not only because he was my best friend and was in danger but also because she knew i was going to do it anyway, regardless of whether she gave me permission or not. She also knew she couldn't follow or anything because we were going to be fighting monsters. She didn't exactly do very well with the minotaur the other time.

When i finally reached Annabeth's boarding school, i found her standing outside, deep in thought. Her blonde hair blew with the wind, swirling behind her frowning face. I guessed she knew how very far we were going to have to travel to help grover. Of course, we could always inform Chiron and ask of him to notify the demi-gods in that area to help but the thing was, i doubted there were many there. Mount Olympus is their home so, surely, the gods wouldn't travel that far away from New York just to hook up with someone?

I got out of the cab, smiled at Annabeth and headed towards her. Unlike before, i was now one head above her. It totally rocked.

She grinned at me, her intense thinking expression disappearing in a "poof". I was glad we finally knew we had feelings for each other, instead of her thinking i liked Rachel and me thinking she wanted Luke. I kissed her lightly and her smile widened. She looked so happy it was as if i had just come back from a 5-year trip to Antartica, even though we, living considerably close to each other, saw each other almost everyday. Then again, she always looked this happy when we met and her smile was probably a reflection of mine.

She stepped away from me slightly then, pulling her mouth back to its usual shape and tried to look serious though her eyes still sparkled with glee.

"Ahem. We need to concentrate on the current situation first, seaweed brain." she paused, composing herself, then continued, " Grover, in case you haven't realised, is stuck in some faraway place and in danger. We could always go there and try to save him ourselves but we're really unfamiliar with that area and if we're close to dying, they'll be no back-up. Also, have you ever considered the amount of money needed and the time taken for a flight like that? I mean, i think taking an airplane's the only way, right?"

Oops. Never thought of that. In my mind, all that i had thought of was Annabeth and me dashing into the monster's lair and saving grover like previous times (i refuse to say "like old times" because i fancy 18 ain't that old).

"Maybe we should inform Chiron." Annabeth said to me since i hadn't said anything.

"What? But he might try to stop us, saying it's dangerous or something and anyway how is he supposed to help us?"

"i don't know how he could help us but i just have this feeling he will be able to...and also, I think Chiron, of all people, will know how much saving Grover means to us and how, considering what we've done before, we don't really take danger into consideration. "

"Hmm...good point"

With that, we left for our much-loved camp.

Okay, so it kinda sucks but do read chapter 3! Out of the first 3 chapters I am posting now, that's my favourite.