It was basically a zoo. I think it stated in their prophecy that I would come to them while fighting the same beast my father did, but did the minotaur have to be accompanied by a fury, a gryphon, and a rogue telkhine?

Seriously, what kind of a combination is that?

The monsters were hideously noisy, but despite their differences, worked pretty well as a team. I had been facing monsters all week. I mean, I'm a demigod, what else is new? But the last few days have been non-stop. Unfortunately, that was the sign I had been waiting for.

The telkhine wasn't an immediate threat. It was slow and waddled behind the rest of the group as I was being chased. The fury was the most annoying; the gross thing wouldn't stop screaming. I ran a bit further, constantly checking behind me to watch the fury's movements. As the bird-woman dove down for an attack, I spun around onto my knees and held my sword out in front of me. The fury didn't see it coming and flew toward the blade head on. She was sliced in half, sending putrid yellow dust everywhere. Quickly ducking, I rolled under the passing legs of the minotaur, appearing behind it, bracing for a side attack from the gryphon who stood with talons ready to kill. I side-stepped the first swipe and caught the beast upside the head with my blade. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to do more than scratch it. Gods I hated these things. The gryphon screeched, and I did not hesitate to thrust my blade down the creature's open beak. Once yellow dust replaced that space, I turned to face the minotaur, who had begun to realize that the demigod he was chasing was no longer in front of him.

I breathed heavily, consumed with exhaustion. I have gotten in a lot of practice these past few years, but really, four monsters at once? Was I ever going to catch a break? The first two fights had worn me out, and my patience was growing thin. Becoming aware of the telkhine finally showing up to the party, I flipped the handle of my sword and thrusted it behind me, ending the telkhine's life with a squeal. This was it. Just me and the minotaur. I had always heard legends of my father, but no one had bothered to tell me how he defeated this ugly thing.

The minotaur charged and I side-stepped him. That was easy enough. He charged again, this time I threw in a shank for good measure, but the blade bounced off his armor like it had hit a lamppost. Have you ever tried to cut into a lamppost? Don't. It doesn't work. I sighed heavily. This time I made the first move, but before I could get close enough to do anything, the minotaur swatted me away like a fly. The landing was not smooth. Clutching my stomach, I started to get up, but the beast was on me again, picking me up and slamming me into the ground. Anaklusmos II flew out of my hand and landed more than fifteen feet away. My head was throbbing with an immeasurable pain and it was becoming difficult to breathe. I attempted to crawl towards my sword, but the minotaur guessed my motives. Picking me up once again, he threw me against a large tree. The impact was harsh, and I slumped down at the base of it. I managed to look over my shoulder at the large pine tree at the crest of the hill. If only I could make it past that tree. Finally, I turned my attention toward the more pressing issue at hand. Looking up, I saw exactly what I needed.

The minotaur advanced slowly, and my head fell to my chest. I was losing strength. The creature walked up to me triumphantly and ducked to fit its tall stature underneath the boughs of the pine. Just a little closer, I thought.

Finally, the beast reared his head and moaned in victory, when suddenly he found his mouth filled with a buzzing fog. This fog was no ordinary fog. In fact, it was a large swarm of raging bees. The uncomfortable stinging filled his lungs and burned his eyes as he backed out from underneath the tree. I rose to my feet and reached into my pocket, pulling out a bronze owl feather. I carved an A into the air, and the feather transformed into a leather bound sword. The second Riptide.

Exhausted and covered in bruises, open wounds, and blistering bee stings, I ran out from underneath the tree and confronted the minotaur, who was preoccupied with the hive lodged down his throat. With one powerful thrust, I pushed the sword into an exposed area on his side, screaming with anger and frustration, and did not remove it until the air glowed with dust. The beehive fell softly to the ground.

I collapsed onto the dust covered ground and was assaulted by the massive fog of stingers. Anaklusmos II reverted back to its feather form and found a place in my pocket once more. The trip up the hill would have been a piece of cake if all that had just happened hadn't actually happen. Instead, it took all of my strength to crawl through the wall of black and yellow bugs and work my way up the hill. I barely reached the top when the edges of my vision blurred black and the world around me disappeared.

...

When I woke up, I heard voices. I couldn't pick it all up but they were most definitely talking about me. "Saw her do it." "Killed a minotaur."

The voices came from outside. I was in a small, cabin-like room, lying down in a bed with heavy covers despite the hot summer weather. The room was normal enough. It could have even been someone's bedroom. Or at least I was pretty sure it could've been. I didn't quite know what a normal teenager's room was supposed to look like. But it couldn't be mine. If it was mine, I would have made sure there were more books. Otherwise, the furniture was fairly plain and there wasn't much to look at. The voices were more muffled now but I could make out someone saying shhh… The door opened and a stream of bright light entered the room. Before, the room hadn't seemed as dark as it actually was, and the now brilliant presence of light was almost blinding. I could see the silhouettes of two people in the doorway. A young man, who looked to be about my age, and a rider on a horse. Or no. Wait, that was one being. The horse was a part of the rider. Maybe I should have been shocked or frightened, but I was mostly intrigued.

I attempted to sit up, but a throbbing pain echoed inside my skull. I instinctively grabbed my head and grimaced. The young man rushed over to kneel by my bed and gently helped lower my head back down to my pillow. I looked up and was met by the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. And that's saying a lot. When you live on the street you get to see a lot of eyes staring at you with all kinds of glares. But his eyes were soft and caring. His irises were a deep rich coffee color, and his skin tone was just a bit lighter. His dark brows furrowed with a look of concern and his lips pursed together.

"Maybe I can get her more ambrosia or-" the boy started to say.

"No Will. You have overwhelmed her with care. I don't want to risk giving her too much. She just needs rest," the horse man said as he ducked through the low doorway and trotted into the room. He was much older than the boy, and his long brown beard and curly hair were beginning to grey. He wore a button-down orange shirt on his torso, and he wore nothing on his bottom half. But that may have been because he was a majestic white stallion from his waist on down. The boy rose to stand next to him, and I realized that he was wearing a t-shirt the same color as the horse-man's.

The horse-man came up to my bedside. Then, he spoke to me.

"Tell us dear, what is your name?"

I looked up at him and knew I could trust him. The orange shirts and the cabin-like feeling of the room were the deciding factors. I knew this was where I was supposed to come. I pushed aside the heavy covers and exposed my scarred arms and worn-out hands. Propping myself up on my elbows, I slowly spelled out my name with my hands in sign. K-A-T-R-I-N-A.

The horse-man's expression turned from happy to concerned. The boy who had helped nurse me back to health took a step back. My hopes crashed. I quickly signed, You can't understand me can you. Horse-man backed away as well, and whispered something in the boy's ear. He runs from the room. I became frightened. They will think I am a creep or broken. They were wrong. I will never belong here. He came close again and his gaze returned to a comforting place as he noticed my urgent expression.

"My dear, can you speak?" he asked me.

I shook my head no.

"How long has it been this way?" he inquired.

I just looked at him.

"Oh silly me, that was the wrong question wasn't it?" he paced back and forth on his front hooves and leaned in closer to me. "Were you born this way?"

I nodded my head yes.

"Well, you seem to know how to communicate," he responded as he retreated closer to the door. "We have a few people who might know what you are trying to tell us," he said with a confident grin.

As if on cue, the young man called Will returned. The horse-man acknowledged him and walked out, leaving Will and I alone in the room. He walked over to my bed and held out a hand. His hair was cut close to his head but was styled perfectly, and his smile was as bright as the sun. I almost didn't notice that he had asked me a question.

"Can you walk?" he asked with a dangerous smile.

I took his hand and attempted to get out of bed. I stood up alright, but I collapsed as soon as I took my first step.

"Woah I've got ya," he said as he slipped his arm under mine, giving me support as I walked. He looked over at me and smiled again; this time, I smiled too, and he let out a small giggle.

"My name is Will by the way," he told me in a voice that was cautious, like the words might hurt me. I smiled and waved a 'Hello Will' to him with my free hand. He laughed again as we walked out the door and down the steps into a large open area.

It was the most gorgeous place I had ever seen.

Everything was green. Not a overbearing 'GREEN' kind of of green but a soft and plushy 'green' kind of green. The grass was beautiful and rustled in the slight breeze. You could smell the fresh scent of strawberries, which were in season, flowering trees, and, unnaturally, sweat. I would say the smell of sweat ruined the peaceful view, but the view wasn't peaceful either. This place was most definitely alive. Teenagers walked from cabin to cabin, and there were all sorts of activities to partake in. There was rock climbing and sword fighting as well as archery and canoeing. A small sliver of hope returned as I took in the amazing sight. Yes, maybe I could belong here. I wasn't being stared at or even payed attention to. I wasn't the freak living in the alleyway anymore. I was a fellow demigod.

Will and I approached a large white house, much larger and more homey than the cabins that littered the area.

"I hope you aren't scared. I know it's a lot to take in. I was horrified when I first came here," Will stated with an empathetic smile. "Everyone here is really nice and you will fit in fine."

I smiled back but returned my gaze to the house. I began to get nervous. This part of my journey was never really explained to me. I was on my own again. I knew what I couldn't let happen, but had no clue what I could or should do.

"We are going to see Annabeth. She is the smartest one here. She can help. Then maybe I can figure out what you're saying." A look of embarrassment crossed his face. "I mean, so you can communicate with Chiron, and, you know, tell him stuff," he resolved as he looked down.

I smiled a little, but was captivated by that name. Annabeth. I was finally going to meet her. In person. I had been waiting for this my entire life.

Stepping through the doorway, we came into a large living room space with a ping pong table squished inside. Chairs circled the table, and some seats were occupied. The horse-man stood at the head of the table and Will helped me into a chair across from two other girls my age. One was buff and had an aura of fearlessness. Her brown hair was pulled back by a red bandana and the t-shirt she wore revealed her scarred arms, similar to my own. She was not smiling. In fact, she seemed rather concerned. The girl next to her did not share her expression. She had grey eyes which gave her a commanding presence, but a small smile was displayed on her face as though she had discovered a move which would win her a chess game. Her hair was also pulled back but in a ponytail, and it gave her an almost scholarly appearance, missing only glasses to complete the look.

"I realize that I may have forgotten to introduce myself," said the horse-man, "My name is Chiron, I am head counselor at Camp Half-Blood."

I was right. This was the place I was told to go. They had told me to contact Chiron as soon as I arrived, though I did it in a slightly different way than planned.

"You have already met Will. I'm sure he supplied a warm enough welcome."

I looked over at Will, who blushed slightly and nodded at Chiron.

"And these two young ladies will be helping you around camp for a while: Clarisse LaRou, daughter of Ares, and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena," Chiron stated while gesturing to each of them.

Both girls smiled warmly, nodding in my direction. I nodded back in recognition. That explained so much about their appearances.

"So," started Clarisse, "what's your name newbie?"

I looked down at my hands not wishing to do anything to ruin the good start I had with the two girls. I returned my gaze to Chiron looking for guidance.

"Go on, show them," he replied.

Slowly and hesitantly, I raised my hands and began to sign:

My name is Katrina.