Willow's P.O.V

My day so far can only be described in one word: sucktastic. My name is Willow Steiker. I'm 15 and currently go to the school Nancy's Lady's Academy (Just made that up) and have just been through a lot. Let's start from the beginning. It was a random Thursday and I was having lunch with my best friend Jenny. Everything was as it usually is: dull, boring, nothing special. Then I saw him. It was the creepiest thing. I looked out the window and saw a boy, about my age, maybe a year younger. He had dark hair that almost covered his black eyes. He had pale skin and wore a black, skull t-shirt and black jeans. Strapped to his belt was a 3 foot long black sword. That's not the freakiest thing. The freaky part was that he was staring right at me with an expressionless face. "Hey Jenny" I said. She had been going on and on about some prank her brothers played on her. She looked up from her sandwich. "Yeah?" she asked. I nodded over to the emo kid. "You see him, right?" I asked. Jenny looked over. "Yeah. He's staring right at you" she said nonchalantly, as if creepy guys stared at me all the time. "Isn't that kinda, I don't know, creepy?" I asked. "I guess" she said with a shrug. After a moment she looked over at him. "He's kinda cute" she decided. "He's making me uncomfortable" I said. Jenny rolled her eyes. "You know, when a guy stares at you it's a good thing, right?" I glared at her. "Fine. If it makes you feel any better, I'll go over and tell him to quit it." Jenny got up and started toward him, but he was gone. She looked at me puzzled. I just shrugged my shoulders.

The rest of the day was boring. I didn't get any of the stuff the teacher was saying. I couldn't read it because of my dyslexia and I couldn't bring myself to pay attention because of my ADHD. Also I didn't really give a crap. When school FINALLY got out, I decided I didn't want to go straight home. I veered off course and headed for the park. That is one of my most horrible decisions. All I did was sit down by a tree when a dog the size of a garbage truck attacks me. The first time I saw it, it was hiding in the bushes and failing miserably given its size. I swallowed hard, trying not to scream. I looked around and nobody seemed to even notice the dog. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed my bag and started to run. The dog started to walk toward me. I ran faster, earning some weird looks from other people. Well sorry but there's a freaking giant dog thingy after me! I made my way out of the park and ran toward a building. The dog was running after me now and was gaining on me even with the adrenaline rush I was having. I tripped and stumbled into an alley. The thing was looming over me, its glowing red eyes fixed on mine. I saw its muscules tense and I knew it was about to pounce. Just before it leaped at me, it crumbled to golden dust. WTF!? I looked up to see that emo kid who had been staring at me. In his hand was his sword, and on his finger was a skull ring. Despite his age, he looked like he worked out or something.

I opened my mouth but couldn't say anything. I was shaking badly from my encounter with the dog and also the fact that this creepy dude had a sword. He saw the terrified look on my face and his expression softened. He put away his sword and held out his hand to help me to my feet. I took it hesitantly and stood up. "Who the hell are you?" I managed. "My name is Nico di Angelo. What just attacked you was a hell hound" he said. I took a shaky breath. Am I going insane? I thought. "What's a hell hound?" I asked. Nico looked down. "Come with me" he finally said. I was too dazed and afraid to do much of anything but follow him. "Where do you live?" he asked. I don't know why I told him. Maybe it was the fact he just saved my life? I told him my address and we were on our way to my house in no time.

Nico knocked on the door and my mom answered. She saw him and my pale face. "What happened? Who are you? Willow are you okay?" my mom asked. "My name is Nico di Angelo, your daughter was attacked, but she's fine. Can I talk to you?" said Nico. My mom nodded and hurried us in. I sat down on the couch trying to process everything. My mom brought Nico to the kitchen where they began talking. They whispered to each other so I couldn't here anything, but I could see what was happening. Nico was explaining something to her and occasionally through me a glance. When he was done, my mom nodded though I saw a tear trickle down her cheek. She walked toward me. "Willow. You have to listen to me. Nico's gonna take you someplace safe. Do what he tells you. I have some clothes packed for you, in case this ever happened. I- I love you" she said. "What? Mom? What's happening? Where am I going? Mom? Mom!" I said as she shoved a bag into my hands. Nico grabbed my arm and we were gone. If I had to choose one word to describe the feeling, it would be nothing. We were in nothingness. It was black, cold, as if the shadows were bending around me. Then suddenly, we were on a hill with a pine tree on it. I could still feel Nico's grip on my arm. "What the hell was that?" I asked. "Shadow travel" he said simply, offering no more explanation. He dragged me toward the tree and I saw a dragon curled around the base. A freaking dragon! On its branches was a golden sheep skin. Nico paid the dragon no attention and kept walking. He looked tense and alert. Once we passed the tree he seemed to relax a little. I was still staring at the dragon in fascination as three people walked up to me. It was two boys who looked like twins and a girl holding hands with one of the twins. The two boys had mischievous grins on their faced. They had curly brown hair and brown eyes. The girl had pretty green eyes and blond locks. She had a flower in her hair. All three wore orange t-shirts that read "Camp Half-Blood" on it. "Hey Nico!" the girl said. "Hey" Nico responded with not a hint of enthusiasm in his voice. "Who's the new girl?" asked one of the twins. "Willow Steiker. I need to talk to Chiron. She's all yours" said Nico pushing me toward the three teens. With that, he walked away. The girl stepped forward. "I'm Katie Gardener" she said with a smile. "Travis and-" the guy holding Katie's hand said. "Conner Stoll" the other finished. "Welcome to camp!" they said at the same time. Katie rolled her eyes. "Has Nico told you about what you are and stuff yet?" she asked. I shook my head. "My mom said he would take me somewhere safe." Travis spoke up. "You know anything about Greek mythology? Well, as weird and messed up as this may sound, they're all real. The Gods, monsters, heroes? Real." I stared at him. My brain just couldn't process it. Katie swatted his arm. "Don't be so blunt. You're scaring the poor girl." "C'mon. We'll show you around and prove it" said Conner. Conner and Travis both hooked their arms around either one of my arms and began to drag me away.

Camp was incredible.