Hey guys! Thanks for reading this. I'm sorry if you've already read this. It was part of a story I delete but I liked it so I'm reposting it. Will add the second chapter soon.

Have you ever met the kind of person who if you never saw them again ever it would still be too soon? Yeah, trust me. I definitely know the type. But like I've said oh-so-many times before, my luck sucks.

It was the perfect summer Saturday. It was sunny with a slight breeze- the perfect kind of day for hanging outside with nothing more than a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. I was one of the many hanging in Central Park, all of us relishing in the sheer joy that is summer vacation. I had about a week before Camp started, but with nothing really important to do, I was walking aimlessly around the reservoir pond when I saw it.

A hellhound at least twice the size of Mrs. O'Leary was rampaging near one of the playgrounds. Its roar could probably be heard all the way across the park, but the Mist must have been pretty heavy around the monster, because no one was screaming and running away in terror. Yet. I uncapped Riptide and sprinted closer to the hellhound. Why does this kind of stuff always happen to me?

When I finally saw it up close, I wished I hadn't. It was easily as tall as a house, with none of the same compassion I'd seen in the eyes of Mrs.O'Leary. It looked a little ridiculous, however, because it was wearing one of those blue service dog uniforms: SERVICE ANIMAL. DO NOT PET WHILE ON DUTY. I couldn't help but wonder where you found one that big. Was it custom made? The yells of surrounding mortals knocked the sense back into me.

"That is the scariest German Shepherd I've ever seen," said one man.

"Do you think it's rabid?" asked a woman in a shrill voice.

"I thought the NYPD police dogs were better trained than this," remarked an old guy to his wife, squinting at the monster to get a better look. Many were starting to back away from it now; I heard a few one-sided calls to Animal Control, but most of them just stood and stared as it began to gnaw on the swing set and marked its territory in a very... undignified way on one of the trees nearby.

I sighed in relief. For once, the mortals weren't agitating it to the point of it attacking them. But I always have a tendency to jinx stuff like this. I heard a girl scream like she was getting abducted, and with a snarl, the beast turned to look at her. It bounded over to the bench where she was sitting, teeth bared.

Luckily (for once), I managed to squeeze in between the girl and the dog. Holding out my sword to get it to back off, I murmured, "Nice giant man-eating doggy. You can just run off now." For some reason, the monster didn't seem to want to listen. From behind me, I heard the girl breathe, "No. Freaking. Way." Could she see through the Mist?

I left that question for later, making a quick attempt to stab the hellhound while it was looking away. It felt like trying to stab steel wool. At least I definitely had its attention now. I paid no attention to the mortals now staring at me as I began to attack it. Swipes and slashes, stabs, and lots of dodging on both our parts left me and the beast panting, eyeing each other wearily. Some Hero of Olympus I was- I couldn't even kill this mangy mutt. Turning my back on the monster for just a sec, I tried to focus on my empathy link with Grover.

G-man. I know you're at Camp this week. Central Park. Hellhound. Need Reinforcements. The message didn't seem to go through, but as I tried again, I was interrupted.

"Percy! Turn around!" Someone yelled. Wait, how did any of these mortals know my name? New York couldn't be that small...

I whirled around just in time to see the hellhound snap at me with its tapered fangs. I stumbled all the way back to one of the rockpiles that Central Park is so famous for, the monster following me step by step. I found myself backed up against the stone wall, and the monster opened its mouth, wide as if to swallow me. With no better plan, I started madly chucking rocks into its gullet: tiny pebbles smaller than a grape and boulders so large I could barely lift them. Even with its powerful jaws, the beast couldn't chomp down on the rocks fast enough; it began to retch and choke on the incoming rockslide.

Temporarily distracted, I took the moment to plunge my sword right where its heart would be, and the monster crumbled into sand swept away by the wind. I put away my sword and turned around slowly, hoping the mortals had all left.

The people had fled, and there was just one girl remaining. She looked dazed. I realized that this was the girl who'd screamed in the first place. Walking towards her, I said, "Hey. Are you okay? That... police dog was pretty scary." She nodded mutely, her flaming red hair now dusty with monster ashes. Talk about taking a long shower tonight.

"How... where did it..." She mumbled, more to herself than me. I chose not to answer. Her gaze finally swept off the ground and met mine.

"Percy Jackson?" she asked quietly. Now I was officially confused. I looked at her calculating green eyes and freckly face, her crooked teeth that were practically screaming for braces. With a start, I recalled a distant memory of a field trip and a fountain.

"Oh my gods." I stuttered, not even able to believe it after all this time. The girl who had tortured me and my friends every waking minute for an entire year, and I'd just saved her freaking klepto podex.

"Nancy Freaking Bobofit."