Hey, my name is Hunter Bond, I never knew either of my parents;my mamma and daddy died in a car crash when I was six months old. My parents worked around finding odd jobs wherever they could. One day my daddy was driving and saw my mamma walkin' on the side of the road, naturally, my daddy pulled over and picked her up. He took her home and well, this led to that and nine months later, I popped out.

I don't know what they were doing the night they died, but the police never found either of the bodies. I was sitting in my booster seat crying when they got there, a piece of the driver's seat hit me in the chest and nearly killed me. I still have the 'S' shaped scar from just under my right nipple to my left shoulder that reminds me of the day that changed my childhood.

I've always been a social person, people just come naturally to me, but if I really don't like you, you will be the first to know. Chances are you won't like me either.

It was the first day of summer, I had a week until summer workouts started, and I was anything but having a good day. All my friends were going to the beach, my girlfriend of two months broke up with me to be with some nerdy city boy, and my me-maw (who I was living with then) backed into my new truck. I wanted to crawl into a hole and rot. I was in bed when I heard the doorbell ring. I threw off my blanket, put on some jeans and answered the door. A short guy in a flat-billed hat was at the door. He had a worried face and curly blond hair.

"you have to come with me now!" he said.

"what do you want?" I growled back.

"being rude will not get you anywhere. You need to come with me now!" the man said.

I sat there a second. What did he want, I already didn't like him.

"we need to go now!" he urged.

I slammed the door and went to my room and got a shirt out of my dresser. It was a cut-off salt life shirt that said 'shut up and reel' on the back. I got my wallet and keys and put my Patagonia hat on.

When I got back to the door he was pacing on the wrap- around front porch with a fearful expression on his face. He looked up at me and seemed relieved that I came back out.

" shut up and follow me" I said harshly.

Without a word he followed me out to my truck.

When we got in the truck I lit a cigarette and said, "now, here I am. What do you want?"

"they're coming for you. We need to go to camp." he said.

"what the fuck, what camp? Who's coming?" I asked. At this point I was convinced he was crazy.

"Watch your language! You kiss your mother with that..."

"my mamma's dead, asshole!" I almost yelled.

"I'm sorry. Your only sixteen, its a wonder your even still alive!" he said, "definitely a son of ares," he said that last part under his breath.

"my daddy's name was James. Who the hell is ares?" I was about to kick him out of the truck at this point.

"I'll explain everything on the way. We have a long ride ahead."

"you'd better start explaining right now! I have half a mind to kick you out on the highway right here right now!"

he started explaining about some Greek gods and how sometimes they came down to earth and fell in love with humans. And that I was half god half human, a half-blood as he called it.

I threw the bud of my cigarette out the window. I was quiet for a long time, maybe ten, fifteen minutes.

"You mean to tell me that I'm half god, and that I need to drive to New York to go to some camp with a bunch of 'heroes' because nowhere else in the world is safe?"

"yes."

I busted out laughing. "i get it now. Jimmy put you up to this, this is all some joke to mess with my head! Good one!"

"no, no no! Don't you get it? This is real! I know you've seen things, I know you've seen monsters! They may not have attacked you yet because they don't think you're a threat. One eyed men, mean old ladies, creepy things, things you probably keep locked in the back of your mind. They're real! You're just too bull-headed to admit it! I've seen your type before, you want to keep it locked-up, cover it with a smile and some charm. It won't work! They will find you, and they will kill you!"

I hesitated for a second, "i need to stop and get some gas. If I'm gonna drive to New York I hope you can afford to get us there."

he let out a sigh of relief, "thank you," he said.

I pulled into an old gas station my cousin owned and filled up my tank. I cringed at the $80 it took to do it, I loved my truck but damn it was expensive. I went inside and payed for the gas and bought two packs of Marlboro reds and a can of grizzly.

I got back in the truck and started on the trip that would change my life forever.