Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed this story! I really appreciate it! So normally, I wouldn't post a new chapter this soon, but since I am still on break for school, I figured why not? I'm going to try to write a lot before school starts next week so I have a backlog of chapters to post (hopefully weekly-ish) and so this story doesn't have to go on a long hiatus. I'm hoping this semester won't be too rough though! And if I figure out a regular posting schedule, I'll tell you! Anyways, here's chapter two!

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan so I do not own the Percy Jackson series.

As I stepped out of the Arch, I was greeted with pure chaos. Police cars and ambulances were everywhere, and emergency personnel were dashing around, talking to each other on walkie talkies. Civilians were running around and screaming, and the police were struggling to contain the crowds. My heart sank. It would be nearly impossible to find Percy Jackson now. I decided to follow my instincts, however, and ran towards the bank of the Mississippi River, where I assumed Percy would be.

Most people would be surprised that my first thoughts weren't of finding my family and telling them that I was alive and unharmed. It was highly likely that they thought I was seriously injured, or even dead, after all, there was now a huge, gaping hole in the side of the Arch. My mom was surely having a panic attack at this moment and thinking the worst. These things were all secondary thoughts going through my mind, but I knew that first it was imperative for me to find Percy first. Don't ask how I knew it, or why I chose to find Percy first- it was just sort of a gut instinct that I had, like a little voice in my head was telling me to do it.

I followed the Mississippi River for about a block when I saw Percy literally step out of the river, completely unharmed. He even appeared to be completely dry. I wasn't sure whether I should approach him now, or wait for him to recover from his fall for a minute before I did. While deliberating between the two options in my head, the two others that were with Percy in the Arch ran up to him, looking incredibly relieved. They talked for a moment, and then they started to walk away. I knew that I would lose them in the crowd if I tried to follow them without getting their attention. "Wait! Percy!" I shouted.

The three of them turned around, frightened, and the two that were with Percy seemed to encourage him to walk faster to get away from me. Percy, however, recognizing who I was, motioned for them to stop, and hesitantly, I approached them.

Percy looked confused. "You were in the Arch too, weren't you? How did you get down here already?" Then his eyes widened in horror. "The others...are they alright? I wanted to help- I had to jump though."

"Yeah, I was in the Arch. After the monsters disintegrated, I went through an 'employees only' door, and took the stairs all the way down here. I know this is going to sound crazy, but as you were about to jump, a golden bow with two arrows sort of appeared in my hands. Once you jumped, I shot the monsters, and they turned into dust. Then I knew I had to get out. I didn't want to be questioned, and I knew somehow that you didn't die from the fall," I explained.

"Echidna said that she wasn't expecting there to be another half-blood. She must have meant you. You have to come with us. We can get you to safety," Percy said. "We were just about to leave-"

"But Percy, the quest. And how do we even know to trust her? We don't even know her name, or anything about her. She could easily be a monster in disguise," the girl said accusingly. I could tell that she didn't trust me and that wasn't happy about me being there.

"I'm Meghan Hart. And I promise, you can trust me. I honestly have no idea what is going on. I just need answers, please."

"Annabeth, I heard Echidna call her a half-blood. She has to come with us. What if more monsters show up? We have to help her get to safety," Percy pleaded.

The other boy with them spoke up. "I think Percy's right. Meghan doesn't smell like a monster. I knew that your half-blood scent seemed stronger when we were at the Arch. I definitely smelled another half-blood."

The girl, presumably Annabeth, sighed. "Fine. But we have to get out of here now. You heard the reporter back there talking about Percy."

The three of us ducked into an alley, then ran to a train station. I bought myself a ticket, thankfully having just enough money at the bottom of the backpack I carried with me and then followed Percy, Annabeth, and the other boy to a train. We didn't talk at all until we were seated on a train and it left St. Louis. I know most people wouldn't have done what I just did, but after the events at the Arch, I figured why not trust three strangers and travel west with them by train? If they tried to hurt me (which I didn't think they would) I could defend myself again, probably...

I was the first to speak. "Okay, so I guess this is the part where you'll give me an explanation of what just happened."

The boy whose name I didn't know replied. "Well, if you didn't know, he's Percy, she's Annabeth, and I'm Grover. You said your name was Meghan, right?" I nodded. "I guess I'll start from the beginning. Meghan, what do you know about Greek mythology?"

"Um, I know the basics, I guess, from what I learned in my English class this past year," I replied.

"Ok, contrary to what you might believe, the Greek myths are completely real. The gods, monsters, and everything," he said slowly, as if he was allowing me to absorb it all.

To be honest, I wasn't that shocked at what he was saying, especially after what I had just seen. It was absolutely crazy, but Grover seemed like he was being truthful. "The monster, Echidna, called Percy a half-blood. Then she called him a son of Poseidon. She called me a half-blood as well. Does that mean-"

Grover interrupted me and continued. "In the Greek myths, the gods always came to earth, fell in love, and had children with mortals. These children were half-bloods, also known as demigods, and they were heroes. The same thing happens today. Percy is a son of Poseidon. Annabeth is a daughter of Athena. I'm not a demigod, however. I'm a satyr." He motioned to his feet, which I just noticed were actually hooves.

I gasped. "That explains everything, like all the weird stuff that's happened to me, and why I never knew my father, and why my mom was so reluctant to talk about him." Then I realized something else. "My mom! She doesn't know what's happened to me. Do any of you have a cell phone or something that I can contact her with?"

Grover shook his head. "Cell phones send off a signal that attracts monsters to demigods. I can try to help you contact your family as soon as possible, however."

I sighed, and honestly just hoped that my mom would figure I was safe. It was possible that the others in the Arch with me would say I was there and didn't die. I still had questions anyways. "So I'm a demigod. And that means… my father is a Greek god?" I said that very slowly, still trying to process the concept. "Who is my father, then?"

"I don't know. Usually the gods will claim their children. At least, some of the time. Once you get back to camp, you might be claimed."

"Camp?"

"Camp Half Blood. It's the only safe place in the world for demigods. You might be claimed there, and that would determine which cabin you stay in," Grover explained.

"Why aren't you at Camp Half Blood then?"

"Percy was issued a quest. Zeus' master bolt was stolen, and Percy, being a son of Poseidon, was blamed. A while back, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore not to have any demigod children. Zeus broke the oath first, and then Poseidon did. Zeus and Poseidon's relationship has always been quite rocky, so obviously, Zeus was really mad when he found out that Poseidon broke his oath. He's accusing Poseidon of trying to usurp his power, so we're trying to prove Percy innocent by retrieving it," Annabeth explained. "We are certain that Hades stole it, so we're going to Los Angeles to get it back from him and return it to Zeus by the summer solstice. If we don't, war could break out among the gods."

I was sort of confused about why Zeus was so mad, since he broke the oath first, but Annabeth seemed to get a bit upset when mentioning that, so I decided not to ask about it. "But why aren't we going to Greece, then? Wouldn't the gods be there?"

"No. The gods moved with the heart of Western civilization, so they're in America now. Olympus is in Manhattan, on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building. The Underworld is in Los Angeles," Annabeth explained further.

I guess that all made enough sense, but I still had a headache from all the information I was getting. I had just fought a monster and run off on a quest with two half-bloods and a satyr to find out that the Greek gods are real and that one of them is my dad. "Wow, that's a lot to process" was all I really could say. Everyone stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Percy broke the silence. "So, Meghan, tell us about yourself, I guess."

I took a deep breath. "Well, you know my name is Meghan. I'm twelve, and I just finished sixth grade. School has always been kind of a struggle for me. I get decent grades, but I'm dyslexic, and I have some ADHD. Despite my dyslexia, however, I really enjoy English class. I also really like biology."

"That's usually around the age when demigods first go to Camp Half-Blood. Also, a lot of demigods are dyslexic because their brains are hardwired to learn Ancient Greek, and many are ADHD because it helps with battle reflexes," Grover interjected. "Sorry, continue, Meghan."

"I live with my mom, and she just married my step dad, Chris, and he has a son, my step brother, Matthew. He's eight. Like I told you before, I never knew my dad, like I haven't even seen a picture of him. All I know is that my mom met him when she was in college, and she had me right after she graduated and got her degree. I like to act and sing, and I also run cross country. And that's sort of the basics about me, I guess. What about you all?"

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover continued to tell me about themselves, and how they each got to Camp Half Blood. Like me, Percy only recently found out that he is a demigod. They told me about the quest so far, and the prophecy, and finally, Percy explained how he had been summoned by his father to Santa Monica. After that, we continued to chat about Camp Half-Blood. I told them about the weird things that happened in my life that made it more clear that I was indeed a demigod. Eventually, it got dark, and after a stop in the dining car, the four of us decided to try to sleep. I was exhausted from that day and from trying to process everything I had been told, so I fell asleep almost instantly after closing my eyes.

Of course, upon falling asleep, I immediately began to dream. I was back in the same place as last night's dream, standing at the same abyss as before.

The same sinister voice spoke to me once again. Nicely done, young demigod. With the assistance of your father, you managed to defeat Echidna and join the trio on their quest. Now I will remind you once again: I want you to bring them to me at this exact location. You do this, and I offer you power, wealth, and fame in the world that I will rule. However, if you choose not to, I can guarantee that you and your loved ones will not be able to avoid the consequences.

Then everything went black.

Ok, so that's chapter two! Don't forget to review! Also, sorry if this chapter was mostly filler/explanations and is on the shorter side. The next one will see some more action, I promise! I did think about combining this chapter with the next, but it didn't really fit to me, and I liked the chapter ending this way.