The sound of waves crashing flooded my ears. I instantly sat bolt upright, wondering what had happened. Daytime had settled in, and the sun shone in my eyes. My throat was sore and several of my teeth ached. My clothes were damp; I had no injuries from the incident with Cetus. I was sitting in warm sand on a beach, but where? I scanned my surroundings, looking for my friends. I saw Joel and Jessica, still unconscious. I hoped. I searched frantically for Kylie. Then, I found her. She sat looking out to the sea, her hands supporting her head. I rushed up to her.

"Kylie, are you okay?"

She nodded.

"What's wrong?"

Kylie shrugged indifferently. "I guess my morale's just down."

"Why?"

"Think about it, we just nearly died! Heck, I don't even know how we made it out of there!"

"On the bright side, we're okay."

"I guess so."

"When do you think those two will wake up?"

"Hopefully soon, we're in… Florida, I think. We need to get to New Mexico… joy!"

The pain in my teeth got the better of me, "Gosh, what's with my teeth?"

"I think whoever rescued us gave us some Ambrosia, or maybe Nectar." Joel had told me about the food of the gods and how Demigods could use small portions of it for healing. But one thing stood out in her comment: "Rescued?"

"Think about it, we were in the open ocean, miles from any land. A sea monster smashed our boat… now, look where we are, Florida!"

"Obviously a deserted part of Florida…" I muttered, noticing the lack of other people.

Joel and Jessica eventually came to; we walked into the Florida wilderness, hoping to find civilization… or gods.

Joel turned to look at us, "Guys, I think I hear someone, let's go…" he pointed in front of him, "that way!" We kept walking until a long, shrill scream pierced my eardrum. I looked over my shoulder, expecting to see a giant scorpion or something, but instead, it was Jessica, who had a small spider on her leg. I thought Athena kids were afraid of spiders. He scream was so loud; a few birds flew from their perches in the trees. We helped Jessica regain her sanity and kept pushing on. Then the trees started rustling.

"What was that?" Jessica asked.

"Just ignore it," Joel replied, "it'll be better that way, save us some stress." The rustling intensified. Birds began flocking to the branches, watching something. Watching us. They looked just like ordinary pigeons, except they had strange, sharper beaks. Their eyes were trained on us, making me uncomfortable. One of them squawked and the rest stared at us.

"Oh, no," I said, "This is bad."

"Stymphalian Birds…" Joel trailed off.

"Okay, cover as much of your skin as possible!" Kylie warned, pulling her summer jacket over her head. I couldn't do much, because I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, so I curled into a ball on the ground.

The Birds spread their wings. What happened next surprised me. They swiped a wing across their bodies, flinging silver feathers towards us. My first reaction is to stay calm, it's not like they can hurt. That was before the feathers stabbed into my arms. Thank the gods I covered my head with my hands. The flock swarmed around us, pecking at my skin. I felt a warm liquid trickle down my arm. Everything seemed like it was coming to a close. All of our lives, the quest, and Joel's hope of one day becoming a country music star (but you didn't hear it from me). All of it.

Suddenly, I heard a, "P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-poker face!"

Oh, joy, I'm going to die listening to Lady Gaga, I thought. Then, the pecking sensation ceased. I struggled to stand up; everyone else was covered in small open wounds. Standing near us with a stereo was a handsome young man around eighteen or so. He had a similar look in his eyes to Kylie.

"You… saved us," I choked.

"I know, right?" He snapped his fingers, and the wounds that covered my arms and some of my face disappeared, the same happened to Joel, Kylie, and Jessica. Kylie smiled and ran over to the guy and gave him a hug.

"Oh, "I said, "Is he your brother?"

"No," Kylie replied spitefully, "This is my dad!"

"Oh…" I stood staring at him for the most awkward few seconds of my life. What? Apollo was a young looking guy! I thought he was Kylie's brother!

"It's cool," Apollo replied, "does this help?" He snapped his finger again and took on the appearance of a guy in his mid-thirties.

"You have no idea!" I replied in relief.

"I thought gods weren't allowed to help in quests." Joel said skeptically.

"Oh, so you don't want my help?" Apollo asked.

"Oh, no, we need it more than ever!"

Apollo's face became grim, "I came to tell you guys how much trouble Olympus is in. Morpheus grows more powerful by the minute, gathering minor gods and angry Demigods for his rebellion. Seth," He pointed to me, "Your father has been kidnapped."

Did he seriously just say that? I mean, I knew gods can't die, but the fact that he was kidnapped stung me. "What?" I asked, completely shocked.

Apollo nodded, "Morpheus apparently saw it fit that Hermes is out of the picture."
"Well, tell Zeus about it!"

"Zeus is too angry at Hades to do anything."

"Why's he angry?" Jessica asked.

Apollo shrugged, "It's really more of a matter of Hades being angry at Zeus, who in return, is angry at Hades."

"Okay, then why is Hades angry at Zeus?"

"I really don't know."

"Okay," Kylie said, "So let me get this straight: Morpheus is getting more powerful while Zeus and Hades scream at each other. Sounds like it isn't a coincidence."

"Exactly, I've warned some of the other gods, Athena believed me, but no one else."

"That's a start," Joel replied.

"Plus, have you ever seen Athena? I mean, seriously, she's smoking―"

"Dad, give it a rest. She's a maiden. Forever."

"But, come on, Kylie," I said, "Couldn't you be a little more open like your dad?"

"Never in your dreams." She replied.

"Actually, the other night…"

Kylie gave me a cold stare.

"… I'm going to shut up now."

Kylie nodded and smiled, "Good choice."

"Be careful," Apollo warned, "You have no idea what lies ahead, go to the nearest road, Kylie, you'll find your car there."

"Thanks, dad!"

"Also, Seth," I expected the classic get-away-from-my-daughter thing but instead, he said, "Careful who you hang out with."

I nodded, not knowing what he meant.

"I have to go, guys," Apollo said. He kissed Kylie's forehead. Kylie looked away, so did Joel and Jessica.

"Look away," Joel said.

"Why?"

"Do you want to erupt into flames?" Joel asked.

"Heck, no," I replied.

"Then look away."

I did as he instructed. There was a bright flash of light, and Kylie's dad was gone.

"Whoa," I said after a few seconds, "Dude, Kylie, your dad is awesome!"

"I know, right?"

"Say, what does Athena look lik―"

"Seth, don't be stupid." Kylie snapped, half-joking.