My name is Harley Allen. I'm the same age as Percy, who's my childhood friend. We met when we were 7... I think. Our parents just happened to sign us up for the same elementary school. Though I'm sure the Fates had some part in it.

I only realized he was Percy Jackson a few weeks later.

"You know, you have the same name as this fictional guy," I said one day. "Fic-tion-al?" 7 year old Percy sounded out. "His name is Percy Jackson. You even look like him too." Percy cocked his head. "That's cool. I wanna read it." I scratched my head. "Well, it's a pretty popular series, so you should be able to find it easily. But..." I glanced at him. "You're 7, and you have dyslexia." He pouted. "I don't care."

When Percy's mother came to pick him up early for a dentist appointment, that was the first time I met her.

"Oh, and who might you be?" she asked with a warm smile, kneeling in front of me and Percy. I gave her a polite smile. "Harley Allen. Nice to meet you, miss."

"My, such polite manners! Percy, you should learn from Harley." She ruffled my hair gently. Though I gave her a smile, I was dying on the inside. I absolutely despised being treated like a child. "I'm glad Percy made a friend with someone as sweet as you. I'm Sally, by the way," she introduced herself.

I blinked. "As in... Sally Jackson?" She nodded. "Do you- do you happen to work for a candy shop?" I had to make sure. It was just a coincidence, right? It had to be-

Sally looked surprised. "How on earth did you know?" My eyes widened. "It's called Sweet on America. Have you been there?" I numbly shook my head.

A teacher called Sally over and a few minutes later, Percy and his mother left, leaving me to wonder what I'd ever done to deserve this.

I'd been reincarnated into a fictional universe with divine beings and monsters. Seriously? I winced, remembering that I'd never met my mother before.

It couldn't be... right?

My father was curious when I asked about her that night.

His name is Lloyd Allen. He's dark-haired with Hazel eyes, 31 years old, and one of the most annoying, kindest, and free-spirited people I know.

One of the things I admired about him was that he knew I wasn't like the other kids my age. I didn't play with toys, watch cartoons, or scribble crayon drawings. So thankfully, I wasn't treated like a slobby toddler.

"You never ask about her. What's going on?" He looked concerned. "Nothing, I just got curious, I guess." I stabbed my pasta. "Well..." His lips curled into a faint, nostalgic smile. "She had a very... impressive aura, if you know what I mean. Intimidating, but kind... in her own way. And incredibly beautiful- and I mean it, she had looks beyond this world. Like a goddess." He laughed as if sharing an inside joke.

He had a faraway look on his face as he fiddled with the ring on his index finger. I noted the use of past tense in her words. She's dead?

"You look a lot like her." This made me look up. "I do?"

"You have the same hair and expressions. I see bits of her personality in you." I frowned. I don't know about that. Besides my appearance, I'm still the same person I used to be, right?

"Is she... dead?" I hesitated to ask the question. But to my slight surprise, he just shook his head. "Not dead. Just somewhere far away."

I didn't question him any further. I already had my suspicions anyway.

"Harley, what do you think of summer camp?" my dad asked out of the blue, after I'd just gotten back from the last day of school. He rested his arms on the couch as I tensed at his words.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm thinking of sending you to a camp this summer."

So that's where we're going with this, huh?

"Sure, why not?"

He looked a bit surprised. "You're okay with it?"

"It's just summer camp, right?" I suppressed a smile. He hesitated. "It's a safe place for you." Well, that pretty much confirmed it.

He slipped off the two rings on either hand, pressing them firmly into my palm. "Wear these, and never lose sight of them." I raised an eyebrow. "But you always wear these. Aren't they really important to you?"

"That's why I'm giving them to you. They're from your mother." I started. So that means...

"She wanted you to have them once you were old enough."

I slipped the rings on- one on my left index finger and the other on my right. The metal bands felt slightly heavy, but also familiar, and... right, in a strange way. They both had a single dark green jewel encrusted into the band- probably emeralds or something.

I wonder who she is. I smiled faintly at the rings.

"Thanks, dad. I'll take good care of them."

He patted my back and grinned. "I know you will."

Later that night, while I was eating pizza on the couch and watching Detective Conan, there was a sudden and rapid knocking on the door.

Please don't tell me it's another salesman, I groaned to myself, getting up to open the door. I blinked in surprise when I saw Grover, soaking wet, panting heavily at the entrance.

"Grover?"

"Harley, it's Percy, he- he-"

"Grover, calm down," I said, letting him in and closing the door behind us. "Who is it?" my dad asked, tying his hair up into a loose man bun as he came downstairs. "Grover?" His face grew serious. "What's wrong?"

The satyr in question had a panicky look on his face. "Percy and Sally are gone. The apartment is empty, the car is gone, even Gabe went off somewhere with his friends, and- and on my way here, I... I smelled more of them. It's not safe here anymore." My dad's face fell.

Grover looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Mr. Allen. He'll be in danger unless he leaves now." He nodded. "It's... it's okay. I knew this would happen eventually."

"Will someone please explain what is going on?" I interrupted, raising my hands. "Harley, I..." he trailed off before quickly picking up. "Remember that summer camp I mentioned? Grover is going to take you there."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Go pack your things quickly. We don't have much time."

I frowned but complied, knowing that our time was limited. It had completely slipped my mind that the last day of school was the same day Percy and Sally went to Montauk. I cursed myself, slipping my shoes on.

I can't afford to make mistakes like this.

"Grover, I want a full explanation later." I hefted my backpack over my shoulder. It was filled with clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, money, etc.

"I promise I'll tell you everything, we have to go now! There's a particularly dangerous one nearby," he said, looking on the verge of panicking. I ignored that, deciding not to dwell on it.

"Dad... you're not coming, are you?" I asked, though it wasn't really a question. He shook his head, placing his hands on my shoulders firmly. "Stay safe. Don't be stupid. And stand by your friends, always." I nodded as he hugged me tight. "I'll see you after summer ends."

That is, if you're still alive by then, my mind taunted. Shut up, I thought back.

After we said our goodbyes, Grover called a taxi over. "Where to?" the man asked. "Uhhh..." the satyr paused. "Montauk beach, as fast as you can," I said. Grover glanced at me. "They go there almost every summer," I added.

The man chuckled. "That's a 3 hour drive, sir. It's gonna cost you."

"That's fine. Just get us there as fast as you can."

Percy's POV

I really didn't expect someone to come knocking at the door at 10:00 at night- especially not Grover, with Harley right behind him.

I came up behind my mom, still drowsy. "What's going o- Grover? Harley?! What the hell are you guys doing here?" My eyes widened, noticing Grover's... hooves? "Are... are those goat legs?"

"Percy, we have to leave. Now." My mother looked dead serious, which was extremely rare. I immediately pulled on a rain jacket, but didn't have time to grab any of my things.

We all crammed into the car parked outside, and my mom began to speed away from the cabin. Though I have no idea how she could see properly- the sky was pitch black. Rain was pounding against the windows like bullets.

"Okay, what is going on? Since when do you and Grover know each other?" I asked after another rumble of thunder. A bolt of lightning illuminated their faces.

"We don't exactly know each other. Well, we've met in person- he's been watching you and Harley," she said. "Watching me? Like a spy?"

"No!" he yelped. "I was... keeping tabs on you. Making sure you stayed safe. But I wasn't faking being friends," he hastily added.

Grover was clearly terrified, my mom looked worried, and Harley had an unreadable expression. "So what are you, exactly?" Harley asked, almost as if he'd read my mind. Grover stared at the rear view mirror despite there being no other cars nearby. "That doesn't matter right now."

I made a face. "It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—" Grover let out a strange "Blaa-ha-ha!" noise. "Goat! Not a donkey. I'm a satyr!" he retorted. "Satyr? Like from Brunner's myths?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Except they're not myths," my mother said. "So you mean..."

"Greek mythology... it's all real," Harley concluded, taking it surprisingly well. I couldn't help but feel a bit angry. "Why didn't you tell us?" I asked. "The less you knew, the less you would attract," Grover said. "But that didn't go so well after the incident with the Kindly One." Harley made a face at the mention of its name before glancing behind us once again.

"Anyway, there isn't much time to explain here. We're going to that summer camp I mentioned," Sally spoke up, gripping the steering wheel. "What? Why now? What happened?" Grover hesitated. "Percy-"

"Miss Jackson, I would speed up if I were you. It looks like we're not alone." Harley was staring at something behind us. The three of us followed suit, and Grover paled considerably.

The thing not too far behind us... it wasn't human, as far as I could tell. I couldn't possibly be. It looked more like... a bull-man. My mind flashed back to the Greek mythology book I'd read back at Yancy. "The Minotaur," I whispered under my breath.

Harley clapped a hand over my mouth. "Don't say his name, idiot!" He cast a glance back at the disfigured shadow as if it would teleport next to us at any moment. "Wh-"

"Names have power, Percy," my mother said worriedly. "And since that thing is chasing after us..." Grover trailed off. "But I read about that thing in stories," I insisted. "It's a bull monster, there's no way it can be real."

"Tell that to him," Harley said, jabbing a thumb behind us. We have to just be seeing things, right? Monsters didn't exist, after all... right? This has to be some messed up dream.

"We have to get you two to safety. Grover will take you past the border."

"What about you, mom? We're not leaving you with that... thing."

She locked her eyes onto mine in the rear view mirror. "You have to. Chances are, it'll ignore me. I'm a mortal, after all."

"But Miss Jackson..." Grover trailed off, deciding not to speak up. "What's this border?" Harley asked. "A magical barrier around Camp Half-Blood. It keeps monsters out. You'll be safe in there," she explained.

I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.

With a sharp turn to the left, we passed a white picket sign saying PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES. "We're almost there. Please... please," my mom murmured to herself. In the distance, I thought I saw the same dark shadow, but it disappeared as we headed past the white picket fences.

All of a sudden, I saw Harley tense. "What's wrong?" Grover asked, picking up on his emotions. "Miss Jackson, slam on the brakes!" he yelled. "Everyone out- NOW!"

Trusting his judgement, the car jerked to a stop. I didn't know what was going on, but we threw the doors open and rushed out. And just in the nick of time too. There was a bright blast of light, and when I opened my eyes, the Camaro looked like it had been nuked. Thankfully, the rain was already putting out the fire.

Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying. Oops.

"Oh my god..." My mom stepped back. I shared her shock. A second too late and we could've all been dead. But Harley was distracted by something else.

I followed his eyes, and in a flash of lightning, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it gave me goosebumps.

It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.

With a cold shudder, I realized our situation. The Minotaur is here.