I sat up with a jolt, breathing heavily. Thank goodness the nightmare with the Animal Smoothies and my parents was over. I don't think I could've taken anymore craziness.

I looked straight ahead, expecting to see my Carolina blue bedroom wall with my family photos across from me. Instead what I saw was a cot with a cloth and tent-like background in front of me. Where the heck was I? I looked to the left of me. Along the tent like structure was rows of cots on either side. There was a little slit in the tent-like structure about 20 feet away. I assumed that it was the entrance and exit to the structure as just beneath the slit I could see grass and a hint of sunshine.

I looked to the right of me and almost jumped out of my skin. Starring at me was a boy about 18 years old. He had bright blonde wavy hair that was cut just above chin level, and he was wearing a bright orange t-shirt, some ripped carpi jeans, and Rainbow flip-flops. He looked very much like an Australian surfer hippie. He held a damp cloth in his left hand and a block of what looked like golden butter in his right hand. He smiled at me. When he smiled, the boy seemed to resemble Christian in an uncanny way, but he also looked very different at the same time.

"Hello there! And welcome to the happiest place on Earth!" he said beaming his white teeth.

I squinted at him and scrunched up my nose.

"You mean Disney World?" I asked.

"Psssh. You wish," said another voice. The voice came from the back-left corner of the large tent. Another boy who was quite thin and pale was slumped there with his head resting on his fist. He wore all black except for the white skull on his t-shirt. His jet-black hair was about chin length and fell in shaggy waves. He had a slight smirk on his face.

The boy in the orange shirt turned and glared at him.

"Please excuse my boyfriend," he said as turned back towards me. "He can be a mood dampener."

"But I am working on it," the dark haired boy added.

The blonde haired boy rolled his eyes. "I'm Will and that's Nico in the corner."

"Um, hi," was all I could manage to say. I wasn't willing to give my name up to complete strangers. We all stood there for about 10 awkward seconds, not knowing what to say.

Finally, I decided to break the silence. "So, um, where am I and why am I here?"

"Well, as to where you are, you are at a wonderful place call Camp Halfblood," Will answered. "And as to why you are here, do you remember those three headed animal things that attacked you? Those are called Chimeras."

"Wait, you mean that really happened to me? Like, that wasn't a nightmare?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not," Will replied. "After you passed out, Percy and Apollo brought you and the other boy to the infirmary for me to treat your injuries. A demigod is lucky enough to survive an attack by one Chimera, but by two Chimeras…," he trailed off, shaking his head. "Many unidentified demigods have died lately from attacks by just one Chimera."

"You should be dead," Nico said in the corner. I almost forgot he was there. It's amazing how he just seemed to disappear in the shadows.

Will turned on him, and then looked back at me. He smiled sheepishly, seeming to be a bit embarrassed. "Would you please excuse me. I need to go speak to my boyfriend about his manners. I'll be back in a second."

Will then turned to face Nico. "You," he said to Nico, pointing a finger at him. "In the back supply closet. Now."

Will marched over to Nico. Nico still slouched in his corner rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said exhaling. He got up slowly, and Will and Nico disappeared in the supply closet further in the back.

I sat there in the cot trying to wrap my brain around what Will had told me. What he said made no sense. Camp Half-blood? What kind of name is that? Besides, what kind of camp has a medic that is an 18-year-old boy who wears sandals when he's working? And why should I trust what he says to me?

All these thoughts flooded my head, and I definitely needed to clear my mind. The only way I knew how to do that was to run. That was the only thing that I knew was true and real. I glanced back over to the supply closet to make sure that Nico and Will weren't coming out. I know Will told me to stay put, but I can't help it. I had to get out of there. I looked to my left where I saw the grass in the small slip opening in the tent. I decided that that was my way out. I pulled back the covers. Luckily, no one took off my Nike sneakers. I still wore my school uniform, which consisted of a navy-blue polo shirt with our school logo on the left shirt pocket, and a navy blue and white plaid skort (Yuck). I jumped off the cot and ran. I burst through the tent exit.

I didn't even take a second to see where I was at or what was around me; I just started to run. The bright sunlight stung my eyes, so I squinted just to make sure I didn't run into something that could kill me. The ground sloped beneath my feet; my legs were pounding and my arms pumping. I ran hard not knowing what to think, just knowing that I had to get away. The wind stung my face and made my hair fly back as I ran. Strange noises filled my ears. I could hear the clashing of metal, the laughter and yells of people, and the trickle of running water. The faint smell of strawberries filled my nose. I could feel my lungs and legs starting to burn and my heart beating faster; a feeling that was very familiar to me.

After about 200 yards, I started to slow down my pace and pay a bit more attention to what was around me now that my head was clearing. I crossed over a stream on a wooden bridge that was in front of me, the loud thump-thump-thump of my feet pounding on the bridge helped me to focus even more. I could open my eyes fully now having adjusted to the sunlight and calmed myself down, but what I saw was nothing I had ever seen before.

Before when I was running without a thought or care, all I had seen was the green grass below me and everything else in my peripheral vision was a blur. Now, though, I could see everything, and there was definitely a lot to see. Straight ahead of me was what appeared to be a large arena. It was made out of white marble and stone. It reminded me of the Greek and Roman game arenas that I learned about in my Classical Mythology class.

I took a sharp right and continued at a jogging pace. Off to my left were a bunch of cabin-type buildings with a giant fire pit in the middle of them. None of the cabins were the same, though, as they each had a unique feature about them. Upon first glance, I noticed one cabin that had a machinery look to it, another that had skulls and was painted as black as ash, and another with barbed wire on it. I found that odd, but I kept on going.

As I jogged for a few more steps I started to comprehend the fact that I was not alone. Kids and young adults of all ages were around me. Many of them wore an orange t-shirt that looked exactly like Will's. On top of that, many of the kids wore armor and carried weapons that, strangely enough, resembled the weapons the Greeks carried. They looked exactly like the pictures from my Mythology class. It was almost as if I was at a Renaissance Festival, but instead of the Renaissance time period it was during the reign of the Greek and Roman Empires.

I slowed my pace to a walk. Many of the kids stared at me as I walked by. I could feel their stairs around me, but I continued walking and trying to ignore them. I looked towards my right where a small hill slopped up past the stream I had crossed earlier. I almost stopped in my tracks at what I saw. Was that a dragon? And why did he look like he was guarding a tree? I closed my eyes and shook my head. I must be dreaming or something. First there was a creature with three heads consisting of a goat, lion, and dragon, then there were flying horses, and now there is a full blown dragon not but 400 yards away from me. This is completely impossible; I must be going crazy.

I opened my eyes and looked straight ahead. Just in time too, because if I had waited a half a second later I would've smacked right into a horse butt. I jolted to the side, an instinctive reaction when you're about to run into something. As I was looking towards the front of the horse, what I saw next made my feet glue in place.

Instead of where the horse's neck and head should have been, a man's upper half protruded from the horse's shoulder blades. From the waist up, the man appeared normal. In fact, he could've passed for a teacher at my school. He wore a green vest over a white buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked to be in his late 40's or early 50's, and had a white-grey beard that was neatly trimmed. He had flowing hair that outlined his face and ended just below his ears. But the other half of him is definitely not what you would see a normal teacher in. Below his waist was, well, a horse. The body was white with a flicking white tail.

In front of the man-horse stood two boys. I recognized them as the two boys who were driving the golden chariots. Now that they were closer I could see that the one with the black hair was a bit older than me, but not by much. Besides his black tousled hair, he had green eyes. He was tan like the surfer guys that went to my school; not too dark to where you know they've been tanning, but dark enough to know that they've been out in the sun by the beach for most of the day surfing.

Beside him stood the curly haired boy. He looked a little younger than the dark haired boy, but not by much. He had traces of acne scars on his face and a few freckles. Both were quite cute and handsome in their own ways.

After standing there for a few moments staring at the scene, the two boys turned and looked at me.

"Oh! There she is!" the boy with the curly hair said smiling at me.

The man-horse turned his head to look at me. The look of concern on his face changed into a soft smile.

"Ah," he said, spreading his arms in a warm gesture. "Welcome, my dear, to Camp Half-blood."