Once out of the city, they drove for the longest time through countryside. It was a while before either of the drivers answered Reese's questions.

"You're going to believe we're crazy at first," Percy began.

"Like I don't already?"

"Point taken. But you have to believe us when we say that all of the following is true. You saw the monsters."

"So I assume all of this is actually happening, and not a figment of my imagination?"

"Yup."

Annabeth shifted to look at Reese. "You know all the old Greek stories, right? About Heracles and Arachne and whatnot."

"Sure. We've been studying that in History this year."

"Good. You'll need that information. Now think of it this way – all of those stories are real."

"What?"

"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades; they all exist."

"You're trying to tell me that Greek Mythology isn't just myths."

"Right. The gods are real. So is the Underworld. And all the monsters."

"Like the Hydra. Or the Minotaur-"

"Names have power. Don't throw them around carelessly," Annabeth warned, glancing at the rumbling sky. "But yes. Like them. You saw us fighting the Minotaur today. We'd been tracking him for a few days."

"I knew my luck wouldn't last," Percy muttered, his eyes still fastened on the road.

"What do you mean?" asked Reese.

"That's the third time Percy's fought the Minotaur. And he's only been doing this sort of stuff for five years."

"So, like, they come back to life?"

"Sort of. The Underworld exists, right? So when a monster is killed, it explodes into dust." For proof, Annabeth brushed a little monster dust out of her hair. "Its essence is sent to Tartarus, the prison for monsters and Titans. It comes back to life, but not on a routine schedule. Any monster can come back after a day, a year, a decade. Thousands of years can pass before one monster comes back. Percy and the Minotaur... don't exactly have a good relationship. We'd sort of been hoping this time that he'd stay in Tartarus for a hundred years or so."

"Oh. Okay." His brain was being overloaded. "So you guys go around killing these monsters and sending them back where they came from. Are there more of you?"

"Tons. We're trained at this camp, called Camp Half-Blood. That's where we're headed right now."

"Why am I coming?"

"It's the only safe place for you – for us. To survive. You're special like us, Reese. We've been keeping an eye on you for the past few weeks."

"So, it's like in the Matrix. Where I'm Neo. And I'm special, so you guys want me to take the redpill."

"Er, what is he talking about?" Percy whispered to Annabeth.

"No idea," she replied. "But yeah. You are special. You're one of us. And you have to learn how to fight monsters, or you'll die. It's a miracle you've survived this long as a mortal."

"A mortal? What does that mean? You talk about it as if... you're not."

"We're half mortal. Your mom, Reese. She's an ordinary human. But your dad..."

"He's dead. I've never met him."

"Not so, Reese. Your dad is a god."

A moment of silence filled the car while this sunk in.

"He can't be."

"It's true, Reese. My dad's a god too," Percy said.

Another moment for Reese to allow his head to wrap around this. "So, they're all Greek gods, right? Like Zeus, and Aphrodite, and Hermes. Stuff like that."

"Right. The twelve main Olympians. But your dad could also be a minor god too. Like Morpheus."

"So who is he?"

"We don't know yet. Last year, Percy - I mean, the gods agreed that they'd claim their children by the time the child turned thirteen. Like, let the kid know who their parent was. But you're sixteen. You haven't been claimed, and you haven't been killed. You're an anomaly, Reese. We have to find out what's going on."

"So who's your dad, then?" Reese asked Percy.

"Poseidon, god of the sea."

Okay, he thought. I can handle that. "And yours?"

"My dad's mortal," Annabeth said. "I don't see him that often."

"But..."

"My mom, however, is the goddess Athena."

"Wisdom, stuff like that."

"Right. It's not always the father that's the immortal parent. In your case, it is."

"You said you don't see your dad often?"

"I live at camp. Mortals can't enter it. Besides, he's in San Francisco. It just doesn't work out too well."

"So I take it I can't just go back to school now."

"Probably not. Now that you know who you are, your scent will be more noticeable to monsters. Before you can go back into the real world, you'll have to train."

"I don't get to say goodbye to my friends?"

"No. You can't let them know who you are."

"A half-god."

"We use the term demigod."

"Okay, a demigod. And my dad... where would he be now?"

"Well, the gods live on Mount Olympus."

"In Greece."

"Ah... here's where it gets confusing."

"Let me take over, Annabeth," Percy interjected. "Picture Western Civilization as this burning torch, okay?"

"Western Civilization?"

"Like, whatever country is most powerful at the moment. Right now, it's the USA. So the burning flame, right?"

"Right."

"Now, the gods are sort of attached to this flame. When the flame moves somewhere else, so do the gods."

"So wherever Western Civilization is, that's where the gods are."

"Exactly. It's so much easier explaining this to a competent sixteen year old than to a fourth grader. You're taking this quite well."

"So the gods live in the USA."

"Yeah. All the historical Greek locations are here. For example, the entrance to the Underworld is now in Los Angeles. And Mount Olympus is hovering over the Empire State Building, here in Manhattan."

"That's... wouldn't people – mortals - see it?"

"It's sort of hidden from sight. There's this thing called the Mist, see. Like a blanket over people's eyes. They only see what makes sense to them."

"Like a giant truck instead of a Minotaur," Annabeth added helpfully.

"That's why all my friends didn't see the bull-thing. But I did."

"The Mist is weaker over demigods," Percy explained. "Anyway, back to Western Civilization. Wherever it goes, the gods go. After the downfall of Greece, the gods lived in Rome for a while. Then Spain and England. They spent many centuries in England."

"And now they're here, in America," Annabeth concluded.

"Over the Empire State Building," Reese sighed.

"Do you understand?"

"One moment. It's... It's a lot to take in."

"I know. We've all been there."

"So everything is real. Hercules was real."

"Right. Son of Zeus."

"And Jason. And the Golden Fleece."

"Yeah. We could show you it, if you like."

"The Golden Fleece?"

"Sure. It protects Camp Half-Blood's borders."

"... Okay. Shouldn't it be in some historical museum, though?"

"Er..."

"Whatever. So you guys are heroes too, right? Like Hercules, and Jason, and Perseus."

"Right."

"Wait a second. Perseus, Percy. Oh my God!"

"Gods," Annabeth corrected automatically.

"Right. Percy, are you, like, the real Perseus?"

Percy and Annabeth both laughed, and Reese felt a twinge of stupidity.

"No, no I'm not. He died a long time ago. But yeah, my full name is Perseus. My mom thought it would be, like, good luck or whatever."

"Wasn't he a son of Zeus? And you said your dad was Poseidon."

"He's also one of the few heroes who survived his quests. My mom thought it might help me get a happy ending. I seem to be doing all right."

"You've come close to dying more than a few times, as I might recall," Annabeth said.

"Okay, whatever. So there are more of you, you said. At this camp. Who trains you?"

"We can explain more once we reach Half-Blood Hill. But Chiron, the ancient trainer of heroes, still leads camp. He's immortal."

"Right. The horse dude."

"Centaur, actually. And he's very sensitive about the nickname "horse dude", by the way."

"So how long have you been at this camp?"

"I ran away from home when I was seven," Annabeth said. "With a few demigod friends."

"When you were seven?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "Camp Half-Blood was my home for five years."

"What happened when you were twelve?"

"I met Percy," she replied simply.

"Okay. So then, you came to camp when you were twelve, right?" Reese asked Percy.

"Exactly. Annabeth and I have been on numerous quests since then. Now we don't live at camp year-round. We go there when we're needed, or during the summer."

"I see." He was getting a sort of vibe that when they weren't at camp, these two were still spending a lot of time together. "But you look for new demigods to take to camp. Like me." He wasn't sure he wanted to believe them, but he would give them the benefit of the doubt. They saved his life, after all.

"Right, like you. Although you're the first one we've had in nearly a year who's over the age of thirteen."

"Why is that? The gods made some sort of a deal?"

"We can explain that later. For now, let's focus on getting you to camp and getting you trained." Annabeth glanced back, then saw Reese's cut hand. "Oh, gods, I forgot about the hand."

"Oh, it doesn't hurt much any more." Reese flexed it to test it out and winced. "Why did you cut me?"

"My knife is made of celestial bronze," she said, showing him the knife. "It's one of the only metals with an effect on monsters or immortal beings. Because demigods are half-gods, celestial bronze affects them too. But it doesn't harm mortals. I cut you because, if you were mortal, the blade would have gone right through your hand without hurting you. I had to see if you were a demigod or not, and it was the quickest thing I could think of under the circumstances. Here, eat this." She rummaged in her pocket before pulling out a crushed lemon square. "Be warned, it doesn't taste anything like lemon squares."

"Got it." He took a tentative bite. Ohh... It tasted like... like heaven. As he looked down at his hand, the cut scabbed over, then faded into a thin pink scar. "Whoa."

"Ambrosia squares. Food of the gods."

"Can I have some more?"

"Too much and you'll literally burn up. Like I said, it's meant for gods, not half-bloods."

Automatically, he flinched away from the godly food, dropping the ambrosia square.

"Annabeth, we're almost there," Percy informed them. Reese bent down to pick up the discarded ambrosia from the floor of the car. "Tell him about the other campers."

"Oh, yeah. So, Reese, like we've said there are tons of other demigods. Most of us live at Camp Half-Blood, but once we get older we go out into the world, get jobs, et cetera. You'd be surprised if I told you how many famous role models were actually demigods... Anyway, we live in cabins at camp. Cabins are divided up by godly parent. So, for example, I live with the other children of Athena."

"And Percy lives with the other children of Poseidon."

"Er, actually, I'm the only child of Poseidon. Well, the only demigod child."

"Why is that? And what do you mean by only demigod child?"

"After World War II, the Big Three – Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades – made a pact not to have any more children with mortals. Children of the Big Three are just too powerful – too volatile, unpredictable-"

"Thanks, Wise Girl."

"Just stating the truth. Anyway, Zeus and Poseidon both broke that pact. Hades... Well, it's a long story. Anyway, Poseidon only broke the pact once – and voila, we get Percy. Last year, they dissolved the pact. Not that we're expecting any siblings of Percy to show up soon, but that's why he's the only one right now."

"As for the "demigod child" thing, gods can have children with other beings too – spirits, naiads, the like. My half-brother, Tyson, is a cyclops."

"Cyclopes are bad, right?"

"Not Tyson. But sometimes rogue cyclopes, yeah. Most of Poseidon's cyclops children live in his underwater palace, forging weapons and the like."

"I see. So most demigod kids – with the exception being Big Three kids – have half-siblings."

"Right. Cabins usually don't hate each other, but there are some rivalries. Like Athena and Ares, Apollo and Ares... Well, basically no one likes the Ares cabin."

"Why's that?"

"They get on people's nerves."

"Ares is... the god of war, right? That's pretty cool."

"He's not so nice in person," Percy said bitterly. Reese wondered if Percy had some sort of history with the god of war.

"Anyway, until you're claimed, you'll stay with the Hermes cabin. Hermes is the god of travelers, messengers, and thieves. He's not too picky about who he sponsors. Back when we had a lot of unclaimed kids at camp, they all lived in the Hermes cabin. Used to be pretty darn crowded. But that hasn't happened at all in the past year... I'm sure Connor and Travis won't be thrilled..." Annabeth mumbled. "Speaking of which, don't trust the Hermes counselors. Ever."

"Got it. Don't trust Hermes, don't trust Ares. Anything else?"

"We had a lot of casualties last year. If someone says a camper is dead, just don't ask. You usually don't want to know."

"Okay. So... Crash course for the rest of my life – the gods are real, I won't see my family for another several months, I have a ton of brothers and sisters I don't know about, my dad's a god, and monsters always want to kill me."

"And never use a cell phone, if you can help it."

Reese's eyes widened. "No texting?"

"It basically sends up a flare to every monster in the area, saying 'Hey, look! You've got a free lunch ticket over here! Come and get me!'" Percy explained. "We're here."

They parked at the base of a steep hill, and all three got out. Percy kept glancing behind him, as if worried that some of those monsters were still following them.

"What were those things anyway?" Reese asked. Percy looked at him quickly, as if snapping out of a reverie.

"What were what?"

"The monsters you fought."

"Hellhounds. Skeletons. Nothing special."

"Nothing special! If you weren't there, I'd have been killed by that Minotaur in seconds. Well, come to think of it, if you weren't there I'd probably be in Algebra class right now."

"No more Algebra for you," Annabeth said, climbing the hill. "Which reminds me. I bet you've been kicked out a few schools, haven't you?"

"That was a long time ago. How did you know about that? I haven't blown up a school in years!"

"Hah! You sound like Percy," Annabeth laughed. "Oh, and let me guess... You've been diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, or both."

"Both. How do you know all this about me?"

"Most demigods can't stay in a school very long – they cause problems. As for the disorders, you can't read well because your brain is hardwired for Ancient Greek. Trust me, when you start reading Greek, it'll get a lot easier. And the ADHD is just battle reflexes," Percy explained. "It's saved my life more times than I can count."

Reese was about to answer, but that's when they crested the hill. "Whoa," he said reflexively. Spread out before them was a huge camp, complete with cabins in the distance, buildings scattered here and there, and a forest.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said, as if it was a line she'd had to say many times. "That's the Golden Fleece, if you were wondering." She nodded to a pine tree a few meters away, with a, well, golden sheep's fleece hanging off the lowest branch. A large serpent thing was coiled around the base.

"What the hell!" Reese exclaimed, cringing away from the dragon.

"Oh, that's just Peleus. He guards camp. He's friendly... usually," Percy said assuredly. "Come on, let's introduce you to Chiron."

"Chiron. That's the centaur guy, right? The one who runs this camp."

"Yeah, that would be him."

"Then we better get going."