SAM

Chiron and the girl turned to face me when I walked up to them.

I hated when people stared at me but, to be fair, I was in a considerably bad state. I had been working on my chariot for the race all morning so I was pretty much covered in sweat, oil and other nasty substances that I couldn't even pronounce. My friend Ian had insisted on using some new magic products because he didn't want to lose this year.

Not that we ever lost, because we never did (it was a child of Apollo thing), but, you know, you gotta maintain a reputation…

Anyway, I didn't really want anyone to see me like this but Bennett had said it was urgent so I rushed to the bonfire. Chiron looked worried, the girl wouldn't stop staring at me which in other circumstances would've been fine but now it was just creepy. She was pretty much my height, with long blond hair and blue eyes and she looked like she had just lost a fight with a living vine. I guess she was pretty. Not really my type, but attractive at least.

"Hey Chiron" I said to the centaur. I turned to the demigod and extended a sweaty hand "Hi, I'm Sam" I told her. My type or not, you gotta be polite.

She kept looking back and forth from the hand to my face and I noticed it was practically black with grease.

"Oh, sorry" I said, trying to clean it on my trousers.

"NO! It's fine" she interrupted me with more enthusiasm than needed but I could tell she was not comfortable with grime.

However, she took my hand and shook it "I'm Alison. Call me Ally" she said with a massive smile on her face.

Thankfully, Chiron cleared his throat to speak "And there comes the third part of your team"

We followed his gaze to find another person approaching. It was a girl, though it was hard to tell since she was wearing a long black cape that covered her entire body and swap the floor behind her. It looked like a costume that should've looked ridiculous on anyone but on this girl, it was scary.

She was definitely shorter than Ally and I. When she reached us she took off her hood. She had pitch black choppy short hair and eyes that matched. The dark circles under her eyes contrasted with her snow-white skin and unlike Ally, she didn't smile. In fact, she looked like she was ready to murder whoever decided to make fun of her.

"Regina Stackhouse, right?" Chiron intervened.

"Reggie" she replied with a poker face.

Chiron broke the awkward silence "Demigods, the oracle has chosen you specifically" he clarified as he saw the Ally girl was about to interrupt him "to go on a quest"

He paused and let that sink in. Oh Gods, this is it, I thought.

I'd wanted to go on a quest ever since I'd been claimed. My older brothers and sisters from Apollo's cabin talked about their quests with such pride and excitement. I knew it was dangerous and it was likely that I died but, hey, I'm gonna die eventually, why not do it while achieving something amazing?

I studied the girls's faces. Ally was red and clearly nervous while the other girl, Reggie, stood completely still and serious.

"Alright" I said trying to get straight to the point "where to?"

Chiron wouldn't meet his eyes "Middle east. Aunty Em's Gnome Emporium"

I couldn't tell if he was being serious.

"Uh, sorry?"

"I think you better sit" Chiron said.

"I think we better not" Ally intervened "this is getting interesting"

"Fine. I think you've all heard of the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena-"

"Percy and Annabeth. Sure." I said. Though I'd never met them in person, those were big names around camp.

"Yes" Chiron continued "Percy and Annabeth went on their first quest a couple years ago. In their trip they faced many monsters, some of which they killed. Or so we thought until… well, they'd been some reports of people disappearing around said Emporium"

Ally gasped "So…who was the monster?"

"Medusa" Reggie spoke. She had been so quiet I'd forgotten she was even there "You want us to kill Medusa"

"It's the oracle who wants you to go and no, I don't want you to kill her. As far as we know, she's still in Tartarus but there are some chances that she might have had a quick regeneration. Your task is simple: you go, check what's going on and when you find it out, tell us so that we can send a bigger group to deal with the problem"

"Why don't you want us to do it ourselves?" Reggie inquired. It was hard to tell if she was mad, disappointed or relieved.

"I'm not trying to be disrespectful on you, but Medusa is a powerful creature and you're just beginners. Look, if it was my decision, I wouldn't even send you but if it has to be done, we better establish some safety parameters" Chiron added.

Ally crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow "Weren't Percy and Annabeth like twelve when they first killed her?"

"I thought you didn't want to go on a dangerous quest" said Chiron.

"I don't, but I don't like being underestimated like that, plus considering I'm seventeen, this guy here is, what? Seventeen as well?" I nodded in response "And Reggie here is about the same age, I think we could do a better job than some kinky twelve-year-olds"

Chiron scratched his chin. Gods, this girl was insistent.

"Just do as I tell you. Don't try anything stupid, promise?"

The three of us looked at each other. We weren't friends, in fact, I'd never seen them before, but if we were about to head to find a monster, we better start trusting ourselves.

Once again, I decided to break the ice "I'm in"

Ally stared at me and blushed "me too"

"Let's get this done" Reggie added.