"Why are we flying to camp?" I asked in my best not-whiny, just-curious voice. And I wasn't complaining. Seriously.

We lived in Texas and a drive all the way to upstate New York would take, well, forever. I was glad we were flying. All I really wanted to know by asking that was why my fifteen year old sister and I were going to a summer camp that was so far away when there were plenty of camps where we lived.

"Well," my mom replied. "The camp has given both you and your sister scholarships and paid for your transportation. I would've thought you'd want to fly anyways."

"Oh, I do. It's just weird, that's all." I drifted into silence, staring out the window. When I looked over at Gabby she was completely zoned out, probably listening to music.

Not long after that I started to see airplanes flying overhead, close enough to the ground to make me slightly uncomfortable. I shook my sister and pointed. "We're almost there!" I exclaimed.

Gabby smiled. "You're nervous, aren't you?" I blushed but slowly nodded.

"Don't worry about it. You'll make tons of new friends and have a blast. Besides, it's not an ordinary camp." She turned towards my mom and started talking about how we'd write letters every week.

I couldn't stop thinking about what Gabby had said. What did she mean it wasn't an ordinary camp? I decided to quiz her about it on the plane ride.

My mom dropped us off at the terminal. She hugged each of us, telling us how proud she was. Then she drove away. We waved until she turned a bend and her car disappeared.

I followed my sister through security. As soon as we were out of the scanner and had all our stuff, she breathed a sigh of relief. I looked at her, a question forming on my lips. She shushed me before I could say anything though. By the time we sat down at the gate, I was about ready to explode with questions.

Gabby leaned in close to me and whispered so quietly that I had to strain my ears to hear.

"Arden, this is going to come as a big shock. Okay?" I nodded, getting anxious at the sound of urgency in her voice. She took a deep breath and continued. "Remember all those Greek myths, the ones I read to you when you were little? Well, those myths aren't myths. They're real."

I leaned back. Was my sister going crazy? Gabby must've seen the look on my face, because she nodded and gestured for me to follow her to the restroom, like proof of her words would be waiting there.

I was unsure whether to go with her or not. What she said was crazy, but she was my sister. Maybe this was all a big prank?

I figured there was no harm done in following her. When I walked into the ladies' room Gabby was checking to make sure we were all alone. Then she led me to the back, where no one could see us.

"By the way," she told me, grinning. "I'm not crazy." Then, out of nowhere, she pulled a sword! It shone in the dim lighting, silver with a plain golden hilt and a leather handle.

I jumped back, startled. "How on Earth did you get that through security?" I cried. She just laughed and shrugged. "I'm not quite sure, but they never seem to notice it. Must be some sort of magic."

Her expression turned serious. "I'm not kidding about the Greek gods being real either. But there's more, Arden. You know dad?"

I bit my lip. Where was this going? Gabby continued. "He was a Greek god. That makes us demigods- one parent immortal, one human. And this camp I've been going to since I was your age is for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

I stared at her in amazement. It was a great story, though I didn't really believe it fully. The strange thing was, I wanted to believe it. For dad not to be dead, for us to be what Gabby called demigods. But it didn't make sense, it was ridiculous.

A loud crash immediately stopped my thinking. Gabby pulled me closer towards the back wall. We heard sniffing, like a large dog.

All of a sudden the animal barked. I gasped, then willed myself to shut up. The dog silenced at once. Then it started to growl quietly, which was even scarier. This was a dog, for sure. Actually, it must be more of a wolf, I thought.

The growling got closer. Gabby positioned her sword in front of us. Then she stepped out of the alcove, me right behind her, and we looked at the beast.

Its eyes were glowing red and its fangs were hanging out of its mouth, dripping saliva. The fur covering its body was blacker than midnight and caked with mud. Altogether he was terrifying, like he might kill Chuck Norris and eat him for breakfast.

And we were his next targets.

He stroked the ground with his right paw, a sign, I had learned from watching too many action movies, that he was about to attack. He howled and came charging towards us.

I thought for sure we were dead, but my sister ran up to meet him, slicing with her sword. I watched in awe as she sliced him with a killing shot. I expected the mutt to fall dead to the ground. But instead he burst into a yellowish powder, which fell in a pile on the ground.

My sister stood there panting. "Oh, yeah, downside of the Greek heroes existing. The monsters do too."

My mouth was still hanging open. "Yeah," I said faintly. "I believe you now."

A voice over the intercom announced that our plane was boarding so we rushed out of the bathroom. The whole way to New England I asked my sister about the monsters, the gods, Camp Half-Blood, and how everything worked.

Turns out that monsters can regenerate, so heroes always have something to fight. The gods moved their home, Olympus, from Greece to Rome, to America. Olympus was currently seated at the top of the Empire State building. The only answer I couldn't get out of her was who our dad was. When I asked, all she would say was that I would find out soon enough.