According to Nico, everyone's shadow-travel experience is different, therefore leading to multiple opinions on that method of transportation.

Between us, I hated it, but mostly because my first impression was treacherous.

As we whizzed through the darkness at an unbelievable speed, my head was overwhelmed with a feeling of congestion. My body felt like it was torn into pieces and then clumsily squished together once we hit the ground. On impact, I could hear the sickening crack of my legs as they buckled and I fell to the ground.

Nico's landing was much better. He gracefully alighted from the shadows and scanned the area.

"I overshot it," I heard him mutter, staring into the sky which was becoming darker by the second. As I tried to regain my balance, he asked me, "What day of the week is it?"

"Uh, Friday. Why—" I began, but was interrupted by a crowd of heavy footsteps, making their way towards us.

"It's capture the flag night. Get up and follow me," he said, and without looking at me, started to sprint through the woods. I struggled to my feet and took off as well. It was hard to spot him, as he was wearing dark clothes against the dark sky and shade of trees.

The footsteps were growing nearer to me, and I was constantly glancing over my shoulder, expecting an army to appear. Nevertheless, if anything was there, a curtain of darkness covered it. I could see a clearing up ahead where Nico had stopped, frantically gesturing for me to run faster, but my legs were still sore from the fall, and instead I was losing speed.

Without warning, a voice from above me shouted, "Fire! " and an arrow zoomed past my shoulder, causing a rift in the air, and triggering my adrenaline. Everything around me- sounds and scenery- was a blur as I attempted to reach Nico without getting shot first.

Finally, I reached the clearing, and collapsed, kneeling in front of Nico as my heart pounded against my chest.

"What was that? Where have you brought me?" I asked my breath hitching as I did so.

"Well, it's the only safe place for kids like us, but I guess that wasn't the best first impression of your new home," Nico said.

"You think?"

Nico smirked. "Get up. If that's all the stamina you have, you won't last a day here."

I lifted my neck enough to send a death glare at Nico, who didn't react to my version of a threat. Instead, he set off toward a field, and I had no choice but to follow.

As we drew closer to the field, strawberries seemed to be popping up in the bushes, and I could make out the shape of a girl and something that looked scarily like a centaur.

You're seeing things Nicole, I tried to assure myself. Yet, after the day I had had, centaurs didn't seem unlikely.

"Chiron!" Nico shouted. The centaur turned his head, smiled, and began to walk towards us.

"Nico! Is this Nicole?" he asked, grinning. The centaur, Chiron, had shaggy brown hair, scruff on his chin, and dead, ancient eyes. Slung on his back was a bow.

"Yes," Nico replied.

"Excellent. Thank you for retrieving her. You may return to your cabin; the capture the flag game has already started, sorry." Nico nodded and jogged back. Then, Chiron turned towards me, a puzzled look on his face. "You're taking this awfully well, especially judging by the fact you aren't the least bit disturbed by the presence of a horse man in front of you."

"I know who you are," I responded, the words slipping out of my mouth. "I—I read Greek mythology. You're a centaur. But those are just myths…"

"Is what you see a myth?" he questioned.

I shook my head, my eyes locking with Chiron's.

"Maybe it's a dream," I whispered.

"Trust me, this isn't a dream," the girl behind him assured me. "And if it were, I'd be quite disappointed. The prank this morning was awe—"

"Never mind," Chiron blurted, waving a hand in the air impatiently. "The point is Greek mythology is not mythology. If it were, you wouldn't be here." He paused, smirking, and a mischievous twinkle flashed in his eyes. "You're a demigod Nicole. One of your parents is a god."

A bomb went off inside my head, causing feelings and reactions to fly unacknowledged through my mind, creating a storm of confusion, anger, and shock. My body didn't move, but my mind was running a marathon. Anger traveled to my stomach, creating a burning sensation of resentment towards Mom. How could she not tell me? Surely, she knew. Shock paralyzed me using the unbelievable. All those monsters are real. Beings others think are imaginary roam this earth. Confusion came in a wave of nausea. How will this affect me? How will this affect the way I live?

I had read multiple stories, and I knew that being a demigod was dangerous, but it had all seemed like an imaginary world, one I could escape to if I needed time away from the cruelties of reality. Now, those stories were about to become my life. The threats my heroes had faced were now mine as well, and could become my demise.

"Earth to Nicole," the girl joked. "We can't lose you on the first day."

Blinking rapidly, the world came into focus again, and Chiron had gone.

"Hey, I'm Melody," the girl said, outstretching her hand. I shook it, still a bit dazed. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. I'll be giving you your tour this evening." Then, she showed me her other hand which held as many strawberries as possible. "Would you like a strawberry?"

Melody was about my height, but a year younger than me. She had long, curly black hair and chocolate brown eyes that flashed despite the moon being our only light. It seemed as if a smile was permanently glued to her face. She was wearing a bright orange t-shirt that read "Camp Half-Blood", and had a Hispanic complexion.

With a lot of energy, she had brought me to the Pegasus stables (where I swore I could hear them talking to me, but I kept this to myself), then the armory and forge, the Big House, arts and crafts center, canoe lake, amphitheater, climbing wall which oozed lava from the peak, mess hall, and then the cabins.

"You haven't been claimed so you'll have to stay in cabin 11 until so. Don't worry, claiming happens relatively quickly nowadays," she informed me.

"What cabin do you stay in?" I asked.

"11. So we'll be roommates, just with a lot of others. Hermes has a ton of kids."

"And each cabin represents a god? Are there any that are empty?"

Melody nodded. "There are 20 cabins in total. 2 of them are always empty—the Hera and Artemis cabin. However, when the Hunters visit, they stay in Artemis' cabin."

I nodded, following her as we strolled to cabin 11. "Why aren't you at the game tonight?"

Melody smirked. "I got in trouble this morning for a prank I pulled on an Ares kid. They're all jerks, to me especially, and this one definitely deserved it."

"What did they do to you?"

"This one kid, Junior Black, left tarantulas in one of my friends' pillow. He's an Athena kid, therefore born with arachnophobia. He passed out, fell of his bunk, whacked his head on the floor, and the rest of his cabin ran out screaming. They all almost got attacked by the harpies! I was just returning the favor."

My eyes widened in shock and a tiny bit of fear at just how bizarre this place was. However, in a strange way, I was proud to call it my home.

A loud whoop cut through the air, and cheering was coming from the woods. "I guess the game is finished, and Skylar has led red into another victory. I'd know that whoop anywhere." Melody grinned out of pride.

"That's an odd way to phrase it," I said.

"Try finding a better way."

I shrugged, defeated by her request, and we headed inside the cabin.

"You've had a long day. Take my bunk, 3rd bed, top. I'll sleep in a chair," she assured me.

"Are you sure?" I felt bad for intruding on her normal routine just because of a rough experience. Besides, I liked Melody, and I was fine with taking a chair if it was better for her.

"Nah, it's fine. But you might want to get up there; the crowd is approaching."

That night, I felt completely at home and repressed all the confusion that remained. I wanted to end that day on a good note, one that I would cherish forever.

AN: So chapters 2 and 3 are a bit shorter for reasons having to do with the story. I was going to combine the two but it seemed more natural to end each on separate notes. Chapter 3 comes out on July 15 at 9pm EST. Thank you all for being so patient!