I start to come to; I can sort of hear someone talking, but only in quiet, distant snippets.

"Building... Jack... empousa... dagger... helped... Camp... alright,"

I hear nothing else being said as the speaker shuffles nearby. I groan as I try to open my eyes but I find that I don't have the energy.

"There you are. I was wondering if you were ever going to come around."

I try to turn my head in the direction of the voice as I start to remember what happened. Waking up in New York, the empousa's attack, running from her and the fight for my life.

"W-Who..?" My throat feels parched as I try to speak. I feel something touch my lips and a hand lift my head to let nice, refreshing water pass through my lips.

"Slow down. Honestly, I was surprised by that fight. I wasn't expecting you to have that dagger. Where did you get it?"

His voice sounds strange as I try to open my eyes. I squint against the sudden light as my eyes adjust. "I-I don't know. It was suddenly in my pocket."

I start to focus on the world around me. It looks like I'm in an alley with no one else around. The sky looks a little dimmer than I remember; a few hours must've passed by.

I notice that my chest is covered in bandages as I remember the empousa slashing her claws across my chest.

I look towards my rescuer, who has a thoughtful expression on his face. "Did his parent send it to him?" He whispers it to himself. He looks about as old as me and is a black guy with a fuzzy black Afro. He's wearing a red shirt with grey pants and blue sneakers. Before I can say anything, he gives me a toothy grin.

"There we go. Looks like you're really coming around. What's your name?" He asks curiously.

"Jack. Jack Bar" I answer honestly.

He grins. "Nice to meet you, Jack Bar. My name is Magellan." His grin slides off his face as he looks at me seriously. "So what happened with her? I was in the building when I saw you burst in and collapse while she was right behind you."

Knowing what I know, I'm almost certain that Magellan is a satyr guide for demigods, children of mortals and gods. "I just got to the city and she offered to show me around. After asking some questions about me, she took me to a quieter place. She said something about a half-blood and I decided to run. I didn't know she was going to kill me." I say truthfully.

Magellan's eyebrows raise at my explanation. "You tried to outrun her? Gotta say, you don't see that every day. She probably let you run; otherwise, you wouldn't have made it. Where did she chase you from?"

"Near Times Square, " I say as his eyebrows raise.

"Times Square, huh? Sounds like you had quite the run."

"So what happens now?" I say curiously.

Magellan looks at me in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I shake my head with a tired grin. "I'm almost positive that everyone didn't see that woman turn into dust. Otherwise, the place would be swarmed and the police would've arrested me. But you somehow got me out. That tells me multiple things. Mainly, you know what's going on." He starts to protest but I cut him off. "You could see her and you even threw a can at her head. You know what she is."

Magellan stares at me as if prompting me to continue.

"Getting me out of there means you need me for something. Before I woke up, I heard some words. Camp was one of them." His eyes widen as he realizes that I know more than he thought. "Clearly you know what I'm talking about. I'm guessing that there are others like me?"

He stares at me with complete shock. "W-What in the? H-How did you…?" Magellan pauses and stares at me intently. "Child of Athena maybe? But you don't have the gray eyes. Now that I think about it, you don't really look like any of the other campers. Who's your parent?"

I shake my head. "I have no idea. I don't know my mother or my father."

Magellan looks at me strangely before shrugs. "I guess we can't figure out that mystery right away. Since you know about camp, we'll head straight there." I nod; that sounds perfect to me.

"When do we leave?" I get up shakily. My body is groaning in protest but I shake it off.

Magellan shakes his head. "You should be resting after all you just went through your first monster fight."

"I'd rather get out of the city before another monster appears. I assume that this camp has protection?"

Magellan nods. "We have a protective barrier that will stop any attacks."

"Then it would be best to go there as soon as possible. Do you have a way of locating monsters nearby?" I ask. I remember that satyrs can smell monsters around them but they are better at it in the wild.

Magellan shakes his head again. "Not here. It smells terrible here. All of the pollution."

I nod. "Then let's get out of here."

Magellan quickly pulls out a piece of ambrosia from his jacket and gives me a small piece. "Here, this food will help you feel better. Just don't take too much or you'll burn up."

I take it and look at him like I don't believe him but he looks completely serious; he's not lying. I eat a small piece and I am reminded of the taste of homemade cookies practically melting in my mouth. I can feel my energy returning with each bite. "I feel much better now," I tell Magellan as I finish the ambrosia.

He grins at me. "Come on, let's go."

We make it out of the alleyway and call the first cab we can. Magellan tells the driver where to go as I pull out cash for payment. The driver takes it as we both get in and starts driving off. Neither of us are very talkative throughout the ride, though I let out a sigh of relief as we make it out of the city.

The driver looks at me curiously from the rearview mirror. "Something the matter son?"

I shake my head. "Just some bad business in the city. Someone tried to steal from me and it's my first time in the city."

He looks at me with a grin. "First time in the city huh? If I had've known that, I would've given you a grand tour of the city!" He hands back a business card. "If you come back find me and I'll help you out. Show you all of the different places."

I accept the business card with a "Thank you," and smile back at him. I stare out the window as the countryside flies past.

A new life in the Percy Jackson Universe. Ready or not here I come.