Chapter 1

Okay, you see, it was just a normal day for me. I never intended on stumbling across a girl at the waterfall and ending up where I am now.

My name is Elijah Powell. I had been a Junior Park Ranger since I was ten and it was my third summer out in the forest. I was taking my usual rounds with my dog, Lily when we happened to come across the waterfall.

We usually go past this waterfall every day and Lily never goes berserk. Well, today she did. You see, I never keep Lily on a leash because I trust her enough to stay by my side. She’s been in my family since I was a kid and she hasn’t done me wrong at all.

So, when she took off toward that waterfall, I wasn’t sure if I should run away or run after her. But being the Park Ranger I was, I took off after her and found her sitting by a bush. It was as if she was hiding and she knew what she was doing. So I walked up and sat beside her. I followed her gaze and saw a girl with blonde hair, a bright orange shirt, and a blue backpack.

It was definitely strange seeing a girl in the forest because girls usually don’t go into dirty places. But here she was, standing by the misty end of the waterfall. She dug in her pockets and pulled out a coin and before saying something; she tossed it into the water.

I felt myself laugh quietly to myself and Lily let out a small growl. I reached over and patted her head, “Yeah girl, that is littering.”

Just as I was about to stand up and confront her, an image appeared in the water and I stayed down. How was this possible? Images of people can’t just appear from simply throwing a coin into the water. Lily’s ears perked up and she stood up. She took a couple steps forward and I grabbed her collar before she went further.

I stood up when the image disappeared and the girl began to walk away.

“Hey, how did you do that?” I said taking a few steps toward her. She looked my way and her eyes were big.

“You saw that?” She said pointing toward the waterfall.

“Yeah, and one that was littering and two that shouldn’t be possible,” I said getting close enough to see the grey color of her eyes.

“How could you see that? Most people can’t.”

“Well, I could. And you can’t just go around and throw coins into places,” I said.

“Ahh, Junior Park Ranger. What’s your name?”

“Junior Park Ranger Elijah Powell at your service,” I said, giving her a small salute.

“Elijah Powell? Well, that explains how you could see what I just did,” She said with a small smile.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I’m Annabeth Chase. I’m from a place called Camp—“

“Half-Blood?” I finished.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“I read your shirt,” I said and she looked down.

“You just read Ancient Greek,” She replied.

“No,” I shook my head, “It was in plain English.”

“Elijah, you’re a demigod,” she said.

“What?”

“You’re a demigod. It means that you are half-god. Like, Greek god,” She explained.

“Like Zeus and Hades?” I asked.

“Exactly, but you’re more like Hercules,” She said.

“I’m Hercules?” I asked. She laughed.

“No, but you’re what he is. He is a demigod and you’re a demigod,” She said and I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“So I have super strength like him?” I asked, thinking it would be cool to have big muscles like him. She laughed and shook her head.

“You know, you kind of remind me of my boyfriend. But, no. You have some kind of powers, but we won’t know until we get back to camp and find out who’s son you are,” She continued to explain.

“Get back to camp? I can’t leave. I’m doing my rounds. My dad will freak if I don’t get back,” I said, taking a step back.

“Elijah, you’re meant to come to Camp Half-Blood because you are a demigod. You know how you have ADHD and dyslexia? Well, those are your combat instincts. Without them, you wouldn’t survive. And I’m pretty impressed that you’ve survived this long without an attack,” She said adjusting the Yankee’s hat on her head.

“But, my dad,” I said thinking how weird it would be not going home. Not even to explain to him that I have to go to this Camp because I’m some demigod.

“He’ll understand. I left him a note at your house before I came to look for you. Your mother is the Goddy part of you. She is one of the Greek Goddesses that we study about and we’ll figure out who when we get there. But, we have to leave now. Our scent has probably triggered more than a dozen monsters on our trail,” She said grabbing my hand and pulling me.

“Hang on,” I said before whistling. Lily came running toward us and stopped by my side. Annabeth looked at her and knelt to take a good look at her. Lily walked up to her and Annabeth rubbed her ears and laughed when Lily licked her.

“I can’t believe I actually get to meet this dog,” Annabeth said standing up and wiping her face.

“What do you mean?” I asked, interested.

“Your dog, Lily, is actually a mythical dog called Laelaps that was said to always catch what he is after. It’s also assumed that it was the dog that protected Zeus as a baby. He might get along with Thalia and Jason, but we’ll see,” She said before starting off.

“So how far is this Camp Half-Blood?” I asked as we walked through the forest.

“It’s all the way in New York,” She said jumping over a log and I followed.

“But we’re in Minnesota, almost Canada. How are we supposed to get there?” I asked.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get there. I’ve had to go across the country almost walking a lot of the time,” she said.