Out Of The Woods

Chapter 1: Are We Out Of The Woods Yet?

     Sunny was anything but special.

     All her life, she had fantasized about being swept away to a land of fiction by a prince or princess charming.  It sounded ridiculous, but her dream was basically to live the life of a movie. 

      Sunny strolled down the street, her straight blonde hair blowing to one side by a chilly New York breeze. People bussled about, ignoring her entirely. She stuck her hands in her hoodie pocket. It was a windy Saturday in October, meaning she could do whatever she wanted for the day while her stepmom lounged about inside, where it was warm.

     That's when the screams started.

     Terrified shouting came from up ahead, and Sunny pushed through the crowds to see what was causing the commotion. The sight before her made her gasp from fear and wonder.

     It was a minotaur. 

     A boy around her age stood beside her, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen. 'WHAT GOOD IS A PEN AGAINST A MONSTER?' Sunny thought, watching him uncap it. It wasn't anything special, just a regular ballpoint pen that she could buy at a dollar store.

     Suddenly, the tip of the pen grew into a long, wicked-sharp bronze blade. Sunny watched as he charged the beast, his messy black hair whipping in the wind. She felt guilty. 'I should be helping.'  

     The crowd had scattered, but a couple bystanders stood and filmed the fight. The boy feinted and jabbed, and the monster seemed to get increasingly mad at him. As if they knew each other, and were enemies. That's when Sunny saw that it was missing a horn. 'Has that guy fought this thing before?'

     The minotaur suddenly at her with a growl.

     "Oh, shit!"

     "Why is it not ignoring you?" the boy yelled. The minotaur slowly started walking towards Sunny.

     "I don't knowAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The minotaur had picked her up in one hand, and was now squeezing her slowly. She felt her ribs starting to crack. Terror coursed through Sunny's veins, and she felt her consciousness starting to leave like the oxygen from her lungs. 

     Percy was frozen. 

     His mom had almost been lost forever in the same way the girl was slowly losing her life. He shook himself, his sea green eyes blazing. 'I can't let her die.'

     With Anaklusmos in hand, Percy sprinted towards the monster, and stabbed the beast directly in its thigh. It howled with pain, dropped the girl, who appeared to be unconscious. 

     It bent down to pick her back up, and Percy took his chance. He leaped onto the minotaur's back. The beast thrashed, trying to shake him off,  but Percy kept a strong grip by hanging onto its shaggy hair. He raised his sword, and plunged it deep into the monster's skull, killing it for the second time. 

     Sunny woke up in a white cot, her blue eyes bleary from pain. A blonde boy was watching her carefully, while organizing several jars of herbs. "Try not to get up," he said. "You have a fractured rib." 

     "Where am I?" Sunny asked, surprised that her voice sounded steady.  She was actually terrified. Who knew where she was, and who she was with? 

     The boy gave her a gentle smile. "Welcome to Camp Halfblood. I'm Will."

     "I'm Sunny. What's... What's Camp Halfblood?" 

     Will frowned. "Did Percy not tell you what you are?"

     Sunny's mind flashed back to the boy with the sword. "I'm guessing that Percy is the guy with the black hair and the bronze sword." Will nodded. "He was kind of busy making sure I didn't get squeezed to death."

     Will sighed. "Well... There's no easy way of putting this..." He rubbed the back of his head. "Do you know about the Greek Gods?" Sunny nodded slowly. "Well... They're real."

     Sunny inhaled sharply, causing a pain in her ribs. "HUH. You're joking. I mean, you HAVE to be joking!"

     Will grinned, as if he had seen this reaction before. "Nope. You know how in the myths, the Gods sometimes have kids with mortals?"

     "Are you seriously saying I'm the daughter of a Greek God?"