Second Best

1 - You're a wizard, Jakey.

I never imagined myself to be in this kind of situation. I love the forest. I've been living in the forests of Manhattan (not Central Park, mind you) all my life, ever since my mother's death that happened to be when I turned eight.

However, I wasn't too fond of being surrounded by three large dogs. They were literally taller than me! I thought myself to be pretty tall for my age of fifteen; ever since puberty kicked in, I've never been the same as before. Heck, what am I saying, that's for everyone, is it not?

I was currently in Manhattan, the place my mother and I moved to when I was around two, maybe three years old. It's great, the acid rain, rude people, and polluted areas. Maybe that's why I became a hobo and became a full-time Jungleman? I don't know, I just don't like the city. I love the forest-not when being surrounded by death Hounds-more than anything.

The Hounds barked and snapped their jaws at me, inviting me to give them a challenge-clearly something I couldn't do. All I had was a simple map of Manhattan, Tic Tacs, and a flashlight with a dead AAA battery. So, I did the bravest option-I ran like hell.

Was I screaming as I ran? The world may never know.

The Hounds had reacted faster than a jackrabbit when I darted off. They quickly pursued, only inches away from my sorry behind. There was no way I could outrun them, no way!

Somehow I did tons of secret-spy and SS moves to evade each of the Hounds' attempts to grab me and turn me into a large chew toy. I could almost feel their teeth, digging deep into my flesh and tearing me to pieces. A silent shiver was lost in the wind as I thought of what could be my very soon future.

A howl of pain echoed through the dense, empty woods. Now, I bet you're guessing it's me, right? No! It's the Hound. More accurately, all of the Hounds.

The Hounds screamed and writhed in pain as they had touched what appeared to be a forcefield and faded into existence, the only remnants remaining of their existence was gray ash and a bad BO smell. Once they had dissipated, the forcefield-like substance vanished into thin air.

"What was that?" I asked aloud, although I was not expecting an answer. The forcefield substance had been white and only appeared when the Hounds touched it. Why didn't the force turn me into a heaping pile of ash? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy I'm not dead, but it's still confusing...

A crackle of bushes knocked me out of my thoughts of whether or not I was losing my marbles. I quickly turned around, expecting another Hound, monster, demon, or a simple old granny out for my body oils. How did none of those guesses become true? Instead, it was a simple teenage boy, around my age, who seemed a little shocked to see me.

The first thing that came to my brilliant mind was a simple "Who are you?"

"My name is not important right now, Jakob Ivan Lukin. Come on, let's get you to camp."

I bet you thought I would just take the boy's hand and we would run off into the sunset like a happy couple. NO! This guy took me by force!

I had no consent in going, so the bastard took me by force, saying stuff in a weird language that was foreign, yet not-so-foreign-to-me. It wasn't English, so how did I understand those insulting words from him? Let's just say, they were not worthy of being spoken aloud. Although, I can't put all the blame on him; I did some pretty sick kicks, uppercuts and... um, biting. He started it by forcing me to his apparent 'camp!'

"Just... COME ON ALREADY!" The male groaned and dropped me, stepping profusely on my ribcage. Damn, that hurt! I almost instantly pushed him off and stood, wiping the dirt that got onto my apparel.

"It's your fault! You're the one forcing me to go to this wretched, forsaken-woah. . ." My insults were cut off once the camp was in sight. It was just amazing to look at! I could see a lake, fields, cabins, a large building and... an amphitheater?! "What kind of camp is this?"

"This is a camp for half-bloods, or demigods," The male spoke, interrupting my serene mood of pleasure being bestowed upon me; this was truly a remarkable place. "You're a wizard, Jakey."

"Really?! I'm a wizard?!"

"Just kidding. You're the son of a Greek god, and we're about to find out which one."