~ ☼ ~

There was no way in the world I was going to be alone in the woods, at night, with nothing but a heavy 800 gram bronze sword to defend me.

Okay, okay, a sword would be a good thing to defend myself with. But I'm only 15 and horribly un-athletic, and I still didn't want to be alone in the woods, at night. What can I say? I'm just a weak, musical girl from a small town in upstate NY whose only daily exercise is surfing (the internet) and running (away from my responsibilities).

But somehow, I ended up having to do exactly what I dreaded - walk alone in the woods and try to find civilization again. How I ended up there was a blur, something so surreal I could only vaguely remember...

My dad is an outdoor freak. He lives off camping, fishing, hunting, or all of the above. NY is adequate for that, so he makes sure, even in the winter, our family (which consists of me, my dad, my mom, and a German shepherd named Rhapsody) gets to go camping. My mom wanted to go to New York City this year, and as a compromise, we ended up traveling to Long Island to go camping. That's not vague.

After we got to the campsite, my mom sent me on a bike ride to the camp store to get some marshmallows, because, according to my father, marshmallows are necessary for camping. I rode to the camp store, the sun slowly setting beyond me, and got the marshmallows. That's not vague, either.

Here's where it gets tricky- I was riding back along a gravel path when I came along a glint in the ground. I hopped off my bike to see what it was. I bent down and brushed off some dirt, and out of the ground came a bronze (at least I think it was bronze... I'm sorry, I don't have a good knowledge of metals and alloys) sword, complete with an etching in the hilt, right below the grip. The letters were... what is that? Greek? I concentrated, trying to figure out what it meant, when suddenly, it made sense. The word was Liakada, meaning sunshine. I don't know how I figured that out, really, but it just made sense.

Honestly, I was less concerned about my newfound language skills than I was about the fact that I had found a real, bronze sword. I had no idea why it was there, but it was obviously worth something. Who knows how much money this could get me?, I thought to myself.

My phone was back at the campsite, but I wanted to show it to my parents. So I picked it up, running my finger along the edge and mentally cursing myself when I got pricked. It was sharp, so I tried to hold it gingerly, but it was a little hard considering its weight.

Suddenly, I felt the feeling of watchful eyes. I snapped my head up to see if anybody had seen my discovery, and felt a jolt of fear when there was in fact someone standing only a few meters away from me. But she... she wasn't human. She was tall, lean, muscular, and slightly pretty, but her skin was a sickly pale green. And where her legs should've been... instead, there stood two, long, snake-like tails.

I gaped at her for a minute, my heart beating way too quickly. Maybe... maybe she was dressed up for a con, or a cosplay, or something. But then, she smiled at me, exposing two knife sharp fangs. My stomach lurched.

"Uh..." I said, hoping she was a normal woman just trying to be friendly. "Hi."

"Hello, daughter of sssssun," she replied. There was a hiss in her voice that exaggerated the s's, making all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I'm not afraid of snakes, but this... this was something else. "It's good to finally meet you."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I ask, ever-so-slowly backing up. I tried to sound brave, but it came out shaky.

"I know you," she replied. "I've been waiting to get my tails on you for a while. So I could  get what I've always wanted..."

I started backing up faster. I had to be hallucinating. Maybe the sun had gotten to me and I was about to have heat stroke, which was a first. Or I was going crazy. Or I wasn't hallucinating at all, and I was facing some sort of crazy woman - or monster.

What the hell are you thinking, AJ? I thought to myself. A monster? What is this, a greek myth?

"Or, I'll give you a choice," the woman continued. "You can join the Titan army."

"Look, lady," I said. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Please leave me alone, or else I'll call the cops." It was a bluff, and seemingly ineffective anyway, because the woman - creature - let out a gruesome laugh.

"Mortal law enforcement does not scare me," she hissed. "But I guess, if you really don't know what the army is, I'm just going to have to go with the other choice. That is, kill you."

Before I could even fully react, I pivoted on my heel and ran.

I had no idea where I was going. This was my first time at this campground, and I didn't know how to get back to my site. Not to mention, it was getting dark out, and I couldn't make out my surroundings. So I just ran blindly, passing trees and campers and tents. All the while, I heard the shuffling, slithering sound of the creature behind me.

So this is how I'll die, I thought to myself. Being murdered by a wicked cosplayer. How fun.

My legs started to burn, and my eyes started to water. I glanced behind me - only to see that the creature was gone. And I was no longer in the campground. I was in the woods, surrounded by trees, the only light a faint glow in the distance.

Hunching over and panting, I started to realize what just happened. I had almost been killed, and I had no idea who - or what - the killer was. And now I was alone, in the woods, at night, with nothing but a heavy 800 gram bronze sword to defend me.

I glanced towards the golden glow just beyond the treeline. Perhaps that was somebody's fire back at the campground. It had to be - what else was possibly out here in the woods? So I started to stumble along towards the light, taking comfort in the fact that soon, I'd be back in the safety of my camper, with my parents, who would give me water and reassure me that I wasn't crazy.

But as I neared the light, I realized it wasn't a campfire at all. In fact, it was something else entirely. Two things, actually. Two tall, flaming torches, flanking a large marble gate. Etched in the top of the marble were the words "Camp Half-Blood".

Oh. My. God. Where the hell is the campground? If-

My thoughts snapped. Behind me, I heard the shuffle-slither of the snake woman. I went completely still, hoping she wouldn't notice me, but gripping the sword tightly just in case she did.

 And she did. She came forward out of the trees, grinning that fanged smile once again.

"You can't run from me, daughter of sun. You - and the gods - will pay." And then she lunged forward, reaching for me with her scaly hands.

On instinct, I screamed bloody murder from the top of my lungs, then swung at her with the sword. The tip just barely sliced in right as she whacked me on the head, and I fell to the ground. Her body turning into a bunch of golden dust molecules was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

~ ☼ ~

A/N: Hey everyone! My name's Athena and I've been writing and publishing this fanfiction since late 2014, now I'm finally going through and putting some finesse ("aesthetic") into it. It's a labor of love so I thank you so much for checking it out! Please VOTE, COMMENT, CONTINUE READING, and CHECK OUT MY OTHER WORKS! :D

(Man, putting those in caps makes it seem like I'm yelling at you. Don't take my enthusiasm the wrong way!)