Everything had been going on as usual, until some strange creature ate my hamster.

I was getting ready for school when I heard strange noises coming out of the kitchen. Slowly, I went to investigate the source of the sound.

As I walked into the kitchen, whatever was in there bounded away past me, into the living room. By the time I got there, the cage in which my hamster had lived was lying on the ground, torn into pieces. All that was left of my hamster were a few specks of blood. The creature was nowhere to be seen.

Shaking, I leaned against the wall for support. What in heaven's name was going on? My parents were both at work, so I was the only one in the house. Should I contact the neighbours? And then what? My hamster wouldn't just spring back to life. And I really had to get going, if I wanted to be at school on time.

Considering, I picked up the destroyed cage. I decided to throw it away. It wasn't of any use anymore, certainly not in this state. Atreus had been a sweet hamster, but he had been old and I had never really liked hamsters anyway. I preferred horses, but those were hard to get.

Suddenly, the window exploded. I shrieked as the small pieces of glass rained down on me and something very large jumped into the room. I heard growling noises and looked around for the phone. I didn't know what the police would do with a monster-like creature, but they could certainly handle it better than I could.

As I silently crept towards the phone, the beast turned its head towards me. I gasped. It was unlike any other animal I had seen before. It's face was vaguely human, but it had three rows of teeth. It's body was that of a lion, and it's serpent-like tail was dripping with some kind of venom. I was too frightened to move, fearing that it would jump on top of me and rip me to shreds with its shark-like teeth.

I heard a distant crash, and seconds later a boy from school burst through the front door. Panting, he beheld the scene in the living room. I opened my mouth to call for help, but before I got the chance he whipped out a set of reed pipes and played a quick tune. The beast turned away and sprang through the window. I looked at the boy, incredulous.

'Um, hi', he said and I made an attempt at replying, but the adrenaline in my veins prevented my tongue from working properly.

He helped me up and said, 'Are you hurt?' I shook my head. Apart from a few scratches and bruises, I was fine. I finally found my voice and said, 'How did you do that?'

'Well... That's hard to explain. First, we gotta get out of here.' I wasn't entirely sure whether I could trust him, and my parents had no idea what had happened. 'I have to call my parents first,' I said, and I started to move towards the phone. He caught my arm, a slightly panicked look on his face. 

I looked at his hand on my arm and he drew back hastily. 'It's not safe. The Manticore could come back, and by using a phone you're only sending a signal to other monsters. We have to go.'

'And how do I know I can trust you?' I asked. He sighed.

'You can't do anything else but to trust me. I will explain everything, but let's go somewhere safe first.'

'Alright,'I said, 'but I have to get some stuff first.'

I walked upstairs, where my schoolbag was still on my bed. I put my laptop and it's charger into it, picked it up and walked downstairs again. I always kept my most important possesions in my bag, so I had everything else with me.

In the kitchen I grabbed some food. I had no idea how long I was going to stay away.

He was waiting for me at the front door. As I walked up to him and pulled on my coat, he smiled ruefully at me. I tried to smile back, but was too scared. 'Okay, where are we going?' I said to him as I opened the front door.

'To Camp Half-Blood,' he replied.