The bus had broken down so they had to transfer. Sally adjusted the cap on Percy's head, helping her son put on his little backpack before leading him out of the bus. Everyone was crowded on the sidewalk while the conductor went on a payphone to call for another bus from the station. He told them it would take about an hour.

Percy squirmed. He was only five years old, he hated being made to wait; he just wanted to go to the beach. It's been a rough school year. All the other kids had been teasing him because he couldn't read as fast and he always, always had to go home with extra homework for practice. The school even advised him to get summer classes, too, but he didn't want to spend the scarce months of summer toiling away. So here he was with his mother on their annual trip to the beach.

"Want to get some ice cream while we wait?" Sally smiled at her little boy, knowing exactly what the puffed up cheeks were for.

Percy nodded, gripping the straps of the backpack as he followed after his mother. She led him down the street, eyes out for an ice cream shop or whatever store there is that served ice cream at nine in the morning.

They turned the corner and were walking past an alley when Percy froze. He was pretty sure he heard someone cry out, it sounded like that someone was hurt. He turned his eyes to the shadowy space lodged between two brick buildings, curious and suspicious. The thing is, his teachers at school often reprimanded him for not paying attention in class but he just had this gut feeling that something was out there; in the stairwells at night, in the abandoned building down the block, in this alley right here.

A hulking figure separated itself from the shadows. It was a big beefy man in tattered clothes, his face smeared with dirt and grime.

Percy knew a word for those kinds of people, he'd heard the other kids at school shout them at the old bearded guy that slept on the bench at the park and walked around pushing a shopping cart loaded with broken stuff. But Percy knew that this alley-guy wasn't like the pushcart-guy. The alley-guy's eyes were scary and bright yellow. And they were trained right at him.

The large man cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing at the five-year old with the backpack staring at him. He sniffed at the air, his nostrils flaring as he recognized the smell. His whole chest rumbled as he chuckled.

Demigod.

Percy suddenly wanted to run. The man smiled a nasty evil smile and his teeth weren't normal – they were pointed little triangles and they were stained red. He wanted to run, run away and grab his mom, run away to the beach where he felt safe but he couldn't. His feet were stuck to the pavement and he couldn't bring them to move.

The yellow-eyed man stepped closer, showing off his pointy teeth and Percy couldn't even scream because a great big lump had stuck itself in his throat. This wasn't a normal guy, he couldn't be human.

The moment those thoughts entered his brain the hulking figure seemed to morph into a beast - lightning quick flashes alternating between the grimy man and something horrible with dark fur and claws and a pungent smell.

It was a monster. A great hairy monster and it was going straight for him.

"Percy!" Sally's voice sounded too far away.

Suddenly, a lean figure jumped onto the monster's back. It was a boy who looked twice his age and he had a bronze knife in his hand. He jabbed the blade into the monster's neck and instantly the monsters exploded into dust. The boy landed on his feet and met a wide, awestruck pair of sea green eyes.

Percy had only been told too many times that it was rude to stare but he couldn't help himself.

The boy, the human boy, just killed a monster right in front of him.

"A-Are you a ninja?" Percy found himself asking.

The boy smirked, the bags under his eyes standing out now that Percy looked at him closely. His thin limbs were streaked with patches of red which Percy hoped wasn't blood.

"My goodness, Percy, are you all right?" Sally came up beside her son, cupping his face and checking all over.

A rush of relief flooded the young boy and he managed a smile. "He saved me." Percy looked over to the alley only to find the boy gone. He pulled away from his mother's hold with anxiety written all over his face.

"Percy what are you doing?" Sally grabbed Percy's hand, pulling him back.

"He disappeared but he's bleeding and he needs a doctor." Percy bit his bottom lip. "We have to help him." He proceeded to drag Sally between the brick buildings but they reached a dead end. Percy felt the lump return to his throat.

The boy couldn't just disappear like that. He was wounded and he looked starved and – something red suddenly caught his eye. It was a smudge of red on a door – looking fresh and a lot like blood.

Curiosity and great worry had Percy turning the rusty brass knob. The door swung open easy, letting out stale air. "Hello?" he called into the dusty room. "Are you in here? I – I want to help you."

"Percy, we should get out," Sally whispered, not liking the idea of trespassing into somebody else's property.

Then they heard a thud and a groan. Both Jacksons rushed to the source of the noise and found Percy's wounded savior passed out.

They missed the bus to Montauk.