16-year-old Percy struggles with dyslexia, but has a unique ability to stay underwater. On a school trip to a museum, Percy is attacked by Alecto, a Fury masquerading as his substitute English teacher, Miss Dodds, who demands the lightning bolt. Percy's best friend Grover Underwood and his Latin teacher Mr. Brunner help scare off Alecto. Mr. Brunner gives Percy a pen which he claims is a powerful weapon, and instructs Grover to take Percy and his mother Sally to Camp Half-Blood—a hidden summer camp for demigod children. There, they are attacked by the Minotaur, who seemingly kills Sally when Sally is unable to enter the camp. At Grover's suggestion, Percy uses Mr. Brunner's pen, discovering that is a sword, to fight off the Minotaur. After having no success with the sword, Percy kills the Minotaur with its own horn before fainting out of intense shock.
