Hello, everyone! Well, college for me is literally right around the corner, and I know I'm going to be very busy. In the mean time, read and enjoy and go down the rabbit hole!

White Rabbit

When the men on the chessboard

Get up and tell you where to go

And you've just had some kind of mushroom

And your mind is moving low

Go ask Alice

I think she'll know

When logic and proportion

Have fallen sloppy dead

And the White Knight is talking backwards

And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"

Remember what the doormouse said;

"Feed YOUR HEAD... Feed your head"

Dear readers, something crazy is going on in the United States and things are getting worse. It's bad enough that some kid named Percy Jackson is accused for stealing the lightning bolt, but there are unclaimed half-bloods creating havoc in cities everywhere. Be on the lookout, mortals are so freaking screwed. Now is the time to PANIC! THE END IS NIGH!

anonymous

Birmingham, Alabama

I remembered drifting in and out of consciousness while I was being carried to gods know where. I heard only the sounds of crushed leaves; everything else is disturbingly silent. At a certain point, the thing carrying me stopped and threw me on a ground. I couldn't even register any feeling of pain, but I heard something inside me crack.

"Alop's, you bleeding sore, do you want me to carry it", a voice screeched out.

"Silence, slave, tell Lycurgus, we have her", Alops responded in an octave voice.

"Fine", it answered slowly. "Lycurgus will be pleased with her capture".

Without another word, Alops tossed my unresponsive body up over his shoulder and carried me away.

Two weeks later…

As I lay on my back on the grass facing the sky; I know I figure out my situation. After the assault, I was already blasted to the world of bitter reality. I always thought that the hero would defeat the monster and save the day, I was wrong. He, the gray man, did things to me; terrible things and dragged me off to a man, he called King Lycurgus. His highness was the scariest man I've ever seen in my life. His skin was peeling off, his disconnected jaw hanged open, and his face, his horrible decaying face was the worse. He had a ball to pick with Dionysus, my father and he thought using me as a potential target would make him rush in to save my life. He didn't and I wasn't surprised. Sadly, it was a bad move on everyone's part, and Lycurgus took it out on me.

I was found on a street by an elderly lady and she called the authorities. I was taken to the hospital; I blacked out a lot, but I remember him naming the damages. Broken rib bones, hemorrhaging, Partial Blindness, Internal Bleeding, the list goes on. I found it ironic that Sylvia was blaming the monsters for this. I don't blame them; I blame myself. If I never ran away from home like a selfish bitch then this shit would have never gone down so smoothly. I feel so stupid and I can't help thinking what would have happened if I stayed my ass home.

I quickly close my eyes and start to write in my journal. "Close your eyes make a wish…Children, they think anything is possible. They believe in flying in the air with their bikes, shooting stars that grant wishes, and monsters that hide underneath your bed. I was like that once, I loved to play with stuffed animals and sucking honey suckles against the small creak in the backyard. I had no worries about the future and I always thought that only innocent people inhabited the earth. I used to call the monster hiding in my closet, Colby the flying turtle, and that he was just angry that nobody accepted him…like me. You may be thinking that everything I'm telling you is complete and utter bullshit, I guess now it is. You should always be afraid of the dark, there are no flying bikes, monsters don't only sleep under the bed but everywhere, shooting stars grant wishes that never happen. Demigods…half human, half god; we're all illegitimate children looking for acceptance from our parents, and hope that maybe our daddies and mommies will look down and be proud of us. What we don't want to believe is the insuffience of explanation. We don't want to accept the world that was handed down to us, because it's full of flaws. We want to be heroes, and go down in flame and glory, but suddenly that idea turns into dust, along with us. Everything we ever knew is going to be washed away. Nothing about us will stay after we're gone. Nothing lasts forever, but on a happy note, may I be the first to say that satyrs are by far the funniest looking creatures in the Greek mythological world.

After approximately fourteen hours of thinking and writing in the journal that the Shrink gave me, I was ready to see the last of the sun. I brush the bugs and grass off my white dress, and rub my bandaged arms. I flinch at the memory of how they got there to begin with. I walk over to the old elm tree in my backyard and climb all the way to the top. I lie on the thickest branch and stare at the three coolest things in the world, clouds, the sunset, and the full moon.

~….~

Around the time of pitch black nightfall, I walk back inside the house. As soon as I open the door, I hear multiple voices coming from the kitchen. I close the door quietly and sit at the steps hearing every word that came out of their mouths.

"She's getting worse, Mr. Woodward", Mrs. Rose cries out. "She's not eating, or talking about what happened. She won't show me how she feels and it's scaring me".

"This case is very normal with demigods", Mr. Woodward insists. "Maybe it's her way of getting over it".

Mr. Woodward is my shrink, a fellow satyr friend of some satyr called Silenus. I don't bother reading mythology anymore; I prefer to stay in my own little magical world, deep in my imagination, where no one can find me. All the satyrs, I've met recently are all assholes and kiss asses.

"Woodward, Valerie is turning into a shell", Mrs. Rose voice cracks. "The girl is just gone, and she may never come back".

"Sylvia, Valerie isn't your child", Mr. Woodward replies. "I suggest you don't bring up these facts again or you'll anger someone".

"Hey, Ass wipe, I'm more of a parent to that child than Sofie and Dionysus combined that's why chose me to take care of her", Mrs. Rose shouts. "And if you ever call me, Sylvia again, your furry ass is going out that window".

There she was; I never heard her talk like that for awhile.

Mr. Woodward clears his throat nervously, "Well, the situation with Valerie is being closely watched and she'll be alright", he states as he shuffles in his seat.

"And how is the situation. Approving or faltering", Mrs. Rose asks seriously.

"It's not improving", a new voice says. "War is inevitable on Mt. Olympus".

"Quiet, Walter", Woodward hisses. "The main fact is that things are bad on Olympus right now. Zeus's lightning bolt is missing and a war is about to start between Poseidon and Zeus".

I stand up and open the door slowly to see four er-people, Mrs. Rose, Mr. Woodward, a nervous looking satyr who I'm guessing is Walter, and a frail woman facing the window. Mr. Woodward looks horrid in that suspender suit, and his glasses are always crooked. The older looking lady looks very familiar. She is wearing a lengthy red dress with a fur coat. Her pure white hair is in a banana bun and her nose is hooked. Her blue eyes are cold.

They all face me and the one called, Walter stands instantly and greets me, "My lady, greetings", he says as he trembles.

I cautiously shake his sweaty hands and walk past them all to the refrigerator. Walter mesmerizes over his hand I just shaked while trembling.

"Baby, talk to me", Mrs. Rose begs as she touches my shoulder.

I pick up a permanent marker and cross off another day on the calendar. I then turn and walk back out of the kitchen and walk calmly up the stairs into my room.

I open my door and walk into my room. I lock the door, so I will not be disturbed by anyone. I open the door to the bathroom; turn on the lights, and start running the water into the bath. I put in a bunch of bubbles and tossed a bath bomb in the water. I remember when I had those marathon baths when I was twelve. I found my inner sexuality in this tub which is bluntly what I'm assuming most girls do, but today isn't one of those days. I take off my white dress, my undergarments, and soak in the bath. I pick up the remote for the radio, and "A day in the life" by the Beatles begins to play. I sink to the bottom underneath the manmade currents of my bathtub. I slowly begin to fall as the speed up variation of the song begins to start.

Suddenly the pool of water rumbles and I immediately get out. I find myself staring at the pool of water; I lean closely to it and instantly I fall inside the. The pool of water turns into a chasm of earth and mysterious glowing stones. I struggle to grab onto objects to stop my fall, but they all crack or turn into dust. I begin to scream at the top of my lungs as I twist and turn down the chasm. The ground looks unbelievably bright and watery. I scream the moment I hit it with a violent force.

SLAM! I open my eyes slowly to see the white ceiling and I close my eyes to drift off to sleep. SLAM!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHAHHHHH"

"OH MY GODS, VALERIE, BABY", Mrs. Rose screams as she pulls me out the water.

I didn't register why she was crying until I saw the bloody water in my tub. I realize that my bandages on my arms are now undone and the time of the month must have come. She held me close to her body and covered me in a towel.

"Baby, what the hell were you thinking", Mrs. Rose exclaims. "Valerie, I cannot deal with this, you little shit. You are seeing Mr. Woodward tomorrow and we are getting your shit straightened out".

~….~

The next day

Mr. Woodward stares at me from his office chair as I stare at the city of Charleston, South Carolina. I had to wear a dignified summer dress and comfortable flats, because Mrs. Rose says so. I've been in his office dozens of times, but you can still smell the rosemary inside the room. The white walls are the same and the recycling frames are places uniquely on the each wall. As rotten memories about this place file up in my head, I begin to think about school, family, friends, and stuff. He pulls out another untouched journal and gives it to me.

"How is the writing doing for you", Mr. Woodward asks. "You know what we said about writing one's feelings".

I do the same thing that I've been doing since the incident three weeks ago, don't talk just listen.

"Well, can I read this journal of yours", Mr. Woodward asks. "If you don't respond I'll take that as a yes".

I continue to stare out the window watching a cloud that looks like a turtle.

"Alright, let's start with first page: "I went to the market today, and saw the pastor there. He was arguing with the clerk. He looked stupid". That's um very interesting, Valerie, but we want to talk about you. How do you feel?" Mr. Woodward asks slowly.

I look at him stoically and shrug my shoulders.

"Well, Mrs. Rose has told me about the incident last night, and we don't want that to happen again", he explains earnestly. "We were going to send you to Camp half blood, but due to your situation you are too destructive to go to camp".

"Am I? Well, I guess that's good news", I think with a quick sigh of relief. Sadly, I can't shake the feeling that this is my dad's way of throwing me up shit's creek. "Oh dear…" I mumble inaudibly.

"This new decision was thought of for a while and Sylvia Rose thinks that this idea will help you to adapt and meet new people", he insists. "I am putting you into a program that helps kids like you to get better. Verndale Boarding School for Fine Arts is located in Providence, Rhode Island. You'll be going there in the fall and many of the teachers are magical as well as clear-sited, so they'll understand your situation.

The clock on the time box rings and I begin pack up my things for a long conversation home, "Valerie, we expect you to be on good behavior there", he states.

I nod quickly, and then turn to walk away.

Mr. Woodward stares at me peculiarly, and starts to put away my files, "Poor girl", he whispers sadly.

~….~

Going Away Party:

Sylvia Rose insists on throwing a party to work out my issue of adapting and talking to new people. I didn't think I was that bad, but then I realize that everyone I've met in my life start the conversation first; including my dad. I guess I am excited to see some people that I haven't seen in a while. I know that my sister, Kathleen, is coming and sadly, my brother, Shawn as well Tiffany Red, Missy Scott, the evil kids: Muriel Sheldon and Janelle Ross, Father Eisenhower, his wife, and five children, Lexie Bartholomew, Gladis Aquitaine, Aunt Matilda, Uncle Storm, and my cousins: Jordan, and Eugenia, the Pratt family, Miranda Steele and her son, William, and Chamomile Sune. There is someone else coming, but Mrs. Rose is mum on that.

We spent the day before making food for the party, and it was fine. I honestly don't want to go through the whole list of foods we have, but we do have Angel food cake with icing, strawberries, cantaloupe and also klefta. Sylvia Rose was trying to work on my abnormally quiet toned speech; I suppose we made some improvement…kind of.

At the day of the party everything smells like glade, fruits, and southern cooking. I really don't mind. "Don't be afraid to talk to people", I tell myself as I walk upstairs to my room to get changed. I go inside my room to see a light green and light blue floral dress lying on my bed. Next to it a plain white shirt, and a panama hat. Sylvia Rose is really throwing to wolves here. I take off my robe and begin to put on my undergarments and the outfit.

The house begins to fill up with guests and the sounds of muffled conversations. I cover the bandages on my arms with my mom's wedding gloves and then start to cover my wrist with pearl bracelets. I then put on my white tennis shoes. I clip my bangs back, and let the rest of the poofy curly hair hang behind my back. I grab the Panama hat and exit my room. Most of the time during parties; I sneak into the party and wait for people to leave. I was really good with that when I was a child, but when mom grabbed me during the mist of my bad ass ninja skills, the mission instantly failed and everyone began to pinching my cheek, telling mom what an adorable toddler I was.

I jog down the stairs and dodge a group of mysterious people and make my way outside to see Lexie and Gladis arguing about the food they brought for the party. Gladis Aquitaine is African-American and astonishingly muscular and thin. I mean like athletic buff, and she wears a frown, but I do admire her natural face aside from Lexie's suicidal makeup face. I dodge them too. I try to look for Missy Scott, but bump head first into a tall boy. I rub my head, and suddenly the kid grabs me swings me around.

"Hey, mouse", the boy shouts as he pops me in the back of my head.

"Shawn, let go", I groan in pain as his hug almost cracks my ribs.

"How's my baby sister doing", Shawn asks quickly.

"I'm tired and hungry", I quickly reply.

Shawn is my older brother and childhood rival. Don't let his good looks fool you. You girls may think he has the most adorable violet eyes, the awesome jet black hair, and perfect Greek complexion but he's evil. He cut my hair off for his stupid art/science project. Mom punished him for it, but I say not enough. He wears the normal clothing; jeans, shirt, and jacket. He and I both share the same withdrawn looks; we both assume we get it from mom.

"Man, I've missed you", Shawn exclaims happily.

"Humph, I haven't missed you, Shawn", I reply with my arms crossed.

Kathleen walks over in her floral red dress and white high heels with a fruit basket in her hands. She gives a traditional Govia family smile and hands Shawn the fruit basket. I give a large hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Who the hell are you and what did you do with my sister", Shawn grumbles as he stares at her.

"You came and you cooked", I cry out.

"Yeah, I'm the best, huh", Kathleen asks openly with a smile

"Hahaha! She didn't cook, she got that from the fruits and flowers bouquet at the front of the train station", Shawn chuckles.

Kathleen's face morphs into an angry Amazon and like always Shawn stands his ground, "I'm just telling truth", he adds with a wink.

"Shawn, I told you I'm not up with it, today", Kathleen hisses.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'll just lie and tell everyone you made this", Shawn quickly replies and starts heading towards the house.

"Yeah, you go do that", she shouts angrily.

I look around and see the two juvenile delinquents running towards my direction, "Hey, kitty, I'm going to ditch, look to nine o' clock", I whisper in her ear.

She looks to nine o' clock and notices Muriel and Janelle running over towards us, "Naddie, don't leave me here with them. Naddie", she calls out, but notices that I'm gone.

I run into Aunt Matilda and Uncle Storm who came all the way from New Mexico. My aunt heartily hugs me, "Valeria, darling, you have to visit us in Santa Fe", she states in a thick Hispanic accent.

My whole family originates in Spain, Morocco, and South Africa. My mom and her siblings moved here to pursue their college education. While my brother and sister were born here in America; I was born in Serville, Spain while my mom was visiting family members. I wasn't supposed to come out until a month later, so it was scare, but hey I came out okay. (No pun intended). My first language is Spanish, and my second is English.

Aunt Matilda is related to me through marriage, she's in her mid-thirties, and has long wavy auburn bronze hair and deep olive toned skin. She has greyish blue eyes and very pregnant with her third child. She is wearing a calm yellow dress with a crucifix necklace around her neck. Uncle Storm has the luscious brown skin like my mom and I. He has amber eyes and close trimmed chocolate brown hair. He is wearing an outfit similar to my older brother. Jeez, the men in this family.

"Sylvia Rose says that we'll be going to Spain for the family gathering thing", I claim.

"That's terrific, Nadira, your family is really looking forward to seeing you, believe me", Storm replies contently.

"Everyone, the food's ready. Naddie come inside, someone wants to see you", Mrs. Rose calls.

I say my goodbyes and greet the Pratt family, while I head towards the house, "Hi, Isadora! Virginia, Jorge, and Bruno, I'm glad you guys came; we have the food set up in the backyard. Avoid Shawn, he'll eat it all", I say as they give me hugs.

"Naddie, quickly", Sylvia Rose yells.

"Okay! I'll see yawl later", I say my goodbyes.

I run inside the house and see a woman sitting on the chair wearing a beautiful dress, and a bead necklace. She looks good for sixties; she has dark brown eyes, similar brown skin and long curly dark brown hair like me. Sylvia Rose's eyes are watery, "Valerie, this is your grandmother, Alicia Govia", she explains.

She looks just like me in an odd way; I'm kind of hoping I look like her when I reach sixty.

"Valerie, you look like a picture", Alicia claims as she caresses my face. "The last time I saw you, you were a newborn baby, now look at you, all beautiful. You'd give Aphrodite I run for her money".

I smile nervously and look nervously at the sky. I don't want to end up like Andromeda, tied onto a rock, and ready to be sacrificed to an evil sea monster. I make a silent prayer, "Oh, Aphrodite, she doesn't mean that. She's my grandmother, please pardon her. I'll put a couple of meat and salmon Kabobs on the grill for you".

"Now, where is your handsome brother and beautiful sister", she asks as she kisses my forehead.

"There outside, in the line for food", I reply with a relaxed smile.

Sylvia helps Alicia from her seat and walks her to the backyard, "Oh, Sylvia, she's a doll", she states as they walk away.

I quickly run to the kitchen and grab a few meat Kabobs and place them on the grill worriedly. I look over to see Shawn flirting with Isadora, who is probably entranced by his face. She begins to giggle helplessly.

As I leave the food on the grill to burn I run over to Missy Scott, but my dash is interrupted by Ms. Steele. She's very tall, has beeline blond hair, and bright teal eyes. She wears bell bottom jeans and a white dress shirt. She is also carrying her three month old, William in her arms, "Naddie", she greets as she hugs me.

"Hi, Ms. Steele, oh he's lovely, can I hold him", I ask politely.

"Of course, he's a sleeper. He looks like his father", Ms. Steele replies as her face saddens a little.

I hold the baby in my arms, and notice his growing blond hair and his blue eyes. I couldn't help picturing him standing in front of a red car with sun glasses.

"Naddie, Missy Scott and Alicia want to see you", Mrs. Rose calls.

I sigh and hand the baby back to Ms. Steele, "He's so lovely. I'm sorry Ms. Steele I got to go…again".

"Aw, take your time", she insists as she rocks her son.

The party was fine for the most part, Janelle and Muriel caught up with me, and I got to hold my two year old cousin, Eugenia for the first time. Pastor Eisenhower and his wife avoided me throughout most of the party, but there daughters, Mariam and Ruth talked to me.

Alicia walks over to me and sits next to me, "I'm sorry that I didn't come to see you. My daughter and I don't like to include children in these situations and- -it doesn't matter. What matters is that I got to see you for the first time in fourteen years. Now, I'd like to give you something that will help you with some things", she explains.

She hands me a heavy cylinder metal with ancient engravings that I can make out barely.

"That'll protect you just like it's last owner, and be good. Remember you aren't alone", she states as she kisses my cheek.

Storm helps her up and they walk to the car, "Adios, muchacha", Matilda whispers as she hugs me and Storm does his little wave thing that he always does. Jordan runs over to me in her yellow dress and red cardigan and gives a kiss on the cheek. She quickly runs off while waving. I wave sympathetically back.

Around one o' clock in the morning, folks started to clear out. Shawn and Kathleen had to get back to the train station much to my disliking, but they said they'll visit me in Verndale. Muriel and Janelle invited themselves over for a sleepover when they fell asleep on the couch and Ms. Steele went back home with her son.

Sylvia Rose and I cleaned up the house and I cleaned up the ashes on the stove. It didn't smell all burned; it smelled like grass, trees, and freshly cooked meat. A brush of wind comes by but I'm too busy fixing the stove.

"Aphrodite doesn't mind stuff like that anymore; your perfectly safe", a voice says behind me.

I turn to see my dad wearing a purple dress shirt and dress pants leaning on the table. I walk over quickly and pick up the plates and the silverware. I quickly turn on my heels and walk back inside the house. By the time I got back inside my house my dad is already standing behind me. I stare at him stoically; I really don't feel like talking to him, right now. Not in a bad way, I'm really tired.

"You alright", he asks cautiously.

"All's quiet in the western front", I breath out.

He gives me a small smile; he always looks like he's trying to figure something out, and it doesn't make me feel good at all. Now I know why he looks so ancient looking.

"Alright", he replies withdrawn. "So your off to school, I guess. Be safe".

I make a forceful smile, and go to the living room. Sylvia Rose is cleaning the tables, "Mrs. Rose, I'm assuming that you know my dad is here. I'm putting Muriel and Janelle to bed", I whisper as I try to lift Janelle.

Sylvia Rose smiles at me and walks into the kitchen.

~….~

One day later:

I wake up around six-thirty in the morning to lie in the tree in the backyard again. I want to see the sunrise and chase the fading stars like I did when I was child. It's no secret; I will miss this spot, my room, and Mrs. Rose. She says that I can come home every Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I can't go to Cardinale anymore, and I won't see my old or new friends again. To me this is all bullshit, but I was too dangerous to be left here. How am I dangerous? That I don't know. Thankfully, I don't need to take the subscribed pills anymore, because I tested negative. The hospital thought that I suffered from severe schizophrenia and an anti-social personality disorder. How ironic, huh? I'm talking to you all.

I hear the door close quietly and I look down to see Mrs. Rose looking up at me. I immediately sit up as she climbs the elm tree. She eventually gets on to the branch under me, but it begins to bend over.

"Hey, I made you some tea and there is left over angel food cake for breakfast", she states with a saddened smile.

I look towards the glowing sky and lay my head on my arms.

"We'll see each other every holiday, and you won't have to worry about anything. I'll take care of the house and you get good grades in that school", Mrs. Rose explains. "Next summer we can go overseas and go to Spain, so you can meet your family members and you'll have so much fun".

I turn my head to face and look down at the ground sadly, "Do I really have to go and leave you all", I whisper to myself.

"Come on in, and change. You're getting skinny and frigid, Naddie", she adds sharply. "Get inside or I'll—I jump off the branch before she can finish up her threat and walk back inside.

Sadly the time comes, seven-thirty to be exact. Mrs. Rose and I wait on the sidewalk for the creepy lady and her assistant to pick me up. While the yellow jackets buzz around the asphalt on the street, a familiar face runs towards us. I look up to see her, and my face begins to convulse with irritation.

"Hi, Mrs. Miramontes", Muriel shouts as she hugs me.

Muriel Sheldon is wearing her R2 D2 shirt and plaid pajama bottoms and has her bunny slippers on. She looks as though she's been awake all night as her usual brown eyes are dilated and her smile is crazy looking. Her reddish brown hair is in messy pig tails and she smells like pure sugar. Uh oh.

"Hey, did you miss me? I missed you. Where are you going? Who are you going with? Are you dying? I hope not. Can I come with you? Why aren't you talking? Do you have candy? I had candy this morning. I don't want you to leave. Why don't you answer your calls? Are you avoiding me? Do I annoy you? I'm sorry I don't want to annoy you", she blurts out.

My eye twitches as I stare at her. Muriel is one of the most annoying kids any parent wants to deal with. Ever since the trip to New Orleans, she's been stalking me and following everywhere. She's one big ball of ADHD and sugar highs. After a while, I realize that I wasn't as bad as my mother told me.

"Sheldon, do want you want me to get the spray", Mrs. Rose snarls.

"No, I came to give Naddie something", she quickly replies as she sits next to me. "Here, I made it out of sea glass".

She places the ring on my lap so I can get a closer look at it. It was pretty, a pale lavender with little unformed pearls inside. The color changes in the sunlight; it's very beautiful. I look at her and give a reassuring pat on the shoulder. She quickly pulls me into a hug.

"I love you, Miss Miramontes", she shouts.

Whoosh! A large royal blue shuttle bus appears in front of us. I turn to face Muriel and Sylvia; they both immediately embrace me. When we all pull away I notice Sylvia Rose's eyes watering, but Muriel's face is beaming with happiness.

The woman from a couple nights ago walks down the steps of the bus and walks towards my direction. She is wearing a pastel pink suit with a fur scarf in the summer time and bright pink lipstick. She is holding a clipboard filled with individual slips and pictures. She stops in front of me and looks me up and down.

"Humph, Valerie Anne Miramontes, daughter of Dionysus, yes", she asks smugly.

I nod and stand to get my belongings together, "That won't necessary, Valerie. You there, put her possessions in the bus", she orders to a young boy in the bus.

The child races towards my things and carries them to the bus with difficulty.

"I am Karen Ramussen, but please call me, Lee Nouveau; you may remember me by your new principal at Cardinale. I'm his ex-wife and I am warning you no funny business. My school is first class and don't you dare ruin it or you are out", she exclaims.

"HEY! DON'T TALK TO HER LIKE THAT, YOU LITTLE-"Muriel, shhhhhh", Mrs. Rose whispers harshly.

I nod at her and turn to face Sylvia rose and Muriel Sheldon, "Goodbye, you two, please behave", I whisper and I follow Mrs. "Ramussen" to the bus.

As soon as I get inside the bus, I quickly run to the window facing my house and wave goodbye. Muriel and Mrs. Rose wave back happily. The bus begins to pull off and watch them become smaller and smaller.

"Valerie, sit down next to the girl right there", Mrs. Ramussen orders.

I follow her orders and sit next to them, "Naddie, thank the gods, I'm not by myself", one of the girls shout.

I turn to see the bossy girl, Paulette Rich. She is wearing jeans and a blue tank top, while I was forced to wear a light blue skirt and a white dress shirt with a pale green sweater. She has tons of makeup on and a new nose stud.

"Hey, Rich", I whisper cautiously.

"Oh hey…Why haven't you answered my calls? Everyone in Birmingham is worried about you, not to mention Nuala and Prince are freaking out. Jeez answer the phone and say hey I'm alive, just letting you", she shouts. "I'm not talking to you".

It's going to be a long ride to Rhode Island

~….~

Five hours later:

After the first two hours of picking up deranged juvenile delinquents, I start to lie on my back with my head resting against the window. I look around the bus to see a boy chewing on a knife, a girl attempting to set another girl's hair on fire, and a boy rocking back in forth while eating dumplings. Paulette has been doing her makeup for five hours and now she looks like a gothic Barbie doll. I stare out the window to see trees, a range of mountains, cattle, and a horse.

"Where are we", a boy behind our seat asks.

I get up from the seat and turn around to face him. He's short, stubby, and his face is a perfect shape of an oval. He has big creamy brown eyes, curly close-cut brown hair and his skin is a dark brown. He is wearing the Verndale school logo shirt with a red bow tie and grass stained caches. I recognize him instantly.

"Darwin, you're a demigod too", I ask slowly.

"Oh my stars and garters, Naddie", Darwin shouts. "I haven't seen you all summer".

Paulette snaps out of her silent treatment and turns around to face us. Darwin flinches when he sees her face.

"Hello, Tara Banks", Darwin coughs out.

"What did he just call me", Paulette snarls at me.

I shrug, and sit up on my knees, "So, who's your parent", I ask.

"Eros, the god of love and sexuality", he replies.

I let loose a small laugh; Darwin's jokes are always funny. I don't notice Darwin's face harden. I look at him and stop laughing.

"You're serious", I slowly ask in shock.

"Yes, Eros is my dad. Got a problem", he asks smugly.

"Darwin, Eros is a baby. He's the little cherub thing with the bow and arrow shooting at unsuspecting people and he's-I begin to stop as Darwin's head begins to turn sideways.

"Never mind, I think it's cool. Congratulations", I quickly state and sit back down on the seat.

"Who's your parent", Paulette asks me irritably.

Darwin jumps up from his seat and squishes in with us, "I want to hear this", he states.

"I'm betting Hebe, Hermes, or Aphrodite", Paulette claims.

"Dionysus", I whisper quietly.

"Who", they both ask in unison.

"Dionysus", I say a little louder.

"Naddie, we can't hear you, speak up", Paulette exclaims.

"My parent is Dionysus", I exclaim back.

They both look at me and then at each other. Their faces fill with mirth, and Darwin is on the ground laughing his butt off. "Oh my gods, oh my gods, that is so freaking funny, that is so gods damn you for being so lucky, oh my gods. Dionysus, man oh man! I'm taking you to the club in Providence, and we're going to party like it's HOT".

"Hey-hey, Naddie what's your fav-favorite d-drink, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA", Paulette adds as she laughs insanely.

"You are both mentally unstable", I state through clenched teeth.

"And you should know", Darwin shouts as he laughs uncontrollably.

I give them both the middle finger and get up from my seat to move to an empty one, "Hey, we're sorry let's chill and have some wine", Paulette calls out.

"You have us at Merlot", Darwin adds trying to stop his laughter. "We love you, Naddie, come back".

The bus thrusts backward and I fall on my butt. I was about to slide all the way to the front of the bus, but something pushes me back to my seat. I struggle to get back onto my seat as the bus tosses side to side. I grab the handles on the chair and hold on. Everyone is screaming and grabbing on to something. I move to the window to see a whole bunch of trees flying all over the place as well as dark shape in the woods. The bus jumps and everyone goes up with it. The bus finally halts to a stop, throwing everyone forward, and then back.

Karen er Lee Nouveau stands up in center aisle, "Students, who's alive sound off".

"Oh my gods, I broke every bone in my body", a voice screams.

"Shut up, Anthony", a voice shouts.

"You shut up, Cass", Anthony yells back.

"I think a broke my lipstick and I cracked nail", a girl shrieks.

"Oh my gods, which nail, Celestine", a boy sarcastically shouts.

"SILENCE", Mrs. Nouveau shouts and everyone becomes quiet. "We will exit the bus in an orderly fashion".

Everyone gets up and the first few rows are dismissed by Mrs. Nouveau. The boys, Anthony and Cass stood in the row of seats next to us, waiting for our rows to be dismissed. Anthony is a weird looking elfish boy. He has very light blond hair and fair skin. His eyes are a greyish brown and he was mid-size. He wore a wrinkly dress shirt and jeans with black converses. Cass is a tall Asian with dyed orange hair, and nose piercings. He is wearing a dark blue cardigan with a white button down shirt and red pants with brown Preston bluchers.

I turn to see the girl, Celestine; she is African American and has strange "dew" eyes. She is wearing a puffy red dress and pearls. Our row is finally dismissed and I quickly follow behind Darwin. A boy behind me puts his foot in front of mine and I trip forward bumping into Darwin.

"Ow", I mumble.

I don't turn to face him; I will not give him the satisfaction. We walk march out of the bus two by twos and head towards the parking area. While we are walking, Darwin begins to make cattle noises, much to the dislike of Mrs. Nouveau.

"MmmmMoooomooooommmmmmooo".

"Who is doing that", Mrs. Nouveau asks.

We all stare at her, and she turns away irritably as she leads us to the parking lot. Eventually everyone starts to make cattle noises; the joke is interrupted by some thunder. I guess the gods didn't like us doing that, but we all ignore it.

By the time we reach the parking lot, we all sit on the pavement and stare at Mrs. Nouveau and her assistants. "Demigods, we are located in the Shenandoah Valley, and the bus has broken down. There is no need to panic; if the bus is not fixed by the end of today we will sleep inside for safety reasons", she explains. "Now let us read the names off to see if anyone is missing".

"Raise your hand when your name is called. Girls: Drye Celestine-"Here I am" Megan McDowell-"Sup", Victoria Berg-"Present", Sevidale Blackwell-"Here", Valerie Miramontes-"Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo", Rupinder Patturman-"I'm dead", and Paulette Rich-"Piss off", good. Now boys: Anthony Barlett-"Call me Speedo", Cassidy Bae-"Here", Calvan Chan-"Hi", Gary Maddox-"Huh, what", Jonathan Hawkins-"Johnny's in the house, byotch", Hunter Trevino-"Yeah…", and Darwin Hendrix-"Yodeling with Valerie. Good".

We all sit back down on the pavement and converse with our friends. I decide to pull out my journal and look inside. "Write about yourself, let's find out about you", I recall what Mr. Woodward said until my thoughts are interrupted by a shadow over me.

Johnny immediately grabs my journal and I try to snatch it away from him, but he dodges me. "Alright, give it back", I tell the boy.

He throws the book on the ground and puts his foot on it, "What are you going to do about it", he asks as he looks me up and down.

Johnny Hawkins is very attractive, but he's such a dick. He has caramel colored hair, and fresh brown eyes. He is muscular and has an athletic body, which is a killer for me. He wears a white t-shirt with an open plaid button down shirt with a leather jacket and jeans. He wears timberlands just like me. Why did he have to be such a dick?

"Do you like provoking people or are you from a nation in which it's okay to steal belongings from people", I ask slowly.

"Well, Laurie, I'm a son of Ares, what I say goes and you can't do anything", Johnny says as he smirks at me. I begin to realize that this is his way of trying to get a girl to like him and it wasn't working.

"Well, you must be the arithmetic man; you add trouble, subtract pleasure, divide attention, and multiply ignorance", I reply as I get up. "And by the way, I want my journal back clean and an apology, have a good day".

Johnny's face burns with rage and embarrassment as he watches me walk away, "Sleep with one eye open tonight", he shouts.

He stares at me like a wild animal ready to strike me down, but before anything can happen.

"It looks like we will have to sleep here, my lady", the bus driver explains.

"Alright, children gather fire wood, we will be camping", Mrs. Nouveau orders cautiously. She points to the boy to fix the tires.

I walk over to Paulette and Darwin who have cooled down from the alcohol jokes. I begin to play with the rocks, while Darwin fixes his bow tie, and Paulette continues to add more mascara.

Mrs. Nouveau walks over to our group and makes an announcement, "Alright, we will be splitting you all up in two groups; you seven over right and you other seven stay here. The one's on the right come with me the others go with the bus driver.

An older heavy set man with grey hair stood over us with a disapproving face, "Half-breeds and pagan worshippers, my name is Bourdain and I will be watching over you while you get wood for our camp site. Seeing that you, devil worshippers already know how to breed for survival, I'm assuming you'll know how to partially control yourselves. Now get", he shouts as he walks back over the bus and sits on steps.

Our mouths drop open in confusion as we cautiously get up and head into the woods. Our group consists of Anthony, Gary, Johnny, Darwin, Rupinder, Paulette, and Me. I stayed near Gary Maddox and Anthony, they look nice for the most part, but it was partially because I didn't want to know how an Ares kid would react to an insult. Gary Maddox is very talkative; he has dark brown hair and grey eyes. He wears an over coat with jeans and dress shoes. While we we're all getting wood, the girl who is Indian, Rupinder, runs towards wide-eyed.

"Guys, you won't believe what we just found, come on", she exclaims hurryingly.

We follow her to a huge abandoned tea house hanging off the cliff. The tea house is purely made as a beautiful Chinese architecture. It looks as though it is in good condition, but the bright red bridge looks a little untrustworthy.

"Oooo, let's go over there", Paulette insists as she walks towards the bridge.

"Uh, I don't think we should", I state as I touch the bridge cautiously.

"I'm with Valerie, the architecture of the building is very old, dating before the Revolution era and if the round bridge holds all seven of us, undesirably, we'll all fall", Gary explains as he holds one finger up.

"Well, whoop-de-doo, Maddox", Johnny adds making Anthony laugh.

He catches me staring at him disapprovingly, "What, you got another smart remark to say", he asks smugly.

"Don't squint up your face like that it makes you look smug", I reply as I stare at the bridge.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun, what could possibly happen to us", Paulette asks openly as she joins Rupinder.

"Um, we'll all die by a bridge, instead of monsters", Darwin insists.

"Ah, what's life without a little risk", Anthony sighs.

"Safe", we reply in unison.

"Well, we're going, you coming, Johnny", Anthony asks.

"I'm staying with the black people and the smart ass", Johnny replies.

Darwin and I cock our heads to the side, "That's it I'm going", I hiss.

"Yeah, same here", Darwin adds.

"Now, I'm going to follow the black people", Johnny insists.

Gary, the smart one, all alone decides to follow us too.

The bridge is sturdy enough to hold us all, as we quickly go over as quickly as possible. We reach the doors of the tea house and pull them open as we try not to cough at the dust. We slowly go inside the tea house. The walls are decorated Chinese façade, and traditional columns as well as an old small pond with dead lily pads. The air is stale and old, but the smell of cherry blossom lingers in the air. We look around the place; Johnny insists on following Gary, Darwin, and I while we search around the place. We enter a mysterious bathroom that looks unusually clean for a room before the revolutionary era, matter-of-fact that lit candle looks pretty suspicious too and the damp towel lying on the side of the tub.

The ground begins to shack and the bath begins to bubble with this hairy liquid. I immediately make a run to the entrance to get out; I didn't want to even know what the monster was. An unusually large eight legged creature crawls out the bath tub, Darwin jumps out of his skin and follows me out of the bathroom. Johnny and Darwin slowly back away.

"Hello, heroes, I am Arachne, no need to fear. Please let us eat, together", she whispers seductively.

"Oh my god, it's the mother of spiders", Gary screams horrifically.

"Holy crap", Johnny shouts.

Darwin and I were out of there before she even got out of the tub. We run like maniacs to the entrance, but the door closes shut. We are about to warn the others until Paulette, Rupinder, and Anthony bust out of another room.

"Run, I'll tell you what the warning is, we're in a lot of freaking trouble", Anthony screams on the top of his lungs.

We all run to the center of the room, only to be completely surrounded by magical spiders. We all look around nervously; none of us have weapons to defend ourselves, and we know it's the end. Johnny on the other hand pulls out a switch blade knife, ready to attack.

"Bring it on, spidey", he growls as he flips his blade.

Arachne climbs her way down from the bathroom and stares at us. If spiders can grin, she did, "I simply love the taste of demigods in the evening, feed my darlings", she claims.

Her children crowd around us with their pinchers, but before they can eat us the on the floor begins to crack. Some of the spiders immediately flee from the area, but the hungry one try to snap at our arms and legs.

"AHHHHHHH! HELP ME, HELP ME", Rupinder screams as she pulled away from our circle.

Anthony and Paulette pull her away from the spider, as she continuously kicks it in the face. I am able to fight off at least three of them with my knife, but I am thrown down by a spider instantly. The spider crawls onto me with its pinchers trying to bite my face off. I take my knife and thrust it in its throat. Nasty reddish brown gush falls over my body. Before it can get any worse, Johnny decides to show his manly courage by chopping its head off. More gush falls on my face. He pulls me up and pushes me back in the circle .

Arachne furious at the deaths of three of her children makes her position to strike, "Demigods, you have made a great mistake", she shouts.

She extends her legs and jumps at us with all eight legs extended. We all duck, I try to get on the ground, but it crumbles underneath our feet. Everything around us collapses; the columns begin to fall forward crushing some spiders, but Arachne avoids all of them and struggles to make a web that will catch us. We all land on the newly created web; I miss by an inch and watch as the web's main chord begins to unravel. Arachne pulls on her web more and more, not noticing the strain on the string. Something snaps and we all fall down; someone screams, maybe it's me.

I see floating shields, swords, and spears along with some jewels, necklaces, and goblets along with other treasures. I notice the dirt and glowing stones as I fall. I try to grab onto some objects to grab onto but they turn into dust. My screams become louder as we reach the glowing bright light on the ground. I close my eyes and try to shut down all feeling. THUMP!

"Are we still alive", Anthony coughs out.

"Naddie, you alright", Paulette asks.

I give her the thumbs up as I begin to vomit up this morning's breakfast. Darwin attempts to hold back my hair.

"I'm okay. I may have a minor concussion, but it's probably a headache", Gary explains.

Rupinder gets up and looks at the damage, "It looks like we dodged a big one; this pit is the entrance to the underworld. Thankfully, we're safe", she states.

"Safe, what do you mean we're safe look around you? We're all going to die, man", Anthony screams.

"Wait a minute where's Johnny", Gary asks slowly.

"I don't know", I whimper. "Yeah, I'll let you guys take care of that".

"Maybe, he went inside that cave", Darwin replies.

"Maybe he fell to the underworld; he's probably dead, but we didn't know him that well so it's fine", Paulette insists sarcastically.

We all get ourselves up and walk towards an only opening of a cave. I grab onto the glowing rocks as it lights our way. The sound of club music fills the tunnels and the entrance gets brighter. By the time we reach the entrance, my mouth drops. It's a city like a huge thriving city filled with buildings, temples, coffee shops and so much more. I step to over a rock and see a few people walking by on the street. Wait not people, they are huge and have one large I in the middle of their faces. A flying drakon flies over our heads, and snakes slither around the street. The bay area is the worse part, I think I see the Lochness monster sunbathing on the sands.

"Okay then, let's go", I choke out.

We all back away and turn to go back inside the tunnel. WHOOSH! The shadow figure appears in front of us. He stares us up and down, "Well, we've got ourselves more takers, take them away", he growls.

A bunch of monsters appear around us, and haul us away. I try to kick one of them in the face, but the snake lady jabs me with a dart, causing things around me to become cloudy and loopy. Suddenly, there are stars in the sky, the sun, and floating clouds.

"Oh, pretty clouds", I whisper as I touch the pink clouds.

"Guys, snap out of it, there drugging us", Gary screams in pain.

"Hey, calm down. Everything here is fantastic", Darwin whispers ecstatically.

The shadowy figure begins to sinisterly laugh. He sounds so funny, and everything is rainbows, shooting stars, and flying ponies.

To Be Continued

I hope you guys liked that, and sorry it took so long. Tomorrow I'm moving into college, and getting my dorm situated. I'm really excited and in shock at the same time, but don't worry I'll update when I can. The next story is called, What Ever Happened, so be on the lookout. Thank you for your reviews and I'll update soon.

~…~