Pan's Kin

My life was simple regardless at to what anyone else says. Life was like a perfectly planned out schedule, one school, two homework help with Jake, and three bed. I liked my life but something peculiar always happened to me, I got the sensation someone was following me. I was different in some ways yes, but wasn't everyone?

I was born at St. Ruth's hospital on the small island, Orcas Island. It was off the cost of Washington. My mother was a gardener, always had been, she owned a local green house where the islanders could stop by and take care of their plants and work freely. My little brother Jake was born from a different father then mine. But yet like my dad he left Mom to defend for herself.

My mother was born in England always speaking in a slight English accent. She had blond hair that was wavy, but she had a pixie like face. Her teeth were straight and white but the most puzzling thing about my mother was her eyes, anyone could see they were hazel, but if you looked close enough you could see they had strands of green in them. She could make a dead plant come alive within a few days. And she grew the most impressive plants.

At age sixteen I was developing qualities my mother had. She was amazing with plants I was semi-good with them but I wasn't like her at all. I loved animals they always seemed attracted to me, which sometimes made me think of myself as Snow White. She always had animals on her shoulders or birds singing along with her. But unlike her I just had wild rabbits let me pet them or feral cats hold them.

But the most intriguing thing happened to me when I was taking a history test. I loved history sometimes I pictured myself behind a desk with hundreds of books reading them of our culture and other world countries histories. But the question was a bonus, since Greek mythology was a few months back it was a difficult one.

*Bonus Question*

was the Greek god who influenced wild places and animals? Circle on of the following:

A. Daniel Smith B. Samuel Adams

C. Benedict Arnold D. Pan

I knew who each of these people were, so I circled Pan, what Greek god would want to be named after a thing my mother used to make omelets. I thought about the question on the test for awhile, it stuck in my mind like super glue. I thought how familiar it sounded. Well you idiot, a few months ago you did a unit on Greek philosophy! I thought, I shook my head. My only friend was a girl named Ashes. Ashes? I questioned it as well. I walked out of my classroom and into the cafeteria.

Ashes was seated with her boyfriend, Fleen. Fleen was a boy who no one like, for one he had about six piercings injected in his lips. He wore a another one above eyebrow and one in his tongue. I hated looking him in the face, it made me shudder. Ashes on the other hand was a bright colored girl it seemed. She had bright brown eyes that always seemed to be smiling, she had black hair that hung down to her hips, she always wore a grey head band in her hair. Her clothes were always bright colors like yellow and pink. I sat down at the table and watched the two of them. It was like watching a beautiful macaw hit on a pigeon.

"Hey Pen." Ashes said she smiled and took Fleen's hand.

"Hey Ash, how do you think you did on Mrs. Redrick's history test?"

"Um let's see… I got a F." She smiled.

"How do you know?" I looked at her shocked.

"It was easy as pie Ash how could you flunk it?"

"Um let's see I'm dyslexic."

"No your not, your smart as the renaissance professors in the 1500s." Fleen stated, he kissed her hair. She smiled and put her head on his shoulder, I was abhorred by the seen, and had to turn away. The freak was so into her it was creepy. And the compliment was not faltering at all, renaissance professors weren't that smart as Fleen said 1500s in Europe, didn't the plague start there because of dull witted sanitary conditions. Ug, honestly I was sick of Fleen. That wasn't even his real name it was Douglas! Instead it sounded like a male genital organ.

"Excuse me, but I'm new here I was wondering if you could show me around?" A voice said behind me, I whipped around to see a boy standing there behind me. He kind of looked elfin, he had a Red Sox cap on and blond messy hair. His eyes were icy blue. I hadn't even noticed, light footed, much? I smiled warmly,

"Sure, I'm Penelope Rondervin, what's your name?"

"Rodney Oakly, excuse me but you have the greenest eyes I have ever seen." I sighed and nodded, green. I hated the color, which made me hate my eyes. They were like a tree in full bloom with glimmering green leaves, but only my eyes were that green at midnight. I thought my eyes were a mirror of a dark forest at midnight.

"Yeah they are pretty green." I said, but I gritted my teeth. He giggled as if I had made a joke we only knew.

"My next class is Trig." He said suddenly changing the subject.

"So is mine, Rodney why don't you take a seat."

"Ok," He said sheepishly and sat down. He avoided eye contact with Fleen, but talked to Ashes with forced enthusiasm. "Yes my old school was in Seattle, but I figured you know I can go to whatever school I want." I nodded, annoyed with him. Who did he think he was? Hslf the kids here were able to afford whatever they wanted, but Orcas Island wasn't a place where there were giant shopping malls left and right. We were isolated in a pristine forest, with gorgeous oaks and maple.

I got up out of my seat and left the cafeteria, I was so fed up with both Fleen and the new kid. I pushed open the girls bathroom door, and saw Jordan Piety and Mirah Myers were in there too. They whispered in each others ears and smiled as if they shared a dirty secret. I rolled my eyes and fixed my long brown hair. It hung to my stomach, I guess that's why Ashes and I got along so well because we were both so different but kind of looked alike.

Then what happened next it was so confusing and happening so fast, like in the eye of a hurricane. So silent and quiet, but so quick its deadly when its over. The Earth shook and screams let loose I jumped, it seemed as Hell had broken out behind its unbreakable iron bars. I ran to the cafeteria and saw Ashes and Fleen gathering in a corner, the rest of the other kids were too. But then I saw what they were scared of. Rodney, was taking a fight with some kind of giant monster.

Rodney had in his hand a sword appeared to be made of some kind of bronze. He was seriously doing some dangerous stunts and rebellious back flips, ducking and jabbing into the monsters gut. I looked at the monster and saw it was a odd looking thing, it was like a giant flying bat, but it's claws were large and fearsome looking. I gasped as I it was foaming at the mouth and saliva dripped onto the ground. It'd wings were blood red and it had created a giant hole in the cafeteria wall. This created light to pour out from the outside world.

I ran to help Rodney, he looked at me with the corner of his eye. And stabbed the monster in the neck. It screamed in pain as a thick stream of pink liquid ran from it. He laughed cynically and I backed away. But knew I needed to help him if no one else would. Rodney kicked his messenger bag over to me.

"Front pocket!" He screamed, I realized his bag had a secret pocket in the front and knew what he was talking about. I unbuckled the buckles and pulled out a glimmering sword that was made of the same bronze as Rodney's. I ran to the monster and saw it had a good amount of pink liquid surrounding it, Rodney was pretty good at this whole, how to kill a monster, thing. I jabbed my sword at its foot, and the minute it saw me, a realization came to its eyes. It opened its mouth and leaned down to swallow me. But as it came down with a opened mouth I held my sword straight up, stabbing it in the back of the neck. My sword poked right through its neck, up through the soft nerve issue which should have been up in the brain. Red blood fell upon me, but the monster still cried and this time it knew it only had one chance at me.

But it wouldn't kill me, not if I had a say in this. I felt a powerful force in my head, and then closed my eyes and felt something snap in my brain and a picture came to mind. I saw a vine with a strong root planted upward in a invisible ceiling and I pulled down on it. Making something outside of my brain scream. I was disturbed by this and quickly opened my eyes and saw the monster lay dead on the tiled cafeteria floor. I gasped and saw a vine with its branches wrapped around its neck and snout. I screamed, when I saw myself glowing a soft green light.

Rodney looked at me in awe,

"It's true." He whispered his eyes were wide and he bowed. His cap fell revealing two stubby little horns. My jaw dropped to the floor. I closed my eyes, count to three and it will all be over. One. Two. Three. I opened my eyes, and my eyes widened everything still in place.

"Ug!" I stomped my foot and the dead vine that was on the monsters neck wrapped around my leg. I screamed, "Get off me!" It gently let go and slid back into place. "Rodney, you have a lot of explaining to do." Rodney nodded.

"Come on your no longer safe." He gripped my hand and pulled me out the door and to the parking lot where my Oldsmobile was parked. He took one glance at it and shook his head. "We need something faster, a plane."

"The nearest airport is about twenty miles away, and you haven't told me anything yet!" I sanpped.

"Shut up, I'm thinking." He started to pace, and then stopped. "You." He smiled. A glint came in his eye that scared me.

"Me?"

"You."

"Me?" He became annoyed with my replies.

"Penelope you can do extraordinary things with the gifts your father gave to you."

"Ok? My father? You know my father! Wait no my father he's gone." I knew little of my father, my mother had always said he was a handsome man who had caught her heart. He had attended her garden meetings for four years and finally came up and asked her for a cup of coffee with him, but what turned from a brewed drink was me…

"Ok listen to me Penelope you need to close your eyes and visualize a vine, imagine that this vine is connected to trees across the country. Say this particular tree is a evergreen with big strong branches and a dragon guarding it."

"Rodney?"

"Just do it!" He demanded.

"Ok, ok. Hold your horses." I closed my eyes and pictured the pine tree that Rodney had been talking about. I felt the sensation in my head again and pulled on the vine and saw it connected to three trees, a sequoia red wood, nah too big, a giant cherry blossom tree, too pink, and lastly a pine just like Rodney described. I pulled the vine the way the tree was standing. And I felt the ground under my feet slip away and for a second I was holding onto nothing. But then I stood on solid ground, I opened my eyes and saw we were in New York immediately. The Statue of Liberty shined in the distance a giant ferry sailed around it.

I saw a little farm down beneath hill we were standing on. But heard a growl, I turned and saw a giant dragon. But Rodney stepped slowly to the big guy and petted him,

"It's alright Peleus, it's me Rodney." The dragon sniffed his hand grunted, coughed up a flaming ember and laid his head down in the grass. Rodney walked me down the hill, the camp was deserted. No one was in sight. (Bare in mind the Titan War is going on during on this time.) Rodney shook his head and walked to the edge of the camp to a great forest and we walked to a clearing where a Juniper tree grew. A girl jumped from it, I jumped as well.

"Rodney I told you, take the half bloods to Chiron in Manhattan island!" She chided then turned to me and gasped. "Rodney this can't be, no it's not possible!"

"She's in the flesh too." He kicked my ankle I cried in pain and held it to my chest.

"Oh my gods, my lady I'm Juniper only a fellow servant in your greatness." She bowed, her hair falling onto the forest floor.

"Um, thank you?" I questioned, "Someone please tell me what's going on!" I demanded. Juniper and Rodney glanced at each other and sighed,

"This place your standing on is-" Rodney started.

"Camp Half Blood, it is where demigods such as yourself-"

"Are trained to become great heros-"

"STOP!" I yelled, "What are demigods?"

"A demigod is a child of a mortal, such as your mother, and a god, such as your father who is the great god Pan." Juniper explained.

"Pan?" I started cracking up, but then I saw they were dead serious. "Ok so, who's this Pan guy? I know he was god of nature and spring and all that fun stuff." They gasped and looked at each other,

"You don't have a clue do you."

"He was originally born of Hermes, his mother a nymph, Penelope, raised him and he became the god of like you said spring, animals, wild places, and wooded glens. Or was." Rodney sighed and sat down on a stump.

"Was?"

"He faded since no one believed, it has been believed that he had offspring of this generation to help guide us to Earth's daughter, nature." When Jupiter said that it was as if something came tumbling down, the bricks of my foundation crumbled. I fell onto my knees sobbing into my hands.

"He's dead?" I sobbed. Jupiter's soft little hand patted my shoulder.

"When Pan died something became of his powers, they were given to all satyrs and nymphs but the majority of his powers went to a child. And we believe Penelope, that child is you, your immensely close to being a goddess."

I gasped.

Hey guys, I'm not leaving my other story just trying something new! Please use constructive criticism, I dig it! Thanks for reading.