Celestial Immortal

ASPEN AND JULIET

~ASPEN~

"Are you crazy?!?" Cassie yells. I nod. I know what I have to do even if I don't. I stare straight ahead getting ready. "Charlie! Land!" Cassie yells. "What?" He asks. "Just do it!" She replies. I see Cassie say something to her horse and the horse neighs to the others. All of our Pegasi start to descend. About a dozen shadows are on our tails. "Aspen you know that there will be an army down there right?" Cassie warns. I nod. "But if you say you really can talk to the Pegasi then it can only mean one thing. We're learning about Greece right now and Poseidon created horses. So if a Demigod is what you say, then..." I trail off. "Yes I think so." She says. "Then it's our only hope, right?" Juliet finishes. "Not quite," I say. "I am not a Cheerleader!" I murmur. We hit the ground and I smile. This is my turf now. Dozens of shadows are emerging from the darkness. We've landed specifically next to Lake Heron in hope for Cassie. I hop off my horse and walk right in front of the evil shadows. The dozen shadows from the sky land behind us. Every one follows me into the middle. Luckily Cassie still has access to the lake. I hear Cassie murmur something like, "Oh please Poseidon if you're my father, Help Me!" Then she leaps off the dock into the water before the monsters can get her.

Now it's my turn. The shadows slowly start to herd us forward but I'm determined. I let all of my instincts take over and I feel connected with all of the earth. The dirt below my feet. The trees above my head. And the plants encircling our fight. I'm ready. One of the shadows steps forward and I see a... What did Mr. Mickel call it? A storm spirit, an Anemoi in Greek and a Ventus in Roman. It's whole body is composed of swirling black vapor, it's eyes like electrical sparks in a living storm cloud, with black smoky wings. (Now is the time Aspen! I know you can do it!) I think. I call to my new sense and I tug on the branches of a tree to my right in my mind. (Come On!) I think. TWIST! I command. It instantly comes to life and wraps around the Anemoi from behind. It's so surprised that it is left vulnerable. So I imagine the branch tightening and tightening. The Anemoi bursts into golden dust. I gasp. Another dares to challenge me and I go from the feet this time. GROW! I command the grass. The Anemoi has a smug look on his face so I decide to humor it while my grass entwines around it's feet. I start fake-gasping and sinking to the ground. The Anemoi starts forward. FASTER! I command. The grass starts to crawl up his legs and is now at The Anemoi's knees. It tries to take another step but its trapped. I stand up and command the grass to wrap faster and tighter. Again The Anemoi explodes into dust with a dumbstruck expression. Another steps up but before I can do anything it's doused by a massive wave from the lake. I whack it with a branch from a nearby tree and it blows along with its friends. I know that Cassie and I can't do this forever. I glance over and I gasp. I'm looking into the eyes of Cassie floating on a fountain of water with all sorts of dangerous fish, sharks, and girls? She must see my confused expression because she says, "Nereids." I remember from my mythology class that a Nereid is a friendly sea nymph of Poseidon. Although with their deadly expressions, they don't look too friendly at the moment. Cassie smiles and winks at me. She raises her arms, closes her eyes, and the water splashes everywhere. Soon the entire area is flooded. But somehow Charlie, Juliet, and I are okay and can still breathe. Then I realize that their is a thin veil of air around each of us. Bubbles! I smile, but I see the Anemoi flying out of the water. I close my eyes and focus all my energy on all the trees in a 10 mile radius. I sink to my knees but I keep my concentration. CATCH THE STORM SPIRITS! I command. Then I totally collapse and I slip into a black abyss.

~JULIET~

I watched in awe as Cassie embraced her power over the sea and Aspen! Wow! She totally kicked Anemoi butt. I had no idea she was so powerful. But now I'm terrified because its been 2 hours of flying and she still hasn't woken up. We had to tie her to a saddle after awhile because we couldn't stay in Canada for too long. So now we're on the outskirts of Canada. Only 376 more miles until we reach Long island according to Cassie. I can only hope to get to camp without anymore trouble. Aspen needs help and Cassie isn't in the best shape either. She passed out the second she climbed on her Pegasus. Only Charlie and I remain. And according to Charlie we still have 4 more hours to go. If Cassie is right and he's right that our speed is 80 miles per hour. It's 3:00 AM now so we should arrive at around 7:00 AM. But I don't know if we'll last that long.

~2 hours later~

"Charlie? Are you sure they're going to be alright?" I ask worriedly. Aspen and Cassie are still as stone and haven't woken up yet. "I'm sure, Juliet. Unlocking that kind of power must be exhausting and neither has had much sleep. They just need to rest. It's the best for them now." He replies. I take one last wary look at my friends, then look ahead. Waiting for what lies beyond.

Finally we exit the borders of Canada and once again I feel the powers of home and family. My Godly family. I'll have to ask Charlie why that feeling is in America. We've finally reached New York. Only about 20 more minutes to get across to Long Island. This was going to be tricky. 6:34... 6:38... 6:42. Time is ticking by and I feel it's mocking us. Timing is everything. 6:45...6:46...6:47. All I want is to get to this so-called camp and pass out on a nice comfy bed. "Come on! Just a little bit faster. We can make it! Come on Pegasi, we need you now." The Pegasi pick up speed. "I know. I know. I'm tired too. You guys have done amazing! You all must be exhausted!" I say to our horses. "Got another energy charm, Charlie?" I ask. He nods and whispers something to his black Pegasus. 6:49... 6:51... 6:52. Time is going by so slowly. Only a few more minutes left until we're safe and I'm sick in anticipation. If I could I'd get off this horse and run to the camp. But I can't. 6:53... 6:54...6:55. Five more minutes. "Charlie? Do you see it yet?" I ask. "No," he replies. 6:56... 6:57... 6:58. "How about now?!?" I ask with a little more force. "No!" He exclaims. "But you said 7:00!" I complain. "I said 4 hours." He says calmly. 6:59. "There!" He yells pointing to a vast valley full of strawberries. It's huge. But not a camp. "You took us across the country for a strawberry farm!" I yell. "Hey, whoa whoa whoa! That's only on the outside. Wait 'till you see the inside." He says. Somehow we pass through an invisible wall and I see kids, camp activities like archery, fencing, horse back riding, and swimming everywhere. Although my body somehow hits a wall too on the inside. 'I'm finally safe. I'm home' is the last thing I think before I fall dead asleep on my horse. We haven't even landed yet. 7:00.