Hercules and the Modern Girl

Escaping the Devil

Escaping the Devil

Nattie slowly stood on her feet, immediately feeling the need to tumble back down. She didn't know what the hell happened to her house but assumed this to be a dream.

Remember Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz? The line she told Toto when they made it in OZ? Nattie wasn't a fan of copycats but made this moment an exception.

"I don't think I'm in Athens anymore."

Over the hills lived a village far away. Nattie was curious to see what was out there; it might give her an indication of her enforced location. A part of her hoped this was just a dream and she wasn't hallucinating. Sliding down the hill, she followed down the narrow, dusty road, not having a clue as to where it led.

"Ugh! My feet are killing me!" Nattie felt like she had been walking for days when it was actually ten minutes. Her stomach rumbled, even though she had eaten some popcorn not too long ago. Her throat dried up, craving water to drink. Her legs were about to give out any second; walking barefoot didn't seem to help. She needed a seat to examine the damage to her arch. Nattie undoubtedly gained a bruise from stepping on the pointy rock five minutes behind her.

Just when she was about to lose hope, Nattie lifted her head and saw a dark forest up ahead. Thunder and lightning struck on cue.

"Hell no," she knew, under any circumstances, not to go inside a forbidden forest alone. She wouldn't go in if Brandon went with her. Nattie and Papouli had seen enough horror movies to know what happens to pretty girls walking alone in a shady place. Every single one of them died. She refused to be on the list of idiots.

'There is no other way, is there?' The small voice inside her head was right in some ways. The town was too far to walk any other way. Nattie also learned from Red Riding Hood not to stray from the path. Just as she was about to gather her courage, Nattie heard a growl that didn't come from her stomach this time.

"Nope! Hell no!" Nattie decided, backing away. "Not going in! Not going in! Not stupid!"

She hopped off the dusty path and onto the grass, giving her feet a brief reprieve. Her heart thumped loudly at the thought of getting eaten by wolves. Her pace quickened, running on the grass. She was smiling on the inside, glad to have made an excellent logical choice.

Although she didn't get far from the forest, Nattie stepped on a pointy rock, causing her to collapse and instinctively grab her right foot. She examined her dirty arch and didn't find a bruise or a laceration. Still, it didn't feel good.

"Damn it! Stupid rock!" Nattie banged her fist in frustration, only to hit the same rock. "Ow!" She whipped back to kiss the wound, tasting the blood that started to well. "I thought dreams were supposed to be painless." That's when Nattie realized that she indeed felt the pain in her foot and hand. Either she was kicking and punching the bedboard in her sleep or...

"This isn't happening," Nattie denied as she picked up the rock and threw it, observing where it landed, this time, back into the forbidden forest where it belonged.

"Ow!"

Nattie blinked at the scratchy voice echoing inside the forest. It almost sounded human but familiar as well.

"Hello?" Nattie called out, raising herself slowly. "You okay? Sorry, didn't know someone was stupid enough to set foot in that death trap."

No reply was uttered in the shadows. The girl blinked again, forcing herself to believe that she didn't imagine the voice. It wasn't a desperate attempt for companionship to escape this peculiar situation. To prove it, she called the voice again, standing up and cautiously approaching the darkness.