THE ALTERNATE SEVEN

anika : apparently i take orders from strangers

i watch as two figures drop through the sky. one is a young teenager about my age and the other is a small man swinging a baseball bat. their white parachutes shoot up into the air as the small white plane crashes into the ocean behind them, sending large waves of salt water in every direction. it is almost like a scene from a james bond movie. the small red fishing boat i stand upon rocks violently back and forth, so i quickly grab onto the side to prevent myself from flipping over.

"woah there," mr. smith chuckles, throwing his dirty yellow rag into a nearby pail. "looks like neptune isn't fond of our departure. i will notify the marine institute about our findings today. would you mind organizing the mud samples?"

i turn to the scientist in confusion. there is no possible way he is completely unaware of the crashing jet, right?

"wait, so...you didn't see everything that just happened right now?" i stammer, picking up the pail. the old man looks over to me in concern.

"did i miss something?" he asks. i hesitate and look up again. the two are closer to the boat now. the young teen waves at me and smiles. i cannot determine their gender, but they are wearing a black top, blue denim shorts, and black leggings. who wears denim shorts and leggings together? the man's appearance really surprises me. as he gets closer i notice that he isn't exactly human. his legs are unnaturally hairy and he has hooves like a goat's. underneath the messy mop of hair upon his head, two very small horns poke out. now this could be a result of a very rare genetic mutation, but i highly doubt it. the few aspects that still make him partially human are; his bright orange polo shirt, nylon workout pants, and white sneakers. the outfit reminds me of something a physical education coach would wear. the man looks right at me with mean beady eyes, singing the pokémon theme song. he had changed the words to: gotta kill 'em all, and i really didn't want to know why.

i look away from the two and shake my head. "the plane crash? the two people that are floating in the sky towards us right now?" i ask frantically.

mr. smith looks up and then around and then back at me. "perhaps it's time for you to get back home, anika. you must be very tired" he says, leading me to a small bench inside the cabin. i relunctenly sit down and tug at the ends of my teal sleeves nervously. there is no possible way i could of made that up in my mind. as if on cue, two thumps sound from behind me. i spin around. both of their hair is blown to one side as though they had walked through a cyclone. still, mr. smith has not taken notice to the strangers.

i pick up a mop, clutching onto its long wooden handle to use as weapon if necessary. "who are you and why can't anyone else see you? " i whisper harshly, staring down fair skinned teenager.

"hey. relax buttercup. we are just dropping in to say hi. actually, we need your boat, but neither of us know how to exactly maneuver one" the teen says, adjusting their short dark hair to its natural state. their brown eyes are fierce and almond shaped, yet at the same time soft. the bags under them indicate that they probably don't get more than a few hours of sleep per week. i sigh and straighten out my sweater.

"not until you tell me where you and mr. phil from disney's hercules are from" i reply, crossing my arms.

the man with goat legs swings his bat in a full circle and catches it with the palm of his hand. "what about a compromise? i'll kill them first and if it turns out they were friendly, i'll apologize." he says, turning to the kid for approval.

i raise an eyebrow and scoff. "wow, i am literally right here".

the teen chuckles nervously. "um well, my name is amaya, amaya montes. this...goat-" the teen starts, motioning towards her partner.

"satyr, and the name is gleeson hedge" he interrupts.

amaya rolls her eyes. "the satyr says he is taking me to some camp for demigods or something," they continue. after a moments hesistation, i watch as their eyes widen in realization. "wait you can see us! hey, hedge! does this mean that she's also a demigod?"

i look at them in bewilderment. "what on earth are you babbling about?"

hedge looks me up and down with distaste. "two weak links? i will go check with chiron back at camp. if she turns out to be a fraud, i still say we kill her" he says, glaring at me.

"is he always this obsessed with homocide?" i ask amaya, running my hand through through my hair.

"i don't know if i would call it homocide, but yeah pretty much," amaya laughs. they unhook their parachute and start folding it back into the pack. "so um, welcome to the club. i will explain everything to you later".

i sigh. "okay, fine. but your explanation better be long and good. i am anika. i work as an employee in training for one of the marine biology labs around here," i say, shaking their hand. "any of you guys have ideas of what we should do about mr. smith?" 

hedge lifts up his baseball bat, as if to do a full home-run swing onto the old guy's poor balding head. i quickly grab his arm and push him back, "no! stop that! you're a satyr, right? shouldn't you have some medical supplies or something? perhaps you can make him sleep?" i say, waving my arms in a small circular motion.

the satyr huffs and places his make-shift club to the side. we watch as he pulls out a small vial from his red fannypack. inside is a glowing pink liquid with "property of hypnos cabin" written on the side in black sharpie. 

"what's it made of?" i ask, peering over the grumpy satyr's shoulder.   

"lethe water and poppies" he replies, swirling the liquid clockwise three times. the vial begins to glow some more until it pops, releasing a smell so comforting it made my eyelids feel like a ton of bricks.

"leaf water? like tea?" amaya questions, taking a step back to avoid passing out. the bags under their eyes seem even darker than before.

"no, the water of lethe! bah nevermind!" hedge grumbled, pushing past us. amaya and i watch as coach hedge marches up behind the clueless old biologist, who is still jotting down calculations and coordinates into his log. with a single motion, the satyr dumps the glowing contents onto the man's head. i try to hold back laughter, as i watch the pink liquid run down mr. smith's face and near his nose. hedge snaps his fingers and mr. smith collapses into a deep sleep. i race to catch him, seconds before his frail body slams the hardwood floor, and gently place him on the bench. gleeson hedge smiles a little and removes a bag of peanuts from mr. smith's coat pocket, stuffing the snacks into his mouth. i shake my head in amusement and quickly take my place at the starboard. 

"so, where to?" i ask, grabbing ahold of the wheel.

"long island, new york" amaya replies.

"cool".