Echo: The Girl That Time Forgot

Green tea and Sympathy

Pain.

Blood.

Exhaustion.

Ok, I think we're all caught up now.

I braced myself for the killing blow. But it never came.

Slowly I opened my eyes and tried to stand up. What I saw amazed me, it was Zeus knocked  out on the ground, with hoof prints on his face.

I was grateful that he had found me on the mortal plain. If I had to battle him in his immortal body I would already be dead.

Even now I needed to hurry. He would wake up soon and it was a long ways back to camp, especially with me hobbling along.

I began dragging myself back to camp. It was hard work, I was seeing the world through a red haze and my body was constantly trying to pass out.

I started a chant in my head, you can't give up, you can't give up, you can't give up.

I made it through the woods into a small meadow. I was determined to keep going but my legs began trembling and I collapsed on the ground.

I couldn't go any farther. My body wasn't capable of moving anymore.

I lay down in the meadow and closed my eyes, prepared to die.

Suddenly I saw a flash of light in the corner of my eye. I pulled myself up to see what it was.

I stared in amazement, because right in front of me, was the majestic white stag. It's coat was shimmery with starlight and it's antlers were coated with moon dust.

Now I don't know if it was the dead exhaustion or the head injury that made me stupid enough to stand up and try to climb on the stag.

I expected it to buck or rear or run away, but much to my surprise, it stood there tamely as I clumsily tried to mount it.

I fell off a couple of times but eventually I figured out how to get on its back.

I'm either dead, or hallucinating.

It was dark by now and the only light was that of the luminescent glow of the stag, shimmering in the moonlight.

I don't know who named it the white stag, but I am officially renaming it to the star stag.

I don't know how I knew that it would keep me safe. I just felt like it wouldn't hurt me.

I clicked my tongue and for some reason the stag knew this signal and took off walking through the woods.

I think it sensed that I was injured and it knew that if it went too fast I would fall off.

Words cannot describe what it was like to be riding on the star stag through the woods at midnight. But I will try.

It was like floating through the air on a magic carpet while starlight blossomed all around you. It was surreal and to this day I swear I was dreaming, but I couldn't have been.

I was torn three ways.
1. I was in awe of the fact that I was riding the creature that Artemis herself could not ensnare.
2. I was terrified of the fact that the king of the gods was actively trying to kill me.
3. I was in so much pain that I could hardly notice the two other things on this list.

But needless to say, I would never forget that night when I rode the star stag for the first time through the pitch black woods with Zeus throwing lightning bolts at me. It was magical and terrifying and the most incredible part is that it was real.

Oh did I not mention that Zeus woke up. Yeah he's been chasing me for a while now. Luckily Constellation (yes I named the stag, that's the kind of dork I am) is pretty good at dodging so I haven't been hit again.