Some Other World

Where Am I?

I don't know how long I stared at the place where the portal had been. I clutched the backpack, possilby the only lifeline I had back home, to my chest until I began to shiver. The sun was going to go down soon from the looks of it and it was going to get cold out here....wherever here was.

I finally took in my surroundings.

"Everything's so...green." I muttered under my breath. The trees and plants were alive. Really alive. Nothing on Earth looked like this. I walked over to a small flower bush to my left and marveled at the bright colors on the petals.

A bug floated lazily past my nose and landed on one of the brightly colored flowers. Faster than I could blink, the flower's petals snapped closed, holding the bug captive inside of it.

"Like a venus fly trap, but prettier."

I stopped when I realized I had been in solitude for less than a day and I was already talking to myself...not a good sign.

Moving away from the plant, I saw that the clearing I had been so helpfully dropped in had several berry bushes, but I had no clue if any of them were edible since they weren't anything I recognized. I decided to be on the safe side and not try those.

I walked for about an hour before the sun fully disappeared, and as I'd predicted, it was cold. I was glad the gods hadn't taken my sweatshirt from me, if it was like this all the time I'd probably get a cold or something sooner or later, and with no way to treat it since I was in the middle of no where, I might die.

I found another clearing ringed by huge trees. There was a strange scorch mark in the center of the grass, which I investigated for a few minutes, but it was too dark to see it properly. That didn't stop me from wondering what had made it though.

A wolf's howl in the distance reminded me that it was nighttime here and I might be in danger.

Looking around, I picked the tallest tree I could find and climbed up into the branches. Once I felt I was at a safe distance, I sat on a branch and opened the backpack, wondering what was inside.

It was like a camper's paradise pack.

There was rope, which I immediately used to tie myself to the tree branch so I wouldn't fall while I was asleep.

That was, assuming I got sleep tonight.

There was a water canteen, filled. Thank the gods fo-actually, no. I'd have to remember to thank Artemis for that if I ever got back. I opened it and took a swig, then screwed the cap back on and made sure it was secure. There was no telling when I would next find clear water that I could drink.

I found packets of dried food and a few pots that could be useful if I found somewhere I could easily defend myself and have a fire. There were a few fire start helpers, such as a small jar of Vaseline and a silver lighter. I found a lightweight tent inside, rolled up tightly and strapped to the inside of the bag. There were eating utensils and a few seasonings.

"She anticipated well." I muttered when I found a swiss army knife along with a portable butcher's knife set.

There was a large and detailed map, but I knew that would be useless, since it was of America and not...wherever I was sitting right now. Maybe it didn't even have a name. Maybe it was just a wilderness.

Finally I found a blanket at the bottom. Pulling it out carefully so  I wouldn't lose anything in the bag, I closed the silver pack and hung it on a short but sturdy branch next to me. I spread the blanket over my legs and leaned back, trying for sleep.

It didn't come. My mind kept racing. Where was I? Why had the gods sent me here? What did they think I did? Nothing had been clear at the trial, it was mostly the gods screaming at each other and shushing me every time I tried to defend myself.

From what I had heard of their argument before I was brought into the room, an anonymous source had turned in plans to attack the camps or Olympus itself. They had my handwriting detailing what was where and how to best combat it.

They didn't know where the plans had come from, but Zeus, being a paraniod bastard, went with it anyway.

And now I was in the middle of the mountans, sitting in a tree and listening to the unfamiliar sounds of night in a world that wasn't mine.

Through the branches of the tree, I could see the sky. It didn't look like Earth's. The plants were too green.

Where the Hades did they send me? How could Hecate reach a different realm entirely, one that wasn't part of ours at all?

Unsatisfied with the answers I had managed to conjure up in my mind for all these questions, but knowing I wouldn't get any others unless I found someone out here, and not having slept yesterday since I was too nervous about my trial, I finally fell asleep to the sounds of rustling leaves and cooing nocturnal birds.