The Two Divided

The goat that mumbled

I tilted my head in confusion because he at least had human legs back at school. "What the hell are you doing out in the middle of nowhere dressed up like a freakin 'goat" I questioned. Had he been following me? There's no way he would just be sailing through the woods that's right next to the highway on a Saturday in May. I backed up a bit and pointed the knife at him.

His eyes widened and he bleated, taking a few steps back. "No no! Put the knife down, I can explain!" Theo's voice quivered in fear. I sighed and reluctantly put the knife down once again, before finding a fallen tree branch to sit on. I pointed at a spot on the ground and motioned for him to stand there. "Get any closer and I will kill you..."

He quickly did as I said and fiddled with the ends of his shirt, looking down at the ground. "Well... Are you going to explain or not?" I asked, setting the knife down next to me, trying to fix my hair to look somewhat decent. It bothered me that I had lost my last hairband a week ago, so all I could do was pick the leaves and small branches out.

"Well... you see..." He began in a weak mumble and I sighed out of frustration. "Speak up scufflebutt, I can't hear you."

"My name is not scufflebutt!" He yelled before going quiet again. "Sorry.." He apologized in a quiet tone before speaking up again. "Anyways, I am a Satyr, meaning I am half-goat, half-human--" As he began to explain, I interrupted.

"Woah, Woah, Woah-- You're saying those are real?!" I asked in disbelief, pointing at his legs. He skittishly nodded.

"A-As I was saying, I am half-goat and half-human. I have indeed been watching you for some time now. Actually since the 8th grade... Your father requested it." I froze when he mentioned Dad.

"Y-- You mean dad told you to?" My voice quivered a bit at the thought, but I let him continue. "Yes... My condolences." He glanced at me with sympathy in his eyes.

"He told me that to keep you out of trouble in case anything happened to you, but then you stopped showing up to school and I got worried. When I went to your foster home, they said that they hadn't seen you in days and had filed a missing person report. That really put a dent in my job seeing as how I needed to get you to Camp Half-Blood--" He bleated again with a faint smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Camp Half-Blood?" He was just confusing me even more now, to be honest, and now he was the one sighing. "Sorry, I'm probably doing the worst job at explaining this, so let me restart. You are a demi-god. Your dad was mortal and your mom was a Greek goddess. Your mom and dad fell in love, and had a baby-- which was you! And then a few months after your birth, your mother disappeared, Correct?" He asked, looking at me with his beautiful hazel eyes. I looked down at the ground and nodded, trying to process what he was saying.

"So a Satyr's main job is to try and find kids like you and bring them to this safe haven called Camp Half-Blood, where there are other kids like you. Hopefully, you'll get claimed, meaning your mother will claim you as her child, and be put into a cabin with your half-brothers and sisters as soon as you get there. But I need you to trust me to guide you there. It's a long walk from Maine to New York..."

I had only paid attention to half the stuff he said as the adrenaline started to lose its effect, and the gashes in my arm from earlier were starting to throb, blood still trickling down my arm. "That looks like it hurts" Theo sympathized.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here in time. Actually, If you want proof you're a demi-god, then drink this! You'll feel better in no time!" He exclaimed and pulled out a small little container from his bag, that held a yellowish substance inside. "This is Ambrosia! It's the food of the gods, which can heal any demi-god in a jiffy! Now if you could allow me to come closer, then maybe I could patch that arm up for you?" He pointed towards my arm and gently smiled.

I took a shaky breath as I tried to pull my sleeve up to reveal the wound but the excruciating pain stopped me from pulling my sleeve up any further. Instead, I took the knife and cut away the fabric around the wound, revealing cuts bigger than I ever imagined. I turned to Theo, then to my arm, before eventually nodding my head, allowing him to come closer.

He slowly trotted over to where I was sitting and sat next to me. He continued to rummage through his bag, pulling out a roll of bandages and a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide. I swallowed hard just looking at the bottle and tried to ignore it as he gave me that small container full of Ambrosia. "Here. This should be the right amount- Take too much and it could kill you haha!" He laughed it off as if it was a good thing and I nervously took the Ambrosia.

I prayed to God- Wait would it be gods now? Well, I'll say it just in case. I prayed to the gods that I wouldn't die so young and downed the yellow nectar. The taste of my grandma's homemade fudge-filled peanut butter bars lingered on my tongue, and I furrowed my brows. What the heck is this stuff??

I was about to ask for more but Theo interrupted me. "Okay, so this might hurt a bit... Just-- Just squeeze my arm okay?" He told me, putting his arm out for me to grab. I unsteadily grabbed his forearm before the pain had intensified. He quickly poured the liquid over my arm and I grunted loudly, squeezing his arm as tightly as I could. He quietly apologized over and over, continuing to wrap my arm with the bandages. I was shaking from the pain but soon calmed down. "Thank you..." I told him, still squeezing his forearm. He smiled and replied with "Well it's my job! Can't just let you go around with those big cuts on your arm, now can I?"

I groggily nodded and slowly closed my eyes. "Hey so about Camp Half-Blood, do you wanna--" Theo began to speak up, but before I could hear the rest of it, I blacked out.