Meet Evelyn. The next Percy Jackson.

What would you do if you were stuck in the middle of a forest? Call you parents on the phone. Yeah, the problem is, I don’t have a phone right this second. Ask someone for a phone. Great idea. IF there were people here. Maybe I should start from the very beginning. On a cool day, reading a nice book while sitting on a wooden bench.

I was raised in an orphanage. My background story isn’t very pleasant. So please let me keep that to myself. The orphanage is huge. Lots of kids and laughter. Mostly at me. But I'm okay with it because the orphanage owner is the best. Her name is Beth. She has black hair and perfectly sharp, whitened, canines. The kids say she looks creepy because she always where's black and has pale skin. To be honest, when I first saw her, when I was three, I thought she was a devil. But as I got to know Beth, I learned to find the good in her. But seriously, I don't know why people thought she was some kind of monster. Beth was the kind of women who would give you hot cho cho when you're sick, let you miss school whenever you want, and never made any of the kids do chores.

"Evelyn, don't tell me your reading again. Your glasses are already as thick as my finger. Go out and play, make friends -  " Beth paused, looked at me, and sighed. I closed my book and ran to the playground, for she was the last person I wanted to make disappointed. But of course, as soon as I touched the monkey bar, Victoria kicked me right off and stuck her tongue at me. So, as always, I ran back to the bench, and read as my eyes watered. What was I reading? Nancy Drew. Nancy is a 16 year old detective who can crack any case. That's - who I want to be. But, when you're in an orphanage, wondering where your parents are, you basically have no hope.

I looked up and saw all the kids crowding the kitchen and I thought, lunch time. As soon as I got up to get lunch, Beth stopped me. "Evelyn, I need to talk to you privately" She led me to a corner. "Be careful. Watch out. Don't be too near to me. Make friends -" I looked at her with a confused expression and walked to the lunch table. Why did I need to be careful? Why do I need to make friends? Why did she say all of this? I have no idea.   

After lunch, I ran to the bedroom that I shared with Hannah, Victoria, Emily, Maya, Alexandra, Zoe, and Madison. There were three other bed rooms. All sixteen girls shared two bedrooms, and the sixteen boys shared the other two bedrooms. Each room, had four beds on each side and every two kids shared a nightstand.

"Evelyn, there's a daddy long leg crawling on your back!!" Alexandra chanted. I screamed. Alexandra and Victoria laughed. "You're such a scardy cat!" I rolled my eyes, got under the covers, and thought about what Beth meant. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

The next day, I changed into my white shirt and black skirt. Then, I ran down for breakfast. "Kids! If you would like breakfast find a seat." Beth said calmly. I quickly went to my seat, said prayers, and waited for the food to arrive on the table. As I was eating, Beth called me into a corner, again. "Leave." Before I could digest what was happening, her body dissolved into a small, blood thirsty, bat.

I opened my eyes. I was in the forest. All I could remember was getting bit and running away. "Where are you going?" I looked behind me. Zoe was standing there with my glasses in her hands. "Oh, yeah, here's the glasses" "You shouldn't be here. Go!"

Zoe sighed. "Okay... Well, you shouldn't be here either! So go to the orphanage."

“I - I can’t! Beth - She - She  - She turned into a bat” My face was pale. How did those words come out of my mouth? Zoe looked at my arm. There was a huge bite, bleeding. “Evelyn, I have something to tell you.”

“You, are something. You are something, people want. Beth, wanted you to make friends because the stronger your relationship was with her, the stronger she wanted to bite you. Beth didn’t want to hurt you. Beth didn’t want any of this to happen.” I gulped. “Evelyn. Your mom left because she didn’t know how to take care of you. Whatever your mother did, it was in risk of your life. Ever wondered why Alexandra and Victoria are always teasing you? You weren’t normal.”

“No. It can’t be. Let me just close my eyes and everything will be back to normal.” Zoe didn’t believe me. I didn’t believe myself either. She was right. I’m in danger. Zoe pointed to the tree and smiled. I took a deep breath and climbed it. The sight was beautiful. The horizon was gleaming. All my thoughts went away. Suddenly, I heard a rumbling sound. Looking down, I saw a monster sort of thing. It was shaking the tree. Zoe looked up at me. “You should have stayed in the orphanage.” As the words left her mouth, she turned into a lion, or cheetah, or gazelle, or - I don’t know. The lion cheetah thing pounced on me. I fell. I fell on a long way down.

Was I in heaven? No. It can’t be. I got up. Where was I?