Down to /Earth\ (((Chapter 3 is up!)))

Hello!

Maturity - Low
Fantasy - You'll see(;

Welcome to my story! Hope you enjoy (:

Chapter 1 - The beginning

I watched as Cassandra's mom barged through the doors of their home, obviously angry and unstable. I sped out of the way in an attempt not to get run over, as she turned to Cassandra. "Why the heck didn't you put the garbage cans in the backyard?" she ask/yelled, shaking her head in dissapointment. "Well they just came and I cut my hand on the bougainvillea bush, so I came inside to wash it off," she explained, her tone nothing but reasonable.

"Give me your phone," her mom demanded, sticking her hand out. "What? Why? I'll finish now, I just-" she objected, though her mom cut her off by yelling, "darnit, Cassandra! You just need to learn how to do the job right the first time! Now give me your phone!" "This isn't fair!" she insisted, as her mom urged us through the garage door, slamming it shut beside us. I was silent, trying to avoid the awkward parent-friend fights.

"I hate them," she mumbled, her eyes tearing up. "I do. I don't give a crap what anyone else says, I do NOT love my parents," she shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. I realized how her voice suddenly sounded angry, as did her tears.

"They're so unreasonable. It's like they try to get my in trouble just because they think it's funny. Do you know why I'm so competitive in gymnastics? Because I try to get as far away as possible from them," she glared at the ground, rolling up her sleeve to reveal a few bloody knuckles. "That witch took my phone two days ago and I got so mad I punched the mall," she sunk her hand back into her sleeve, as I looked at the ground.

"You're so lucky, your parents are like, perfect," she sighed, scanning the dust-stained walls of her garage. I snorted. That's what everyone said. My mom was like the red head from Desperate House Wives - everyone thought our family was perfect and she was so collective, but it was the exact opposite. My parent's had gotten divorced a few years previous to now and it had been the best choice my family had made. No more fighting, no more broken dishes, punishments...

But the joy didn't last for long. Some how, my dad(and his money) won her heart back. Or her greed... And the second that happened, it all returned. I'd stay up, laying in bed, listening to them squabbling. It was especially worse on the better days, like my birthday, which I really wasn't looking forward to. And whenever they weren't fighting, they were taking it out on me. My brother was too 'special' to be mad at, since he was going off to college this summer.

For example, no one had woken me up on time(I was normally woken up at 6:00, to be ready at 8:40) and it was 6:10 when my dad came in the room. "Get the -beep- out of my house, you stupid piece of crap," I remember him growling and as I shuffled to my feet and fled, he smacked me across the face. Another time, I had forgotten to empty my bedroom trashcan. "Look at you! Your so pathetic! You're lucky we haven't disowned you yet!" my father had laughed at me, emptying the trashcan on my head.

My mom, however, was all for embarrassment. Like when she'd drop me off at school she'd yell out the window, "Have a nice day, you spoiled brat!" or "I don't care if your friends can hear me, your grades suck!". Then again, my grades did suck. That was mostly because I had no intuition and with so many problems on my hand's, I had just given up and lost all hope.

"Come on, you know your parents are nothing compared to mine," Cassandra challenged, wrenching me out of this horrible memories. "Yeah, I know," I shrugged quietly, not wanting to start an argument. Even though I knew she was wrong.

"Exactly," she growled, sorting through her tool shed and coming up with a shovel. "What are you going to do, dig a hole?" I mused, as she shook her head, an evil grin on her face. "Better," she promised, walking over to their towering oak tree.

"Come on, don't take your anger out on the tree. What did it do to you?" I asked jokingly. It was just a tree after all. But as she took the shovel back and struck it, I felt something in my stomach twist. The noise was a horrible cracking screech, as if it were crying out in pain, as the leaves shook, looking like falling tears, and the branches drooped and withered.

I gasped for breath, as she hit it again, and I felt my chest heave forward, onto the ground, as the breath was knocked out of me. I looked up at the tree, panicking and desperate as I wondered what was happening, in time to see her whack it again.

I cried out in pain, as my chest heaved upward, before going limp as I hit the cemented ground of her garage. Apparently I had caught Cassandra's attention, as she turned to me with wide eyes. "A-Are you okay?" she choked, dropping the shovel. "Yeah, fine, I just - uh, tripped," I coughed, feeling the sweat beading in my hands. "Ew, gross," I thought, wiping them on the ground. Had I just had an attack or something?

"Okay..." she shrugged, still a little uneasy. But apparently that wasn't enough for her. "Maybe an axe will work better..." she thought to herself, as I examined the tree. The cuts were long and shallow, but deep enough that golden sap was pouring over it, blending with the chestnut trunk to look red. Just as I look at that, I felt my arms and legs burn and looking down, I saw bruises across the insides of arms, while there were two fresh cuts on my right leg, one on my left, identical to the tree.

As she got the axe and whacked it, a shrill scream escaped my lips as my spine twisted and clenched, my breath momentarily cut off once again. The burning spread through my whole body and when I coughed, I felt my vision blur. She hit the tree once again, shards of wood falling off, and I looked up, seeing one of the larger branches starting to twist. It was the size of me, maybe bigger, and I watched as it fell off, as I felt my own arm twist, before the branch fell off and landed on me.

(Sorry, I know it's a bit much for the first chapter. More answers soon! Chapter 2 will be up soon.)

Chapter 2 - The Rude Awakening

I woke up on a metal hospital bed, pain surging through my whole body. But there was something extra there, battling against the pain... It almost felt like a mixture of power and something that I wasn't familiar with. But whatever it was, it felt amazing. It felt like Hope.

I heard voices, but I wasn't conscious enough to determine who they might be. Probably my mom and the doctors. I stayed completely still and silent, pretending to be asleep so that I could listen and tell whether she was flirting or not. It wouldn't surprise me if she was....

"What are we going to do with her?"
"We're going to try to reject the change."
"...But isn't that risky? And what if you-know-who gets mad?"
"Who cares if it's risky. She's a normal teenage girl, there's millions of them. And you-know-who will not find out about this."
"Well... What if she is the right girl?"
"Look, James, she isn't the right girl! We KILLED the right girl. No matter what we do, there will be no RIGHT GIRL! But we can at least get close to it. And some teenage girl will just blow the cover!"
"Okay, okay, fine. What do I need to put into the shot?"
"Half a tube of carbon dioxide, one fourth of purified Oxygen, and one fourth of Insulen."
A weird ticking noise filled in the awkward gap.
"Okay, it's done... Should I...?"
"No, hand it over. Pay close attention. If we get another accident, you can do it."
"Alright."
"Here goes...."

HUH? Yes, I was just as confused as you all were. Mistake? Accident? Shot? You-Know-Who? KILLED? The questions spread through my head, as shock and fright filled in the rest of my still-returning-self. I opened my eyes, seeing the needle starting to slide towards the vain in my wrist.

"She's awake!" the not-as-experienced man yelled, who was blonde with dark brown eyes; the other man having dark brown hair, stubble, and light blue eyes. I shuffled off of the table, the pain worsening with each movement. I couldn't remember a time where I had been in mos of a severe pain, because, well, I hadn't ever hurt this much. "Catch her!" the brown haired man barked, as I realized they were both wearing white coats that had the label, "FWWAP."

Scurrying across the floor, I felt the muscle in my upper thighs clench at each step, slowly cramping up, but I continued to move. My knees were like jello and my ankles weren't entirely responsive, but some how I found a way to get out of the horrible lab-room.

Dashing down the halls, my eyes wide with panic, I ran through the halls, until I saw a light. Light... Light meant sun. Sun meant freedom. I ran forward, hearing load footsteps behind me. I looked behind me, seeing the blonde-haired man, looking utterly surprised and confused. Looking forward again, I used the last liquid drops of my energy, groaning out in pain as I struggled to open the door. I cried out in pain as I let go, the bones in my forearm weak and brittle, my left shoulder dislocating itself, and my left elbow limp at my side.

Tears poured out of my mind, trying to work through the pain, as I got out in the open. "Wait!" the man called. "Wait, stop! If you go out there you'll die!" he yelled, causing me to stop. It felt like one little movement could break a bone in my body... Wasn't dying better than this? But still, I hesitated, looking behind me. "I-I need to hide you... Just for a few hours until your transformation is complete," he explained, looking around nervously for others. I couldn't say anything, because of the sensational burning deep in the throttle of my throat.

The tears burned my cheeks, literally. I felt the hot read streaks that they had left behind, as I hoped that it wouldn't scar. I stumbled forward, my vision blurring, as I saw the man reach out. I couldn't trust him, but I didn't have another choice.... And just as he swept me up into his sturdy arms, I blacked out and my mind went numb.

Chapter 3 - Hiding

Hours later I woke up, feeling better than ever. The pain was gone, my shoulder was relocated, and no bones were broken. My thighs still ached a little, but that was probably from not getting enough calcium as a vegan. I looked around, seeing the silhouette of a mop, in the very dark room. I shifted into a sitting position, a cold chill tickling my legs as they slid across the cold tiled floor.

It stank in here, a mixture of banana peels and blood, which had me wondering if I had, in fact, been saved. I rose to my feet, surprised by how light and, well, strong my body felt. When I walked forward, I felt an aura around me, feeling as though my feet should be again Earth's warm ground. I fiddled with the light switch, until it was dim enough for me to see.

Looking around, I found that I was in the janitor's/storage closet, beside four large garbage cans. Yuck! I climbed over a later and a few boxes, continuing deeper into the small room, until I saw movement on the other side. I gasped, jumping back, thinking that someone else was also here.

The girl looked frightened, but she was inevitably beautiful. Her eyes were an earth forest green, outlined by a mysterious jade, and flexed with a hazel brown, looking like tree branches in a rain forest. Her hair was this same wooden brown, with darker highlights, the color of an ancient bonsai tree. Her skin was sun-kissed and the perfect caramel-tan, while her clothes seemed to match perfectly into her appearance. Her smelt covered up the garbage - kind of a mixture of freshly cut grass, roses, and pollen.

I took a step forward, to see that she had done exactly the same, but opposite. Wait... I raised my hand. She raised her hand. "This is a mirror, isn't it?" I mouthed, as she mimicked my reflection. Walking over to the full body mirror, I chuckled. Why had I been so scared? But.. Wait... I didn't look like that. My curls were thick with frizz, damaged, and dull. My eyes were an unnoticeable blue and my skin was pail and also dry.

Maybe this "Change" was more than I had thought it to be. But why would they 'kill me' just for a make over? And what did they mean I was the 'wrong one'?" I thought to myself, rubbing my head. Falling asleep on the floor is definitely NOT comfortable.

I sighed, sitting on the edge of the later. Just as I opened my mouth to sigh, the door slammed open and a dark, shady, figure was at the doorway. Reacting on instincts, I jumped back, closing my eyes, as I swatted at him with my hand. Why had I just done that? I heard glass shatter and the man yell, as I jumped back, screaming. "What was that for?!" a voice asked, as I recognized it as the blonde-teenager who had saved me. Wiping off my hospital-dress-thing, I stood up, seeing that there was a tree branch sticking out of the window, hitting the man. How had that happened?

"What do you mean? It's not like I did it," I rolled my eyes. "Well then who did?" he asked, picking up a knife. "W-What are you doing?" I choked, as he threw it at me. I crossed my arms in front of me, as a stone wall separated me and the knife. "How did you do that? WHY did you do that?" I screamed, my knees shaking. "I didn't do that. You did. And I was testing you," he smiled. My head spun, as I waited for an explanation.

"Okay, okay. You know that pain you felt? You were completing your 'change'. Apparently your the goddess' apprentice of Earth, therefore you can control it and all," he explained, as I felt a burning across my body. "Looks like your marks are coming in," he pointed out, as my confusion worsened. "Look," he pointed to the mirror, as I glanced at it. Walking before it, my fingertips traced the abstract marks running across my body.

A few green vine-like patterns swirling from my shoulders to my finger tips, tattooed deeply into my skin. Across my stomach was vines with bunches of flowers across it, a big rose vine just above my chest. Snaking up my neck, the vines ended, but there was a bright green leaf on my forehead.

"What's going on?" I asked, panicking. "What did you guys do to me?!" I stepped backwards, tripping over a box. "I didn't do anything. Demeter chose you as the next Goddess Apprentice, so you get all of the powers to control earth and stuff," he explained. "What do you mean the girl before died?" I asked, cautious to this whole ideas. I ignored what he had just said. It was ridiculous how impossible that was.

"Half way through her change her body rejected it and she died. We think that we gave her too many pain relievers, or maybe she really was a mistake. We don't know," he shrugged. "That's impossible," I thought to myself, "I'm the mistake..."

"So... What now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in humor. "Well, your the last apprentice to go through your change, so I guess just reunite with the other's. Oh, also there's a catch," he explained to me. "Mhm?" I asked, waiting for him to say, "You just got Punked!" "You know that tree in your friend, Cassandra's, house?" he asked as I nodded.

"Well, basically, if it gets hurt, you get hurt twice as much. And if it dies... You die."

Chapter 4 - Rooting Down a New Life

"Your kidding me." I stared blankly at the blonde haired man. "Not at all. Don't believe me as much as you want, but it's reality," he yawned. "I don't even know your name! How am I supposed to trust you?" I threw my hands in the air in a 'what do you expect?!' way. "Call me Dr.Johnson.