The sun beating down on the port and the hot temperature made the air above the concrete shimmer like water as Miriam disembarked the ferry. She had been hoping for some more tolerable weather during her vacation, but just being in Greece was good enough.

She walked slowly along the port, looking for a familiar face and listening for his familiar voice. In the few minutes it took her to find Nicholas, she was already sweating.

“Miriam!” he shouted, weaving through the group of tourists who had been on the same ferry as her. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw him. The two had grown up together in rural Greece, but a few years earlier Miriam had left to Italy for a job.

They hugged and each exchanged a kiss on the other’s cheek.

“How was your trip?” he asked, taking her suitcase from her.

“Long and crowded. It’s definitely tourist season. If I saw or heard one more person being seasick I would’ve jumped overboard and swam the rest of the way.”

He chuckled and led her to his car. Miriam let out a low whistle when they reached it.

“That thing has really taken a beating since I left. What’d you do to the poor thing?”

He rolled his eyes. “Please, like you didn’t total my first car.”

“You’re the one who let me drive it without a license, so that one’s on you.”

Their witty banter continued as he put her suitcase in his trunk and they got in the car.

“How’s Italy been treating you?” Nicholas asked as he started the car and began driving.

“A little more expensive than around here but other than that it’s been fantastic. You need to come to my place sometime. Oh, and the gelato is to die for.”

“You know I’d love to but it’d be hard to find someone to look after my place.”

“Ah, that’s right. How’s your little homestead been doing?” Miriam asked.

“It’s definitely keeping me busy.”

Miriam glanced over at him. He was usually more talkative. He had a troubled look on his face.

“Hey, is everything all right? You look like something’s bothering you.”

He looked over at her quickly before turning back to the road. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it.

“I didn’t want to make you feel unwelcome, but things have been a little odd lately. Some weird stuff has been happening around the village lately,” he admitted.

Miriam furrowed her brow. “What’s going on?”

Nicholas took a deep breath and lightly shook his head.

“People think there’s a wolf in the woods that’s been stealing livestock, but no one has actually seen one lurking around or found the bodies of the animals that go missing. No blood or anything. People have gone looking for lost dogs and sheep in the forest and when they come out… there’s something wrong with them. They’re all scared and keep repeating the same thing over and over again.”

“You’re joking,” Miriam responded.

“I wish I was. I didn’t want to worry you, and I know you had already taken time off work and bought the ferry ticket by the time it was getting started.”

“Have any of your animals gone missing?” “No, not yet. My neighbor to the north has had a couple of incidents though.”

“I can’t believe it,” Miriam muttered. “The area was always so boring and quiet when we were younger, now both of these things happening at once? What is it that people are repeating?”

“Uh, it kind of varies from person to person, but it’s always something cryptic and creepy.”

“Does anyone know what’s causing it?”

“No one’s really sure what to think,” he responded. “Some people are guessing it’s a mold or fungus in the woods. I want you to stay out of the forest while you’re here, though. There’s no sense in risking it, even if it’s only happened to a few people so far.”

“Yeah, of course,” Miriam agreed.

The rest of the car ride passed quietly, as the two thought about the strange situation.

*****

A few hours later, they drove up the winding road to Nicholas’s house and small farm. There were goats and sheep grazing in a fenced in area, while chickens wandered around freely. A fluffy white and black dog stretched lazily and followed the car until they parked. When Miriam stepped out of the car, the dog sat in front of her and nosed at her hand.

“That’s Argos. If you still like dogs as much as you used to, you guys’ll be best friends,” Nicholas told her.

“He’s cute,” Miriam replied, scratching the top of his head. “Where’d you get him?”

“He was a stray in the village a couple years ago. Figured I could use a dog around here, especially since the chickens like to wander toward the woods. He’s good at his job.”

Miriam carried her suitcase inside and set it in the guest room. She sat on the mattress with the intention of getting back up, but it was too inviting and soft to resist. She yawned, laid down, and promptly fell asleep.

*****

She awoke early the next morning, stomach rumbling. She rolled out of bed and was stretching when a scent caught her attention. Breakfast.

She quickly changed into clean clothes and rushed to the kitchen, where Nicholas was sipping a cup of coffee and reading a book.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said without looking away from the book.

“Hey,” she replied. “Sorry for ditching you so early last night. I forgot how much traveling tires me out.” She peeked around the kitchen, searching for hints to what that delicious smell might have been. “Please tell me you’re making —“

“Sfougato,” he interrupted. “I hope that’s still your favorite.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I haven’t had a real breakfast in ages. That’s one downside to Italy.”

Nicholas chuckled and set down his book. “There’s a street market in the village this morning that I imagine you’d like. After you eat you should go.”

“You’re not going?”

“I would if I could, but someone has to do the work around here. The village is about a mile south. You can take my car or bike if you’d like.”

Miriam walked over to an open window just as a cool breeze blew through it. The chilly morning air was a nice change from the heat of the day before.

“I’ll have to take you up on the bike offer, it’s beautiful out this morning.”

“Yeah, it is.” He got up as a timer started beeping and pulled the omelette-like dish from the oven. “Enjoy this. I’m gonna get started on the chores before the heat sets in. You should head to the market early before all the good stuff is gone. I think you’ll really like it.”

“Will do.”

Miriam helped herself to more than her fair share of sfougato before pulling on her shoes and heading out the door. She took a deep breath of the cool morning air before grabbing Nicholas’s bike and heading toward the village.

In about five minutes she had reached the small town and easily found the street market. People milled about looking at fruits, vegetables, and other produce. Before long she had a small bag with a jar of honey, peaches, and corn.

Miriam stopped to admire some flowers when she noticed someone staring at her. The man’s eyes were wide and it looked like he was muttering something to himself. As soon as they locked eyes, he started walking toward her. Miriam took a step backwards as he approached, but he roughly grabbed her by the arm.

“Leave this place,” he said urgently. “You must leave or face his wrath.”

Miriam felt frozen in place. She stared at him, shocked.

“Leave this place,” he repeated, his hand squeezing around her arm tighter. She winced and tried to pull free from his grip, but he wouldn’t let go. He began to shake her violently.

“Leave!” he yelled. “He soon will come and you must be gone by then!”

At that point, he had caught other people’s attention. Several people jumped in to pull him off of her.

“Good God, it’s happening again,” she heard someone whisper behind her. She couldn’t believe what had just happened, but when she looked around, people seemed more sad than frightened.

This is what Nicholas was telling me about, she thought. It’s happened before and people are getting used to it.

“Are you okay?” someone asked. Miriam nodded in response, still in shock from the experience.

She didn’t care to enjoy the morning weather or the market after that, so she returned to Nicholas’s house. When she arrived, he was still taking care of the animals, so she went inside without saying a word, put the produce on the table, and collapsed onto the couch.

She couldn’t stop thinking about that man. He had seemed so convinced of what he was saying, even though it made no sense. Who was he talking about? Her arm was still red where he had grabbed her.

Miriam flinched as she heard the front door open. The incident at the market had really put her on edge.

“Hey,” she said, letting out a shaky breath.

“Did you see Argos at all this morning?” he asked, seeming a little panicked himself.

“No,” she replied hesitantly. “Why?”

Nicholas cursed under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I’ve got to go look for him.”

Miriam felt the blood drain from her face. “Look for him where?” she asked weakly. She knew the answer, but desperately wanted to be wrong.

“In the woods. He’s usually good about staying out of there but sometimes chases small animals. He shouldn’t be too far in.”

Miriam suddenly felt anxious. “Nick,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She wanted to tell him about the man at the market, but he started talking before she could bring it up.

“I know. This is about the worst time he could run off, but I can't leave him out there if there’s a wolf in the area.” He looked unsettled too.

“So you’re going to go in there when there’s a wolf? It’s not safe.”

“Wolves are mostly nocturnal, and I don’t think Argos would be very deep in the woods. I’ll be back before you know it.” He walked into the kitchen, and Miriam stood and followed him. He opened a drawer and started rustling through it, looking for something.

“What about whatever’s driving people insane? We don’t even know what it is.” Miriam’s voice rose in pitch with worry. Again, she wanted to say something about the strange man, but panic made it feel like her throat was closing in on itself.

Nicholas found what he had been looking for, and pulled a mask out of the drawer. “If it’s mold this will do the trick.” He looked at Miriam, and his worried expression softened. “I didn’t mean to worry you when I told you about the stuff that’s been going on. I didn’t realize you’d be so bothered by it. I’m gonna go look for Argos and I’ll be right back.” He looked at the clock, which read half past 10. “I’ll be back in time for lunch. I promise.”

He squeezed Miriam’s hand and gave her a smile that was meant to be reassuring, but did nothing to ease the dread in her stomach.

He stepped out the door, put on the mask, and walked toward the trees. Watching from a window, Miriam saw him hesitate before stepping into the forest. She stood at the window until she could no longer see him, and for several minutes after that. Then she sat on the couch, watching the hands on the clock tick, mind racing frantically. Time seemed to drag on much slower than possible, but Miriam couldn’t bring herself to do anything that would take her mind off of the situation.

*****

He had been gone for over two hours. Miriam paced around the living room. Then, she went outside. She stood by the door and looked toward the forest. She felt uneasy even at a distance.

I won’t go in, she told herself. I’ll just stand at the edge and call out for him.

She took one tentative step after another until she was within feet of the tree line. She crossed her arms to try to stop her hands from shaking.

“Nicholas?” she said, softer than she had meant to. She peered into the woods and called out again. “Nick?” No answer. Her heart was racing now. What if something happened to him? He shouldn’t have been gone this long. Her whole body tensed as she strained to hear a reply. But there was nothing but the sound of the breeze ruffling the leaves.

I’ll call the police, she thought. They’ll look for him.

As she turned to head back toward the house, however, she finally heard something. But not Nicholas.

Very softly, there was an instrument playing in the woods. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly. The song was dismal and simultaneously the most beautiful things she had ever heard. She suddenly couldn’t remember why she was outside, or why she was standing at the edge of the woods. Without intending to, she turned back toward the forest. Then, she took a step in.

The music bounced off of the trees in an odd way, but Miriam carefully followed the sound. It was entrancing. Something in the back of her mind urged her to leave, but she paid little attention to it. She just kept following the music.

After several minutes of walking, the song ended. She felt disappointed, but didn’t give up trying to find the source of it. She kept walking in the direction she thought it had been coming from, and before long she found herself in a small clearing.

In the clearing were dozens of animals. Goats, sheep, hogs, dogs, cats, chickens, and even mice were all clustered together. None of them bothered the others, and most of them were fast asleep, although some were grazing on the variety of grasses. Argos dozed peacefully next to a sheep.

And there, in the middle of the herd of animals, reclined on a boulder, was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. So beautiful that she almost didn’t notice what an abomination he was. Almost. Below his waist were legs identical to those of the goats grazing and slumbering around him. And atop his head, protruding from curly hair, were two horns.

Miriam couldn’t tear her eyes away from him in a combination of awe and horror. To her left, a twig snapped. She gasped and quickly looked to the source of the noise, but it was just one of the goats moving to a new patch of grass to eat. She let out a shaky breath, and turned back to the man-goat creature. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw that he was no longer reclined on the boulder, but sitting up and looking directly at her. Her eyes widened. Her heart pounded. She tried to take a step back, but her body felt uncoordinated, like half of her wanted to leave and the other half wanted to stay. Her foot hit a tree’s root which was protruding from the dirt and went crashing to the ground. Behind her, the beast calmly picked up the pipe flute that had been resting next to him and played a short, sweet melody.

Miriam froze where she was, lulled into a state of tranquility. When she tried to move away from him, it felt as if her mind had been disconnected from her body. She couldn’t move no matter how much she wanted to. She could, however, turn to face him. He rose from the rock and walked toward her.

“What are you?” She whimpered, staring at his curled horns in horror.

He looked down his nose at her, with a clear look of distaste on his face. “Your people do not even recognize your gods anymore.”

You’re no god, she thought. You’re the devil. She’d never been religious, but what other explanation was there for a man with horns and the legs of a goat?

He scowled at her and shifted his weight from one hoof to the other. “Do not look at me like I am hideous. You humans are the disgusting ones. You pollute and ravage the earth, torture and kill its creatures, and you have the impudence to think that I am a monster.” His voice was getting louder, and his eyes had a dangerous glint to them. A sharp pain shot through Miriam’s head, causing her to wince.

“I have protected these woods and the animals in it for the entirety of my life. I waited patiently for you humans to learn. Hundreds of years I waited for you to treat the land you live on with kindness. But you have only gotten more selfish. You have only caused more and more damage. I am tired of waiting!” He was yelling now, and the searing pain in Miriam’s head grew. The pain caused a ringing that dampened every noise except the beast’s voice. She squeezed her temples between the palms of her hands, tears streaming down her face.

Through the ringing came a soft, calm voice. A woman’s. Miriam looked up and saw with blurry eyes a woman stepping out from behind— no, from inside of a tree. She was saying something, but Miriam couldn’t hear it. The tree woman approached the man slowly, with an almost bored look on her face. She was still speaking, and it looked like she was repeating one word. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and as she did, the ringing faded. Then, Miriam could hear what she was saying.

“Pan,” she said, her annoyance clear by the sound of her voice. That’s what she had been repeating. The beast’s name must have been Pan. “You killed the last one like this. Your message will never get out if you keep doing that.”

“They deserve to die. You have seen what they do.”

“Of course they deserve to die.” She glanced at Miriam as if she were something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of her shoe. “But you cannot kill them all. They would destroy you before you could accomplish that. Stick to your plan.”

He hadn’t looked away from Miriam during the conversation, but seemed to be slightly more in control of himself.

“Since you humans will not learn on your own,” he took a breath, and somewhat calmly continued, “I am going to teach you.”

“What are you?” Miriam repeated, even more weakly than the first time she had said it. “Why are you doing this?”

He sighed and looked up toward the sky. The light that made its way through the forest’s canopy lit up his brown eyes like honey in the sun. Miriam squeezed her eyes closed. Hadn’t she bought honey earlier today? She couldn’t remember.

“It is a long story, but I suppose you will not remember any of it soon enough.” He walked back to the boulder he had been sleeping on and sat down, gingerly moving the reed flute to the side.

“I am Pan,” he began. “I am the god of the wild and shepherds, among other things. I was worshipped in ancient Greece, respected and feared.”

Miriam’s eyes flicked toward the woman, who Pan then glanced at.

“Karya is a tree nymph. She has been my companion for the last century or so.”

She walked back to the tree she had come out of and melded into it, indistinguishable from the tree itself.

“She is more forgiving than I, despite watching her sisters die at the hands of humans. She may have saved your life but she will not save you. Following my music to me has destined you to be my messenger.”

“Your messenger?” Miriam’s legs felt limp. They wouldn’t stand, and certainly wouldn’t run if she had wanted them to. Strangely, she wanted to stay. Wanted to give in to this god and his tree nymph. Wanted to stay in the forest and listen to the hauntingly beautiful songs he played on his flute.

“Yes. You will assist in carrying out my plan as my final messenger. You will go to the townsfolk and forewarn them of my arrival and urge them once again to vacate the area. Those who choose to remain will face me.”

“Why do you want people to leave?” she asked, feeling slightly less afraid of him. As Pan continued talking, her fate seemed more and more acceptable and inevitable in her mind.

“Because this is my home, and your kind has done nothing but destroy it. Arcadia used to be beautiful.”

A picture suddenly flooded Miriam’s mind. A lush and expansive forest, and above it, a young Pan flying through the air, being carried by an older man wearing winged sandals.

Young Pan giggled and kicked his hooves with joy.

“Higher, Hermes!” he urged, to which the man obliged. Pan’s curly hair almost hid the small horns that barely poked out above it.

After flying above the woods for a moment longer, they swooped down to the ground. As soon as his hooves hit the dirt, Pan began running and jumping around in the way that only excited children do. He stuck his arms straight out to the sides, and pretended to be soaring through the air. He ran back to the man’s side, stopped, and grabbed onto his tunic.

“Again!” he demanded with a hopeful look in his eyes.

Hermes rested his hand on Pan’s head, between his horns.

“Perhaps later. I have work to do now.” With that, he leapt into the air while the wings on his sandals flapped furiously.

Pan watched momentarily as he flew away, then turned and ran through the trees, his eyes still alight and a grin on his face. Woodland critters scurried away from him, and the image faded from Miriam’s head. It was as if she had been experiencing the memory for herself, and a smile lingered on her lips from the excitement of flying.

“That was the Arcadia I knew and loved. When people respected the gods, they respected the earth and animals. It is not that way anymore.”

“That man,” Miriam inquired, “Hermes, he was the Greek messenger god, right?”

Pan nodded. “My father as well. As people began to drift away from the gods, they stopped caring about the wilderness. They exploit the trees and the animals who called them home. They poison the water and soil with chemicals and do nothing to stop the harm it causes.”

Another memory filled Miriam’s head, one less pleasant. Dozens of animals laid dead on the ground near a stream. The water was murky. One animal, a deer, was twitching as Pan approached. He was no longer a child, and his merriment was nowhere to be seen. He eased the deer into lying down and comforted it as the polluted water took its life. After it had passed, Pan gently closed its eyes. For several days, he stayed in there, leading animals away from the polluted stream to a fresh one. Many more still died.

That memory blended seamlessly into another. Here, Pan ambled through the woods, up a hill. A hare bolted over the top of the hill, and ran past Pan. Then a jackal, but not chasing after the hare. One animal after another raced over the hill and past the god. They were running away from something. Something was wrong. He ran up the hill and halted at the top, eyes wide in terror.

Trees were falling left and right, machines cutting them down rapidly. Animals sprinted away, and among them were tree nymphs. Pan watched as nymphs fell to the ground along with the trees. One saw him and ran toward him.

“Pan!” she called. “Pan, help! The trees,” she cried, “they’re killing them. Help us, they’re killing—“ she stopped talking as she reached him, and clutched at her heart as she collapsed to her knees. “My tree…” she whispered. “They killed my tree.”

Pan fell to his knees beside her, embracing her as she went limp. She died in his arms, tears in her eyes, hand in his.

Miriam’s hand hovered over her heart, shaking. She could feel the pain and despair. She felt bile rise in her throat and doubled over, coughing.

“I see you understand now. You know that humans do no good and cause only harm.”

Miriam couldn’t answer. Her chest still ached with sorrow from watching a tree nymph she didn’t know die right in front of her.

Pan approached her and crouched before her. He gently lifted her head until she was looking at him.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Ready…” Miriam repeated in a daze. She noticed once more how attractive this god was, despite his physical oddities. She reached up toward his horns with one hand. How strange that a beautiful man have horns.

“Ready to be my messenger,” he clarified.

A moment of clarity struck, and Miriam gasped and fell back, trying to scramble away from him. As quickly as the clarity hit, it left again. Why would she be afraid? Everything was right. It all made sense. With Pan’s plan, things would be just.

“I know what you are feeling must be very confusing. It is through no fault of your own that you feel this way. One of my…” he paused, trying to think of the right word. After a moment of silence, he waved a hand in dismissal and continued, “abilities, powers, call it what you will, is to affect people’s minds. The ancient Greek word panikos, from which the modern word panic comes, was derived from my own name. My flute and existence as a god may be calming, but I can be quite the opposite. Instilling panic in a person that leads to erratic behavior has proven most helpful lately.”

The memory was fuzzy to Miriam, but she could recall it just enough to make the connection.

“The deranged people… the ones who went into the woods and came out different.”

“My previous messengers.”

“Karya said… she said you killed one.” He tilted his head in confusion.

“Yes,” he responded.

“The last person to come into the woods?”

“Yes.”

Miriam’s bottom lip quivered. Nicholas. A single tear slid down her cheek before the confusion set in. Why am I crying? she thought. Everything is well.

“You will not remember the pain soon.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands and tilted her head until her eyes met his. “Tell them that I will arrive tonight. This is their last chance to leave. I am coming.”

Pan let go of her face, and like a rubber band stretched too tight, her mind snapped. She sat still as the panic rushed over her. Her eyes widened. Her heart raced. Her breathing became labored. Then she shot up from the ground and ran. Branches scratched at her face and roots clawed at her feet. She fell many times, but pulled herself up immediately. She didn’t even wipe the dirt from her face. She had to reach the village. One thought repeated itself in her mind like a broken record:

He’s coming.