The Cursed Ones

Lizzie's POV

"Run!! They're coming!" Jazz yelled, scrambling way from the window, and grabbing her backpack. We had found a safe house in the woods, and stayed there for a few days while Jazz healed. Kliyah had gone ahead to another safe house. We all scrambled up from our chairs and grabbed our backpacks.

"How close are they?" I asked, unbolting the back door.

"Almost here. We have about thirty seconds before their on top of us. We need to leave now!" Jazz yelled, as a tree exploded in the front. We all bolted out the door, not bothering to close it, as more explosions came from behind us.

"How'd they find us?" Vahl yelled into the wind.

"I dunno! But we need to get out of here. Jazz! Can you do the portal?" I was practically screaming.

"Ya, I need a safe zone though! We have to find a clearing with no bad guys!" She shouted back, dodging another explosion. It landed right next to her. She leaped to the side just as it exploded, and threw her back. She landed in a bush, thankfully. I ran over and helped her up.

"Come on! We have to get out of here Jazz!" I said as I tugged on her arm. She shook her head and pulled on my arm and we bolted away.

Explosion after explosion surrounded us. Both sides, and behind. Ryan was relentless. I could hear his shrill yells, as he attempted to stop us. I almost smirked, but a gun shot whistled next to my ear, making me rethink Ryan's chances.

"Guys! There's a clearing up here! Hurry!" Vahl shouted, ahead of us.

"Jazz! We won't reach it in time for you to make the portal, but I have an idea." I yelled.

"Lizzie no! You can't!" Another tree exploded next to us, and sent us flying. I landed hard. Dots danced in front of my eyes, but I concentrated. Next to me, Jazz dissolved, and appeared yards away in the clearing, far in front of Vahl. I felt drained, but I clambered up out of the bush, and started running to Vahl.

I kept my eyes focused of Vahl, ignoring the bombs, gun fires, and shouts of anger behind me. Jazz. I have to reach Jazz. Time seemed to slow down.

"Lizzie! No! Look out!" Vahl screamed. I turned my head, and saw a small missile behind me, aimed right for me. If I dodged, it would hit Vahl and Jazz. If I didn't, it would hit me.

I closed my eyes as I ran, and summoned all the water around me, drawing it from the plants and soil. A wall of water erupted behind me, just as the missile hit. It exploded in the water, but once again, the force sent me tumbling on the ground.

I landed ten feet away from Vahl, and couldn't move. I'm guessing she ran forward, and started dragging me to Jazz.

"Hurry Jazz!" Vahl yelled.

"Working on it!" She shouted back, slightly frustrated.

Through blurred vision I saw her put her hands on the edges of the Iris-Message, and pull it apart wider, creating a greenish glow around the rim.

"Come on! It won't hold much longer!" She grabbed my other arm and pulled me through, just as the portal collapsed.


Jazz's POV

I thought Lizzie was dead. I mean, she had teleported me a hundred yards, almost got blown up, created a wall of water, got thrown across the fields, and gone through a portal.

Frantically, I checked for a pulse. It was faint, and slow. Her eyes were closed, and her face ashen white. I scrambled for the ambrosia in my backpack. I shoved half a piece in her mouth.

I sat back and waited. It felt like hours, but her color slowly returned, and her breathing steadied. I broke the other half of ambrosia in half and handed one to Vahl. I ate the other piece, laid down, and closed my eyes, thanking the gods we were alive.

"You three look horrible." Kliyah said, looming over me.

"We kinda almost died." I said.

"An NDE? I've had plenty of those. You three need baths, and fresh clothes. Then food."
The prospect of food made my mouth water. "Where are we exactly?" I asked.

"We're in an old safe house of mine. Used to come here with.. never mind. Me and a friend built it. Fully stocked, and room for five. Five bathrooms, five bedrooms, and two huge kitchens."

"Y'all built this? Wow." I said, taking in and admiring my surroundings.

"Yep. Come on. Help me get Lizzie to a bed." She grasped my arm and hauled me up. I grabbed underneath Lizzie's arms, and Kliyah grabbed her legs. We slowly carried her through the hallway, and into a bedroom.

The bed was already turned down so we laid her on it. I unlaced her boots, and set them at the foot of the bed. I gazed into her pale face before leaving the room.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine." Kliyah said, patting my shoulder as I heard the click of the shut door. She showed me to another bedroom, connected to Liz's. I took off my jacket and shoes, and flopped onto the bed, my eyelids already drooping from exhaustion.


Vahl's POV

The only thing better than the food, was the shower. Oh the bliss! The warm water, the soft soap, oh. Sorry. I'm ranting a bit. I haven't had a proper shower in weeks, and it just felt so good! I walked in with a tan, and walked out without.

Well, I didn't lose ALL of my tan, just the dirt. When I rubbed the soap on my arms, the suds turned gray. Gross.

The food was amazing. Just like from Camp. It made me homesick. Lizzie was much better, Jazz was well rested, and I was clean. Finally. We were all starting to smell. Okay. Sorry. I hope you weren't 'doing anything'.

"So where exactly are we?" I asked, inhaling my sausage.

"Well, I told Jazz we were in a Safe House. It's near Camp, well, not near, but closer than we
were. Jazz. You said you found the cure?" Kliyah asked.

Lizzie choked on her water, and turned to the side to spit it out. "What? Jazz? You found it?!" She slowly nodded.

Jazz cringed. "I thought I did. I think it's in my backpack. I'll go get it." With that she ran off, looked nervous. She came back with the blue jar in her hand. "This is what I thought it was. I'm not sure if it is."

Lizzie's eyes shone, and she grabbed the bottle from Jazz's hands. "You weren't wrong. This is it. I can feel it humming. What exactly do we do with it?"

"Uh, drink it?" I suggested.

"Nothing in it." She informed me after uncorking it.

"Maybe you use something on the bottle." Kliyah suggested. So we spent ten minutes exploring the glass bottle, but didn't find anything. "Okay, maybe not. Look. We can't stay in here forever. We have to get to Camp. Maybe we can figure it out on the way there. I know y'all just got here, but we should get going before Ryan figures out where we are."

I shrugged. "Guess your right. I'll go pack up the stuff. Jazz, can you pack us some food?"

She nodded, and I dashed off. I quickly shoved everything in one bag (handy packing skills), and left the others. I walked back in to kitchen after about five minutes to find three sacks full of supplies.

"Sweet." I said, tossing the bag by the sacks. "Let's get going. We have enough supplies to last us a week, which is more than we need." Jazz said, picking up a sack.

Kliyah volunteered to carry the bag first, and we each carried our own food sack. And we're off. We locked the door shut, and it disappeared from view. We hiked through the woods, stopping every once in a while for water or a snack.

"Guys, this weathers killing me." I said, wiping the perspiration off my forehead. It was so humid it was hard to breath. I swatted off a mosquito that was biting my arm. "Anyone got bug spray?" I asked.

"Sorry." Jazz said, after searching her bag.

"I'll take the bag this time Kliyah." I said , reaching for it. She handed it to me and I shouldered it, and started walking. We trudged through the mud and leaves, pushing away the branches of trees as we walked underneath them.

"Ugh. Vahl, your right. This weather is killing me." Kliyah said, shoving her bangs back again. The flopped back on her face despite her attempts. She finally gave up with a sigh.

"It's not that bad. Is it? I mean, I'm used to the humidity, but is it really bad?" Lizzie asked, dodging a fallen log.

I pushed a branch out of the way. "Yes. It is. How can you stand it? I feel like I've got chicken pox from all the mosquito bites."

She laughed. "I guess growing up without AC makes life easier when it comes to the outdoors."

"Oh. By the way Lizzie, how'd you do that teleport thing? You dissolved Jazz, and she
appeared rift next to me."

Her face fell with every word. "I've only just figured it out. I can concentrate on the water molecules in someone or a bunch of people's bodies, and move them to a different place. It's not easy, and the bigger the person, or more people is harder. I can't transport them very far if there's a bunch of people."

"Oh. Cause I was gonna say, maybe you could do that with us. Transport us to Camp." I said.
She shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. I can't transport myself. I've tried. I would've been out of Ryan's prison sooner if I could have."

My countenance fell. "Oh. Okay." And we trudged on. After about another hour of walking, we finally stopped.

I plopped down on a flatish rock, and laid down with a groan. "Tired Vahl?" Kliyah asked.

"Very." I breathed. I took a few small sips of nectar, then downed a water bottle. With a sigh, I shoved the empty bottle in my backpack. It would refill itself later. "Finally. Sweet relief."

Lizzie almost collapsed, but Jazz caught her. She gently laid her down and poured nectar in her mouth. "Thanks Jazz." she said, and passed out cold.

"I guess we'll make camp here." I said, pulling out the tents. I tossed the small cubes on the dirt, and the sprang out, unfolding into four large white tents. I unzipped the flaps and walked in, tossing my bag on one of the two cots.

I walked back out and helped Jazz carry Lizzie into the other tent and lay her on a cot. Dang. That girl was tough. If I went through what she's been through, I don't think I would have made it. It was all so confusing. Her hair was in tangles again, and her clothes dirty. Like the rest of us.

I walked out with Jazz; and with Kliyah's help, we build a small fire. Once we got the fire blazing, I brought out a package of hotdogs. "Dinner anyone?"

I used my pocket knife to carve off any unwanted moss off three sticks. I handed a hotdog and a stick to Jazz and Kliyah, and soon the smell of roasting meat filled the air. My stomach rumbled.

I didn't wait for condiments or a plate. I took the hotdog off the stick, ignoring the heat, and shoved a quarter of it in my mouth. I chewed, the juices bursting into my mouth. I was in heaven. I ate another hotdog, and helped Jazz and Kliyah clean up. We threw the plates, and other trash in the fire. I was concerned about the plastic.

I shrugged it off, but something in the back of my head told me it wasn't good. I tried to forget about it as I quickly changed into more comfy clothes, and slipped into my cot.

"All clear." I said to the waiting Kliyah who was outside the tent. She quickly slipped inside, and I turned over as she changed and got in her cot.

"Crazy few days huh?" She said.

"You have NO idea. We've been through hell and back. Not literally, but I definitely feels like it. Lizzie's got the worst of it. Dang. I'd be surprised if she stays the same when we're through. This trip has probably scarred her for life."

"We've all been through it. Maybe not the same, but every quest leaves it's mark on you. I know. I've got a few scars myself." She turned over, pulling the blanket closer to her face.

"Why? What happened? It's probably none of my business, but I'm just really curious." I asked.

She sighed. "It's not a bunch of quests. Just one. And it was for my mom. This was back when I didn't know right from wrong. Now I do know. My mom is and evil tyrant who tries to kill every demigod who she comes in contact with. To freeze them as statues for eternity."

"And your mom is?"

"Oh gods. I can't believe I'm telling you this." She mumbled. "My mom is Khione. Goddess of, well, you know. No need to go into detail. She's pure evil. My goal in life is to not be like her. To be the exact opposite of her."

"Kliyah, I'm sorry. But just so you know, you've done a great job. And there are a few qualities you have that she has too. But I guess that comes with the bloodline. Well, night. See Ya menyana." I yawned, speaking out of habit.

"Menyana?"

"It's, it's something I did with my mom. It means in the morning." I stuttered sleepily.

"Well then, see ya menyana."

Notes