The Cursed Ones

Walking, Walking, and Monsters



Kliyah's POV

I woke up with a yawn. "Vahl?" I said, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "You awake?" It was still dark out, the sun only just rising. Vahl turned over in her sleep, mumbling something about Leo, and fire. I quietly threw back the covers, and slipped on my shoes.

I grabbed my jacket on my way out, unzipping the tent open, and zipping it closed behind me. I pulled my jacket on over my head, and turned around. I slowly pulled back the hood, sniffing the air. It smelled like smoke.

I summoned a sword of ice, and walked cautiously around the camp. I didn't see anything, and was walking back to the fire pit, when it exploded, sending me, and little bits of melted plastic flying everywhere.

I rolled over and ducked, covering my face. I uncovered my head, and looked around. The fire pit was ablaze, and black plastic pieces were scattered all around me. Ash fell from the sky like snow.

I summoned some snow, and slowed down the fire, but left it going. I put out the little fires surrounding the pit, then pulled my jacket up over my head. The tent flaps opened, Lizzie, Jazz, and Vahl all rushing out with theirs weapons.

"Hey. Morning." I said casually, putting out a little bit of embers from some burning grass.
They just stared. "What? Oh ya. Y'all remember the styrofoam and plastic we threw in the fire last night? It exploded. So, just a typical morning for a demigod. Breakfast anyone?" I asked, walking into my tent and grabbing my sack.

I pulled out a box of fresh donuts and kolaches. They were still warm. I grabbed a small sauce pan, and boiled some hot cocoa. I poured it into Thermos', and passed them around. We dug in.

Lizzie grabbed three blueberry donuts, and a kolache, Jazz took two kolaches and a raspberry filled donut, and Vahl grabbed three chocolate iced donuts, and three kolaches. Personally, I took a powered sugar donut, a strawberry iced, and a kolache.

Did I forget to mention the donut holes? Oh ya. And they were Shipley's donuts. The best donut holes EVER. We devoured them, and drained the hot cocoa. Then tossed the trash (all of it was paper) into the fire, then went and changed.

I pulled on an aqua shirt, black jeans, my black jacket, and walked out. Vahl was sitting on a log, facing the fire. "Your turn." I said, walking over and sitting down. She looked up and walked to the tent without a word. I felt a frown form on my face. Something was up with her, and I wanted to know what.

Lizzie and Jazz walked out, both dressed in Camp shirts, jeans and jackets. If it wasn't for
their hair, and ever so slight facial differences, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart. I guess the fact that Lizzie didn't smile that much would help. She seemed depressed, or just sad. Jazz on the other hand was always looking for a reason to smile.

What threw me off when they walked out was Lizzie's hair was pulled back, it looked like she had mascara on, and she was smiling. Jazz was smiling too, her arm around Lizzie.
"Hey guys. You ready to go?" They looked up at me, then each other. Lizzie's face fell slightly, as if she was scared.

"Yeah. Yeah we're ready." Jazz said, searching Lizzie's face.

"Can I ask, what's wrong? You both seem a bit sad." I asked.

"It's nothing." Lizzie said quickly. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

I shrugged. "Okay. We should pack up the tents. Jazz, can you get y'alls and I'll get me and Vahl's?"

She nodded, and we went into the tents. I grabbed my sack, and the food, and walked out, taping the square button on the outside flap. It shrunk up into a cube, and I pocketed it. I stood in front of Vahl's tent. "Vahl? You dressed?" I asked.

"Yeah. Come on in." she answered. I pushed back the tent flap and walked in. "You all packed up? We're about to leave." I paused. "What's wrong?" She was sitting on the bed, with her head in her hands, her bag of clothes on the floor in front of her.

She looked up. "It's nothing. Nothing." She stood up and grabbed her bag. "You ready?" she asked.

"Yep. Let's go." We walked out, I pressed the button and picked up the cube. I tossed it to Vahl, and she shoved it in her front pocket. Jazz and Lizzie were waiting for us by smoldering the fire pit.

"Come on slow pokes, let's go!" Jazz yelled, turning around and running up a hill into the woods. I ran after her and Lizzie, Vahl close at my heels. "Guys! Hey! Slow down!" I yelled. I slowed down to a jog, peering into the trees. "Guys?"

I looked around. "Lizzie! Jazz!" I yelled. I turned around and realized Vahl was gone too. 'Great.' I muttered to myself. I looked around one more time. Not seeing them, I just kept walking in the general direction of north, figuring they were probably looking for me, and I would eventually find them.

It had been about five minutes when I heard a scream. "Jazz!" I yelled, and ran in the direction I heard it come from. I called her name again. "Jazz! Jazz where are you?" I yelled.

I heard a crash to my right. I stopped and peered over. "Jazz?" I said. Lizzie came tumbling out of the brush. She groaned in pain, but scrambled up. "Kliyah! Come on, we've been looking for you everywhere." she said, grabbing my hand. "Jazz ran into a cyclops. We need to go help her." she said, tugging on my arm.

She pulled me into a clearing where I saw Vahl and Jazz battling a giant cyclops. I immediately dropped my backpack and started shooting blasts of ice at its feet. "Lizzie! Distract it. I'll get it from behind." Jazz said, running past her.

"Hey ugly!" Lizzie said, waving her arms around over her head. The cyclops turned to her, a look of pure anger on his face. "You don't like that huh?" she taunted. He retaliated with a swing of his club, aimed right for Lizzie. She rolled back out of the way, just barely missing it. He swung again, and she dodged again. "Jazz! Anytime now." she said through gritted teeth.

Jazz leaped up, higher than I thought possible, and climbed up using his back hair to hold onto. When she reached his shoulders, she unsheathed her blade, and plunged it in his head. Leaving her sword, she quickly climbed down, the cyclops turning to dust.

She landed in a roll, picked herself up, and grabbed her sword. "Alright. Let's go." she said casually, slinging up her backpack and tossing it over her shoulder. Lizzie slowly got up, and limped over to her sack. It looked as if every step pained her.

I reached it before she did, and carried it too. "You've got enough to carry. I'll carry this." I said, after she looked at me like, 'seriously?'. She looked slightly relieved, but it was like she wasn't even trying. Almost as if she had nothing
to live for anymore.

She wouldn't open up, so I quit asking after about ten minute of walking. We walked through streams, trees, underbrush, thistles, and a strange, squishy sounding moss. "Uh, guys? You might want to see this." Jazz said, on top of a particularly large and steep hill. I clambered up with Lizzie and Vahl to see what Jazz was talking about.

"What, what's with all the yellow dust? Isn't it supposed to disappear?" Vahl asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it. Let's go before they reform. If they reform." Lizzie said. I tossed the clothes sack to Jazz, who shouldered it, and started walking/sliding down the hill. Lizzie had a rough time getting down the hill.

"Put your feet on my shoulders. It'll take the jolts out of it." I suggested. She looked reluctant, but set her boots on my shoulders and we slid down together. "Thanks." she said, brushing herself off.

As we walked through the yellow dust covered grass, I saw some of it swirling. "Uh, Jazz? The dust is moving." I said, stopping, and pointing to it. "It's not windy." Vahl said softly.

"Go run. Now." Jazz said, taking off in a sprint. I followed close at her heels. About tens seconds later, I heard a screech. A loud screech, that could only come from something reptilian. I stopped and turned around.

"Lizzie!" I screamed. I dropped my sack, and full on sprinted towards her. She stopped hobbling, and turned around. I'd never actually fought a dracaenae before, but I'd practiced in monster fighting class. It was near impossible to kill one on your own. You needed two or three people to help defeat it.

Lizzie quickly unsheathed her dagger, and rolled underneath it. It turned around and kicked her in the gut, in mid-roll. I formed an ice throwing knife, and threw it point blank range at it's back. It dodged it, and stepped on Lizzie's bad ankle. Lizzie's scream was like nothing else I'd ever heard. It was one of pure pain, and suffering. I leaped onto its back, tackling it to the ground. "Vahl! Help Lizzie! Jazz! I could use a little help!" I yelled. It was on its stomach, squirming like a worm, trying to grab some piece of me.

I froze its arms down, but it wouldn't hold her long. Like all demigods, my powers had limits, and mine were just about reached. I used that last bit of energy I had left, to encase her torso in ice. I sat back on my feet, breathing deeply. Vahl was almost to Lizzie, and Jazz was about to reach me.

I had my sword unsheathed, in my hand, but I didn't have the energy to even pick it up.

Of course, when I thought things might get better, the Fates love to prove me wrong. The dracaena broke out of the ice, turned around, and tackled me to the ground. I tried to push her off, but she was holding my down by pressing down on my outspread arms. She slammed her fist into my head, causing my vision it blink in and out of focus. She did it again, and my world faded to black.

Notes

Please don't kill me! Y'all might just hate me in the next chapter.