The Runner

I followed Kaia along the path, her torch beam the only light cutting through thick night.

"Where are we going?" I asked, dragging my feet slightly as we scuffed through the gravel.

"You'll see." She said cryptically.

"No. Where are we going?" I demanded, stopping where I was. It wasn't safe to follow this person I didn't know, especially if I didn't know where she was taking me. For all I knew she could be a monster in disguise.

She sighed and turned to me, rolling her eyes tiredly. "A safe place for demigods. Don't worry, I'm not about to grow fangs and eat you."

I frowned. "Are you sure?"

She just laughed. "Come on, tamaiti o hau. We're going to freeze out here if we don't get there soon."

I nodded and followed but a frown still creased my forehead. "What does that mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"Tamaee- uh... whatever you said."

Kaia didn't bother hiding her smirk. "Don't you worry about it."

"Ummm... alright then."

We lapsed into silence and time slipped by while we trudged through the dark that lay in a thick blanket over... wherever we were.

"Who's you parent?" I asked Kaia after an age. "Your godly one, that is."

"Dynamene."

"Who?"

Kaia grinned. "A neried, a spirit of the ocean." She sighed but the grin didn't leave her face. "Hence the wonderfully punny name."

I frowned again. "I don't get it." I admitted.

"Kaia Moana." She said, studying my face for any reaction. "No? You're not from around here, are you? American?"

"Well... yeah. But where exactly is here?"

"New Zealand. Aotearoa. Land Of The Long White Cloud." My eyes widened and she grinned. "You're a long way from home, Cordelia."

"But... how? I fell asleep in a tree just outside camp and the next thing I knew I was falling and landed here. How did I end up halfway across the world?" My mind was buzzing and was it just me or was the world beginning to spin?

Kaia opened her mouth to explain but we crested a small hill and the light from a large two-story house dug daggers into my cornea. I slowly adjusted to the light and Kaia let out a puff of relief.

"The Den." She breathed then without warning grabbed my arm. "Come on, we'll talk inside."

I laughed and let her tow me into the warm glow.

Notes