Ashes

"Val!" Anna creamed, her voice shaky and uneven. My breath became short, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Luke cut the bonds that held her to the seat, and she fell over, her body limp on the floor.

"Bleh, I hate blood. It takes so much work to remove it from clothes." He said with disgust. He stepped over Val and wiped the blood on his hands on my shirt, causing me to gag. Val's blood was all over my shirt. She was dead. Completely and utterly dead. Gone. Never coming back. The realization sunk in, causing me to feel the exact same way when Josh was killed with green fire.

"You are a monster!" Anna said, causing Luke to grin.

"We're all monsters in our own way, sugar. We all die, we all kill to survive, and we all take what isn't ours. That's life, toots. Get used to it." Luke walked over to me and held the knife up, but let go. "No, no no no, I want you to witness your sisters death." Luke walked back over to Anna, lining up the knife with the cut that was already on her throat.

"No!" I said, tears filling my eyes. "Don't you dare!"

"Why shouldn't I, huh? You completely obliterated my camp. I'm going to return the favor. Kill everyone you loved, how does that sound?"

"Wait!" I said, struggling to get loose of my bonds. "How are you planning on doing that? Surely you can't do it by yourself." Luke chuckled and took my bait, taking the knife away from Anna, walking over to the closed doors . He sighed heavily, then kicked them open. The mayo factory was filled to the brim with orange shirt-bearing teens and adults, all carrying multiple weapons. None of them payed attention to us, everyone was busy sharpening their swords and suiting up.

"This mayonnaise factory..." Luke paused. "Isn't really a may factory. You see, hiding in plain sight is the perfect way to raise an army of bloodthirsty demigods who want to avenge their fallen comrades." Luke smiled in appreciation of his work.

"There still isn't enough people to stop the entirety of New Rome." I said, a tear escaping.

"Ahh, but did you know that mayonnaise is actually very flammable?" He asked, holding a jar of it up after a trolley carrying an entire package passed by. "Especially when it's lit by Greek fire."

"No way..." I said, hating myself for not realizing Luke was the John Johnson guy all along.

"Oh, Allen," Luke said, nealing down next to me. "Once i'm done, New Rome will be nothing but ashes."

Notes