Chapter 1
Thalia stood on a low branch in a tree watching a deer not far away.
"Gotta be careful and quiet" thought Thalia. She hadn't eaten for a couple of hours, and she was getting hungry. She usually got really cranky when she hadn't eaten for at least three hours, and in the woods where she hunted for herself, it usually took a while to find a decent meal. As Thalia slowly crept down the beach closer to the deer getting ready to kill it with a swing for her blade, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. All of a sudden, something flashed by her and slashed the deer before she even had a chance to unsheathe her sword. "What the-?". The deer fell to the ground as blood poured from the fatal wound on its side. Next to the deer stood a tall boy with dark hair covering his left eye who looked to be about Thalia's age. "Hey, you!" Thalia barked. The boy raised his head.
"Hmm?" He hummed innocently, brows raised.
"What do you think you're doing? That was my deer!" she shouted angrily at the boy.
"Well, sorry but it's mine now. You were taking too long." As Thalia observed the boy she noticed his jet black hair, some covering his left eye and part of his face, and he was holding a rather large, blood-splattered axe. "What kind of weirdo hunts with an axe?" she asked the boy. "Me, I guess?" he said back. "It actually comes in handy and is really good at taking down animals. Nice sword by the way." he said complimenting the katana strapped to Thalia's back. "Whatever, I don't care anyway!"
"Um, sorry about that deer." apologized the boy. "You can have some meat if you want. I don't mind sharing, especially with someone like you."
"What do you mean someone like me!?" yelled Thalia angrily. She didn't appreciate the way he had said 'someone like you.'
"Well I- I'm just trying to say-," he paused and shook his head, "Nevermind. Do you want some of the deer meat?"
"No thank you. I don't take other people's kills." replied Thalia. The boy bent down to pick up the deer.
"Nah I insist, I don't mind. It's okay to accept the help of others you know. By the way what's your…" As he picked up the deer and turned around, the girl was no longer there. "...name?" In the distance, the boy saw Thalia jumping from tree branch to tree branch, eventually out of his sight. "Wow" said the boy to himself. "She sure is something."
It took her a while, but she had finally caught a fat rabbit and she couldn't wait to sink her teeth into it. The sun was starting to set as Thalia sat by the fire, cooking the rabbit. It smelled sweet, and the grease falling from the meat only managed to make Thalia's mouth water all the more. She was still mad at the boy from earlier for killing her deer , but she was willing to let it go...for now, at least. After she had eaten her rabbit it was already really dark. She realized she needed to find a tree to stay the night in before the monsters that came out at night found her. The last thing she wanted right now was to fight off a troll or some wolf, she was too tired for that right now. As Thalia put out her fire, she realized how dark it had gotten. It was nearly pitch black; she could barely see in front of her.
"Oh crap." thought Thalia. "I need to get in a tree fast or I''m screwed." As she started walking the sun went down completely and soon the only light she could see was the little light from the moon that came through the trees. She began walking faster when she heard noises behind her. Suddenly she heard a rather loud growl behind her. She spun around quickly and drew her sword from behind her back.
"Who's there!?" Said Thalia. She heard the growl again, this time she heard the direction it was coming from: Above. Thalia's heart sunk. The last thing she needed was a giant trying to catch and eat her. As she looked above her Thalia's eyes met the huge, shining eyes of a giant standing far, far above her. Its dark pupils stared straight down at her, sending a chill down Thalia's spine. This giant was huge, and not to mention, utterly terrifying. This was the first time in a long time Thalia had encountered a giant this close up and it sent chills up and down her spine. As this registered in Thalia's mind, she froze in fear right where she was and was unable to move. But the second the giant moved, something clicked in her brain and she bolted away from the giant, running as fast as she could, not giving the giant a chance to say anything, she did not want to hear anything the monster had to say anyway.
"Oi lass." Called the giant after her. "Where do ye think yer goin' lass?" His thick irish accent flooded Thalia's ears and made her run even faster, she knew she was running for her life and she was not willing to die, not today. Soon, Thalia heard the giant's loud, thundering footsteps behind her, along with it's deep rumbling laughter. As Thalia kept running and running she kept saying in her mind
"I'm not gonna die, i'm not gonna die, i'm not gonna die!." But as she was running she could feel the giants footsteps getting closer and closer. She was terrified but she was not going to stop running until she could go no further. "I'm not gonna die, i'm not gonna die, i'm not gonn-" Suddenly, she felt a hand wrap its fingers around her body and lift her up into the air. Thalia screamed and kicked, struggling any way she could to escape the terrifying giants grasp.
"LET ME GO!" She shouted up at the giant.
"Oi, now why would I want to let such a tasty-looking morsel like yerself go?" Thalia was trapped, she could not reach for her sword because her hands were pinned next to her body by the giant's hand.
"JUST LET ME GO!" Thalia yelled again. " I'm not ready to die!."
"Well then lass, ye should had not been walkin' out here at this time by yerself. Now yer mine." Said the giant as his mouth twisted into a horrifying grin, and Thalia could see his two rows of sharp teeth.
"SOMEBODY HELP PLEASE!" Thalia yelled out hoping somebody would hear her, but to no avail. "Who do ye think's gonna help ye lass? Nobodys gonna hear ya." Thalia realized that he was right: Nobody was going to help her or come to her rescue. Thalia went limp in the giant's hand as she admitted defeat.
"Giving up already are we? I thought ye were more feisty than that lass." Said the giant when he felt Thalia's body go limp. As he said this, the giant lifted Thalia above his head. "Say yer prayers lass." As the giant was about to drop her into his mouth, Thalia saw a flash behind his head in the tree that was positioned behind his head.
"What the-" Thalia said under her breath as she saw something speed by and land on the giant's shoulder. For a minute she was able to catch a glimpse of who it was. As Thalia peered through the darkness she saw that it was- The boy from earlier?! Sure enough, Thalia saw the boy with his axe and hair covering his left eye. He smiled at her sincerely and motioned to her with his hand to keep quiet. Thalia was to shocked to do anything so she remained still in the giant's grasp. The next thing she saw was a burst of red from the giant's neck as the sharp, thick steel of the boy's axe tore though the giants skin and tore open his jugular vein, fatally wounding him. That was the last thing she remembered before she fell out of the giant's hand and landed hard on the ground below.