Luckily, Jackie, a close friend of mine from school had her parents. Well, one parent. Her mom wasn't there anymore; she left after her daughter's birth.

Jackie was probably the nicest person in the world, but she was creepy, too. She was, oddly enough, Canadian. Weird. She usually wore black ripped jeans, a Harry Potter t-shirt – her favourite book and movie series in the world – and combat boots, or basketball shoes. She had a nose piercing, and she always had a deep violet bracelet on her wrist. She had light brown hair, which was always dead straight. The coolest things were her eyes. They were violet, and broke you down.

Even with her gothic demeanor, she was still a great person, but aggravating her reached a scary end. Once, she broke Lauren's wrist after Lauren had the nerve to call Jackie dumb. She had a crush on some dude at school named Jose, and she invited him to watch the movie with us. He was sort of emo. He freaked me out. He was a Latino, I think. With the last name, Descesso, I'm pretty sure he was either Spanish or Italian.

We sat in her living room. Lauren was munching on popcorn, and her bright green eyes looked at the TV screen, watching the Titan's moves with admiration. I personally disliked the Titans, and watched for Perseus most of the time.

During the movie, Jose was silent. He was pretty cute, I suppose, but not my type. I caught Jackie looking at him, and smiled. Lauren made this odd noise as Perseus and the Gods defeated the Titans.

"Dude, chill. It's just a movie," chuckled, once the film ended. She looked at me, her poison green eyes piercing my sea green once.

"It's not fair. The gods were in rule for way too long. The Titans needed a turn. It's stupid. Freaking Zeus cut up his dad, and sent him to Tartarus again. It sucks," she said.

"Yeah, but remember Kronos cut up Ouranus," I reminded her.

"Because Gaia told him too. He had good reason, as well," she pointed out.

Before I could make another comeback, Jose spoke for the first time that night.

"Oh, per favore zitto. Voi due sono estremamente fastidiosi," he said in Italian, rolling his eyes. [A/N: Oh, please shut up. You two are extremely annoying.]

"What-"

"How 'bout this. Neither of them rule. Gods ruled, Titans ruled, Primordial ruled. Equality. No more gods. Comprendo?" he said.

"Comprendo," we said together.

"Beach time!" Jackie said, as she picked up her bag.

Not really listening, I got up. I grabbed my shoulder back and followed her and Jose out of the house. Lauren followed, and I sucked in a sharp breath. She seemed to be acting differently lately, and I was concerned. About myself.

"You okay?" she asked. She had a kind expression, but her eyes said otherwise.

"Yeah…" I lied. "I'm all good."

Once we got to the beach, I felt relaxed. The cool sea air brought peace, and kindness. We got out of the taxi, and paid the guy. Running onto the beach, we decided that the water was too cold. I was a bit disappointed, because I loved to swim, but I pushed it aside.

"Thanks, guys, this is awesome," I said. We had decided to lay down in the sand and just talk.

"No prob," Jackie smiled at me. Jose simply nodded, and Lauren said nothing.

We stayed in that comfortable silence for an hour, listening to the waves crashing against the shore. The sound of gulls in the distance, and the faint salty sea smell that oh-so soothingly calmed me down.

Then, Lauren got up.

A wave crashed harder against the shore. The winds got stronger, and Lauren's hair was whipping her face. Her green eyes were glowing madly. When she turned to us, she opened her mouth. Her voice was raspy.

"Ah, Thalia, Jackie, Jose, you are all very kind. Too bad I'm going to have to kill you all," she laughed.

I started to get up, but I immediately fell, and couldn't move. Jose and Jackie were having the same problem.

"What the-" I started, panicked, but I couldn't speak. I felt gagged.

"Oh, let's start with… Jose! Ooh, your mother would be proud. Too bad she's dead!" She cackled. A tear fell down Jose's face. He looked furious, and he was thrashing around in his invisible bonds.

"Don't even bother, weakling. Don't even try!" She looked at Jackie. "Oh, you're interesting. Your father was quite handsome."

Jackie, still able to speak said, "What do you mean, was? He's still alive!" She yelled, before being gagged as well.

"Ignorance, child. I killed him," she said softly. Jackie screamed, and a waterfall of tears fell down her face.

Then, Lauren kneeled in front of me.

"Six years, I've been posing as a child your age, pretending to be your friend, waiting for the right moment to make sure you were their children. You are. And once I kill you, I'll be more famous than the gorgons ever were," she laughed.

I was so confused. What was she?

Then, she looked at me. "You don't know who I am, do you? Oh, this is hilarious. Dear, I am the Lamia. Hunter and predator of children," she cackled, before transforming into a beautiful woman… with the head of a snake.

"Oh, your parents would be so… disappointed. Killed before you knew. Shame. I suppose, I'll just have to kill you and reunite you with them, eh?" She smiled wickedly, before pulling out a sharp blade, covered with green poison.

She came towards me, and made a small cut, barely bleeding, on my arm.

I screamed, and cried. I thrashed. The pain was unbearable. I felt myself losing consciousness, and then, a scream.

Before I could comprehend what was going on, I lost consciousness completely. I didn't know if I was dead. Just blackness.

Ooh, you get an early chapter! :D What did you think? Cliffy? No cliffy? Good? Bad? Cheese? I don't know. But reviews help! Constructive criticism appreciated, your flames will be used for the following:

Making marshmallows

Burning Edward Cullen

Peace off, BOOP.