Chapter 14: New Ability

Sam

"What do you think happened to them?" I asked.

Tory replied, "I don't know, but it couldn't have been good."

We continued through the woods. "Honestly, Sam!" Tory panted. "How did you get through all of these trees?"

I shrugged. Without our flares, I was the fastest of the Virals. "It's the same tactic I used to get to all of my classes on time."

We finally made it to the edge of the woods, where Tory stopped. "Sam?" she squeaked. "Please tell me I'm imagining things."

I peeked out from behind a tree, and my heart almost froze. Standing there, looking as hideous as heck, was a seven-headed hydra.

For a moment, I couldn't move. The first monster I'd seen was a hydra. And I had run away.

"Sam?" Tory's face was ash white. "You see it too, right?"

"Yeah." I swallowed. "Yeah, I see it."

"That's a hydra, right?"

Tory was no dummy. "Yeah. Listen: you go find the guys, and keep them safe."

"No. You're not going to risk your life alone."

"Tory, this is no time for heroics."

She almost yelled, "I should be the one telling you that!"

Five of the hydra heads turned towards us. "Tory," I whispered, "move."

She darted to the left as I shifted to the right. The hydra stopped and sniffed the air, then started heading in my direction. I'm a demigod,I thought. I probably smell good.

SNAP.

I stumbled and fell.

"Sam!" Tory shouted. A few of the heads turned to the area where her voice came from.

"I'm fine!" I hollered back, mostly to keep the monster's attention on me. To assure this, I summoned my sword. As it appeared in my hands, I said, "Get the others!"

She didn't reply, but the sound of sand being kicked up, hydra heads snapping, and a "That was close!" from Tory at least let me know that she listened.

"Easy boy." I started backing towards the water. "Easy, easy."

All seven heads roared. I didn't want to know what poison smelled like, but I could check that off my life achievements.

I could sense the ocean, about twelve feet away. "Almost there," I muttered. "Please don't have anything mess this up."

"Over here!" Hi's voice. Two of the heads looked behind me where he must have been.

"No, over here!" I saw Shelton on my left. He looked really nervous—he was tugging both earlobes—but he was staring a hydra head straight in its eyes.

"How about us?" Tory and Ben, hand in hand, facing down two more of the monster's heads.

Which left two of its heads focused on me. "Why do I even bother with her?" I grumbled.

The hydra looked confused, like it wasn't sure who to attack first. Eventually, it stopped turning in circles and made a strange gag-like noise in its throat.

It's going to spit poison, I realized. "Guys, watch out!"

My warning was too late; in unison, all seven heads spewed poison. "No!"

It was as if the world blurred: one moment I was starting to run towards Shelton, and the next thing I know all five of us were sprawled in the sand thirty feet from the hydra.

"I'm alive," Hi marveled.

"What happened?" Tory asked.

The hydra roared and spit poison again. It came up short, but it was too close for my liking, especially since the hydra was charging.

"My friends were on their feet. "Sam." Ben never took his eyes off the hydra. "Please tell me you have a plan."

"I, um…yes." If I could somehow use this super speed… I'd never heard of a hydra being defeated the way I was about to try, but there's a first time for everything.

Hi asked, "You have fire, right?"

"Uh…"

"Look out!" Shelton yelled.

The hydra tried shooting acid again. I grabbed each of my friends and dashed away from the hydra. Its poison missed. I stopped, let go of my friends, and ran back to the hydra, who bellowed in rage.

"No," I said sternly. "Back away."

It roared and attacked again, this time positioning its seven heads in different directions, like spokes on a wheel. Perfect.

I ran in circles around the monster, dodging poison from every head. The hydra, confused and agitated, tried moving its feet to see me. Eventually, it tripped and fell over.

I stopped and raised my sword. In a blur of motion, I slashed through the hydra's gut. The monster disintegrated, its remains coloring the sand in golden dust. How appropriate.

"Sam!" Tory cried out.

I dashed over to my friends and grinned. "I'm fine."

"What was that?" Hi asked. "I thought you needed fire to kill a hydra."

"I had an idea," I said. "I didn't know if it would work."

"Look!" Shelton pointed down at my feet. My shoes were torn apart, shredded so much that my socks were touching the sand.

"Whoops," I said.

SNUP.

I dropped to my knees, overcome with exhaustion. "Sam!" I heard faintly.

"I'm…fine." I managed to say. "Just…tired. Need…rest." My eyes closed, and I drifted into the blackness of unconsciousness.