They hardly made it ten feet before being surrounded.
Run, Jennifer thought. You need to run.
But there was no where to run. Next to her, Lee was shaking. He looked completely terrified, eyeing the hoard of Cyclops. They were His minions, their killers.
Jen's eyes began to flicker. The stormy, calculating gray to the hardened, battle ready sea-green.
Fight or Flight?
The question was second nature. It was easy to ask and even easier to answer. But that was when she was alone. Now she had Lee and Sammy and Emily.
Jennifer remembered the endless stories her parents would tell her and her siblings. The ones about the quests and the wars. The ones about sacrifice, about love. How, when she would ask why so many had given themselves up to let their friends live, she would always get the same answer.
Jennie, Sweetheart, Her mother would say with a sad sigh, They wanted us to win, they didn't want their home taken over.
But she loved the ones about the Argo II the most. The ones about how it had seemed nearly impossible to win on some days. The others about the pranks and the jump scares.
"Lee, we have to fight. If we get separated, run. Find Camp." Jennifer's voice seemed to ground Lee as he gripped his bow. He nodded, passing the message on.
Lee raised his bow, arrow notched. Then he let it fly.
A Cyclops, pierced through the eye, bellowed in agony. As Sammy stomped their foot, Mist appeared in the shape of a human.
Emily, sword raised, let out a loud cry. "Ignore the mist," She yelled. Jennifer paused, sword swinging through the air and connecting with a Cyclops' ankle.
What? Jennifer wondered, spinning on her heel. Her eyes caught on Lee, pressed up against a tree. His hand was pressed against his chest. Crimson blood trickled through his fingers, as red as the sky.
Near him, Sammy was attacking a laughing Cyclops. An angry look crossed Sammy's face as the monster snarled something unintelligible for Jennifer.
Lee met Jennifer's eyes. Shock marred his features, and he called out, "JJ!" He screamed. "Watch out!
The ignored Cyclops, limping on his uninjured ankle, had managed to stand. His hand was raised. Then her slapped Jennifer out of the way.
The girl landed a mile away from Emily, pain in her chest. She managed to croak out a word - Help. Miraculously, Emily seemed to hear her.
Emily stood from her knelt position, bow raised. The string was a startling blue, different from Lee's white. Arrow notched, she turned slowly towards Jennifer.
Time seemed to slow. Jennifer watched as her comrade let go of the string, allowing the arrow to fly.
She saw it slice through the dirty air, aimed in her direction. She heard Lee cry out as it neared her, heard Emily start to laugh.
Another scream caught her attention, this time from a Cyclops. Sammy had won, a small, relieved smile falling as they turned around. What they saw, Jennifer didn't know, but from where she lay painfully in the grass she could tell it wasn't good.
She could see that Lee was still pressed up against the tree, but had lowered into sitting position. His hand was no longer against his chest, but rather raised with his bow as he tried to shoot down another Cyclops. His hand was still covered in blood.
Emily, she knew, still stood with her bow. She seemed slow as she watched everyone to wait for a response to her betrayal.
Jennifer's sight turned hazy as the arrow hit her, right below her right shoulder. Where her heart was.
She could still hear as she closed her eyes, and panic set in hard as she heard Sammy let out a blood curling scream. Lee soon followed, but his was more scared.
Unable to open her eyes, she reached out with her mind. Almost as a sixth sense she could tell there was a trickling stream about three miles out.
Maybe if I... Jennifer thought, outstretched arm falling limply into the grass.
Dimly, she could feel a large hand around her waist. Her feet kicked once, hitting a large leg.
But her mind fell into the darkness as she let into the pain, unable to move or try to use water to her advantage.
Heyyyyy. Sorry it's been a while... Anyway, I hope you liked the challenge. I have decided to update one of my stories, Faded God's, on Tuesdays. I will update The Oracle's Call, tomorrow, or on Wednesdays. Go check that out if you haven't.
Have a good day/night, see you next Tuesday!