Glue

Karma POV:

Previously:

"I'm going to be using my sword to see the impurity levels of the water. The more impure it is, the closer we are to the sword," Karma explained, while the water around the sword started to glow a light green.

"Well then, let's go!"

Present:

Karma was starting to doubt the intelligence of his choice. The tension was so dense in the group that a knife could cut through it. Gonen was silent, standing closer to Karma, and Dara was doing the same, except standing near Finn, avoiding looking at Gonen.

When Gonen had told him that he didn't have a good relationship with the villagers, Karma shrugged it off. Nothing like facing mortal peril to make bonds. But for now, he would have to handle the awkward silence. Finn seemed to be accepting of the arrangement, so that was a plus.

Karma's sword continued to rest in the murky water below their feet, leading the way to their location.

"It seems to be pretty far away," Karma concluded, telling the rest of his crew. Gonen nodded, and Karma took this time to inspect his travel mates.

Gonen was wearing a small amount of armor, with a long spear resting on his back. From his posture and looks, Karma could tell that this wasn't the first time he was venturing into the unknown. 'That's good to know. I need someone who can be a big help' Karma thought to himself.

He then turned his head to his other two companions. Dara was obviously nervous and seemed to be trying to get as close as possible to Finn, and trying to be discreet while doing it. 'She isn't doing very well' thought Karma to himself. She had a lot of supplies and a sword on her waist. Karma then looked at Finn. If Finn was nervous, he didn't show it. He had a smile on and continued to trudge through the murky waters.

Finn also had a sword that was in a sheath on his side, He was brandishing a bow as well, and had a quiver on his back, filled with arrows. 'An archer huh, I guess we do need diversity' he thought to himself. After Karma finished assessing his teammates, he was back into the awkward environment. 'I need to make this group more comfortable. If I know one way to do that, it is to make people talk about themselves.

"So Finn, it seems that the villagers hold you in high regards. Why is that?" Karma asked curiously. This way he would know more about his companions and start a conversation. Killing two birds with one stone. Finn looked like he wanted to shake away the praise, but Dara beat him to it.

"I can tell you the story, I was there first hand," Dara said volunteering. While she said that, she shot a look at Gonen, who looked away. Karma made a mental note of that, deciding to ask Gonen about that later.

"Let's begin then," Dara said. Karma instinctively sighed, it seemed this would be a long story.

Dara opened her mouth and began her tale.

"It had happened a few years ago. This town still had the water problem, but it wasn't as bad as it is now," Dara said. "There was a monster. It was a boar-like creature we called the Thorn Beast. The monster had been ruining crops, attacking hunters, and causing an all-around ruckus."

"Because of this, the village decided that we needed to take care of the monster because of all the trouble it was causing, and sent out a group of people to take care of it. There were five people in that group. Finn and I were in the group". Dara looked down for a moment.

"We were ambushed by the monstrosity, and….. two of us didn't make it. My friends Ema and Ikon died in front of my eyes". Dara paused for a moment. She steeled her resolve.

"All hope seemed lost. I was lost and stranded, and I could hear the beast coming up to me. To be honest, I had given up and had accepted death. Right when the monster was about to come and impale me, Finn saved me". Dara smiled.

"He used his sword to fight the beast, and somehow got it to fall off a cliff, saving me in the process. Because of that deed, Finn was hailed a hero, and we didn't have to deal with the Thorn Beast anymore. Although, I guess we will have to deal with more now," Dara said. Karma nodded, seeing as that was a good reason to be favored, but the story seemed a little off. Gonen was still looking away.

Before Karma could think about it, a roar was heard. Karma's eyes shot up, and he scanned his surroundings. He used the vapor in the air to feel the surroundings.

"A group of small creatures is heading our way, I think about ten, get ready," Karma said, taking his sword out of the water and getting into possession. Gonen took his spear off his back and got into stance. Dara nervously grabbed her sword, and Finn grabbed his blade as well.

The group waited for their attackers, waiting for any attack so they would retaliate. Soon enough, 10 small creatures, with sharp teeth and fangs, rushed the group. They had no eyes and were a dark-greenish color, with long ears that pointed up. One of them launched itself as Dara, who swung at it, hitting the monster on the side of the neck. The monster screeched out its pain but didn't die, backing up from the group.

Gonen was swinging his spear around, not letting the monsters get close, impaling one right through the mouth. The monster's blood leaked from the tip of his spear, before he swung it off, and started to attack the next one.

Finn seemed to be doing a good job, slicing through enemies and trying to make sure not to get attacked. Karma was also using his sword to attack the enemies, and was confused, seeing as he could no longer manipulate the water. Because of this, he just used his sword, slicing through enemies with his superior swordsmanship.

After fighting for a while, Karma realized that the numbers of enemies were not dwindling. He looked up to see the monsters regenerating every time they were killed.

"The monsters aren't dying, we need to retreat!" Karma yelled to his companions. Gonen nodded and spun his spear around him, knocking away any of the creatures that tried to attack him. Dara started to run toward them, and so did Finn. The group started to run, with the creatures in hot pursuit. The monsters were hot on their trail and didn't seem to be slowing down.

Karma held out his hand to try to manipulate the water around them to attack the monsters, but had no such luck, as the water did not obey his will. The monsters seemed to be growing in size and were getting faster by the minute.

"How are we going to lose them?!" Dara asked, running through the forest. Karma racked his brain for ideas, what could he do?

"I got it!" Gonen screamed suddenly. Karma looked over to his friend questioningly.

"They don't have eyes, so they have to be tracking us somehow. It must be hearing. All we have to do is stop making noise," Gonen concluded. Karma was about to speak up but decided to listen to Gonen.

"We need to all stop moving. Three, two, one, now," Gonen whispered and stopped running. Karma and Finn followed suit. Karma closed his eyes, hoping for the best. He really hoped it wasn't the end right now.

The monsters were very close to them, but leaped right past them, running off into the distance. Karma wiped his forehead in relief and looked at his other two companions that were left unharmed. 'Wait, two?' Karma questioned, and looked around for Dara.

"Where is-" "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" Dara's voice screamed off into the distance. Karma looked at Gonen. Their eyes communicated one thing. She didn't stop.

Karma, Gonen, and Finn, rushed forward, trying to save Dara. Karma tried and failed to manipulate the water once again.

"I know this is risky, but we three have a better chance of living if we call the monsters over here," Gonen decided while running. Karma nodded and looked to Finn. He had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Let's do it then," Karma decided. He cupped his hand to his mouth, and let out a terrifying scream.

"Aaaaaaaaaaa!" Karma yelled at the top of his lungs. The monster's ears perked up and stopped running. They looked toward the loud sound they had heard and started to rush toward that.

"Now," Karma began, "we have ten significantly bigger creatures heading out that we can't seem to kill, what do we do?" Karma questioned. No one responded. Karma held out his sword. Maybe if he could just manipulate the water, he could take care of this, but the murky stream below them seemed to want to continue to annoy Karma.

The monsters were getting closer, and Karma still couldn't do anything.

'Come on' Karma thought to himself, trying to find that familiar tug in his gut.

"Come on," he said, this time allows, his eyes to start to glow green. The monsters seemed to be a few leaps away, and Karma was clenching his sword with all his might.

"I NEED MY POWERS TO WORK!" Karma screamed, and slammed his sword into the ground. The monsters were in sight and rushed toward the crew, but just before they could attack them, the ground split open, making a massive opening. The monsters were midair and fell into the hole, not able to do anything about it.

As soon as all the monsters were in the hole, it closed up, trapping the beasts forever in their earthy tomb.

"That's one way to do it," Gonen decided. Karma smiled. Gonen seemed to have an easier time talking when in a life-or-death situation.

"I guess so," Karma said, pulling his sword out of the ground. He knew he could create earthquakes, but he didn't know to what extent. He never tried to train the ability before, but it seemed that it would be beneficial if he did. 'Are they even still called earthquakes?' Karma questioned himself. 'I'll just call it quakes instead'.

Karma noticed Dara coming out of the trees, trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry," she said, still breathing heavily. "I didn't mean to keep moving, I just couldn't stop my feet". Karma nodded and decided not to say anything, seeing as berating her would not solve anything.

"We should get back on track," Karma said and dipped his sword into the water below. It started to glow green, and Karma was surprised.

"Is it just me, or did the location of the sword move?" Karma asked. Gonen looked confused.

"Maybe it's because of the running in a different direction," he suggested.

"Maybe," Karma said unsure.


Dara POV:

Dara wasn't sure what to think. Yesterday she was in her village, trying to fight the deep sadness that came with knowing that so many people were dying from a cause no one could do anything about. She always wondered if she would become one of the people that laid on that bed, awaiting the inevitable death that would come. It seemed like such a terrifying way to go if she knew anything.

It was just another day, someone's dad had been struck by a beast, and was dying on the floor next to his own daughter. Dara had a feeling this was an image that would never leave the girl's mind. She hoped that the dad's death would at least be quick. So that he didn't have to suffer while leaving the world of the living.

And then he came. Some random guy with an attire that certainly wasn't one of a commoner, had unruly black hair, and bright sea-green eyes. He walked over to the soon-to-be-dead man and with some weird glowing liquid, somehow cured him of his poison. Dara was shell-shocked. She had never seen the man, and the ability to cure the poison had been unseen until now.

She got his attention, and brought him to the medical ward, but not before embarrassing herself by switching her last name with Finn's. A girl can dream, right? The man, Karma, helped out all of the people in the medical ward, and after talking to the chief, it turned out he knew what was causing their strife, and said he would fix it.

Now Dara was here, traveling in a dangerous swamp with this mysterious visitor. She was extremely happy when Finn joined the group, seeing as he was incredibly strong and very dependable, but her mood was brought down a lot when she learned Gonen was joining.

Dara had hoped she would never have to see his face again but turns out she is going to be spending this whole trip with him. Dara was anything but thrilled. Dara assumed Finn would be even angrier than her, but if he was, he didn't show it. That was another thing Dara loved about Finn. He could keep his emotions in check. Wait, did she say love. Not love. Like. Yeah like.

Dara shook her head to clear herself of her thoughts, she had more pressing things to worry about, like surviving this trip and saving her village. Dara was getting pretty tired of the silence, and wondered if she should say anything, but before she could decide Karma spoke up.

"I don't know why, but for some reason, my Hydrokinesis powers don't work on the swamp water. I assume it has to do with the fact that his Impure, and being controlled by the sword, Karma said walking through the swamp. Dara just nodded. She wished she had Hydrokinesis powers. She would be a ton more useful if she did. Maybe Finn would fall for her if she… She shook her head again.

'I can't keep letting my mind wander' Dara thought to herself. She held her sword close to her. She wasn't the best at using the weapon, but she had been training since that day. She looked at Karma, who had a confused look on his face. He stopped.

"What is wrong?" Dara asked.

"The sword's location is definitely changing," Karma said confused. Dara was baffled as well. She didn't know how it was moving, but it definitely didn't make the job easier.

The group traveled for a couple more hours, running into all sorts of nasty creatures. After a while, it began to become late.

"Let's rest for the night," Gonen suggested. Karma nodded.

"Sounds good," he decided.

Gonen found a small clearing of land that was drier than its surroundings.

"Let's put up our tents here," he said, setting down his spear.

The group started to put away their materials and set up camp. Dara put her camp near Finn, deciding she would feel safer next to him. The light was leaving the sky, and Gonen set up a campfire to keep the light up.

"You guys can go to sleep, I can keep watch," Gonen said, sitting on top of a rock. Karma seemed to want to decline but decided against it. Dara went into her tent, ready to get rest after such a long day.


Karma POV:

When Karma was sure Finn and Dara were asleep, he snuck out of his tent, and quietly walked towards Gonen.

"Hey," Karma said, shocking Gonen. Karma sat next to the spearman.

"Oh, hey," Gonen said. The two sat in silence for a while, just watching the trees move gently in the wind.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but why do you have such a bad reputation with the villagers? It doesn't seem like you're a bad guy?" Karma asked. Gonen opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it.

"You don't have to tell me," Karma reminded him when he saw Gonen's conflicted face.

"It's fine," Gonen said.

"I… I was the other person during the hunt for the Thorn Beast. After Ema died I… I ran away. I ran like a coward and left everyone else to die. Because of my actions, Ikon died as well. It's only natural that the villagers despise me," Gonen said looking away. Karma sat in silence. Abandoning one's companions was a terrible thing to do, but Gonen did not seem like the type of person to do that. 'Something isn't adding up' Karma thought to himself.

Karma decided that nothing could be said about that, and decided to just sit with Gonen for the rest of the watch. 'Until tomorrow' Karma thought to himself.


Thaila POV:

The hunt was currently following a terrifying beast, one that had been terrorizing the nymphs.

"Come on girls, let's stick an arrow in this monster's face!" Thaila yelled to her fellow hunters, who cheered in response. Artemis was currently up in Olympus taking care of business, so it was up to her to lead the hunters, as the lieutenant of the hunters.

Thaila and her squad waited in the trees silently, waiting for the beast. The nature spirits had reported seeing the monster head in this direction, and Thaila's plan was to intercept it and launch a volley of arrows before the monster could even do anything.

Thaila patiently waited, and while she did, she thought about Annabeth. Would her best friend make her wear a dress during the wedding? She sure hoped not. The people who would attend the wedding. All of Jameson's immediate family were dead, other than his mother who he had a terrible relationship, and Posiden.

'Guess there won't be much for the groom's party' Thaila thought to herself. If she was being honest with herself, Percy was a better boyfriend for Annabeth, well before he became a terrible jerk, and abused his power, and friends. Though Thaila did not approve of cheating, Thaila did agree that Annabeth was right to leave Percy. She could deal with Jameson, it wasn't like he was bad to be around.

Speaking of Percy, Thaila wondered where he went. She knows he left camp from the last time she visited, and some locations had people who were discussing a black-haired man with sea-green eyes. She had a feeling he wasn't dead, otherwise, Nico would have probably said something about it, so what was he doing.

Another question that frequented her head was why did he do those things. He certainly didn't gain anything by it, and all it did was make him lose his family and friends, which he seemed awfully upset about. Every time Thaila tried to think about it though, a sharp pain filled her head, so she tried to refrain from doing that.

Finally, the monster appeared, saving Thaila from thinking too much. The monster was terrifying, having a bear-like structure, It was enormous as well, towering over many of the hills around him. His head was near the trees as well, and there seemed to be a while aura around the beast. Thaila held out her hand to signify the hunters. 'Three, two, one, now!' she thought and launched arrows one after the other.

Her fellow hunters followed, launching their silver-tipped projectiles at the monster. It cried out in pain as the arrows pierced its skin, and looked over at the hunters, raising its humongous paws and striking down the trees that the hunters were on.

The hunters jumped away and continued to attack the monster, but the creature wasn't having it. It stomped on the ground, destroying the terrain around them, and launching many hunters into walls. Thaila leaped forward to help her sisters and grabbed a fallen hunter before it was smashed by the claws of the beast.

"That's enough!" Thaila screamed, and she pulled back an arrow. Lightning starts to crackle around the base before she launches it. The arrow pierced the beast in its neck.

"Boom," she said, before lightning shot down from the sky, blowing up the monster. After the smoke cleared, Thaila could see the white aura fade and the charred body of the monster remaining.

'Something is definitely going on' Thaila thought to herself, 'and it definitely isn't good.

(Hey guys, I'm back from my ten-day waiting time. Sorry for the wait, I didn't have the inspiration and didn't want my story to be mediocre. I wanted to give the best I could, so here we are. By the way, thrilled to say we reached 10k not that long ago. That is pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Thank you to everyone who has commented, the comments make me want to write more and get me into "the zone" so I hope I can hear more about what you think. That's all for chapter 16, and I hope you stay tuned for chapter 17, Hunting for a Beast.)