Legends

Chapter 26 (Zander)

The wind whistled as we watched the blazing fire come to life. Trees towered over us as we told our stories.

"And that's how I found out my friend had a secret boyfriend...." Someone said.

"Zander, earth to Zander...." Walrus said, waving his hand in front of my blank face. 

"What do you want?" I asked, adding a slightly annoyed tone.    

"Well, we don't have anywhere to sleep. And I'm getting pretty tired." Walrus explained.

"Ok, well we can set up tents, or you could sleep out in the open with all the scary monsters to come and eat you up." I offered with a smirk.

Beside me, Alex was trying to hold in her laughter.

"I would prefer tents...." Winslow replied. "

"Okay, ask Jane to get them for you. Or are you not helpless?" I joked.

"Fine, go have fun with your girlfriend, why would you want to deal with a wimp like me?" Walrus trudged over to Jane. While he talked with Jane his face held the look of disappointment.

"So, what do you think about what Walrus said?" I asked Alex, hoping the darkness would hide my blush.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Her eyes sparkled under the night sky.

"About you being my girlfriend?" There was no way she couldn't see the blush rising on my face.

"Oh, I mean, I guess so." She said. I couldn't tell if it was the firelight, or not, but I could see her cheeks flush.

"So, is that a yes?"

"Yea." Alex replied with a wide smile on her face.

"Pick your choice of tent. The tents fit two people." Walrus explained.

"I choose Alex." I said, immediately .

"I call Walrus." James replied, putting an arm around Winslow.

"Olivia is mine!" Neveah called, jumping onto Olivia's back trying to get a piggy back ride.

"Elise and I will share!" Jane exclaimed.

"I guess that leaves me with Zoe." Asher whined. Everybody headed off to their respected tents, while Alex and I hurried to ours.

"We should probably go to bed." I said with a frown.

"Who says?" Alex asked.

"Well, we have a long day of traveling tomorrow. You've already been through enough today as it is." I explained.

"I'm fine. I'll sleep late tomorrow morning." Alex moved closer to me. My body barely fit in the length of the tent. Her arm grazed mine. Alex rested her head on my chest, and slowly fell asleep.

I watched Alex leave the tent and follow Zoe and Olivia to a nearby Willow tree. I stretch out my arms and legs. My arms push the side of the tent, and my legs stretch out through the open door. I get up, and make my way over to Alex.

The second I see Alex, half of her body is under sand.

"AHHH!" Alex screamed as her head fell through. I ran over to the rest of the group. 

"What just happened?" I asked, frantically.

"Alex just sat down on the sand, then she got sucked up." Zoe explained.

I scanned the perimeter around the tree. There was a wooden sign next to the tree. It was hidden by the Willow branches. It read;

WATCH YOUR STEP:
ACTIVE QUICKSAND

    James's eyes glowed a deep green, but quickly faded.

     "It's a quicksand portal, it can suck you in and bring you to a different quicksand. It's basically teleportation. Anyways legend says there's a Sand Kraken that lives in there. They're the reason quicksand portals were removed or banned. But it looks like they missed one." James explained.

     "And we are just standing here? How do we save her?" I asked, pacing around the grass.

     "Well, the only way is physically going into the quicksand. To close the portal, you have to kill the Sand Kraken. However, if you want to get out, you don't have to kill it, the person who needs to be saved needs an act of true love." James explained.

     "Great, so that means I am the only person to save her. I doubt Alex has the strength to kill the Sand Kraken anyways." I start getting ready to fall through the sand.

       I began clawing my way through the sand. As soon as I walked into the middle of the sand pile, I fell through. Sand entered my mouth, traveled up my nose, down my throat, and into my lungs. The world started to drift away, but I kept going. I grabbed an imaginary  string and started to pull myself out. The sand released itself from my body as I entered a black room. Alex stood on the imaginary floor as what looked like the Sand Kraken charged on her.

     "Look out!" I yelled, pushing Alex to the side. I whipped my sword out of its sheath. The Sand Kraken had five different heads that were connected to long tentacles. Those tentacles lead to the main head of the Sand Kraken. The tentacles charged in different directions, blocking us from exiting. The odds of defeating this monster were very low.

    I charged at the creature, raising my sword high above my head. I sliced off a head, it plunked to the imaginary floor with a loud bang. Only did I realize that, that move was a big mistake. Immediately two more tentacles grew back, only slightly bigger than the remaining ones.

      The Sand Kraken charges forward, closer to me. Alex squealed and pulled out her own knife. She aimed for the Kraken's main left eye. Once she was focused, she threw the knife with all the power and energy she had. The knife sunk into the Sand Kraken's eye, causing the tentacles on the left side to fall to the floor.

    I ran towards the Sand Kraken's other eye and sliced it in half, the rest of the tentacles fell to the floor. The only thing left was the headless body. Alex rushed forward, standing behind me. I raised my sword over my head, gathering all the energy in my body. I flung my arms down, cutting the Sand Kraken's head right in half. Blood sprayed all over my body and the walls. Thankfully, Alex was standing directly behind me, so there were only a few drops on her.

    A pale hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me into a big hug.

    "I didn't know what to do, my powers weren't working at all. But, then my handsome prince came and saved me." Alex said sarcastically.

    "We have to find a way out now, before the Kraken regenerates." I explained, pulling Alex closer. I rested my head on her head, and breathed in the scent of her hair.

    "I thought that when you killed it, you would get released. Why aren't we leaving?" Alex asked.

"Wait, James said something about an act of true love. Maybe we should try that?" I guessed. Alex's cheeks were filled with a dark red.

I took a step back and analyzed Alex's face. Her eyes were the color of kiwis. Her mouth twisted into a wide smile. I pulled her closer to me, her dainty eyes closed shut. I started to lean in, when a crash echoed throughout the room. Alex jumped into my arms, bracing her head in my arms, preparing for the worst.

I glanced over to the sound only to see a bewildered Zoe.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I've came to save you!" Zoe replied.

"How?" I asked eager to know.

"True love!"

" But your not Alex's true love." I commented coldy.

"Just remember, true love can come in many different ways." Zoe explained. Zoe grabbed Alex's arm and they glittered away.

The last thing I saw was a blinding light and then, everything went blank.