The Hunt for Aquatenite

Chapter - 29 Liza

Every giant ran towards the Gladius, creating a fuss in the hall. Olivia and I held hands, trying not to be pushed along with the crowd.

We made our way the opposite of the way all the giants were running which was very difficult. I don't recommend the experience. To reach halfway through the herd of giants, I got giant spit, giant dirt, and who~knows~what~other~disgusting~things on me. So, pretty much it wasn't the best thing that happened to me that day.

Finally, we reached a giant waste-free part of the hall. To get a better look at what the Gladius was dealing with, we decided to climb the King's throne.

Olivia locked her fingers together to give me a boost up. I put one foot on her palms and my hand on the cushion of the throne. Slowly, I climbed onto the King's large and much~more~comfortable~than~I thought~it~would~be sitting area. Just as I was on the throne, I stretched out my hand to let Olivia also climb up.

The alarms went off. A loud and sharp tingling burst into the halls. All the giants froze into one place. Even the Gladius had to stop itself. Every eye in the hall turned to us and we knew we had just committed a crime.

Silence fell everywhere.

"Um...We were just searching for a good view?" I said, trying to make an excuse.

Everyone kept staring at us, poker-faced except for the Gladius. It had other plans. It launched itself toward us and we ducked down just as it went crazy. It flew everywhere around the throne, its glow flickering as if panicking. We jumped out of the throne just before it could hit our heads.

The sirens stopped as soon as we jumped out. Even the Gladius seemed to relax as it made its way to our side. The giants still gaped at us for what we did. Everyone stopped except for one giant.

He started to make his way to the Gladius while it stood still at its place. When the giant reached out his hand to grip it, the gladius flashed its pointy edge to him. The giant quickly backed off while the Gladius seemed to be smirking.

Nobody moved. It was silent. As if someone had pressed a mute button. And obviously, I had to show my stupidity at that exact moment.

I wanted to ask everyone what was wrong but instead of saying something idiotic, I did something idiotic. I slipped on the rough stone floor which I thought would have been really exciting. For the Gladius. Its glow flickered as if it was laughing.

I balanced myself before clearing my throat. "Um, so we shouldn't have climbed onto...the throne. Uh, and I was thinking we could rest awhile. After a long day? 'Cause, we all are tired?"

I looked around for the ones to find someone agreeing with me. No one. Who was I even kidding? But Olivia liked my idea.

"Trash-talking. Distraction. Great idea. Keep it going." She whispered into my ear as she ran off for some reason. And so I did what she asked.

"Okay, okay." I clapped my hands as they do in movies when the coach calls for his students to gather around. "I hate to break it to you but I can't cope with this now. This is too frustrating and I need to get this off my chest right now. So, um...ugh!" I grunted a few times for the feels. "You guys need to brush your teeth!"

I heard Ophelien scoff. "So true!" She yelled to the giants but they were still too busy staring at us to pay attention.

"Well, so much for that insult," I said to myself. I looked around for Olivia but she was nowhere to be seen in the swarm of giants.

"Is anyone even listening? I can't deal with this bad breath anymore. Get rid of-"

I was cut off by a choir of long, screams of giants. A scythe had been swung in the hall that had passed through the evil giants' legs. The same way it happened to Lucy.

Olivia jogged back to me and so did Ophelien.

"How did you manage to not hurt the giants at our side?" I asked Olivia while simultaneously checking if any giant was coming at us.

"I talked to Zeth. He silently took the good ones aside. I had enough time to sneak up to that scythe and shoot it towards those freaks." She answered.

"Great job, you both. I just hope they don't recover soon." Ophelien told us. "Right now we should worry about the stone. Follow me!" We stumbled through piles of groaning giants to a plain wall.