Animegas (Editing)

Another Offer

I didn't tell the others about my dream, much less Damean's offer, It was just too strange, and frankly I didn't want them to freak out. Though I did wonder what he was planning right at this moment. A romantic stroll through hell? Or maybe even a picnic in a nightmare. He was too cocky and convinced that I would actually turn my back on everyone and thing I cared about.

My fingers found the whistle, it was tucked deep into my pocket. Though it was small, if felt like it weighed a ton. I felt guilty for keeping it, it made me feel like I was giving into him. I have no clue why I kept it; maybe so I wouldn't tick him off. Maybe because my faith in the Guardians was wavering.

I pressed my back against the rough bark of the spruce tree. There wasn't much land to explore and search for Furies. The war that had occurred over 200 years ago had disintegrated most of the world's surface. I was now standing on the remains of western North America. According to old maps, the land that was left stretched from California to Idaho and to the bottom of Nevada to Alaska. So that makes hiding for them harder and finding them easier.

"Hey Sam," said Thomas.

I wiped the thoughts from my mind and jabbed my hands in the pockets of my windbreaker. "Everyone ready to go?" I asked.

He nodded and we started to walk back to camp.

"Remind me to give you a haircut," I teased, "if your hair grows any longer you'll be a girl."

Thomas rolled his eyes and we continued walking. When we arrived, all traces of our existence, save the pile of stuff, were erased from the area. Katie, Greg and Erik were checking the area, making sure they didn't miss anything. I pulled out the black bag Thanatos gave me and was about to shove all the stuff inside. Something at the corner of my eye stopped me.

A pair of familiar purple eyes were partially covered by raven hair. Those eyes stared into my soul, they saw all of my worst fears and greatest desires. Not 30 feet from where I was, stood the devil himself. His pale arms crossed themselves over his chest. He leaned against a large pine, just staring at me.

A firm hand found my shoulder, causing me to jump a foot in the air. I turned to see it was Erik. "Hey," he said, worry playing in his tone, "you okay?"

I turned my head back to where Damean had stood. Nothing but trees rested in my view. "Ya," I said unconvincingly, "I'm fine."

I hurried and shoved the stuff into the black bag. I basically jumped up and was ready to hike it out of there. But then a hoard of 20-something Furies crashed through the underbrush. One of them grabbed me from behind and held a knife to my throat. The rest of the Furies pointed their guns at my friends.

"We just want the girl," he growled, "no one else needs to get hurt!"

My teeth ground together, "What do you want?"

His chuckle sent chills up my spine. "I, personally, don't care about you rats. And I would gladly finish you all off in seconds. But the master specifically said to bring you to him and do nothing else."

I didn't breath, and it wasn't because of his awful breath. Damean was actually here, in this forest, waiting for me.

"Well you can tell him that he can keep on waiting.  I'm not going anywhere with him or you."

My elbow found its way to the Furie's gut. He doubled over in pain and I took that chance to punch him in the face. The momentum from my turn powered my flying fist. I could feel his nose crack and shatter under the pressure of my hand. The Furie clutched his face and fell back in his butt.

My hand pulled an arrow and notched it into the bow. All my friends had their weapons up and were prepared for a fight. But the Furies were also ready to fight, each one had their gun pointed at one of my friends. Maybe I could take them all out before they knew what was happening.