Ares' Staff of War

Chapter 8-I Never Meant to Blow Up Our Campsite

Hunter's POV-

I keep my arms tightly around Carmen's stomach. We are descending into a forest. "Why are we going down?" I yell to Raphael who is leading us.

"It's getting too dark!" he yells back to me.

I look around and see the sun still high in the sky. "No it isn't!" I yell back to him.

"Yes it is! And anyways, I'm the leader!" he yells and keeps going down toward the forest.

"No you're not! Carmen is!" I say as we land.

"What?" Carmen says as if she wasn't listening to our argument.

"Oh, it's just Raphael thinking he is better than everyone else!" I say while pointing.

"Really? I'm the one who thinks he is better than everyone else?" Raphael says.

"Guys, stop it!" Carmen yells.

"Sorry," I mumble, her voice calming me down.

I start grabbing our supplies off of the pegasi and set them on the ground. I unload the two tents and start putting one of them up. "Do you need any help?" I hear Carmen say.

I nod. She starts helping me and I say, "I'm sorry for arguing with Raphael earlier. The quest is just getting to me."

"Yeah," she says. "I'm having trouble with putting this thing together. Can you help me?"

I nod and walk over to where she is. My hand goes on top of her hand to help her. I could stay like this forever. Wait, what? I've never felt like this before. Do I have a crush on Carmen? "Thanks for helping me," Carmen says.

I nod, distracted by a quiet rustling in the bushes near us. I walk slowly over to it and peek over the edge. Nothing. The wind isn't blowing. I turn around and see Raphael talking to Carmen. He puts his hand on her shoulder as I walk back. Jealousy races through the pit of my stomach. I know I have a crush on Carmen now. I try to stop myself from doing something selfish, but that doesn't happen. "Follow me, Raphael," I say to him quietly.

He has a confused look on his face but I don't care. We walk toward a little clearing amongst the trees. "Don't you dare lay another hand on her again," I warn him.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Don't lay another hand on her. She doesn't need you," I say with a glare.

"I'm still confused," Raphael says with a glare back at me.

"I like her," I say.

"So do I," he says matter-of-factly. I stare at him.

"What?" I ask him, unsure if I heard him right.

"I like her too," he says slowly.

"Oh crud," I mutter. "That's not good."

"It's not good for you because she likes me," Raphael says.

"No she doesn't. I've known her all my life. She likes me, not you," I say.

A scream pierced the air. "Carmen!" I yell and Sprint back to our campsite.

"Carmen! Where are you?" I yell.

I grab my sword and walk around. "Hunter! Over here!" I hear Raphael say.

I run over to where he is and see Carmen surrounded by two Gorgons. I gesture to one of the Gorgons and Raphael walks quietly over there. I head over to the other one but Carmen notices me. I raise my finger to my lips and shake my head. She reaches down toward her ankle and quickly grabs her dagger. I slice my sword through the air and slice the Gorgons head clear off her neck. Raphael does the same thing with the other one. "Thanks guys," Carmen says.

"No problem," I say and put my arm around her shoulders.

I bring her back to our camp. I turn my head and stick my tongue out at Raphael. "Hunter, come here," Raphael says.

I turn around and see Raphael coming toward me. He throws a punch and catches me square in the jaw. I throw a punch but he ducks. I raise both my hands and feel a tugging sensation in my stomach. A lightning bolt hit the tents and they set on fire. Something there was extremely flammable because it exploded. "Guys! Quit the right now!" Carmen yells at us.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, ashamed of how I acted.

"No. Hunter go over to that clearing and Raphael, stay here," Carmen says sternly.

I head over to the clearing and sit on a tree stump. I put my head in my hands, muttering to myself, "Why do I do this?"

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