I Found Love- In Hell

3. What Have I Just Done!?

"I hate you, Zoe!"

"I hate you too you jerk!"

"Don't talk to me like-"

I slam the door to our cabin shut, cutting off Tom's voice. It's almost midnight and we've been fighting for three hours.

A cool, July evening breeze blows across the camp and I inhale deeply. Grabbing my favorite weapon, a dagger with a lightning on the hilt, which was a gift from my father, I jump off the porch and walk to the forest where we play Capture the Flag.

I make it to the edge of the woods and look to make sure no one is following me. The camp is quiet; the central fire pit's soft crackling the only noise in the valley. After a few moments of silence, I continue into the woods.

Walking quietly, guided only by memory and the little amount of moon light that has managed to filter down through the canopy, I hike to the stream at the very center of the forest. It takes me about a half an hour, but eventually I arrive at my destination. The one place I can think.

Sitting down by the water's edge I set my dagger beside myself on the moss covered bank. The water flows over rocks and plants, causing a little gurgling sound to fill the area around me. I sit for a minute and just listen. The breeze softly shakes the leaves high in the trees, an owl hoots somewhere off in the distance and somewhere near by a frog croaks. The forest is peaceful.

I scoot closer to the stream and look down at my reflection in the water. My face is red and the area around my eyes is puffy due to all the crying I'd done the past three hours. I hiccup and rub my nose. I look at my face and am slightly annoyed at what I see. What daughter of Zeus, the king of the gods, would act like this over a stupid fight with her idiot brother? I reach out and tap my finger in the water and watch as the ripples distort the image of my pathetic face. My fingers then slide to the moss in search of my dagger.

My dagger! It's gone! In a panic I turn to look behind me, incase I'd scooted further than I'd thought. My dagger, my most prized possession, was nowhere to be seen.

A chill sneaks its way down my spine and my blood turns to ice in my veins. Paralyzing fear grips me in its hands. A scary thought hits me: I'm alone, in the woods, where no one can hear me scream. And my only weapon is gone.

Standing up I grip my elbows and pull my arms close to my chest. The air in the forest has chilled a few degrees since I arrived, and a sense of uneasiness has fallen.

"H-hello...?" I whisper. Someone was following me. And now they have my weapon.

I hear footsteps to my right, but when I turn, no one is there.

"I know you're there," I say. "Just...show yourself."

A twig snaps. My eyes dart in the direction of the noise. Everything is silent.

"Don't say anything."

A hand clamps down on my mouth and an arm reaches out around my waist, holding me close to my attacker.

"Julian, get off." I say into the palm of his hand. He laughs and lets me go.

"Here's your knife." He hands my blade over.

"Why do you insist on scaring me all the time?" I ask. Julian ignores my question and looks around.

"So this is where you go when you get mad." He says.

"Wait, you knew I go here?"

"I knew you went into the forest...I just didn't know where. Now I do."

"You followed me?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"It's dangerous out here. There's monsters and no one will be able to hear you if you scream. I wanted to make sure you were safe."