Zodiac High: The Fallen Stars

Chapter 13: Middlemist Red

[published September 3rd]

Picture above is the first full-body drawing of Penny I did ^^

I've noticed that it's a much better reading experience if you think of the Zodiac Signs as their own characters and not zodiacs ^^ Like for example, think of Austin as Austin, and not as the male Aries, if that makes any sense? XD

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"I say we get off our asses and actually look for them!" Austin shouted, standing up and balling his fists as he looked over at the remaining students. Everyone was sitting around a small table in the library, as the teachers looked for clues in the infirmary.

"We don't even know where they are," Crystal explained calmly, causing Austin to let out a growl.

"So?! Sitting here not doing anything ain't gonna get them back!" He replied, as Lia nodded.

"I agree, we're powerful enough to get them back on our own," Lia agreed. "Doesn't any of us have psychic or clairvoyance abilities or something? Stefan?"

"Only Penny and Parker," he replied, causing Lia to slouch down in her chair sadly.

"We can't be reckless though, if all of us were to get captured, all of Zodiac would be in trouble, not to mention our teachers, our friends, and us," Vanessa explained. "I say that for now, we look for clues to find their location, come up with a decent plan--"

"And don't get caught," Gemma continued, as Vanessa looked over at her and nodded.

"And don't get caught," Vanessa repeated.

"Do we even have any clues?" Tyler asked, causing everyone to look over at Vanessa.

"I did find something in the crime scene," Vanessa pointed out, rummaging in her small purse before pulling at an object that was wrapped up in some kind of cloth. She unfolded it, revealing a pink flower.

"It's a flower called middlemist red," Vanessa explained.

"It's one of the most - if not the - rarest flowers in the world," Carter jumped in, seeing where Vanessa was heading. "They grow outside Zodiac High."

Vanessa nodded. "It was laying in the infirmary, which could mean two things." Vanessa looked over at each of the students, seeing she had everyone's full attention. "One, the culprit is hiding by our old school. Two...--"

"--It's a trap," Carter continued, causing everyone to go silent.

"Which is a risk we can't take."

Everyone jumped as they heard a voice from the doorway, turning around to see Margaret standing there with Clara and Elizabeth.

"I'm going alone. Clara will stay here and make sure none of you try to follow," Margaret explained, causing Clara to look over her with a "huh?" expression, before she and Elizabeth turned around and started heading out of the library.

"Wait!!"

The two was gone in a blink of an eye, having warped out of the school, and leaving the now angered students.

--

"Psst! Psst!"

Penny opened her eyes, instantly being met with darkness. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the dark, before seeing it was in the middle of the night. The stars and moon shined through the tree branches.

She tried to move her arms, but they wouldn't budge. She looked down, noticing rope around her waist and arms, tying her to a tree. She almost failed to notice the blonde next to her.

"C-Caitlin...?" Penny asked, her eyes widening as she looked over at the girl tied to the tree next to her, ignoring the boy next to her.

"You came for me..." Caitlin said, smiling gratefully at Penny as she felt tears prickle in her eyes.

Penny couldn't help but jump a little as she heard a noise, averting her gaze to in front of her to see the pink-haired girl had just started a bonfire. She stood up, dusting herself off before walking over to Penny and kneeling down to her.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, no signs of any emotion in her voice as she stared dead in Penny's eyes.

"I-I'm Penny Waterworth, the female Pisces," Penny explained.

"I know," the girl replied, causing Caitlin's jaw to drop as she stood up. "I saw your water powers. It's quite impressive," she said as she pulled out her knife and cut the rope around Penny.

"I guess that means she's the real Cancer?" The girl asked as she looked over at Caitlin. Penny nodded, and the girl cut the rope around Caitlin.

"You're gonna let me go? Just like that?" Caitlin asked in shock as she stood up, instantly walking over to Penny's side and grabbing her hands.

"Yes," the girl replied. "No normal person would be able to do what she did." The girl pointed her knife at Penny as she blushed, laughing sheepishly as the girl let her arm fall back down to her side. "It really was impressive."

"I'm so proud of you!" Caitlin exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Penny and hugging her tightly, causing Penny's blush to darken.

"So, um, can you get me out of this too?"

Caitlin and Penny stopped and looked over at Lance, who was still tied up to a tree. The girl pointed her knife at him, looking over at the two Water Signs. "Is he with you?"

"Who is--"

"That's Lance," Caitlin cut Penny off. "He helped me escape from Sullivan. He's with us." The pink-haired girl nodded, cutting the rope and letting him stand up as she put her knife in the strap around her thigh.

Both Caitlin, Penny and Lance was taken aback a bit when the girl bowed her head at the two Water Signs.

"I greatly apologize for the trouble I've caused you," she apologized.

"It's ok," Caitlin laughed lightly. "You can make it up to us by getting us out of here."

"Wait!" Penny said, holding onto Caitlin's arm. "Connor and Emilia came with me, they're still in the forest!"

"I can find them," the girl explained, putting out the fire and packing up her bag, before turning around to face the trio.

"In the middle of the night?" Lance asked.

"Yes," the girl replied. "They'd be resting during the night, along with anything else we could come across in our path. They'll be still, making it much easier to find them."

"Ok, but first," Lance started, watching as the pink-haired girl walked past the three. "You need to tell us your name."

The girl was quiet for a moment, before finally speaking.

"My name..."

She turned around, facing the three.

"...is Juniper."

----

Even though Caitlin and Penny have a cute relationship...

...I think I still ship Penny and Sam more lol

Fun fact: Even though all the Zodiac Signs are quite intelligent, I kinda imagined Vanessa and Carter being like the investigators/partners in crime when it comes to plans and strategies and clues and stuff like that XD

- Kate ⭐️