Cursed Mind

Chapter 19

*Phoenix POV*

Alex had taken out a magical tent with multiple rooms inside along with a kitchen and living room. It was really cool and came in handy. Alex and I stayed in one room while the guys stayed in another. I sat on my bed and watched as Alex fretted over a map. I could see that the stress of all this was starting to catch up on her.

"Hey, put that down," I said. "Stop worrying so much."

Alex gave me a bewildered look.

"Stop worrying? Phe, I can't stop. I wish I had had more time to prepare for this. More time to think things through. I'm not going to be able to stop until I get all of us home safely."

"Alex.... You don't need to put all this on your own shoulders. It's not just your burden to carry. It's all of ours."

"I know. But I just need to think. I'm not going to let one of you die. I won't."

"You can't stop a prophecy from fulfilling itself."

"Well, I can try. Goodnight Phe," she said. She put her map down and faced away from me. All I was trying to do was tell her that we were all in this together. I didn't want her to think that we were just a pack of dogs waiting to follow her every word. Sure, she was the smartest person I knew but that didn't mean she had to take on the role as leader.

I stood up and walked to the living room. Conner sat in there. He looked up a I sat beside him. We sat in silence for a little bit.

"Is she okay?" he asked. I could tell he was worrying about her.

"She just has too much stress. She's putting too much on her back."

"That's what I'm worried about. She feels as if she has to put everyone before herself. That she only thinks of her if she has a minute. But not before making sure everyone else's needs are met."

"I know what you're talking about."

He sighs as he leans his head against the back of the couch. I was about to say something when Alex came running into the room. A quick glance at Conner and all of his attention was centered on Alex. I could see the love for her in his eyes. I had a feeling he would always treat her right.

"We're going to Los Angeles," she said

"Why?" I asked.

"Because that's what my map says," she responded. "So let's go."

"But shouldn't we sleep?"

"We're not that far. Let's go." She left the room to grab her bag and Connor went to his room to tell the guys and get their bags. Alex came back out and tossed my bag to me. We all exited the tent and Alex closed it up, putting it in her bag.

We started following Alex who lead the way. We walked in silence as ach passing second got darker.

When we got there, Alex walked down an alley to get past the busy streets. We stumbled upon a big courtyard that sat between lots of buildings. It was empty. My hairs stood up on my neck, sensing something was about to happen here. Something bad.

We all huddled into a circle, keeping on high alert. I slowly took out my bow and loaded an arrow in it. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw everyone else taking their weapons out as well.

Then there came a laugh.

The laugh was dark and cold. It sent shivers up my spine. Looking around, I wasn't able to find where it was coming from. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere.

"I see you've finally come," the voice said. The voice bounded off the surrounding buildings making it hard to decide from where it was coming from. But then from behind two buildings appeared our two problems. Giants. Two of them.