The sun beat down on Cancer, causing him to squint his eyes hastily.
"C, we've got to hurry. They want this done by noon." Gemini, Cancer's best friend, nudges him.
They've been working hard since early this morning, the two of them. Aries was supposed to show, but he decided to hang out with his girlfriend, Scorpio, instead. That left the other two to the garden themselves.
"Dang, Gemini. You would've thought he'd at least texted us before he left us." Cancer steps to the side, admiring his work. He'd always been very in touch with everything.
What stood before him was a five-foot-tall hedge, made to resemble a lady of remarkable beauty.
The Zodiac's garden was a sight to behold. Whoever entered was hypnotized by its great glory. It held secrets, secrets no mortal should ever see.
It is said that any human to enter would never come back out. The garden simply swallowed them whole.
"We've got to leave, Cancer. Once it's noon, we're going to be stuck in here forever."
Another rule of the garden is you can only be in it for twelve hours, twelve a.m. to twelve p.m. After that time, anything and anyone present in it will be taken into the garden's core, never to be seen again.
"Yeah. If we stay much longer, it's gonna be bad." Cancer agrees, setting his clippers down.
As they walk through the gorgeous garden, plants kneel down, telling their rulers of their importance.
However, not even the Zodiacs themselves are safe from its murderous secrets.
***
"Okay, sure, Aries. Whatever you say." Scorpio rolls her eyes, smirking at her boyfriend.
They sat at the diner's table, sharing a cliche' ice cream sundae and telling dad jokes like teenagers should.
It's just that they weren't even nearly normal.
For one, they were millions of years old.
"It's true, Scorp. Anyway, I think that we should leave soon. What if the boys are stuck in the garden? We're gonna have to save them!"
Little did Aries know...
***
"Hurry up, dude. We're seriously falling behind schedule. We've gotta get outta here quickly." Gemini scolds Cancer, grabbing his scrawny arm.
"No. We can't leave yet. Giovanna's going to get angry with us if we don't tend to her."
The garden's nymph queen, Giovanna, is the overseer of the Zodiacs and the garden. She watches over everything. She is Mother Nature herself.
"The queen wouldn't want us to get sent to the core, would she? She wants us safe, Cancer. Not dead. Even us immortals can be ended by her forces."
"Why doesn't she just stop them, then? She has complete control!"
"Do you not understand her power, Cancer? I can't believe you."
Suddenly, green envelopes the two boys, grasping their arms and legs, muffling their cries.
***
"It's past twelve, Scorpio. They're in trouble." Aries says, pacing the room.
The two are now back in the Zodiac Home, where all twelve of them reside. It's on a mountain peak, away from all civilization and rumors.
"I'm sure they can handle themselves, Aries. But if it help you, we can walk down there together." Scorpio stands, grabbing Aries' hand.
The pair walks down the steps to the garden, being as careful as can be not to wake the evil contained within.
"You'd think that they'd be smart enough to care for each other." Scorpio whispers as they near the entrance.
"Ha, those two? Never." Aries scoffs, opening the large wooden door. The stillness reeks of eerie feelings, causing the two to look at each other. They nod, then continue in.
"Look! It's them!"
They spot the two boys asleep, suspended in the air by vines. They twirl around their wrists, hanging them above the water fountain in the front of the garden.
Scorpio sighs. "At least they're still here and not being dragged to-"
Just then, everything shifts. The ground rattles, causing Scorpio and Aries to tumble around, grasping each other.
"Spoke too soon!" Aries manages once the earth calms down.
"You think so?" Scorpio glares at him. They gasp as they realize the boys have disappeared.
