3 . 6 . 14

What the 'Hell' ~ Chapter 27

(Kathrine's P.O.V.)

"We need decide." Percy groaned, evidently pissed at Astrid and I's blabbering.
"Yeah yeah, we know." We snickered. He rolled his eyes.
"He...hellish death?" Claire questioned. "Someone'e gonna die?"
"Not if we can stop it." Astrid confidently stated. "I mean...it's not like this reads the future!"
"Yep yep." I nodded in complete approval.
"Great..." I heard Magnus mutter.
"Okay, Ms. Confident. If your so confident no one in our group's dying, you must have a plan on where to go and what to do. Am I right?" Percy sarcastically asked.
"Uhh...well...yes, I do!" Astrid's voice faded. "I mean...I will."
"Uh huh..." Percy face palmed. "Any other stars shining brightly?"
"Hunter's Belt is." Astrid replied. She scratched the back of her neck. "Kinda."

Staaaaaaare~. We gave Astrid that "uh-huh-..." face Percy was giving her a moment ago.
"Hey! The book said some constellations may be harder to find! Maybe this is what he meant?"
"Uh huh..." We all repeated.
"I swear!"
"Uh huh..."
"C'mon-" Astrid pointed at the Hunter's Belt. It was definitely one of my favorite encased of it's intriguing background and actual understandable shape. I mean...it's a belt. A legitimate line. "The Hunter's Belt was used by hunters in the past as a path to find lots of game right? Maybe our path is that way!"
"Game is kill. Are you sure this isn't the path to us getting killed?" Percy asked. "You said Yui was bright."
"Do you have any other ideas...?" Astrid sassily questioned. Percy shut up.
"Okay, so Hunter's Belt is leading us that way right?" Magnus said, forcing his way into the constellation. He pointed West, right where the belt was leading. I held back a laugh.

"Of course. What are you, Dora the Explorer who has to repeat what everyone obviously knows?" I smugly asked.
"I...hmph."
"Let's go." Astrid kicked Percy forward while grabbing my wrist at the same time. With a tight grip (almost making my feel like I was handcuffed) pulled my hand with such force, I wouldn't have been surprised if it flew off.  We leaped over the bushes as Percy shouted behind us, along with a freaking out Claire and a pissed off Magnus. We skipped the path, through the biodiversity, twigs and leaves crunching and cracking under our feet. The trees were to small to completely cover the stars so we followed the given path for a whole 30 minutes.

~

"I...can't...move..." Astrid panted.
"It's your...fault." I collapsed into the ground into a soft pile of foliage at the side of our current 'path'. Astrid leaned on a tree right beside me. To our left, Percy (who was practically carrying Magnus on his back) and Claire were sweating like crazy.
"What the hell!" Percy growled, his fatigue completely unheard. He sounded fine yet drips of sweat slid down his cheek.
"I'm...done." Claire collapsed but not as gracefully as me. She made a loud 'thud', landing on some sharp twigs and branches. "Ow."
"Look..." I slid into a laying down position as I pointed past the thin canopy of the trees. Past the bright green leaves was the same belt we were following.
"Just as bright as ever." Astrid exclaimed.
"I...can...see...the...end." Magnus said.
"Huh?" I crawled on the grass right beside him. Tilting my head up, I saw a few more stars and a dead end. With new found energy suddenly easing my breath, I stood up, turning to Magnus. "Well...I did get wrong on Dora from time to time."
"That's what I thought." Magnus grinned.
"One more push..." I announced. Astrid and Claire got up. "3...2...1!"

I pushed my foot off the ground and got into a sprint, leaping over tree roots and the scenery.

~

"I see it!" I screamed in rejoice. The end of the belt. Right the below the final star was a patch (more like plain) of cleared unkept grass and a ruin, with a rope leading downwards. Percy stood right behind me, Astrid, Magnus and Claire following after.
"That has to be it..." Percy thought. "There's no way this is wrong."
"Yeah!" Astrid cheered as she lounged on me, wrapping her arm around me neck, practically chocking me.
"Sto- stop...!" I coughed.
"Finally." Claire breathed. She was the one most out of breath out of all of us, not being as athletic or experienced as anyone.
"So How are we approaching this?" Magnus asked.
"Uhh...we walk, look around, observe with all our senses, create a remark, act accordingly, and repeat?" Astrid bluntly said.
"No! Like do we just go in, do we charge, do we go all at once, do we look around first..." Magnus rambled on.
"Let's just get in." Percy answered. "Let's get this over with."
"I agree." I raise my hand in support. "The longer we wait, the longer we are exposed."
"I think we should be careful." Astrid contradicted. "If we make a single mistake, some can die."
"I...I agree." Claire timidly nodded. "I...I don't want any of you guys to die. Or hell."
Magnus cleared his throat. "I think-"
"We should charge." Percy and I said in unison.
Magnus. "Actually-"
"I think we should take our time." Astrid finished.
"Guys...we should fight-" Claire begun.
"The longer we spend standing here, the more prepared our opponent will get!" Percy roared.
"Yeah, but whether he's prepared or not, if we screw up and miss something crucial, someone can die!" Astrid defended.
"Guys-" Magnus and Claire attempted.
"We should just get in already!" Percy argued.
"And die?" Astrid threw back.
"We shouldn't waste time-"
"GUYS!" Claire thundered.
"What?!" Astrid and Percy turned, eyes flaring with flames.
"Ummm..." Claire took a step back, afraid of the duo.
"You two should calm down..." I suggested.
"Calm down!? When this dude is suggesting we risk someone's life because it's a waste of time?" Astrid sneered.
"Astri-"
"And you agree with him?!" She added.
"Because she's smart! Just by arguing on this, we can be too late!" Percy flared.
"Too late? Too late for what? Someone's death-"