The Friend of My Friend is My Friend

Five

John's POV

        I had a stitch in my side. My breath was coming in ragged gasps. I had to stop and catch my breath. I had been running for what seemed like hours. I couldn't hear my pursuers anymore, but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't there. I stopped and as my breathing evened out, I though about what to do. I decided to climb a tree. I could stay there for a while and decide what to do in the long run. I selected a very tall tree with thick foliage that would help conceal me. I am a very good climber, and I swarmed up the trunk in seconds. There were many knots and stumps of branches to serve as hand and footholds. It was easy going. Once I got higher, I found a nice, big branch to sit on and I got comfortable.

        Soon after, heard footsteps below me, and when I looked down, I saw them. They looked human, but... they didn't. They had the bodies of humans, yet they had some kind of air about them that made them seem savage. Their heights ranged from 1 to 2 metres, yet they all apeared to be fully grown and around the same age. And they were pointing up into my tree. Straight at me.

        I kept perfectly still. I barely even dared to breathe. Lucky for me, I was wearing a dappled cloak in the colours of the forest. The mottles greens, grays, and browns helped me blend in with the trees and breaking up my figure, making me nearly impossible to see. So long as I didn't move. I could hear my heart beating, and, as cliche as that sounds, I was surprised they couldn't hear it too.

Cindy's POV

        Annabeth and I were in a back room of the election hall, planning. How would we save John? Where would we even begin?

"Do you even know where he entered the woods?', Annabeth asked me, sounding very irritated.

"Well, somewhere around there." I gestured vaguely in the general direction of where I had seen John disappear.

"Oh, great. I know exactly where he is. Just somewhere in that massive forest. Finding him will be a piece of cake!"

"Oi! There's no need for sarcasm. It's hard to know exactly where..." I trailed off.

"Yeah, whatever. Enough excuses. We will find him. Whatever it takes, whatever we have to do, we will find him, and save him, and bring him home."

"Yes."

A/N

Sorry it's short. At least it's something. From now on I will try to have at least 500 words per chapter. This one was 415.