The Friend of My Friend is My Friend

Six

Annabeth's POV

"Hurry up!", I screamed at Cindy. "Come on, they're getting closer!" We were being chased. As soon as we had entered the woods, I had felt the prickling sensation of being watched. Then, I had heard footsteps behind us. Cindy had heard them too. We exchanged a look and broke into a run.

We had been running for a while now and we were getting tired.

"We... should... climb... a tree.", huffed Cindy.

I nodded and pointed to a rather tall tree in front of us. Cindy reached it before me and scrambled up the trunk. I did the same a few seconds later. The bark was very rough and uneven, making it relatively easy to climb. We stopped when we reached the cover of the leaves.

 After our breathing evened, we took a moment to observe our surroundings. There were many branches up here, good for sitting on. If the need arose, we could put leaves on two branches and sleep on that. It appeared to be the same higher up too. Then, I saw something out of place. Was that the figure of a man?

John's POV

        I had almost dozed off, when I heard a sound like a rustling in a tree. I mentally scolded my self for almost falling asleep, then I listened more closely. The sound was coming from my tree, directly below me. I sat perfectly still and scanned the tree. There were two female figures moving about under me. They were talking, and I thought I recognized their voices. they almost sounded like... Cindy and Annabeth?!

Cindy's POV

I think I saw him at the same time Annabeth saw him. It was definitely a man, and he was wearing what looked like John's mottles cloak. Had John been captured? And maybe this was one of the captors pretending to be John? Trying to lure us in, only to capture us, too? Then I realised, how could they have known about us? Maybe John had told them. How could they have known we were coming? This last thought brought me to the conclusion that it really was John up there, and that we had coincidenally taken refuge in the same tree. Great minds think alike, I suppose. Even though he's a man.

"John?", I called.

John's POV

I continued to listen for any more sounds coming from the two women. I was now almost certain it was Cindy and Annabeth. Then, sure enough, I heard Cindy call, "John?"

"Cindy?", I called back.

"It is you! I saw your cloak!"

"What happened? Why are you here?"

"We came to save you!"

"Save me? I don't need saving! What I need is for you to piss off and leave me alone!"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Why?", she repeated calmly.

"Because. Because there are people after me and if they see that you are with me they will be after you too. I don't want to endanger you and Annabeth."

"Oh come on! You have got to be kidding me! Just because we're girls, you think you have to protect us rather than the other way around? Chauvinist pig! We should have just let them get you!

"I was fine! I've lost them ages ago!"

"Maybe they'll come back! You should just get your head out of your a-", she was interrupted by Annabeth.

"She's right, John. We are both resourceful and good fighters. We can help you. Just the three of us against the world."

"I'll think about it." I said, trying to sound grumpy, although I already knew I was probably going to say ok.

A/N

The chapter itself, without the author's note, is exactly 600 words. It's the longest I've ever written and I'm quite proud of myself. If you liked it, please vote/comment. If you didn't, please comment your feedback. It is my first story, after all.