Luna

Chapter Thirteen - Chased

"Come on, baby! You can do it!" A father said to his daughter, who was trying to walk for the first time. The mother was standing next to her husband, cheering their daughter on. Artemis couldn't help but watch from a distance, feeling an overwhelming bit of jealousy, sadness, and guilt all wrapped into one.

The blonde brought her knees to her chest and embraced them. She felt terrible. Why had she smacked Wally? Why did she tell him he was the worst mistake she had ever made? When she was little, her parents used to hit each other all the time. She hated it. She was no better than them. And maybe Wally was right. Maybe she had been consumed with righting her parents' wrongs. Every good that she had committed was selfish and that made her no better than them.

Even though part of her agreed with him, she was still hurt by his words. Artemis worked so hard to conviene herself that she wasn't responsible for his death and it was just how the world worked. The world happened to take away good people. However, in a few words that belief fell apart. In a few seconds, she was back at square one and felt just as lost as when Wally first died.

Artemis stopped looking at the small family and placed her head on her knees. Tears were starting to come out. The self pity kicked in. She would never get better. The goddess was lost in life and in death.

Eventually she picked her head up. The small family was still trying to get their daughter to walk. Other families scrolled on by. That was where the jealousy kicked in. It was same type of jealousy she had when Jade walked away from Will and Lian. It was the same type of jealousy Artemis had when her friends complained about their kids. It was the jealousy of not being able to have children with someone they loved. Now it was the envy of never being able to have children at all.

In the living world, Artemis had Lian, Tara, and Violet. They weren't her children but it was enough to fill in the void. Now, she didn't even have them. Artemis had nothing. It hurt like hell. Her only dream was to get married with a man she loved, have children of her own, and show them what a healthy family could be. It was the healthy family Wally and her were going to have one day.

"RUN! THE DEMON IS HERE!"

Artemis was immediately pulled out of her thoughts and adrenaline kicked in. Heavy, running footsteps made the ground shake like an earthquake. Civilians were grabbing their pets, children, and friends and running away from the direction of the demon's footsteps.

The archer got onto her feet and was looking around for anyone who needed help. Her eyes looked back and forth until she saw a little boy stuck on the playground. The boy's foot was stuck on the equipment and his parents were trying to help him.

Artemis ran to them without thinking. Her hero instincts were taking over. When she got to the family, the boy was crying. The mother was yelling in panic and the father tried to get their son's foot loose.

"Mom, grab him under his arms. Dad, help me move this bar," Artemis demanded, getting their attention. They nodded. The mother grabbed her son by his under arms. Artemis and the father pulled against the spiral bar slide and pulled the metal. With a few grunts and effort, the kid was loose. Artemis motioned for them to run and they did. Somehow they looked even more frightened.

Artemis was about to keep looking for endangered people, but when she turned around she saw the demon. It was a gigantic creature. It walked on for legs, was brown and furry like a bear, but had the talons of a hawk. It's head was too small for its body. It had sharper squared ears, two long horns, and mouth filled of big sharp teeth. Where was there was supposed to be a nose was an empty hole, almost like a skull. It glowed orange.

It was sniffing the bench she had been sitting at only a few moments before. Artemis bit her lip in worry. It was going to pick up her scent, with or without a nose. She started to back up slowly, quietly snapping her fingers to get out of this situation. It didn't work. She was stuck and couldn't run. She had to hide.

Wally couldn't stomach staying in their apartment. It didn't feel like home anymore. If he had stayed there any longer, he would have came crashing down. He went to the one place he could of in the moment: The River.

He didn't look into the water. He just sat by it's edge. The ginger was trying to process everything that happened. He had blamed Artemis of throwing away their life together. He blamed her for his death. She smacked him, which was something she had never done. Even when he said the meanest of things before, she had never hit him.

Wally thought he could push the boundaries this time. He thought he could hurt her and she wouldn't do anything. He was wrong. For Artemis to hit him, he hurt her in ways that he couldn't have imagined. Wally wished he could say sorry, beg for her to come back to him, and show his spitfire that all the years together were worth it.

Heaven was lonely without his angel by his side.

Artemis hid in the forest behind the park. It was the best option she had. The park was too open and she couldn't run without being spotted. Every couple of seconds she snap silently, praying that she could make it home to Wally. She didn't want to die again. She couldn't go knowing that her soul would be lost forever. There would be no Wally, reuniting with her mom someday, or anything she had to look forward to. There would't be anything.

"Come on, come on," She begged through a whisper. She bit her tongue in hopes to make no sound. Be silent until you can snap away, she told herself. Be silent until this beast's footsteps goes away. Don't do anything, do not even breathe, until it is gone.

Her heart was beating fast. She fingers were going numb. She swallowed the lump in her throat and counted to ten. Artemis told herself that this was just like any other mission. Sometimes she archer would have to play the hiding game. This stopped some of her panic.

For the most part.

A growl erupted a meters away from her. The blonde had to move now if she wanted to make it another day. She looked up at the trees. Artemis really hoped this demon couldn't climb. She saw a low hanging branch above her head and jumped up. She was able to pull herself up onto it. She started to climb as far up as she could.

The footsteps got louder. It started to shake the ground and the trees. Artemis held the tree tight so she wouldn't fall. She looked down, watching the beast slowly walk across the forest floor. It didn't look up and kept sniffing for a lost scent. It growled again, but it was much weaker. It seemed defeated.

The blonde tried to snap again. This time it worked.

A/N: Hope everyone's safe and healthy. I feel like I'm losing my mind haha. Yesterday I dyed my hair just because. I actually really like it though :)