Legends of Olympus (On Hold)

Elysian War III

Paige's POV

Nagtago ako sa likod ng isa sa mga puno, humihingal.

From a distance, I could hear the low growls of a panther, eagerly seeking for its prey. Pumikit ako nang nakakunot ang noo at tinuon ang kinaroroonan nito ayon sa kaunting ingay at malabong presensya nito.

Iminulat ko ang aking mga mata. Maingat kong ginalaw ang aking ulo upang sumilip.

Nahagilap ko ang puting balahibo nito, at muling nagtago nang panandalian itong lumingon sa direksyon ko.

The goddess has driven me far away from the battle. Too far, in fact, as I have just come to realize that I'm stuck in the middle of a dark forest at the base of a mountain.

I meant to distance myself from the others, but I didn't expect to reach this far in the realm.

Narinig ko ang mga kaluskos na papalapit sa'kin, dahilan na huminto ang aking paghinga. I could feel something slowly approach me. 

Habang hinihintay itong tuluyang makalapit sa'kin, yumuko ako't sinuri ang duguan kong balikat. Pumipintig ang sakit ng sugat ko sa ilalim ng napunit kong kapa.

Sinubukan kong igalaw ang aking braso ngunit napatingala lang ako sa matinding kirot.

I barely made out alive after the goddess clawed the front of my left shoulder. Napahawak ako sa kaliwang braso ko sabay yuko, nang nanginginig ang mga labi.

"Bella..." I whispered.

But she didn't appear.

I knew she was occupied, but the least I could do was try to call for the one of us who could be summoned with just a whisper.

Sraightening my lips, I diverted my attention to the slow-moving steps drawing closer. Binitawan ko ang duguan kong balikat, at bumukas ang aking kanang palad nang magtipon ang enerhiya rito.

Napansin ko ang pagtigil ng presensya sa mismong likuran ng kahoy na pinagtataguan ko.

My fingers twitched from the energy that's gathering in my hand. I was prepared to throw it the first moment I see the animal, but I was caught off guard when it appeared above me and with a deafening roar, rammed me hard to the ground.

Napasigaw ako sa bigla sabay tulak nito mula sa ibabaw ko. Gumulong ako sa lupa saka nagmamadaling tumayo. Pagkatuwid ko ng aking likod, nakarinig na naman ako ng angil at muling natumba pagkatapos akong talunan ng hayop sa likuran.

The panther pounced off of my back and bit my right shoulder.

My spine arched from the instant pain. My head fell on the ground and my mouth tasted dirt as I let out a silent scream, immediately generating a force field from inside my body that exploded and blew the animal away from me.

My head throbbed after the sudden release of my power. All the adrenaline has already left my body ever since Artemis took the form of a white panther to outrun me, meaning all I could sense was only excruciating pain.

Humugot ako ng malalim na hininga sabay tihaya sa lupa.

Clawed on the left, bitten on the right, blood slowly drenched the rest of my top as I helplessly lied on the ground.

Umiling-iling ako nang nakahilata, pinipigilan ang aking diwa na matangay ng matinding kapaguran dahil sa natamo kong mga sugat.

"You are strong..." Artemis' voice reached my ear like a soft-blown breeze.

"You are foolish," sabi ko. "For not killing me at this moment." Binasa ko ang aking lalamunan. "Would you rather wait for your prey to bleed to death?"