𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 ꨄ

s i x

The scorpion swished its tail, hissing and spewing gooey acid all around. Clarisse and Luna both swerved to the right just in time to avoid getting sizzled alive. They stumbled through the branches of the bush they'd fallen into and squirmed around until they ended up in a position of tangled limbs. Clarisse fought to break away from Luna, but she only tightened her arms around the Ares girl.

"Shh," Luna whispered furiously against her ear. "Don't. Move."

Clarisse made a sound that sounded like a silent growl, but she stayed still.

They heard the rickety patter of the scorpion's many feet as they stepped over leaves and sticks.  The monster made a constant creaking sound that made shivers skitter across her skin and filled her with dread. Luna could tell that it was right on the other side of the bush, and that their chances of survival would fall dangerously low if it found them.

"I'm going out there," Clarisse decided.

"Are you insane?" Luna whisper-yelled.  "Have you seen the size of that thing???"   

"I don't care," She broke away from Luna harshly. Her face was determined. "This is my chance to prove myself."

"Don't-" Luna started desperately, but Clarisse had never listened to her before, and it looked like she wasn't about to start now. The Ares girl was gone in the next second, electric spear clutched tightly in her hand.

Luna didn't couldn't see what was going on, but she heard Clarisse yell, "HEY! DOWN HERE!"

Luna winced as she heard the monster's excited chittering at the sound of a human voice. She heard grunts and the sound of a weapon slashing against flesh. Growls reverberated around the clearing as the stench of blood climbed up her nostrils and almost made her double over. Luna's breath came hard and heavy. What was she supposed to do? She knew was no good with a sword, and was even worse when it came down to critical situations- like life or death.

But even so. Was she just going to stand there and do nothing? Stand there and shudder in the shadows like a coward while Clarisse fought a monster triple her size by herself?

Luna looked around, saw every little detail of the murky forest and the small ray of moonlight falling through the canopy of the trees. She cast a look at her sword, at the crescent moon etched into it and how it seemed to be the only thing shining in the darkness. Clarisse might get on her nerves, but she didn't deserve to die.

Luna gripped the hilt of her sword, and could swear it thrummed with power. All of a sudden, her feet were moving and her arms swinging as she lost all cover from the bushes and stepped into the clearing. The scorpion was swishing its tail wildly, shooting deadly spikes out of its end. Clarisse was running and somehow managed to deflect all of them, but in the midst of doing so, tripped on a branch and skittered to the floor. The monster advanced and cornered her near the bark of a huge oak tree, clasping its pincers menacingly.

Luna flew into action, all reasoning gone. She ran towards the monster, but it heard her coming and turned around. On instinct, she swung her sword in an arc and heard a sickening slash as three of the creatures legs were cut off. The monster screeched and recoiled, its body tilting from side to side. Luna didn't linger enough to know if she'd really finished the scorpion off. She made her way to Clarisse, who was getting up and staring at her with wide eyes that kept switching from her to the sword she was holding.

"What metal is that?" The Ares girl asked roughly, grabbing Luna's hand and the hilt of the sword incased in it. Clarisse studied her sword like it was a bomb about to go off. The look she was giving it was making her wish she'd stayed in the bushes.