The Survival of Four

Chapter 12

I'm so sorry for the extremely late update. Life caught up to me and I couldn't find the time and mood to finish writing this chapter:) Please read the note at the end of the chapter. Thanks!

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My eyes shot open as a siren blared through the house. I threw the comforter off me and jumped out of bed. I grabbed my bracelet off my nightstand and twisted the charm. My bedroom door slammed opened and Carson burst in. "What's going on?" he asked. He was in a white T-shirt and loose, grey sweatpants. His hair was messy from sleeping and his eyes were red from his two hour sleep.

"I don't know, but something's wrong," I told him. "Grab your sword." He nodded and ran to his room. I second later, he met me in the hallway with his sword in hand. Together, we rushed down the stairs and out of the house.

Immediately, I spotted the smoke rising from the field in the center of the circle of houses. We ran to the commotion, eager to catch sight of what was going on. In the center of the field, large flames engulfed three stacked picnic tables. demigods stood around the burning wood in their pajamas, all gripping weapons and looking confused about what was going on. Grey smoke lingered in the chilly air, slowly raising into the star-filled sky.

"There's Dylan." Carson pointed to a small group of demigods. We jogged to him and like the others, he was dressed in his pajama pants and a large T-shirt. His favorite golden sword was gripped tightly in his hand as he stared at the blazing orange flames. "What's going on?"

The son of Zeus shrugged. "All I know is someone sounded the alarm after spotting the fire."

"Does anyone know who started it?" I asked.

"No." Dylan shook his head. "No one even saw the tables being stacked."

My eyes found the stacked picnic tables. The fire hadn't been alive for long because the wood was still firm. As each moment passed by, sections of the wood faded black and grew weaker. "Are you guys okay?" I turned my head as someone jogged up to us.

I nodded. "Yeah, we're fine," I told Kyle. "Do you know who did this?"
He shrugged. "Whoever did, they left a note." He pulled the ripped piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Carson.

"Death is coming," my brother read aloud.

For a moment, none of us spoke a word. Elliott jogged up as we were speechless. "Do you think the same person who attacked Kyle and Riley, left the warning and started the fire?" he questioned.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Kyle and I were attacked two weeks ago. I thought you guys agreed that it was probably just someone trying to play a prank?"

"After this, I think it was serious," Kyle insisted.

Dylan shook his head in disbelief. "It hasn't been a year since Terran's incident. Safe Haven has the worst luck if we are getting attacked again." Carson nodded, agreeing.

"What do we do?" I asked. "We don't know what we are up against. This could either be a huge demigod community or one demigod whose bark is bigger than their bite."

"We need to prepare for the worst," Elliott recommended.

"What's the worst?" Carson asked.

Kyle sighed. "A war."

The five of us exchanged nervous glances. After expressing a sigh, Kyle lifted a hand toward the blazing fire. Using his powers, he lowered the flames until they disappeared completely. "Elliott I need you to send everyone back to their houses until morning." The son of Ares nodded and immediately jogged away to the groups of standing demigods. "Dylan, can you go to each house and make sure everyone has been trained with a weapon of some kind?" Dylan nodded. "If you find someone who hasn't been trained properly, assign the best fighter in the same godly bloodline to train them," he told him. His eyes found my brother standing beside him. "Carson, go with him."