forest green ● jason grace

seven

"You," Daria decided. "Are excruciatingly annoying."

Percy glanced back at her, a few feet ahead with his sword drawn. "I'm being careful."

Daria hummed, "What you're being is overbearing. Come on, we're just getting water from the boat, I really don't think-"

"Hazel!" They heard Frank shout and immediately Percy gave her the look: I told you so.

"Well," Daria mumbled, racing back up the hill with her backpack slung over her shoulder. "Technically, we were fine."

They made it up the hill in record time to see Frank with his bow drawn and no Hazel in sight. "What happened?" Percy gasped out. "Where's Hazel?"

"She got taken by...I don't know, these grass things. Maybe grains, I-"

"Karpoi," Daria cursed. "Grain spirits. Not as harmless as you would think. Which way did they go?"

Frank pointed. They made their way across the fields as quickly as they could while still on the lookout for more karpoi. Daria heard a distance shout. Her ear twitched. "Hazel."

"It's her," Frank confirmed. "If we get a bit closer I've got a good shot." He slowly paced forward a few steps, like a hunter. Percy and Daria followed, weapons drawn.

And Frank did get a good shot, not that Daria was very surprised. She noticed things, and he was one of their best archers. The first karpoi turned into something that resembled Chex Mix and with that, the three of them burst into the open and began to massacre every source of fiber they could find. Frank shot an arrow through Barley, who crumbled into seeds. Percy slashed Riptide through Sorghum and Daria sliced through Millet and Oats. Hazel jumped down and joined the fight.

Within minutes, the karpoi had been reduced to piles of seeds and various breakfast cereals. Wheat started to re-form, but Percy pulled a lighter from his pack and sparked a flame.

"Try it," he warned, "and I'll set this whole field on fire. Stay dead. Stay away from us, or the grass gets it!"

Frank winced like the flame terrified him. Daria didn't understand why, but she shouted at the grain piles anyway: "He'll do it! He's crazy!"

The remnants of the karpoi scattered in the wind. Frank climbed the rock and watched them go.

Percy extinguished his lighter and grinned at Hazel. "Thanks for yelling. We wouldn't have found you otherwise. How'd you hold them off so long?"

She pointed to the rock. "A big pile of schist."

"Excuse me?"

"Guys," Frank called from the top of the rock. "You need to see this."

Percy, Daria, and Hazel climbed up to join him. As soon as Daria saw what he was looking at, she inhaled sharply. "Percy, no light! Put up your sword!"

"Schist!" He touched the sword tip, and Riptide shrank back into a pen.

Down below them, an army was on the move. The field dropped into a shallow ravine, where a country road wound north and south. On the opposite side of the road, grassy hills stretched to the horizon, empty of civilization except for one darkened convenience store at the top of the nearest rise.

The whole ravine was full of monsters — column after column marching south, so many and so close, Daria was amazed they hadn't heard Hazel shouting.

The four of them crouched against the rock. "Gegenes," Hazel whispered. "The Earthborn."

"You've fought them before?" Percy asked.