Isabella, Tartarus survivor

A Lucky Escape

Chapter1

I was so close to giving up. I'd been running from Kelli and the other empousai for three days. I hadn't slept, eaten, or had anything to drink in those days. I couldn't stop running. But I was tired. So tired. My muscles were screaming at me to stop, and I started thinking maybe I should listen to them. I didn't want to do this anymore. I didn't see a way out. What was the point? I shook my head. I couldn't bethinking like that. My legs gave out from underneath me. I fell forward, and tried to use the momentum to push myself back up, but my legs buckled the second I put weight on them. I was spent.

I heard Kelli laughing manically, and felt the ground move as her and her gang stalked towards me. "What have we here?" she asked,patronisingly. "Has the little human given up? It's ok, we'll make sure your death is long and painful, won't we girls?" Kelli clicked her fingers at them, and they all murmured in agreement. "This should be fun." She stepped forward and flexed her fingers.

"Fottiti"I grunted through gritted teeth. Kelli looked confused for a moment,then wagged her finger at me and said:

"Now,now, we can't be having that kind of language." She took another step forward and I braced myself. This was it. All this surviving,for years and years, and for what? To be killed by a bitchy empousai and her bitchy friends? What a sucky way to go.

I took a deep breath, trying to summon anything I could, like I had before. It had protected me before, kept me alive. But I had no energy, I couldn't do it. I closed my eyes as Kelli and her gang took another step forward, when there was an almighty BOOM!

I opened my eyes again, and flicked my head around to locate the source of the noise. Water droplets flicked against my face, and already voices started whispering

"Enough. All your friends and family, they're dead. For such a long time. Just give up. What's the point? You have no one. No one."

A sob escaped my throat, and I covered my mouth. This wasn't real. It was water from the Cocytus. It told lies. I had someone. I had Damasen. He had been good to me. Looked after me while I was downhere. For ages. I had to leave him, to try to find a way out, but I never forgot him.

I smiled from the nostalgia, and slowly felt the misery slowly drain from my system. I was lucky it had only been a few drops.

I hadn't seen Damasen, not in ages, but he was still my closest ally. I would even go as far as to call him a friend. I wiped the water from my face, and slowly stood up. But Kelli was no longer looking at me. She was looking in the direction of the Cocytus. I watched as she sniffed deeply and let out a hard breath with a smile.

"Girls,I do believe I smell freshly caught demi-god. And I do believe that it's the one who sent me here. Let's get him!" They all roared and started running in the direction of Cocytus. I breathed a sigh of relief and watched them disappear into the distance. Then I turned, and ran.