OLIVER

Oliver heard a piercing scream.

"Angelina?!"

He ran back to where he had last seen Angelina. A great big monster had a hold of her in its huge hands. Angelina was kicking it, trying to getaway. Oliver pulled out his sword and ran forward trying to hit the creature.

"Oliver! Help!" She screamed.

"I'm trying!" He yelled back.

The creature kicked Oliver with immense force, causing him to go flying in the air. He hit the hard overgrown ground and gasped for air. He clutched his stomach where he was kicked, feeling faint. Angelina struggled to get free. She kept kicking, never giving up. She finally got her arms free, and Oliver retrieved his sword. The creature had three eyes and a large mouth full of rows and rows of sharp teeth. It's hands had webs in between each finger and so did his toes.

"Give me the sword! Quick!" Angelina screamed at Oliver, her eyes wide with fear.

Oliver threw the sword and she caught it. She swung the sword at the monster and hit the side of its neck. The monster couldn't have been taller than eighteen feet. A large roar echoed through the chilly atmosphere. Oliver didn't know what to do. He looked around for rocks as Angie tried to fight her pursuer. He clutched a big one and threw it, careful not to hit his friend. The rock hit the creature, making the thing growled in pain. Angelina swung her sword again, hitting its arm. The creature dropped her. Oliver watched in fear as his friend fell from the grasp of the monster. He ran for her. Angelina landed on her back, sword in hand. The fall had knocked her out. Oliver rushed to grab the sword in her hand. When he retrieved it, he kept on aggressively swinging his sword, hitting it. The monster roared then got down on all fours and ran off deeper into the forest. Oliver cheered.

"Yeah! That's right! Runaway, you coward." Oliver screamed at the monster as it disappeared.

Oli looked down at Angie. Oliver hoped she wasn't dead. He rushed to her side then shook her. He checked her pulse. She was still alive. Oli shook her again. Oliver heard multiple footsteps coming towards him quickly. Oliver held up his sword, only to find it was just Shawn, Ace, Chloe, Victor, Analia, Alex, and Autumn.

"What happened!" Shawn demanded.

"A creature attacked, I fought it off. It dropped her, he was about eighteen feet tall." Oliver told them, turning back to Angie. "Angelina? Angelina?"

Victor rushed to her side and shook her, "Angelina! Angie! Not again! I can't lose you again!"

Shawn walked over to Angie's side and picked her up, settling her into his arms, "We can't stay here, the Karenito could come back, we need to get to base."

"Karenito?" Oliver moaned.

"That creature. That's what they are."

Everyone nodded and followed him back to the peak. The walk was silent. Chloe walked next to Oliver, the two a little behind from the others. Angie in Shawns arms.

"It's all my fault! I walked away from her, leaving her alone." Oliver cried in a soft, angry voice.

"No, it isn't. Stop blaming yourself." Chloe argued, trying to comfort him.

"Yes, it is! I left her alone, I mean it was only for a minute, but still, I shouldn't have left her." Oliver regretted.

"Stop blaming yourself! I hate when people do that." Chloe told him.

"I can't help but blame myself." Oli replied.

"I know." Chloe breathed.

They were silent for the rest of the walk back. Oliver couldn't stop thinking that the incident was his fault. He tried to believe Chloe that it wasn't his fault, but deep down all he kept telling himself was he was to blame. All he could look at was Angelina, her limp body in Shawn's arms.

When they got back, everyone was awfully quiet. Angelina still had not woken, it was starting to scare everyone. They had tried everything, shaking her, making loud noises, even splashing water in her face. Nothing worked. Oliver could tell that Angelina not waking up was tearing Victor apart. It was tearing up Oli too. At supper, no one talked. Oliver sat alone on the side of the hill, eating his chicken broth. Well, you couldn't really call it eating, he had lost his appetite, and only looked at it. He heard footsteps behind him and someone sat next to him.

"You okay?" The person asked. It was Chloe.

"No, I'm not." Oliver barked.

"It isn't your fault. I know I keep telling you that, but it's true." Chloe told him in a quiet voice.

"I'm not in the mood! Go bother someone else!" Oliver snapped, his pot starting to boil over.

"Sorry." Chloe apologized.

She didn't leave. In fact, she just stayed there and looked at the stars. Oli just wanted to be alone. Oliver watched her with his peripheral vision. Chloe brought her knees to her chest. She looked cold. A slight breeze swayed her black hair.

"You cold?" Oliver asked her.

"Eh." She laughed.

Her laugh was like a dove's song. It was so joyful. Oliver took off his jacket and handed it to her. She looked at it for a second, confused, then took it.

"Thanks, I guess." She thanked, putting it on. "Much better."

Oliver's madness and guilt had disappeared. Nowhere to be found. He still had the incident on his mind, but all he could think about was Chloe. She was always so nice to him, while he usually yelled about his problems when she was around. The moon's light glimmered. Oli could see the stars in Chloe's eyes. The stars weren't like the ones back home, they were pink and glowed like a lightbulb in a lamp. She turned her head and looked at Oli.

"What?" She grinned.

"Nothing." Oli replied nervously.

"You remember that I can read minds, right?" She laughed.

"Oh, yeah, right." Oliver laughed nervously.

Chloe laughed, "Thanks."

"What?"

"You thought that my eyes were pretty in the moonlight." She gushed.

"It's kinda weird, and creepy, that you are reading my mind. Oh, and your welcome."

"Haha, it sorta is funny how you went from beating yourself up, to funny and sweet in such a short time."

"Don't remind me." Oliver laughed.

"Touche." Chloe grinned.

They laughed. Oliver tried as hard as he could to not think about her, but it was difficult. He knew that she could read his mind. But, every time he tried not to think about her, his mind went to Angelina.

"It's okay if you think about me." She said, making Oli lose track of thought. "If it makes you stop thinking about today, I mean."

"Oh, um, thanks?" Oliver said hesitantly.

"Your welcome." She laughed.

"You sure laugh a lot." Oliver smiled.

"Is that a bad thing?" She asked.

"No. It was a compliment, I wish I could laugh as much as you." Oliver told her.

"Well, then why can't you?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, maybe it's just because I haven't had such a great life."

"Makes sense."

"I grew up in a trailer park with a terrible dad that was always drunk. My mom left my father, leaving me with him. I would get bullied every day and no one gave a crap. I had no friends at all. Then, my mom rescued me not even a week ago."

"Oh, wow. I have a completely opposite life. I grew up in a rich family with both my parents. They are lawyers. I go to a private school, and I never get bullied. Plus, I guess I have a lot of friends and get practically all I want." Chloe sighed, he could tell she was trying really hard not to sound like she was bragging. "It's stupid."

"Lucky." Oliver said.

"No, not really, I just want to be a normal girl that lives in a normal house, not a mansion." Chloe sighed. "Everyone treats me as if I'm so important, just because my parents are rich lawyers. It is so unfair."

"I would love to have a father that actually cares about me, plus I would've loved to grow up in a bigger house than our trailer. My room was like 7 feet by 7 feet."

"Wow, that's a small room." Chloe exclaimed quietly.

"You betcha. We should probably go back to the others before they think we were kidnapped by a weird troll or a walking fish."

She laughed at his unintended joke. They both got up off their feet and walked back to the others, which were around the campfire. Everyone was silent, except for a few coughs and sighs here and there. When Oli and Chloe approached the fire, no one, not even Autumn or Analia or Shawn looked up. None of them barely knew Angelina, why were they all so sad? They acted like it was her funeral and they all had been best friends with her for years, when in fact they had only known her a day or so. Victor was the one that had the look of true, deep sadness. He had known her more than anyone else in the group. He and Angelina were actually close friends and had been for about a year. From what Oliver had learned, the two became friends a week, maybe two, after Victor's first day at their middle school, Lion Bank Middle School. He had developed a crush on her, and she didn't get a crush on him until they both found out they were both having awakenings and had guardians that spoke to them in their minds. What a love story. Imagine telling your friends that. They would call a mental hospital.

"Hey, guys." Chloe greeted softly, making Oliver lose track of his thoughts again, then she sat down in an empty spot on a log.

"Hey." Alex mumbled in return.

"Any news?" She asked, knowing what answer she would probably get.

"Nope, she's been the same." Analia answered, her voice monotone.

"She'll wake up, guys, it's not like she's dead." Chloe encouraged.

"Finally someone who speaks the truth." Oliver said.

"Chloe's right. She isn't dead, which means we shouldn't act like Angelina is." Analia gave in.

Thanks, Chloe, I didn't have enough courage to tell them that. Oliver thanked Chloe.

Analia closed her eyes for a brief second, "The newcomer will arrive tomorrow, they are still traveling here."

"I was wondering when they'd get here." Chloe smiled.

Everyone nodded, agreeing with her statement. Everyone was still silent, except for Chloe who went on and on about how good the broth was. Everyone started to start talking again.

After an hour of discussing the broth's recipe, Shawn finally said, "Guys, it's getting late, we should go to bed, we have training in the morning at 9."

"Yeah, you're right." Autumn sighed. "I am getting pretty tired."

Everyone stood up and found their way to their tents in the dark.