I ALMOST DIE TWICE

After the Arachne incident, we took a lot of wrong turns and ended up in Hocking Hills State Park. It would take more time to get to the river now, but at least we got a cabin for the night. I've been longing to sleep in a bed since the whole thing with Medusa. I just hope another monster doesn't own a cabin or anything. It will be a miracle if I don't get attacked once today. (But in the real world, good luck doesn't like showing up that much.)

We hiked around a bit and viewed the forest, seeing rock formations and cool waterfalls. Vittoria and Helen were relieved. They could actually not worry about the quest for a day. I guess this is a mini-vacation, but it was wasted on me. I couldn't stop thinking about my plan. Kronos didn't give me any updates, either. Was everything really going as smoothly as he said?

I noticed Vittoria studying me. "What is it?" I asked. "You okay, Yiannis? You look stressed. I told you, we're on vacation, so cheer up."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I was just daydreaming."

"About the quest?" I nodded. "At this rate, we'll get to the Underworld in time. The thief hasn't tried to stop us at all unless he sent all the monsters at us. If I were him, I would derail the people that are trying to find out the truth. The fact the thief hasn't done that suggests he's in control of events. That doesn't sit with me the right way. What do you think of it all, Vittoria?"

"I agree with you, and I'm just as worried. But for now, we're on vacation. We'll talk about that later, got it?"

"But-" Vittoria put her finger on my mouth. "Ssh. Vacation. Happy times. Relaxing times. Helen's enjoying it here, and I don't want her to be anxious instead. I suspect you wish the same thing, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Vittoria grabbed my hand. "Then let's enjoy ourselves." We jogged to catch up with my little sister, who walked on as we two talked. (Even though my sister uses a cane, she can limp pretty quickly when she wants.) For a while, I was enjoying it, too. Everything went wrong when I saw someone hiding in the bushes and observing us.

I nudged Vittoria. "Look towards your right, at that bush near the cave. See something out of the ordinary?" I registered the expression on Vittoria's face as shocked as she nodded. "Yeah. It's probably a monster, or maybe even a god. For all we know, it could be the thief."

"I guess that means vacation's over for now until we deal with that."

"Yeah. I'll watch over Helen, so don't worry about your little sister. Keep an eye on that thing, whatever it is, alright."

"Got it." We continued our little stroll through the woods, but the mood was ruined. I'm pretty sure the thing noticed us because I couldn't see it anymore. I alerted Vittoria of it. She took Helen's arm and told me to run, which I did. The three of us didn't get very far, as someone was blocking the trail ahead of us, which I assumed to be the thing stalking us.

It turned out to be a hideous woman in a green dress. She was humanoid in shape, but she had green limbs with small spikes protruding out of them. Her eye sockets were yellow, and she had no nose or eyebrows, so it's definitely not human.

"Greeting, Yiannis Cirillo. I assume the two ladies with you are Vittoria and Helen?"

"What's it to you?" I replied. "I'm guessing you're trying to kill us." A sly smile appeared on her face. "Perhaps, perhaps not. It depends on how you perform on my test."

"Test?"

"Yes," the woman nodded. An intimidating beast appeared before her. It had a lion's head, a dragon's wings and scales, and a viper for a tail. It was the Chimera, and that made me absolutely miserable.

I've read plenty of greek myths, but I'm confident a hero has never beaten the Chimera before. Now I have to do the impossible. Still, the woman said she was testing me. Testing me on what? My combat skills? (I would get my first F if so). Who gives out tests like this? Is one of the gods watching me, seeing whether I'm a capable hero or not? Well, now I can't stop time, or I would be declaring to all on Olympus that I'm Kronos's son. I can't use the scythe, either. But depending on who's watching, I might be able to slow time and get away with it. "Hey, woman, who gives out tests like this?"

"The king of the gods, Zeus, wishes to see your abilities. Do well, and he'll reward you." Not like I want any rewards from that scumbag. But Zeus isn't Athena, so I could use my power. I can't rule out the other gods watching me, so I need to be careful. I'll control time only if I have to.

I made a black sword materialize in my hands. Helen made a black bow and quiver filled with arrows, and Vittoria gripped on her knife. The ugly woman pointed at us and faced the Chimera. "My dear, you may eat them now."

The Chimera flew at me with lightning speed. I barely managed to avoid its swinging tail and grabbed onto it. I poked the beast's right eye with my sword, and it smacked me hard with one of its wings, sending me backward. It would have knocked me to the ground had not Vittoria grabbed its tail and used it as a lever to jump on the creature's back.

The Chimera tried to shake her off but was having a difficult time doing that. Helen shot arrow after arrow, all of which hit their mark. Vittoria brought her knife down on the creature's neck, and it bellowed out in pain. It threw her to the ground and flew at her.

At breakneck speed, I shadow traveled to Vittoria and swerved both of us out of the way. We both charged towards the Chimera, hacking it as much as possible. We gave it some cuts before it slapped me with its tail. The tail wrapped itself around Vittoria's neck and sent her flying. She landed on top of me as my back hit a tree.

"Not the best, but a good performance indeed," the woman commented. "Certainly among the better ones I've seen, but not good enough, Yiannis Cirillo. You cannot save Olympus as you are now. It will be best to get rid of you, for the gods fear you might turn on Olympus. Someone with your power is dangerous."

Wow, the gods really do suck. Fine by me; I was going to kill them all anyway. I grabbed Vittoria, and the two of us phased into the ground. We popped up behind it, and I made a long chain out of my shadow and hooked it on to the Chimera's tail. With help from Vittoria, we flung the beast at the woman, whose head ended up in the beast's mouth.

The creature realized what it did and charged at us with rage, but it couldn't break free from my chain, so it couldn't reach us as long as we kept our distance. My powers were weakening, and the beast would kill us soon. We had to deal with it before then.

I slowed time down around us. Helen pierced the creature's other eye, and now it was blind. Vittoria and I cut off its wings and three of its legs. I was going to close my eyes any second now. Now it would be impossible for it to chase after us. It wasn't as good as killing it, but it was far better than nothing. The three of us bolted to get as far away from the creature as we could. We were hurt badly as well. We needed to find a cabin.

We ran for what felt like an hour before we found a cabin, mixed in with a bunch of trees. I hoped this one was empty. We knocked on the door first and got total silence. We did this two more times, then decided to open the door and see if the residents were sleeping or something.

A large arm grabbed my throat and slammed me into a bed. Vittoria received the same treatment. Copper chains strapped tightly around us as if they had a will of their own. My eyes narrowed, and I saw a large man grinning from ear to ear. "I know it's not proper hospitality, but please forgive me. I'd had a rather rough day." I saw fear all over my little sister's face. Her limbs were trembling. The man tied us up but not my sister because she's crippled. Was he some monster? This was similar to Sinis, in a way, except I'm a victim as well as Vittoria. Helen would have to do this on her own.

I felt my legs being pulled out from under me as if there was some invisible force stretching me out. My vision was getting blurry, but Helen needed my help.

I concentrated as hard as I could. Time stopped, but I could feel my powers slipping. "Helen, I don't have much time! You have to kill him or somehow trick him into getting in one of these beds. I love you, little sister." I let time flow again. I tried fighting my drowsiness, but it was hopeless. I'd knock out in a few minutes at most. The large man grabbed my throat. "I can't have you falling asleep yet. You need to fit first." The freaking idiot was making me lose oxygen. Killing me won't keep me awake. I would suffocate, but I'd still knock out. I just wouldn't wake up again.

I saw Helen's eyes. She was still afraid, but they were glaring with anger. She readied her bow and aimed. The arrow pierced the large man's skull just as I passed out.

I woke up, gasping for air. I was in the same bed, but the copper chains were gone. Pain rocketed through different parts of my body. I noticed that the wounds on my arm were bandaged. I was shirtless, and the cuts on my chest had been treated as well.

Vittoria peered out the door, her mouth forming a small smile. She motioned her hand to someone, and before I knew it, my little sister grappled me in a bear hug.

"Ouch. Hey, little sis. Glad to see you're doing well."

"I thought you were dead, Yiannis. You were unconscious for two days."

"Wait, TWO DAYS?!" Vittoria grimly nodded. "We only have four days left."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be an inconvenience-" Vittoria waved her hand. "No, it was because of you we even got away from the Chimera. As usual, you and Helen had to save me again," she said miserably.

"No," I shook my head. "I wouldn't have beat the Chimera without you. It would have eaten me if you hadn't covered me. Anyone that can ride a Chimera is fine with me. You did well."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I do." Vittoria's smile grew a bit. Helen giggled. "Yiannis, I think Vittoria has certain, special feelings for you."

"Helen!" Vittoria's cheeks were red, and she was fuming. "I told you already, it isn't like that!"

"It so is," my little sister said. "She's the one who took your shirt off and treated you, Yiannis. When you were sleeping in bed." My cheeks felt magma hot. "You did WHAT?!" Helen started to say more, but Vittoria covered her mouth. "That's enough, Helen. Stop saying weird rumors that aren't true. I can't have you starting gossip." Helen looked disappointed but obliged, hugging me.

"Thanks for saving me, little sis," I smiled.

"I can't have my stupid big brother dying on me."

"So, when are we leaving?" I asked Vittoria.

"When you feel better. Tonight, if possible."

"Hey, wait, can't you heal me with that singing magic?"

"I did, but as I said, the powers tax me out. I was too tired after healing my own injuries, so I had to fix yours manually."

"Yep, and you stripped me in the process."

"Are you complaining? I didn't do anything weird to you, promise."

"I know. Thanks, though. My rise and shine would have been a lot more painful." Vittoria looked away, twirling her hair. Helen smirked.

"What are you laughing about now, little sis?"

"I just had a fleeting thought about a potential new family member. Anyways, rest up. Vittoria and I will get the bags ready."

"Yes, and we'll have some serious girl talk," Vittoria frowned. The two left the room, and I was still clueless. What on Earth was going on in their heads?