The sound of not-so-distant voices woke me.
"Fishing, anyone?"
Zayn. I could recognize his cheerful voice even in my sleep.
"We do need something to eat before we begin our journey."
My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the brightness.
"Umm, Jace, do you want to go with the others? I can look after Hunter in the meantime."
Amanda? Her soft voice was unmistakable.
"Oh, don't worry about me. You should go instead."
Judging from the conversation, Jace was seated very close to me.
"I was just thinking you'd be worn out from looking after him after all this time."
Her voice carried a huge amount of genuine care.
My eyes opened to reveal a very bright and blue morning sky.
Were skies ever this bright?
My hands instinctively blocked the excess sunlight.
A sharp pain pierced my side.
Memories of the previous night began flooding my mind.
Zarin.
Master Xavier.
Andrew.
The portal.
Amanda...
I sat up immediately in shock.
"Did we make it?!"
Everyone turned toward me in surprise.
"Jesus... Hunter, don't scare me like that!"
Cody jumped, throwing away the sticks he had in his hand.
Everyone's attention moved to him.
In all my years of knowing Cody, that was a big shock.
"You get jump scares?" Katara spoke our minds.
"I'm human, y'all. Who doesn't?"
Cody said in his defense.
"We're not saying humans don't. It's just weird coming from... you."
He just stared back in disbelief.
Cody was always composed. Seeing him get startled like that? That was a first.
"You... don't get up like that. What if you reopen your wounds?"
Jace walked over to where I was and knelt beside me.
"My side does hurt a little."
"It's expected. After all, you did get shot."
My memories flooded my head once more.
I touched my side, but it was sealed.
Tyra must have healed me.
Relief washed over me.
I looked around. Everyone seemed fine, discussing random things.
Then my eyes came down on Amanda, who stood behind Jace with a little smile.
"How are you feeling?"
She crouched on my left.
"I'm glad you made it."
That wasn't an answer to her question, but that's what I really wanted to say.
"I'm really sorry for causing you trouble, Hunter."
Amanda obviously felt guilty about the situation, but that's far from how I saw it.
"Amanda!"
Iris waved to grab her attention.
"We're heading out to find a water source. Wanna come along?"
"Umm... sure."
She gave me a reassuring look before heading their way.
"Alright, we'll need some people to remain here at camp. Some will look for wood, and another group will look for food and water."
Annabeth stated it, and everyone began to divide themselves.
Needless to say, I remained at camp.
"I'm staying at camp."
Jace said before crashing down next to me.
"Well, I didn't expect anything else."
Cody shrugged.
"Katara, Tyra, and I will get wood."
"That leaves the rest of us for food and water. Zayn and Amanda will search for food. Iris and I will get water. Given our powers, it'll be a piece of cake."
"Just to be safe, after two hours, Jace and I will send a signal, just in case anyone gets lost."
I pointed out, and the group agreed.
On that note, they all left.
I let out a long, deep sigh.
I could've been out there with them if my injuries weren't holding me back.
I got up and moved around a bit, desperately trying to ignore my side.
"What are you doing?"
Jace questioned me like I shouldn't have even thought of leaving the ground.
"Has your eyesight begun to decline?"
I replied sarcastically.
I walked up to the nearest tree.
The air here seemed softer, almost welcoming, and the living things around it seemed to have more life.
"Do you think we'll come across a deer?"
Jace stared back in disbelief.
"I hope not."
"It'd make for good meat."
I laughed, slouching against the tree.
"Well, if there were wildlife here, there'd be a bear somewhere. And you know what bears do to humans?"
"Oh, please. Don't tell me you're scared of an oversized panda."
"How do bears and pandas share the same sentence?"
I laughed again at his response.
I watched Jace make a small cloud of miasma before trying to condense it.
His hands moved carefully.
Little particles began appearing, coming together beautifully to form petals.
A crimson rose emerged, its shade somewhere between red and black.
I stared at the beautiful creation floating mid-air.
A smile rested at the corner of his lips.
"Hunter, do you think I'm strong? Strong enough to fight by your side?"
His eyes never met mine.
He stared at the rose now in his hands, almost with a sense of pride.
"You're strong, Jace. Abilities aren't the only thing in question here. Despite that, I know you're very strong. And I'd choose you over and over to be at my side."
Jace had been my best friend since the moment we met.
I always knew he never thought highly of himself.
He was always around me because I'd never cared once about what he could and couldn't do.
This team was the only home we knew.
Except Tyra, the rest of us were orphans.
I think that's why our bond was the strongest you'd ever find...
A common background.
Jace laughed at my response before laying back on the ground.
"You sounded like my younger brother seeking validation."
I smirked while teasing him.
"I'm older than you." He fired back
I sighed before my eyes rested on my Element.
For once, I didn't feel so hopeless looking at it.
This was my life.
And for the first time, I realized it was mine to choose.
I couldn't die yet.
Not until I killed the Demon King.
...
Then what?
...
Then... what?
I stared at the sky for a few seconds before shaking the thought away.
I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
----
About an hour later, Cody, Katara, and Tyra returned through a portal.
"That's strange."
Cody stepped out of the portal after Tyra and Katara.
"What is?"
Jace asked, assisting the girls with the firewood.
"I had problems opening the portal. Almost like it was resisting."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully before closing the portal.
"I'm sure it's just your imagination."
I said, brushing off the concern.
He shrugged.
"I thought we'd be the last to arrive."
Katara said, shifting her weight to one side.
"You think they're lost?"
"Hmm... Maybe I should send the signal."
"I don't think it's necessary yet."
Tyra stopped me before I could.
"Hmm?"
"We are in a forest. A strange place. Given that we don't know much about our surroundings, we should tread cautiously, or we could attract the wrong type of attention."
She had a point.
For all we knew, enemies could be anywhere.
"Let's give them another thirty minutes."
We glanced at each other in agreement.
About twenty-five minutes later, Annabeth and Iris returned, carrying wooden barrels filled with water.
"Nice craftsmanship, Annabeth."
Jace complimented the wooden barrels.
Annabeth nervously rubbed the back of her neck.
"Thanks."
Cody looked at the barrels.
"It's just wood."
A pebble flew across the camp and landed directly on his forehead, knocking him back against the log he sat on.
"Heyyyy!"
"What? It's just a pebble."
Annabeth's sarcastic reply made us laugh.
About fifteen minutes later...
"Shouldn't Zayn and Amanda be back by now?"
Iris hugged her knees, worry creeping into her voice.
I was partially worried too...
About Amanda, of course.
She's powerless. If they'd encountered some kind of danger, it'd be tough for Zayn to protect both himself and her, especially with whatever they'd gathered.
I got up and created an explosive globe before shooting it into the sky.
It rose above the trees before exploding with a loud bang, releasing a cloud of smoke.
This is Zayn we're talking about.
He could just be lost.
"Maybe they didn't find enough food, so they had to extend the search."
Katara tried to reason through the situation.
"If they don't return in another fifteen minutes, we'll send a pair after them."
Annabeth stated it firmly.
We all nodded in agreement.
For the next few minutes, we waited.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Not even a response to the signal.
I stared into the trees.
Something about this didn't feel right.