Hello all :) 

Hope you enjoy the chapter!!

~Songs~

Breakaway- Kelly Clarkson

Edit: me (I'm sorry, but Kyle's face just cracks me up)

Chapter Thirty-One

~Thea's POV~

When I wake up the next morning, the sun is beginning to shine through the partially open tent flap. The blanket that is still wrapped up around me slides off my shoulders as I sit up groggily, rubbing my eyes and yawning. The only other person in the tent is Thor, who is washing his face in the corner, shaking his head to get the water out.

"Good morning Thea," he says, his deep voice warm. He sounds perfectly awake even though last night must have been exhausting for a normal human being, "How did you sleep?"

"Okay," I reply, "When are we leaving?"

"It's just past dawn," says Thor, beginning to fold up some of the blankets from the night before and repositioning them in his rucksack, "So I would imagine after we all eat." 

I walk out of the tent to see the majority of everyone situated around the extinguished campfire, eating cold cuts and (more) fruit. Two people immediately attract my attention: Leah is sitting next to Jack, for whom she has long nursed a soft spot, eating, and Archer is standing a little ways away from the fire pit, next to Miryen and talking with Tony and Max. 

"Morning Thea," says Natasha brusquely, handing me a slice of bread and ham as she passes me by so that she can talk to Clint. 

I eat quickly, even though I'm not hungry, and then help everyone pack up to get ready to leave. I am putting on my rucksack when I feel someone pull me back by my shoulder. 

Turning around, I see Kyle, who is fastening a pistol in his belt, his green eyes narrowed. In a conspiratorial voice, he says, "I want you to stay by me, okay?"

"Why?" I ask. 

His eyes narrow even more so that they're now slits, "I think you know why."

I do know why, and even though I hate that Kyle sometimes treats me like a little girl, it's nice to know that someone's protective of me.  

Two minutes later, Max walks up to me, then says in a pathetically casual tone, "So you're with Kyle, right?"

I give him a look, "I have the sneaking suspicion that you and Kyle are ganging up on me. I'm fine. I can look after myself."

"No," says Max, "You can't." 

He turns and walks away without saying another word. 

I turn to glare at Kyle, who is a few feet from me, zipping up his own backpack. He just shrugs and smirks at me. I curl my lip. 

*

As we begin to move, I find myself torn between the desire to prove that I don't need anyone by my side and the desire to stay alive. The primary reason for maybe not surviving is that Kyle threatens to kill me and carry my dead body over his shoulders if I don't stay two feet from him. 

"If you're threatening to kill me if I don't stay with you," I say, "Then what's the point of me staying with you so you can protect me from being killed." 

There is no trace of amusement whatsoever on Kyle's face.

"She brings up a good point," says Jack, who is carrying Leah on piggyback, much to her delight. 

"Jack," says Clint sternly. 

"Clint," he says in a slightly mocking voice. Leah giggles. 

Clint rolls his eyes at the exact same time as Kyle. 

"Stay with Kyle."

I turn around to see Loki. 

"Oh no, not you too," I groan. 

He gives me a warning look. 

"Fiiiiiiine," I say, falling back into step with Kyle, who looks both sulky and triumphant at the same time. 

"So Loki, Max, tell me, what's the secret?" asks Kyle, chopping through some of the underbrush with his impressively frightening machete. "Why does Thea listen to the both of you and nobody else?" 

"Because," says Loki in a silky voice, "She knows better than to disobey me." 

I turn and screw my face up at him. He smirks at me and looks very pleased with himself. 

"And I'm just scary," Max calls from a few people up from Kyle. 

"You are NOT!" 

He glances back at me, smiling, "Yes I am." 

I roll my eyes, "Well in any case, I don't always listen to either one of them, Kyle."

"No," agrees Loki dangerously, "Which is why you are so often at the end of my anger." 

"It would help if you weren't so temperamental," I say.

"Yeah," says Jack, who is still carrying Leah, right behind Loki, "You're like a volcano. You explode."

"Boom!" exclaims Leah jubilantly. 

When I look behind me again, I am very satisfied to see a scowl forming across Loki's face. 

"Yeah," I add, "A nasty, fiery, annoying, extraordinarily catastrophic vol- LOKI, SERIOUSLY?!" I stagger forward, running into Kyle.

"I'm sorry, I must have misplaced my foot," he says, his green eyes sparkling. 

I glare at him. 

At lunch, we break on a plateau overlooking a river that (unfortunately) we will have to cross. Archer, as is customary, leaves with Miryen to hunt and then returns in an hour, just as we are packing up. I have reluctantly accepted his presence as permanent, which isn't that hard, seeing as he hardly speaks a word. 

"How much longer?" asks Leah. She's walking at the moment, but beginning to drag, so I know that at some point, someone will be carrying her. I am getting tired too, but refuse to stop. I'm pretty sure that if I asked Kyle to carry me or something like that, he would laugh his head off (and then probably do it). 

"We'll probably be there tomorrow, Leah," says Thor, who is walking behind her, arm in arm with Jane. 

"Tomorrow?" asks Leah, evidently trying not to whine, but also very disappointed. "That's so long?" 

"How about this?" asks Kyle, stepping up and swinging Leah up onto his shoulders. She laughs gleefully, "Now you've got the best view of all of us!" 

To pass the time, Jack, Kyle, and I play truth or dare as we walk  through the thick underbrush. It's not terribly hot, but we're both sweating regardless. 

"Truth or dare?" Jack asks me as I sidestep what appears to be a snake hole. I jump as a centipede-like creature the size of a waffle maker crawls out from it, skittering into the bushes. 

"Er," I say. Dares with Jack could be risky and humiliating, so I say, "Truth." 

Jack, who is walking beside me, looks disappointed, then says, "Okay. Would you rather be Kyle's or Loki's servant for a month?"

I give Jack an abhorred look. 

Both in front of me, Kyle laughs out loud and Loki chuckles. 

"You are despicable," I say to Jack through clenched teeth.

"Sorry," he says in a sing-song voice, "Now are you going to answer the question or go chicken on me?" 

"Ugh."

"You realize I could have thought up a much worse question, right?" 

"I hate you."

"Answer the question, Thea," he teases. 

I think very hard for almost a full minute, then wail, "I don't know!" 

Jack makes a clucking sound. 

"I am not chicken," I protest, actually stamping my foot in frustration. 

"Hey answer his question," says Kyle over his shoulder. He's still carrying Leah, "Loki and I are dying to know over here." 

Jack wiggles his eyebrows at me.

Giving either answer will result in humiliation, but finally, I groan, "Kyle." 

Kyle gives a shout of triumph, and punches the air in victory. Loki doesn't look upset, but even more satisfied than Kyle, which actually makes me even more irritated. 

"I knew you would say that," says Jack in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Well isn't that nice," I say sarcastically. 

"Might I ask why you answered your question like that?" asks Loki, who has slowed so that I am not walking between him and Jack. 

"You can ask," I say grumpily, "But I'm not answering." 

Loki rolls his eyes. 

"Kyle, truth or dare?" I yell.

"What about me?" Jack pretends to look hurt. 

"I'm thinking of a revenge question," I tell him. 

Jack rolls his eyes, looking like a mini Loki with a British attitude. 

"KYLE TRUTH OR-"

"Geez, calm down woman, truth," says Kyle, kicking another centipede-like creature out of my way before I step on it. 

"Okay," I say, "Would you rather screw Miranda Lorris or find out I screwed someone?" 

(Miranda Lorris is the Paris Hilton-ish woman who is constantly trying to make moves on Kyle. He has refused her not only because he says she's annoying and fake but because she also called me something not very nice when I threatened to hit her if she didn't leave Kyle alone.) 

"That's just downright inappropriate," says Kyle, glaring at me. "I'm carrying your sister, if you hadn't noticed."

"What's 'screw'?" pipes up Leah, "Like a bottle?" 

"It's something adults do that turns them into idiots," supplies Jane, who is trying to give me a scolding look, but is failing because she's holding back a laugh. 

"And you're thirteen!" adds Kyle. 

"I'm actually fourteen," I say. I don't mention the fact that I have absolutely no desire to screw anybody until I'm married and maybe not even then. I've had a fear of that sort of thing for three years. Most everyone here knows it, too. 

Maybe that's why Kyle says simply, "I'd rather f-screw Miranda Lorris." 

I'm silent for a few seconds because I know precisely why Kyle answered the question that way. 

Jack rescues me, "Can I truth or dare Loki?" 

"Absolutely not," says Loki. 

"Aw c'mon, don't be a fraidy cat," wheedles Jack. 

"No."

"Chicken."

Loki glares at Jack, then at me, because I'm trying to snort back a laugh without much success. "Fine." 

"I believe it's my turn," interjects Kyle. 

"No, you can wait," says Jack, who looks thrilled, "This is more important."

Kyle rolls his eyes. 

"Truth or dare?" Jack asks, squinting at Loki. 

Loki stares beadily right back at Jack. "Dare, I suppose." 

Jack looks exhilirated. "Bow down to Thea and me." 

Leah lets out a shrill shriek of laughter, and Thor chuckles as well. I cover my mouth to stop my own laughter.

In the meanwhile, Loki looks murderous, "Absolutely not." 

"Loki's a chicken!" sings Leah from her perch atop Kyle's shoulders. 

"We're moving," says Loki, ignoring my little sister, "Even I were going to succumb to this ridiculous game, I cannot."

"We can take a break, if you'd like," says Steve genially, who is at the front of the line with Sam and Tony. Evidently, our little game has drawn the attention of most everyone else, "You know, quick rest."

"Quick water break," agrees Natasha. 

"Yeah," I pipe up, "I'm feeling very thirsty."

Two seconds later, I am sputtering from a splash of water that has appeared out of nowhere, drenching my face entirely. 

"There," says Loki, his lips twitching, "Problem solved." 

Jack is cracking up, and only because I'm trying to save my water bottle do I not dump the entire thing on his and Loki's heads.

*

Archer leads us to the narrowest part of the river, at the base of the plateau. It's about twenty feet wide, but there are several slabs of rock left over from a flash flood that make reasonably secure stepping stones. However, they're still teetering, so Archer advises that we try to place as little weight and pressure on the rocks as possible. 

This unfortunately means that we have to pack some of the waterproof bags onto Miryen's back ("The old nag can give us some help after all," says Tony, affectionately slapping Miryen's shoulder), and that Kyle can't carry Leah. Miryen will be swimming alongside the long line of travelers across the rocky bridge. And evidently, the latter won't be much of a problem, as Leah will be closely following Jane and being followed by Thor, but I'm still very nervous at the prospect.

"How deep is it?" I ask, looking around at the swirling, slow water. 

"About ten feet," says Archer, who is right behind Thor.

I'm going in between Max and Jack, which makes me feel relatively better. "Okay," I say as Max begins to step on the stones, "This should be interesting."

Actually, it's mostly calm and quiet as everyone maneuvers around the rocks. They're actually not as treacherous as I had thought they were, and I find myself beginning to relax a little bit more, concentrating on each slab of rock I step on. 

"Well," I say as I make it to the half-way point, "This isn't that ba-"

I hear a shriek from behind me and whirl around to see a splash from right in front of Thor. Panic hits me. 

"LEAH!" I scream. 

But the words are hardly out of my mouth before a second, larger splash follows. Archer has dove into the water, kicking down. Thor prepares to jump into the water too, but Loki holds him back. 

"LEAH!" I shriek again, and it's Max who grabs my arm to prevent me from diving into the river water. 

It must be seconds, but it seems like hours before Archer surfaces, holding Leah in his arms. Shaking his hair like a wet dog, the Velah swims my sobbing sister over to Thor, who kneels down and swings her up onto the rocks, looking pale and petrified with worry. 

"Thank you," says Thor, his voice tight as he holds Leah close to his chest as she coughs, but not able to pick her up lest he topple the stone, "Thank you, my friend."

I'm frozen, staring at Leah, and then at Archer, who is climbing back onto the rock behind Thor. He glances at me and offers me a slightly tremulous, hesitant half-smile. 

After that, I am perfectly friendly towards Archer, feeling bad about my past dissidence. There are some things that I can't just look past, and saving my baby sister is one of them. 

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-Three Tasks Fact-

If you're a Harry Potter fan, the last paragraph of the chapter might ring a slight bell. It's a modified version of the ending of the tenth chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Halloween