《》~5~
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I abruptly wake up to the feeling of cold water splashing onto my face. I gasp sharply and shoot up into a sitting position, wide-eyed and looking around. My glare lands on Nea and Feng, both of them dying of laughter. Nea was holding a small, empty wooden bowl.
Water trickles down the front of my body, wetting the front of my shirt. I'd probably just have to sit in front of the fire for a few minutes to dry it out.
"Ha ha. Couldn't you two of woken me up normally?"
Sarcasm dripped from my tone as I scowled, and wiped the water off of my face, noting how the sky was still dark as it was before— the full moon hanging steadily in the same spot.
I repress a shudder at how unnatural everything was.
"Well, 'Good morning sunshine' and a gentle shake didn't work!"
I look to see Jane standing nearby as well, trying to hide her amusement, and Quentin of course still passed out a few feet away.
"No fair! Why don't you guys do that to him?"
I whine childishly, and Feng rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you try waking him up? Once he's asleep, he wakes up on his own accord! Nobody can wake him."
I pursed my lips and looked away from the sleeping boy, back to the three girls.
"Rolled him into the stream once, and he still wouldn't wake up."
Nea scoffed, and shook her head, muttering something I couldn't quite catch.
I slowly stand up, yawning and stretching. I smile when my joints pop loudly, and rub the remaining sleep away from my eyes.
"Well, you're up on food duty with Jake and Claud."
Feng said, and waved towards what I assumed to be their general direction. But as soon as food was mentioned, I noticed the uncomfortable empty feeling in my gut. A low growl could be heard and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Nea raised a brow.
"Might wanna hurry up, then."
I quickly nod in agreement and begin to walk away, scanning the camp for either one of them. I stick close to the fire as I search for the two, letting the campfire dry my shirt.
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"Hey! Newbie!"
I look to my right and see Jake, Claudette standing at his side. They were both looking at me expectantly, and I slowly jog over to them.
"Sleep well?"
Claudette asked in a teasing yet playful tone, and I huff, rolling my eyes. Jake snickers and I send a glare his way.
"Are we gonna get on with this or what?"
I grumble irritably, running my hands through my hair to smooth out the mess it certainly was, though I doubt that did much to help whatever mess I knew my hair had become.
They laugh softly and turn, walking towards a part of the camp I haven't been to yet. I walk quickly to catch up, and soon hear the sound of the stream start growing louder.
Once we're past the last of the tents, I can see it. It's extremely wide, mostly shallow except for the middle, which was quite deep. I look over at Claudette, who was already ankle deep into the clear water.
"I'm gonna look for berries and herbs, you go with Jake."
She looks back at me and smiles. I nod and turn to Jake, looking up at him.
"I should've tried to pay more attention."
I thought guiltily as I watched her make her way through the stream, but also felt sort of thankful since I'd probably be more help to Jake.
Hopefully.
"We're hunting for ah... crows or fish. Sometimes we find rats during the trials but can't always bring them back cause... yknow.."
He trails off and I hesitantly add in,
"Sacrificed?"
He sighs softly and turns, beginning to walk to a place where the trees were widely spaced out, the grass long and lush. I noticed that the fog was light in this area, not thick like it is in the other parts of the wood.
"Yeah.. it's... pretty fucking awful.. but you sort of get use to the pain. I mean, yeah it still hurts like hell, but it's more expected after awhile."
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I keep silent, not knowing what to say. He suddenly crouches and motions for me to do the same. I comply, crouching down as well.
I hear a soft caw, and look over Jake's shoulder to see a crow eyeing us warily a few feet away. He speaks gentle words to it, calming it down, and holds out his hand. The bird makes another soft caw and reluctantly hops forward, towards his outstretched hand.
My eyes widen in awe as it soon hops onto his hand, and he looks back at me, a small crooked smile on his face. His eyes didn't seem to have any trace of whatever they held last night... or before I went to sleep?
"How do they keep track of time here?"
I wondered, and let out a small sigh as I watched him handle the bird, happy to know that I was just overthinking things.
"Calm Spirit. It keeps the birds and other animals I find relaxed in my presence."
He spoke in a relaxed tone, looking back to the bird. I blink slowly and let out a long exhale, slowly reaching out to touch feathers I knew would be smooth under my fingers.
"Wow, that's-"
I began softly, but before I could speak anything else of my thoughts, he puts his hand on the birds neck, squeezing it; then grasps it's body firmly with his other hand. I quickly pull my arm back, my {E/C} eyes wide in horror as I watch him.
It cries out loudly in a panic, but a quick jerk to the side and a sickening crack end it's cries. I stare in mute shock, and quickly stand up. When he looked back, a smile was on his face, but when he saw my reaction it quickly faded. I back away slowly and he lets out a frustrated huff, his look of confusion changing to one of irritation.
"Seriously? Tell me you're kidding. You've reacted so calmly to everything else, even the fact you're gonna be sacrificed, and it's a crow that gets a reaction out of you?"
The words gushed out, his tone harsh. I part my lips slightly to say something, but he continues before I could.
"You're literally trapped here, and you haven't screamed or cried once about it. You're going to be tortured and in pain nonstop, but a damn bird dying is what gets you? We have to eat dammit! Or we'll be weak during the trials and we're just easy prey!"
My vision became blurry with tears, which quickly formed small pools in my eyes. As soon as I blink, they spill down my flushed cheeks in small trails, dripping off of my chin and falling to the ground.
"What you did was fucking unnecessary."
He scowls as his eyes study my face, and I turn away so I didn't have to look at him anymore. As I tried to steady my voice to speak again, I felt his criticizing glare burn holes into my back.
"I think I'm going to help Claud."
My voice shook more, but didn't break, and for that I was thankful. I hear him mutter something as I walk away, but I didn't listen. I go back to the stream and follow it back the way we came until I see Claudette on the other side, focusing on what I assumed to be a berry bush or something of the sort.
"Claud?"
I shakily called out, and began to wade through the stream towards her. She turns and her eyes widen as she takes in my flushed, teary eyed face.
"Hey, hey wait! What happened?"
She asked, worry in her tone and her chestnut eyes reflecting her concern. She set down her stuff and began walking towards me, water splashing as she tries her best to quickly come to me.
I pause my wading once she's in front of meand clench my jaw a bit, wiping my tears away hastily.
"Jake's an ass."
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ISEKAI: I was reincarnated as the poorest King in the world.
"If I had the power to change the world? Would I really do the right thing?" I thought my life was over when those bastards shot me, all my effort was in vain, my studies, my ideals.... Reduced to dust under the smell of lead. And yet here I was again, in the body of a child and with a crown on my head. Ah, I see... I was reincarnated as a king in a different world, but even here things are no different. Corruption destroys the system and innocent people suffer the abuses of power. Nothing has changed and if I don't do something about it, nothing will change.... (English version of my novel, ISEKAI: Reencarné como el Rey más pobre del mundo), the original novel was posted in wattpad in spanish. I'm the author and the owner of the rights. Original version in spanish: https://www.wattpad.com/story/268890988-isekai-reencarn%C3%A9-como-el-rey-m%C3%A1s-pobre-del-mundo
8 157Sinful |Klaus Mikaelson||
One thing Audrey Gilbert was told when vampires started showing up in Mystic Falls was to stay away from them. Elena has made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want her younger sister to be involved with vampires in any way. Sometimes temptations over rule morality, and you find yourself giving into the sin.
8 248saturn & venus
[anagapesis](n.) loss of feelings for someone who was formerly loved ; falling out of love. small excerpts of could've beens and should've beens. a compilation of intrusive thoughts. all situations and persons are fictional.
8 191Love Child
Eleanor never really stood a chance.Her mother was in love with a married man and a little bit crazy. And even though Eleanor's tired mother hated children, she was convinced that he would love her too if they just had a child together. That's how Eleanor was born. And when Eleanor didn't work, when he didn't leave his wife, she decided that one baby wasn't enough and so she had another. And that's how Casey was born. When she realized that having his children wasn't going to make him fall in love with her, she remembered just how badly she hated children. Eleanor and Casey were suddenly thrown aside by their broken-hearted mother; and then their father, being the married man that he was, completely denied their existence. Which left 8-year-old Eleanor and newborn baby Casey in foster care, hidden from the world like a blemish. As Eleanor gets older, she is forced to protect her brother from the cruel world that they live in. She doesn't want him to grow up like she did, feeling like a thrown away misfit. Eleanor learns that she needs to do whatever it takes to get her brother a better life. And that's when the trouble starts for her.By the time that Eleanor turns 22, she has been consumed by a world of lies, money, and sex. Convinced that doing the wrong thing is okay for the right reasons, Eleanor is used to living with two separate identities. When it all starts to catch up with her, Eleanor has to figure out how she is going to make it out of the mess that she's created. Poor girl. She never really stood a chance.
8 214The Gang Leader
"What are you doing on my territory?!" He snarled in my face in anger."I don't see your name anywhere" I say looking around.------------------------------------------- Cecilia Adams Was walking down the dark streets of London, after that long, hard shift at Sainsbury's, meeting Reece Dennings was the last thing on her mind. All she wanted was to go home, and sleep. But nooooooo she had to run into the gang leader of one of London's biggest gang. One encounter leads to another.9th in teen fiction (highest rank)BE WARNED THIS BOOK IS REALLY CHEESY!!!!Cover By : LUCIJA1409
8 194Story Of Bad Boy Mack [#18 Plus]
For mature audience only - 18+I looked into her eyes, for any hesitation, but they were begging me to continue. I slid my hands further and opened her thighs. She immediately covered herself with her hands. "Do you want me to stop?", I asked her, looping my fingers through her panties, at her waist. "I am married!" She replied looking into my eyes."I know!" I slowly pulled her panties up, raising her legs and carefully slid them of her feet. They were drenched. She covered herself with her hands...I looked at myself in the opposite mirror. The image screamed at me."You broke another rule - banging your best friend's wife."-This is the story of Mack - how he went from good to bad and if he ever would return back to good.
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