(Dryad)

Korri POV

I wake up with a head start.

Ares, Lola, and Apollo still asleep.

I run into the forest.

My legs ache, but Apollo's apothecary skills work wonders.

I see faces in the blue leaved trees.

I stop in front of an all too familiar cherry blossom.

It's still there, it has decayed, and has lost most of its leaves.

I realize: it's the girl dryad that had chased me and Ares in the labyrinth.

"What happened?" I whisper.

"Those 'vampires' are what happened." a voice breathes.

Ares I realize.

"I thought you were-"

"Asleep?" He finishes for me. "Nope, I couldn't sleep for the life of me. Not that I wanted to, after that fiasco." He looks at me. "I wonder if they're still alive..." he ruffles his hair.

"Didn't Apollo find them?"

"He did, gah, I should have asked what he did to them."

"Don't beat yourself up." I assure him. "We all have our days. That one just wasn't yours."

"Agreed."

"How's your arm?"

"Not in one of its golden days, by any means. But it's better than before."

"Good. Well, we should get back, before the rest of them wake up."

He raises his eyebrows. "Yeah, um, I wanted to ask you something, and you don't have to answer if you don't wanna."

"Okay," I look at him. "Continue."

"I wanted to ask... what did you tell Lola yesterday?"

"Oh," I blush, which I totally did not want to happen. "I was telling her why I want to stay. So long as you let me."

"Of course I'll let you stay," he smiles. I love it that you're here.

My cheeks go crimson. "She keeps saying I can come with her, but I obviously still declined."

I apologize if I sound like an asshole saying this, he whispers. But I'm glad you didn't go.

Really?

Yeah, I wouldn't be able to stay sane with them, he nods in the direction of the house. I would probably go crazy and die.

"Are you being literal or sarcastic?"

"A mix."

We laugh, and Ares laughs so hard that his cheeks go red.

"Really?" I say, finally getting myself to stop being hysteric.

"Really," he says, his eyes glittering in the early morning light. "You are the best thing that's happened since- since Sol died..."

I blink. I don't whether this sounds mean or not, b-but I'm pretty that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.

He smiles, and I notice for the first time he actually has dimples.

"It's true thought," he says, "things sucked until I met you."

I feel fuzzy.

He shrugs. "And you may be the nicest person I've ever met, besides Sol."

"Okay love-birds." Someone frowns.

"Seriously Apollo?!" Ares groans. "Why must you stalk me?"

Welp, now Ares is pist.

"I'm smart enough to know it isn't a good idea to leave you alone. Plus, I wanted to tell you somethin' but it seems you're..." Apollo smirks. "Already preoccupied."

"What is it?" I ask.

"That stuff in Korri's leg, it's poison alright. And it was in the dryads."

Ares rolls his eyes. "I already got that."

"Will I become as possessed as them?" I speak up.

"I really don't know." But clearly Apollo does know, but isn't willing to admit it.

"What about it?" Ares asks, getting back on topic.

"Well, it's just the poison—and I'm speaking about you at the moment Korri—there's the disease, which I believe Ares has already gone over.... Granted, they are both diseases, the poison and illness...."

"Just get to the point."

"Jeez," Apollo raises his eyebrows. "Alright. You have two illnesses, Korri. At least that I believe. The first one is a plague from 2019. The other one—the one that made that," he gestures to my cut up and banged leg. "Is the disease that the dryads had. Which, following my theory, is the disease that said vampires had."

"But where did they come from?!" Ares presses.

Tell him about your Lola theory. I say.

He groans, but follows my suggestion. "I- I think the source—I have no clue—but what—more accurately whom—spread it to Korri at least, I think is Lola?"

I blink. Hearing it again only makes it make more sense.

"I remember."

"What?" the boys' ask.

"I remember, when I conked out, that when I started waking up, I thought I was hallucinating that I saw Lola when I saw the color of her eyes, —which are normally pale green, but had turned purple."

Apollo grins. "That is a side effect—the purple iris. So my theory is proven right!"

We glare at him, and he adds, "Excuse my excitement about such things.

I raise my eyebrows. "It's fine. It's been awhile since I figured all that out anyway."

Apollo frowns, and Ares and I run back to the house.

☪

I'm sitting on one of the largest branches of the colossal trees, and Ares is pacing at that base.

I don't see how you're all oh-so calm about your death as a topic of converse. Ares says.

"I certainly am not." I smile sadly. "But I know my place in this world.

Do you? A little stream of blood trickles down Ares's neck. "Why do you just give your hand to death?"

I sigh. "Because, I'm grateful it didn't take my sister,"