It took them three more days before they found any signs of their destination. In those three days, they’d been attacked by multiple monsters. Tyler seemed to know what most of them were and was able to tell Hunter how to kill them. Hunter made a mental note to study up on monsters when they got to the school.

As mysterious as their quest was, their first sign they were on the right track was from a tourist shop.

“Look at this!” Tyler held a brochure out to her. “Think this could be it?”

Hunter scanned the front panel. It was an occult-looking tour guide. Ghost sightings and alien landings. Near the bottom, Hunter found what Tyler was referring to. “Child disappearances?”

“Kids go into the forest and never come out.” Tyler read from a second brochure. “They’re almost never found. And those who are, are dead.”

Hunter gulped. “Couldn’t that mean there’s an ax-murderer?”

“All the bodies were mangled in different ways.” Tyler found another pamphlet, this one all about the ‘cursed woods’. “Claw marks, amputated limbs. Oh, one had all his blood drained, like a vampire attack.”

Hunter thought back to the monster that had attacked them the day before. She’d said something about being the original vampire. “Sounds promising.” She said shakily. She glanced over the brochure in her hand and found a map. “It’s only a few blocks from here.”

Tyler linked their arms. “We’re almost there.” She said excitedly. She gave Hunter’s arm a squeeze before skipping out of the store.

Hunter bought two water bottles and a bag of beef jerky, then joined Tyler outside. “You ready?”

“Yup.” Tyler snapped her fingers and flame danced on her fingertips. “If anything comes at us, I’ll start the barbecue.”

Hunter laughed, but she was still a bit nervous. Tyler had been acting almost too happy. Neither of them had brought up their conversation after her nightmare, but it had been eating away at Hunter. She didn’t know how she felt.

It took fifteen minutes to find the woods. A sign was posted warning about entering. Tyler hummed happily as she passed it, but Hunter read it a few times before carrying on.

There was no path and they both had to watch their steps to avoid tripping on tree roots. After an hour of hiking, they heard someone else.

“We’re close.” Tyler grabbed Hunter’s arm and pulled her forward. When they pushed through a line of tall bushes, they froze.

In the small clearing sat a large lion, bathing himself. When they crashed through, he turned and Hunter saw he had a human face.

“What is that?” Hunter asked, not sure if it was a friend or foe.

Tyler’s hand was clammy where she gripped Hunter’s arm. “Manticore.” She whispered. “Venomous saliva, sharp claws, spiked tail.”

“Spiked tail?” Hunter looked back at the monster and found what Tyler was talking about. Instead of a lion’s tail, there was what looked like a long, thin, brown cactus. “Spiked tail.” She conceded.

The manticore stood and growled at them. It bared its fangs and crouched.

Hunter pushed Tyler back into the bushes and rolled to the side. Neither of them had an actual weapon. All Hunter could do was punch and kick, which had been fine against the monsters they’d fought previously. But this thing was huge.

It lunged and she side-stepped, countering with a right-hook to its jaw. A low growl reverberated through its throat. It spat at her, but missed.

Hunter looked back and saw that the saliva had hit a tree. As she watched, the leaves shriveled and dropped. She gulped.

She turned back to the manticore as it reared back. Something knocked her to the side as it spat again. She rolled and looked up at Tyler, who was crouching between her and the manticore, hands ablaze.

“Venom is flammable.” She said, lobbing a fireball at the monster. She caught its mane and the fur went up. “I’ve got this.”

Hunter watched, stunned, as Tyler lunged. Just a few days ago, she’d watched the girl almost pee herself trying to stay unnoticed. Now she was willingly fighting a venom-spitting monster.

Her heart thrummed and her confusion grew. I’m not gay. She reminded herself. But… am I straight?

Tyler thrust her flaming hand at the manticore. It backed up and opened its mouth. In a move that Hunter was sure she’d copied from her, Tyler jabbed her opposite fist down the monster’s throat. She staggered back as the manticore shivered, then burst into flames, a ferocious roar echoing through the area.

“Wow.” Hunter said once the monster was nothing more than a pile of ash. “That was epic.”

“Thanks.” Tyler shook her arm and smiled. “Now, let’s find this school.”

“You’ve already found it.”

They both turned to the voice. A boy was grinning at them, a short sword in hand. He nodded to the ash. “Nice work.”

Hunter took a protective stance between the boy and Tyler.

“I’m not gonna attack.” He assured them. “I came for the manticore, but you beat me to it.” He locked eyes with Tyler. “Hephaestus?”

“Yeah.” Tyler put a hand on Hunter’s shoulder before stepping around her. “The school?”

“This way.” The boy led them through the trees.

They came out looking across an open courtyard edged with tall buildings. Other students were scattered around the grass, some sitting quietly, books in hand, others sparring each other.

“Wow.” Hunter said again. Her hands were itching to join one of the sparring matches, but she turned to Tyler, not wanting to leave her behind.

The girl’s face was pale and Hunter noticed her breath was labored. Their eyes met and Tyler gave a sad smile. “Sorry.” She said, holding up her arm. “I wasn’t careful enough.”

Deep puncture wounds dotted her forearm. The skin around the marks was purple and the blood dribbling out was tinged with green. She wobbled on her feet and Hunter took hold of her. They slid to the ground together and Tyler rested her head on Hunter’s shoulder.

“I’ll get a healer!” The boy called as he ran toward one of the buildings.

“Hang on.” Hunter said, tears sliding down her face. “We made it. Just hang on.”

A sad chuckle passed Tyler’s lips, which were starting to turn blue. “We made it.” She agreed. She pushed herself up enough to plant a kiss on Hunter’s cheek. “I’m sorry.”

Hunter pulled her close, her lips on Tyler’s. It wasn’t what she’d expected her first kiss to be like, but it was just as magical. All the love she felt for the girl was flowing out of her. She didn’t want the moment to end, but she needed air.

When she pulled away, Tyler’s eyes were closed and she wasn’t breathing.