FicWad

Herry raised the machete and hacked through a thick wall of tree vines. With every powerful swing Herry took, something fell to the ground in peices. Jay and Theresa followed after Herry, stepping over the dead remains of tree branches and vines. In the line of three, Herry led the way, chopping a clear path. Theresa was in the middle; one hand fanning her face, the other carrying her nun-chucks. Jay was keeping the rear, holding his xixphos and scanning the sky and forest.

"The forest is getting thicker," Herry grunted, switching the machete to his other hand. Herry stopped and flexed his hand. He slumped down to the ground and took out his water and took a huge drink, almost downing the whole bottle.

"We might as well take a break," Jay said, taking a deep breath and pushing back his hair.

Theresa sighed and sat down next to Herry. She took out her ponytail as she took a small gulp from her water bottle. Theresa sighed again, closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair.

Jay sat down across from Herry and Theresa and put his hands on his knees. All of a sudden, Jay's PMR buzzed. Jay picked it up and pushed the "talk" button.

"Jay!" Neil cried, his voice blaring out into the open.

"Neil? What's wrong?" Jay asked, worried. Herry and Theresa exchanged worried glances and leaned forward, listening closely.

"Atlanta! Synara came! Attacked us! Archie!" Neil sputtered, yelling everything out in a confusing matter.

"Whoa! Take a deep breath, Neil!" Jay said, trying to calm Neil down.

There was a long pause as they heard Neil inhale and exhale repeatidly. He finally had calmed down. The trio listened closely as Neil described what happened. Shock went like an emotional wave around their little triangle. Jay kept his serious face on, but his eyes were shaking with shock. Theresa had closed her eyes and covered her face, concealing her expression. Herry had an angry face and was cracking his knuckles.

Neil told them everything. Odie's warning call, Archie's plan, Synara's first attack attempt, Atlanta's bolos, Archie's fall and finally the kidnapping of Atlanta.

There was a long pause after Neil finished his story. Theresa finally broke the silence with a shaky shudder. Herry put his arm around her; Theresa accepted his arm and fell into his chest, (He put his shirt back on! Don't worry!) rocking back and forth. Jay looked softly at Theresa and asked Neil.

"Where's Archie?" he asked, watching Theresa cry softly.

"He walked off ahead, I think he's upset," Neil explained; it sounded as if he was running.

Theresa stopped crying and wiped the few tears from her face. Jay ran his fingers through his hair, stressed out already. Theresa gently escaped Herry's strong arms and thanked his quietly.

"Catch up to him and try to follow Synara. We're still going to that mountain. We're going to get Atlanta back. Keep going," Jay said seriously, watching Theresa get up and take a few steps away from Jay and Herry.

"I'll try," Neil simply said, and with a small beep Jay knew he had turned the PMR off.

Theresa had gotten up and took a few steps away, probably fro air. She was leaning against a tree, hugging herself and breathing deeply.

"Be prepared to leave, Herry, we're still going to that mountain," Jay said, sighing. He decided to go over to Theresa to try and comfort her.

Theresa was sniffing lightly when Jay came up behind her. He put a gently hand on her shoulder. Theresa reacted to his touch and turned her head slowly to face Jay. She sniffed again.

"Don't worry, Theresa. We're going to rescue Atlanta," Jay said softly, pulling Theresa into a comforting hug. "I promise."

Theresa accepted Jay's hug and pressed her face into Jay's shoulder. Jay was a little suprised by Theresa's actions, but patted the back of her head lightly. Theresa slowly pulled herself away from Jay, her face burning. 'Pull yourself together! Your falling apart at the seams!' she thought.

"Thanks Jay, I know you'd never leave Atlanta behind," Theresam mumbled, staring up at Jay.

"No problem," Jay said, turning his head towards Herry. "We should get moving if we want to meet up with Neil and Archie."

"Totally," Theresa mumbled, walking slowly past Jay towards Herry.

Jay watched Theresa walk past him. He walked slowly behind her, picking up his backpack. Herry was already hacking through the forest using all the energy he could muster. Theresa was following behind him with her head down, looking at the ground.

The quiet mood kept it's hold over the three for a while. Jay had thought and hoped it was going to be a peaceful journey to the mountain, but he was wrong. A faint buzzing sound came from Jay's PMR.

Herry stopped hacking and turned. Theresa slowly turned, tucking her hair behind her ears. Jay grabbed his PMR again and turned it on.

"Jay?" Odie buzzed.

"Hey. What's up?" Jay asked, thinking he already knew the answer as he walked towards Herry and Theresa for them to hear.

"I guess you got Neil and Archie's message?" Odie asked, his voice quiet.

"Yeah, we did," Jay said quietly. "Why'd you call?"

"Well, Synara seems to be back from her hide-out and is flying quickly towards you," Odie said glumlu.

"Got it, thanks Odie," Jay said, turning his PMR off and shoving it back in his pocket.

Theresa and Herry looked at Jay thoughtfully. Herry turned and hacked faster and faster.

"What are we doing?" Theresa asked as Jay walked past her and started to help Herry to hack away at the vines.

"We. Are. Hiding," Jay grunted; Herry and Jay hacked away for awhile with Theresa watching from behind. After, the bush got thinner and they seemed to of found some sort of open area while hacking away.

"There!" Herry shouted, pointing to a well hidden ditch under a little steep hill. It was concealed from the sun and was well worn into the earth.

"Let's go!" Jay said, putting his arm behind Theresa and urging her on.

Herry threw himself into the ditch and Jay crawled in next to him. Theresa crawled in and sat herself next to Jay. As they sat, Herry pulled out a bronze ball the size of a soccer ball. Hephaestus had given it to him; when it is thrown it opens into a giant net. Jay silently pulled out his xixphos and opened it up. Theresa already had her nun-chucks out and was flexing her hands, bending them back and forth.

It was eerie. Jay remembered how Hera had told them Synara was very quiet. Everyone was straining their ears for any noise. All that could be heard was the wind blowing softly and the occasional bird call. A faint russle of leaves was heard from Theresa's side of the ditch. Theresa grabbed onto Jay's arm, frantically grabbing his shirt. Jay put his hand on hers and held his breath. Their hands only rested on each other for mere seconds.

Jay felt Theresa's hand being ripped from his grasp. Her scream came out quickly as she was dragged from some unknown force from outside of the ditch.

"Jay!" she screamed as the rest of her body was ripped away.

The last thing Jay saw was the suprise in Theresa's eyes as she was dragged out. Jay and Herry jumped out and ran after Synara. Synara must of found where they were hiding. She had grabbed onto Theresa's ankle and dragged her out of their sanctuary. As soon as Theresa was out of the ditch, Synara had flown off, holding onto Theresa's leg with her hind claw.

Jay and Herry went running towards the now air born Synara, running under her. Jay looked up as he ran. He was looking up at Theresa as she dangled from Synara's foot.

"Jay!" she shouted, waving her arms. She was too high for Jay to reach for her.

"Herr! Throw!" Jay shouted, looking Theresa in the eyes and crying inside as he skidded to a stop next to Herry.

Herry skidded to a halt, aimed and threw the bronze ball. Synara must of heard the ball whistling as it flew towards her. Synara turned quickly, dangling Theresa dangerously, and kicked the ball with her other foot. Before Jay and Herry could react and run, the ball exploded and a net flew open, trapping both Herry and Jay.

Synara shrieked loudly, almost mockingly. Theresa cried out in agony at the sight of her friends being trapped. Theresa noticed how Jay and Herry were getting smaller and smaller as Synara flew.

Herry cried out in rage and grabbed at the ropes viciously. He tore a hige hole and in a second. Herry scrambled out with Jay quickly behind him. They got out and stared at Synara fly away with Theresa dangling underneath.

Jay sank to his knees, dropping his xixphos. Herry cursed loudly and picked up a large rock. He threw it as hard as he could towards Synara. It whistled and flew past Synara, missing her by a metre. Even though Synara was far away, Jay and Herry could still hear Synara's shriek as she flew slowly towards the mountain.

Jay thought he heard Theresa cry out to them. Jay put his head in his hands. He felt a single hot tear roll down his cheek. He roughly wiped it away and stood up.

"We have to keep going," Jay said stiffly, ignoring his feelings for the time being.

Herry turned to face him. "Theresa would of wanted us to to keep going," he said staring from Synara to the mountain. Jay grabbed for his PMR, his hands shaking as he contaced Odie and Archie. "Synara's got Theresa and we're going to the moutain," he messaged.

"How is Odie getting here?" Herry asked. "It took us an hour just to get here."

"He's staying on the beach," Jay said, closing his PMR and picking up his backpack and xixphos.

Herry sighed angrily and picked up the machete. He stomped towards the trees and hacked at a large branch. He nearly chopped the tree in half.

'I'm coming Theresa,' Jay thought, running towards the bush to help Herry get through.

The mountain loomed overhead, getting bigger and wider as Herry and Jay used their energy to shop a ferocious path for them, knowing no one was following them. Especially not Theresa.

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Whoa! That chapter poured out of me! My hands were so sweaty I'm suprised I didn't smudge the ink on the paper! I thought I made Jay kind of wimpy, bit I was watching FRIENDS. I don't know how that helped, but it seemed to give me some kind of odd inspiration! Whew! I'm dizzy! I should update this weekand!