Aimless Wandering [Private, Summer]

will this ever end?

It was a constant, repetitive cycle every day, as it had been for weeks on end. Already campers have been trying to find a permanent way to stop the zombies from reanimating, but to no avail. Some had suggested setting the entire Burial Grounds on flames with Greek fire, while a few ambitious ones proposed to head out and search for the ones who were controlling the dead. But many voted against the disrespect of the graves, and those who went in search of the threat never came back. Fearing that the titan's side had claimed them, the rest grudgingly stayed.

Amber shivered in the cold wind, her weapon in hand and her bow and quiver strapped to her back. She never went anywhere without them. The moon was unusually bright that night, but not resplendently so. It emanated a continuous, sinister throb of pale light, projecting long, thin shadows across the tall, shifting grass. Beyond and all around, the fullness of night prevailed.

As she turned the corner of the infirmary, a skeletal figure lumbered out from behind it. It extended a bleached arm towards her, grabbing for her throat. Amber slashed twice with the razor-sharp edge of her celestial bronze knife, severing the zombie's arm and head from its body. The body parts fell with a sickening thump on the sallow grass, and the daughter of Hecate lit them on fire before they could rejoin with the body.

Turning however, she came face to face with three more zombies that towered over her. One was even holding a rusted, steel sword, smeared with dried blood. Their rotting grey flesh gave off a putrid, fetid stench that turned the air sour all around. Amber's stomach churned involuntarily, and she had to fight off a burning urge to gag. The one with the sword was faster than the others, and it lunged at her, swiping the weapon. Amber caught the edge of the blade on the long hilt of her knife, pushing it back forcefully. She kicked the abdomen of the undead creature, and in her panic, released a burst of magic that propelled the zombie and sent it flying yards away into the wall of a cabin.

The effort left her temporarily drained of energy however, and she staggered back, unwilling to confront the remaining two until she had regained her strength. The sword-carrying zombie must have been heavier than it looked. Placing her hand on the side of the cabin wall, Amber steadied herself against it, hurriedly blinking away the sudden daze and watching as the creature drew nearer.

will this ever end?

Just as she shook off the dizziness, two arrows punched through the vulnerable decaying flesh of the zombies, and they burst into flames, oblivious as to their fate. Amber snapped her lead to the left in the direction of the shooter, trying to see who had fired the arrows. She spotted the camper a few dozen paces away, and just as she was about to wave her thanks, another group of undead crowded onto him.

The daughter of Hecate frowned and dropped her weapon into her pocket as it turned into a bronze lighter, reaching for her bow. Nocking an arrow, she drew and fired with practiced ease. Amber continued three times in a row, finding her mark each time. It wasn't much of a challenge as the zombies weren't very fast and were quite close, but it was still satisfying to see the engaging effects of her arrows.

The first one sent tendrils of frost across the target from the point of impact, smothering the zombie in solid ice within moments. The second one impaled a zombie's head and gained the weight of half a ton of bricks, causing the unfortunate undead to bend over haplessly as gravity pulled it to the ground. The third one however, gave a harsh, jarring wail as it flew towards its target, turning it into stone.

Amber winced at the discordant sound, pursing her lips and wondering how it happened. Well, that's one piece of magic gone wrong. Shrugging, she languidly made her way across to retrieve her arrows, watching as the camper finished off the remaining zombies.

will this ever end?

Amber glanced at the camper and gave a quick smile, before bending down and yanking two arrows out of the zombies - the third was embedded in solid stone and naturally wouldn't budge an inch. "Thank you." She eyed the dissected twitching remains of the zombies. "We should get rid of this."

Brows knitted, Amber took her lighter back out and flipped the lid open, revealing a bright, luminescent flame of Greek fire. Drawing some fire with magic, she set the zombies alight, gazing as the flames licked the creatures. "Otherwise they'll just come after us again," she finished, closing the lighter and stowing it into her jacket.

The daughter of Hecate wiped the gore from the bronze arrow tips on the grass, before returning the arrows to her quiver. Only then she got a closer look at the demigod. The first thing she noticed were his startling blue eyes, and then his dark tousled hair. But try as she might, she couldn't guess his heritage. If it was based on his looks alone, she'd have guessed Zeus, but her powers told her that he wasn't a son of the Big Three.

Well, only one way to find out, she thought. Amber stuck out a friendly hand, saying, "I'm Amber Swift, Cabin Fifteen. Nice to meet you."