Before she could protest, she felt a rough shove on her back. Falling on the ground. She barely had time to lift her head before she locked eyes with the lion.

  It had already stopped licking its paws.

  Now, it's watching her.

  The golden eyes narrowed.

  Then-it moved, slowly just staring at her each step careful and planned.

  Raquel's stomach turned, she wanted to barf every step wanted to make her cry, scream, beg, but she can't because if she does it may pounce.

  It walks closer, much closer close enough for her to feel its breath, hot heavy, then it sniffs, sniffing her repeatedly, it opens its maw, she can't think or move it's neither fight nor flight it is freeze.

  But before the beast feast on the young girl it gets stabbed in the back by the hunters.

  The beast roars in pain swiping at the hunters who jump back from it's claws, the beast jumps at them but they dodge leaving the beast to destroy a tree.

  There we can finally see it's size it is at least 8 feet muscles can be seen bulging from it's legs but somethings wrong the place where it was stabbed it's clean no marks of the attack.

  "Raquel are you okay! Raquel! Raquel!" Mel shakes her trying to get her to stand but she can't, her legs feel like someone elses only able to feel the hot tears running down her face.

  Mel picks her up barely dodging the beast who pounces at them, the others start attacking the beast with fallen arrows and rocks they found on the ground.

  The hunters use rope and tie the beast neck but the beast cuts the rope using its sharp claws.

  "Shit! God damn it, this beast is so fucking hard to kill" lysandra screams frustrated by the beast.

  "Eryx you did sacrifice that deer to artemis, correct?" Theras says readying his massive hunting spear with an ivory tip.

  "Of course i mean what sort of dumbass would forget to do that" eryx says using a bronze sickle to cut the beast behind.

  "It keeps fucking healing!" Myron said while throwing his spears with an annoyed tone.

  Aion on the side shooting obsidian-tipped arrows with his recurved bow carved from yew, but it doesn't effect the lion and the lion keeps healing.

  Lysandra stabs the beast with her dual pronged spear and while the beast roars in pain she uses her axe to slash as its open mouth.

  The beast scratches her chest but she just kicks the beast face, lysandra is scarred in the chest the scar isn't too deep but the blood stains her studded leather cuirass.

  "Take that you-" she couldn't finish her sentence.

  The lion lunged, with terrifying speed, its massive jaws closing around her head in a sickening crunch. A wet, gurgling sound-then silence.

  The beast teeth had sank into her, puncturing her face. The skin on her face, or what was left of it, is streched and torn.

  Blood sprayed in all directions. Her body collapsed, faceless, twitching as crimson soaked the dirt beneath her.

  Through the open cavity where her mouth used to be, Her tongue half severed, lolled uselessly as the beast chewed, swallowing the her face

  Silence.

  Then-theras' voice, rough and strained. "Lysandra's gone"

  The hunters didn't speak. They didn't have to. The blood-drenched ground said everything.

  "Everyone on guard!" Theras screams, the hunters holding up their shields.

  The lion slows clawing at the ground, it is disoriented growling in pain shaking its head spewing the leftover blood and teeth on the ground.

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  On the other side raquel belches after seeing the scene and the body of lysandra, mel closes her eyes while the cairos freezes, hollis and liora throw dirt into the beast eyes.

  The beast scratches at its eyes and aion shoots head repeatedly making it slam into trees.

  "Great job kids now finish the job!" Theras screams at the kids readying his bronze short sword.

  Aion and myron using lysandra's red sash choke the lion, it cries in pain and trues to attack but its continous pain from the sand in its eyes and heart.

  Theras steps forward, breathing heavy. The stagerred its golden eyes still burning with fury, it wouldn't die. It refused to die.

  With a snarl, theras lunged, driving his short sword into the roof of the beast mouth. The blade pierced up, tearing through flesh, sinking deep into the monster's brain.

  The lion convulsed. A final, shuddering breath.

  Blood spews from on theras hand, chest and face "cut off its head quickly"

  Hollis picks up lysandra's axe and hacks at the lions neck continuously crying while doing it, myron finishes the job using theras's spear.

  The head falls followed by the body, then my takes the head picking it up.

  Myron laught victoriously "finally this foul beast is dead rejoice lord ares!" He holds the head high while praising the gods.

  Theras pats hollis's back "great job kid you did good out there i see how you killed thst bear" then goes to aion telling him to bring the beast back to the camp.

  Eryx muttered a quiet chant over lysandra's body, his inked hands moving slow, practiced gestures. His face showed no grief, just duty.

  The kids try calming down after the horific scene, but the blood was still fresh, the air thick with the stench if blood. The lion's massive form being tied with rope, its dark fur soaked in crimson. Lysandra's body wasn't far, lifeless, unrecognizeable.

  Raquel wiped at her mouth, but the taste of bile still lingered. 'We just watched someone die. A real person. Not a story, not a game. A person. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

  Mel sat in the ground, gripping her knees, staring blankly at the lion's corpse. She should feel relieved. They survived. They won. But instead, her stomach twisted.

  Cairos was pacing, running a hand through his hair. "We-we did it. We killed it. Right? It's really dead?" His voice wavered. "That thing-lysandra-" he stopped himself, breathing too fast.

  Hollis had collapsed onto his knees, staring at his own hands. They were still wet with blood. Not just the lion's. Lysandra's. He used her axe to cut through its head, her axe stained with her blood- her fresh blood that dripped from her face, his hands killed today.

  Liora sat against a tree, clutching her bag to her chest, her usual carefree expression gone. Her eyes were hollow. She hadn't fought-hadn't been able to. She had thrown dirt after seeing a woman get her face bitten off.

  Theras was already giving orders, as if this was another hunt. "Aion, myron are you finished securing the carcass."

  Then going over to eryx and lysandra "she fought well," theras said, his tone too steady, too practiced - like he'd said it too many times before. "The gods will honor her."

  Eryx finally looked at him. "We did what was needed. We always do."

  Mel exhaled sharply, standing up on unsteady legs. "Can we just - just get out of here?"

  Theras nodded. "We leave before sunset. There are worse things in the woods than lions."

  Mel didn't ask what he meant. She didn't want to know.

  They walk back to the camp, the hunters clebrating draging the lions carcass on the ground, as well as lysandra's body.

  The kids didn't speak, they didn't know what to talk about, when they reached the camp the hunters brought out the drinks, then lighting a fire, sitting around it and drinking.

  "You did well kid!" Theras said, hugging hollis who was uncomfortable, theras was drunk and kept trying to give the kids drinks.

  Hollis slips out of theras's grasp, falling asleep near the fire.

  The others partying and praising the gods, hollis sits under the tree where he slept yesterday.

  Eryx on the side skinning some deer they hunted on the way back.

  Mel laying on the grass looking at the stars, thinking if home, thinking of her parents.

  Near the slain bear who is now attracting flies sat raquel who is drinking water, she looks at her broken phone trying to turn it on.

  Cairos ate some meat that was given to him, he ate slowly he was still bothered by the hunt.

  Liora went over to hollis who was under the tree, she doesn't speak just sat beside him, she needed to be close to someone right now.

  After awhile they fell asleep, some with tears in their eyes, some close to eachother.

  In the morning they are getting ready to leave for the city, myron by his shoulder being carried by aion, theras and eryx who are dragging the lions carcass as well as its head.

  The kids pulling the bear using some rope they were given, after awhile they stop to rest and refresh.

  "Hey want me to skin that bear?" Eryx said, while drinking from a river.

  Mel sat drinking from the river as well a couple times, she was distracted when he said that. "Wha- what? Oh the bear?"

  "Yeah want me to skin it?" He said again, readying his sickle to skin the bear.

  "Oh sure but can you teach us how to do it as well?" Mel said hesitantly.

  "Sure, you know? I think your friend over there will be a great soldier," he points at hollis who was putting water into his bottle. "Maybe you'll catch up as well."

  "Oh sure, yeah." She said, after that she started to hang the bears body on a tree.

  "Okay is it tight," Eryx said, getting out his bronze sickle, "okay first cut their ankles, then cut open their bellies from neck to groin," he said so doing it soon after, "then pull the skin carefully, cutting the connective tissue while doing so, scrap the fat and off, this is usually done using a dull blade but we'll use my sickle." He said, then doing it.

  After awhile he finishes, fully skinning the bear, discarding the fat and muscle tissue.

  "Um thanks, eryx." Mel said, she is now pulling the bear skin.

  "When we get to the city i'll introduce you to a great artisan." He said, now going to the others who are preparing to leave.

  "Hey mel," cairos said, walking over to her, "When we get to the city, what next?" He said, hesitant but questioning.

  "I don't know, but this may be the only way to get back, i mean how else are we supose to find out how we got here" mel said tired.

  "Okay, um if you need to talk-" he tried to say but was cut off.

  "No- no thank you, i'm fine um you should talk to hollis, he was the one that cut off its neck" mel said, trying to sound okay and that there is no problem.

  "Alright," he said, walking away. "But if you need to talk we're here."

  "Thanks, thanks cairos" mel said, though she is hesitant she accepts his help.

  After some time they reach a road that is surrounded by rocky hills these leads to the walls of mycenae, the sun hung low, casting the massive stone cyclopean walls in a golden glow, their sheer size is incredible towering even the largest trees.

  From the diatance they see the lion gate - two great stone lions standing over the entrance, watching all who passed beneath them.

  "Oh my god," liora muttered, tilting her head back to take it all in. "This place is massive."

  Raquel, still pale from the hunt, huffed. "So this is mycenae, huh? These guys must really like walls."

  As they neared the entance, they can see warriors clad in bronze armor patrolling the walls, their helmets gleaming from the setting sun, the air smelled of sweat, iron, and smoke - the scent of a city preparing for war.

  Theras strode ahead without a sigle sign of hesitation, barely sparing a glance at the guards who were currently approaching them, when they reached the Lion Gate, the soldiers clad in bronze cuirass and bronze helmet stepped forward, their spear barring them.

  "Thers of mycenae, returning from a hunt." Theras said simply, his voice carrying the weight of experience.

  The guard eyes flickered to the massive black lion head behind his shoulder.

  "Lord agamemnon will want yo see you immediately."

  At the mention of the name, mel felt her stomach dropped.

  "Agamemnon?" She whispered to cairos, " As in the guy ftom the illiad."

  Cairos just as stunned, eyes darting between the guard and the walls. "I - i think so," he muttered. "I don't think this is just some mycenaean city, mel. I think we're in the capital.

  Theras turned his his head back at the kids, his expression unreadable.

  "Stay quiet follow me, don't make a scene," he said, before striding past the guard, into the city.

  One by one, the kids followed, stepping beneath the watchful stone lions and into the city of agamemnon.

  *END OF CHAPTER 5*

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