The Lost Ones

I

What the hell did we just do? Why am I here? Unanswered questions danced rampant around in her head. She mentally retraced the events of the night, step by step. Her skin was sticky with a dry layer of sweat under her work clothes. Smoke and moss filled her nose, making her crinkle it in disgust. They stood in a circle around it. Its bulging eye rolled back into its thick armored skull.

A Chimera. A gruesome beast with the head of a lion. The head of a goat in its middle and a two-headed snake as a tail. In modern day 2024. It was clearly a chimera, but this one was different. Someone had prepared it for battle. It wore a heavy gold helmet on both heads. The lion's hair was poking out of the helmet in small tufts. It had a gold breastplate molded to fit the curvature of its body perfectly. It started just below its neck and trailed down close to its belly. No matter how many times she shook her head, she saw its lifeless body lying on the grass in front of her.

The sky was black. The stars had runaway in fear of what lurked in the shadows. The streetlights marked her path home. Luciana had left her office job late. Her town was small and quiet enough that she wasn't worried about being alone, she was just scared of what the dark could hide. She was just across from her apartment when she sensed it. Luciana stopped. She turned her head. It was quiet. Not the normal quiet that descended on the town passed 8:30 in the evening, but a different quiet. An eerie quiet, like the woods whispering ''silence'' to whatever wandered this late.

That was when she noticed the light post shake itself from slumber and a tiny flame jumped out. The light disappeared into the wooded area behind the picnic tables in the town's park. Like a moth to a flame she crossed into the park without hesitation. Her black heels sank into the earth with each step. She stumbled and grabbed onto the low branches of an oak tree to steady herself. Her heart banged against her rib cage, threatening to tear itself out if she continued. Her hands grew damp. Her polyester shirt was a layer of second skin. The light seemed to grow brighter or the night turned darker, she wasn't sure.

"Ouch"

Luciana straightened her spine and her eyes slowly traced the tree lines around her. Her ears almost perked up like a dog, listening for clues. The light was beginning to dim, like a flashlight would, flickering before the battery was dead. Was this a trap? Who's actually stupid enough to venture into the woods at night? Me she answered. She almost snorted to herself. Almost. Three male figures emerged from different areas behind the tree line. They each froze as they began to notice each other. Luciana watched as they turned to each other in bewilderment. They were shocked to see her. Luciana watched as their eyes changed in the dimming glow as they acknowledged each other.

"Congratulations on your summoning. The four of you have arrived for your first lesson. If you survive, you will be given another in due time, fail and the lives of every innocent soul in this city will be in your hands." It was light and airy. Had the breeze blown, it would have carried it away before it's words reached their ears. The light bounced with every word, like some kind of crappy sing-a-long, before going out. They were left in the dark.

"Does anyone know what that means?"

"It means we fight"

"Fight what?"

"We fight that", Luciana pointed at the beast coming into view behind them. The moon's light came down like a blessing. A silver-clad lion stepped into their circle. The light bounced off the metal as it materialized in front of them. Luciana's arm reached down her fingers, gripping a splinter-coated branch. Tiny beads of light, that resembled tiny stars, finished building the creature before them. They appeared from nowhere. One by one out of thin air, the stars built it.

"What do we fight with", yelled one of the strangers.

"Grab something and don't die" grumbled Luciana. It charged. Luciana swung as the lion dodged the branch and slid underneath her arm. But she didn't miss entirely. Her arm ached as it was pushed back. She hit something.

"It's got more than one head!" Someone shouted. She hit the head of a goat. Its right eye was swollen and bleeding. Tiny pieces of wood jutted out of the surrounding flesh.

It opened its mouth and released a roar that shook the ground they were standing on. Fire spat out of its mouth and ignited the trees behind them. Luciana felt something trickle down her neck but wasted no time in checking. Blinded by rage, she attacked first. A sharp pain pulsed in her arm. The chimera had slashed its front paw at her forearm. Blood gushed out and onto the floor. They stared each other down, giving an opportunity for the other fighters to jump in. A man in jeans and a plain white shirt ran his dagger through the base of the goat's neck. He jilted his hand up, slicing it open. The beast howled. The man stood there ,stunned at what he had just done. A snake emerged from the animal's body and swung around his wrist.

"Look out" a voice rang out. As he aimed for the snake's neck, the chimera spun around and leaped. Luciana grabbed the head of the snake and pulled it. A flash of light appeared. Almost like someone had taken a picture. She felt the tension in her hand disappear as she held the now limp head in her hands. The man in the white shirt had slashed at the lion. They circled it slowly. Sirens were going off in the distance. The chimera leaped into the air, attempting to escape by going over them. Luciana felt someone rip the branch from her hands. She looked towards the chimera's stomach and saw the branch deeply embedded into its belly. Its throat was slashed. Blood stained their hands and dripped from the surrounding leaves of the trees.

"Hey, stop, police", they took the warning well and ran. They ran until they heard silence behind them.

"Follow me", whispering into the darkness, she began to walk. Although she couldn't see or hear them, she felt their presence. The town was small. The park and woods lay directly in the center. To the right, where they escaped, was a set of red brick-covered buildings. To the left was the market, bakery, and a few offices. She crept behind the buildings, keeping her posture normal. If there were cameras, she would appear normal. Until she reached a dark strip of woods at the edge. She slipped into the woods yet again before emerging behind her apartment building. She lowered the metal fire-escape ladder and whispered her floor and number before making her way to the front. The easiest way to deter suspicion, she thought, is to hide in plain site. The back had no cameras and the only other camera was in the doorway. It was occasionally faulty and liked to glitch and go static when something happened. Not that her landlord cared. She made her way inside and walked back out. She waited sixty seconds, acted like she had dropped something, and walked back in. Police despised searching the building's security footage. But you can never be too sure, she mumbled to herself.

Luciana's building was practically empty except for an elderly couple on the first floor and four more tenants scattered throughout. She had no neighbor and she enjoyed it. The only other person on her floor, kept to themselves at the other end of the hallway. She walked up the stairs to the fifth floor and down the hall to room 510. She unlocked her door and stepped inside. Her hand hovered over the light switch, but she decided best to leave them off. The fire escape was across the hall from her. If they are who she believed they were, they wouldn't need a key. Her eyes searched in the dark before spotting three figures in her living room. She grabbed her first aid kit and made her way to the coffee table.

"So what's your deal?", spoke Luciana. It wasn't much of a question. Not after everything that happened.

"I'm Alessandro, this is Alec, my brother". Alessandro was wearing a plain white shirt that was speckled with blood and dairy gray plaid pajama pants. Dark dots splattered across his legs. His hair was so light in color that it resembled a cloud. His eyes were a light shade of blue. He looked like a beautiful summer sky was a person. Their skin had a soft honey beige glow. Alec was dressed similarly but had flannel print shorts instead. They looked extremely alike except in height. Even though they were sitting on the sofa's arms. Alessandro was much taller and much more built than Alec. Their eyes darted towards their next victim. The man in a white shirt and jeans. Heavy amounts of blood stained his shirt. It was so wet that it stuck to him, highlighting the ripples of his body. His hair was dark. So dark it glowed blue. Yet his eyes were green like seaweed in the deep water, and his skin was pale, like it had never seen the sun.

"Zale, call me Z", he nodded his head and leaned back onto the sofa. Exhaustion took over. It's not everyday you fight a mythological beast with three strangers.

"Snack?" Luciana opened her coffee table cover and pulled out chips. She hadn't gone grocery shopping in more than two weeks.

"You?" Mumbled Zale. His cheeks were puffed out as he chewed.

"Luciana".

"Why did you guys follow the light?" Luciana questioned.

"Don't know. Why did you follow the light?" glared Zale.

"On that note, don't leave evidence at the scene of the crime", Alessandro handed Luciana her briefcase. Her fingers stung as splinters dug deeper into her hand. Surprise was evident in her face. It had slipped her mind completely.

"Thank you" whispered Luciana as she clutched her briefcase. That was when they noticed the ring on her finger.