Chapter 2: Heads Will Roll

-15 years later-

Her lungs burned, her legs ached, her head was spinning, everything hurt, and all she wanted to do was stop. But the faint roar behind her was a constant reminder to keep going. Her feet stomped loudly against the wet concrete and she couldn't stop panting or wheezing for air. But she forced herself to keep going.

Lolita cursed to herself for being a complete idiot and forgetting to bring her bow and arrows, as well as her knife. If she had them with her, she won't be in this position. No, the beast would have already been slayed and Lolita would have been on her merry way back to camp.

But no, of course not, because with her luck, she had thought she'd be safe. Why would a monster even want to chase after her? Lolita was a daughter of Persephone; the only thing thing she was good for was making flowers and talking to animals, for gods' sake.

Yet here she was, running through the dark, rainy streets of Manhatten with a Minotaur, the freaking Minotaur, chasing after her.

Lolita stopped for a minute, coughing and breathing deeply, her legs feeling like rubber. She was bent over, leaning against a brick wall. Go, she screamed at herself, Go!

But she couldn't will herself to move. It was like she was frozen, unable to run any more. The Minotaur howled again, the sound closer to her than before. And for a moment, a part of her was tempted to just stay there, to just let the Minotaur get her.

There was no chance of her getting to camp, she was too far away, so why even try? Lolita slumped against the wall, all of the fight leaving her in that moment. It was coming even closer, but she didn't move.

She squeezed her eyes closed, willing her body to relax and become pliant, just waiting for the monster to attack.

Don't give up.

Lolita whipped around suddenly, her muscles groaning in pain but she looked around crazily. "W-who's there?"

''Doesn't matter. Run. Now.''

"Not until you tell me who are you!"

The voice sighed inside her head. ''I'm an old friend. Now will you just run?''

"Its not worth it," mumbled Lolita, a roar from the Minotaur making her wince, "Its...its almost here. I'm not going to make it."

''Yes, you will. I'll make sure you make it. Now, go!''

And for some reason, Lolita jumped up like she was shocked and soon she was running again, as fast as she could, the voice yelling at her to run faster.

But as she turned the corner, she came face to face with a tall, metal fence. "See!" she cried out, "I have no chance." It was all quiet in her head, and a few seconds later, she asked fearfully, "Uh, voice, sir...help, please. What do I d-"

As she turned, Lolita nearly whimpered as the Minotaur stood in front of her, letting out a roar as he charged at her. Lolita screamed, whipping around and trying to climb the fence, but the beast grabbed her.

Its rough hands dug into her skin, crushing her ribs and making her scream louder. She thrashed and thrashed, but there was no moving out of its grip. The Minotaur let out a sharp bark, as if it was laughing. Lolita continued screaming bloody murder, but it was beginning to become more and more weak.

She started blacking out, her vision fading and her breath catching as she began to hear the cracks of the bones breaking, the feeling of her lungs being crushed.

But suddenly, the monster let go and Lolita was falling, unconsciously expecting to go splat against the cold ground. She didn't though, as she fell ungently into a pair of firm and very hard arms.

"Its okay," She jumped when she heard the voice from inside her head, but gasped in pain, eyes blurry. She opened her eyes, but she was met with only pure darkness, and the last thing she heard was "It'll be okay..."