An odd silence hung over the group. There was a palpable tension in the air, mostly radiating from Tess. I had had my differences with Tess in the past, but we were over those now. It just...annoyed me a bit that Tess found it hard to relax and be, well, normal around people.

But I couldn't blame her. That was something she had to learn.

And I also couldn't blame her for directing her anger at Lee. Not only had we discovered that Lee was a spy for Giselle ever since we came to the school, she had handed Tess over to Giselle as a bargaining tool. That kind of betrayal wasn't going to fade easily, no matter how good Lee's intentions were now.

Deynan started whistling an annoyingly catchy tune that I couldn't place. Instead of breaking the silence in a comforting way, it just made it more awkward.

We finally arrived at the beach front. The water seemed so calm, the day so beautiful. A slight breeze rolled off the water. I always loved the beach. The best part about North Carolina in my opinion was that we had the beaches and mountains in the same state. I used to go to my cousin's beach house all the time.

It was weird, thinking about my past life. So much had happened since the last time I considered my life normal. I had changed. I knew I could never go back, and a small part of me was sad. I loved being a Myth, and I loved my friends, but...sometimes, it was hard. It hit me more when I was trapped in a cell with Audrey and Sophie for who knows how long. Normal life had a form of certainty to it. I could more or less guess what the next day would bring. But when you're battling creatures that shouldn't exist, when you look in the mirror and see wings on your back...the world seems a little more chaotic and strange.

But as terrifying as that chaos was, it was beautiful too, like looking at a picture of the galaxy for the very first time.

I wondered if any of my friends standing on that beach with me were thinking the same things. I secretly wished Ravi were there. I could tell him things like that, and he would listen. Then he would respond and say something I would never have expected, and I would think about it for days. If being a Myth had let me see a galaxy, Ravi was slowly showing me the universe.

"Does anyone wanna play slaps?" Deynan asked suddenly.

I sighed.

"What's slaps?" Tess asked, raising an eyebrow in disdain.

"It's where you put your hands out with the palms facing down, and then the other person put THEIR hands under YOURS with their palms UP, and then they try to slap the back of your hands without you pulling away first," he explained.

We stared at him in silence.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Tess said finally.

"No it's not, it's really fun!" Deynan protested.

"It sounds like it hurts," Lee said lightly.

Deynan shrugged. "Don't lose."

I closed my eyes. "Deynan, don't you think that might be a bad idea for people with heightened nerve endings?"

He paused. "Oh yeah. Huh."

"If it hurts so much, why did you offer to play it?" Tess asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "It's fun. I mean, it hurts, but if you let that show, you're a wimp."

Tess rolled her eyes. "Boys."

"That's offensive," Deynan pointed out.

Lee rolled her eyes. "Deynan."

I snorted and Tess burst out laughing. Lee grinned shyly.

"Wow," Deynan exclaimed, "no monsters have shown up and I'm already being attacked."

I laughed even harder. It made me so happy, laughing and listening to other people's laughter, being surrounded in the joy of the moment.

It made me happy to see Lee happy too. I had never seen her smile before. She was beautiful.

Then a scream pierced the air.

I looked up suddenly, the moment quickly dissolving, leaving a hollow feeling in the center of my chest. The air seemed to grow a little colder.

"Is that what I think it is?" Lee whispered, her voice trembling.

My mouth fell slightly open at the sight before me. It was more terrifying and surreal than I ever could have imagined. I felt a bit dizzy. There was no way.

Zombies.

Yeah, actual undead people, riding in on rafts like the spiders.

"Dude," Deynan whispered in awe, "this is epic."

"No, it most certainly is not!" Tess exclaimed, a touch of hysteria creeping into her voice. "I am not prepared to handle zombies. I was prepping myself for, I don't know, the Loch Ness monster or something. Not the walking dead!"

"We already killed the Loch Ness monster," Deynan said, "and the Walking Dead is a great show. Don't hate."

"Hey," Lee say softly, putting a hand on Tess' shoulder. "It's gonna be alright. We got this."

Tess stared at her. "Why are you touching me?"

I finally snapped out of my momentary daze. "Okay," I said, clapping my hands together, "let's make a game plan."

"Torch 'em," Deynan said excitedly, rubbing his hands together.

I shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, that works. But you're the only one with dragon form. We could go phoenix, but...I did that with the spiders, and it was kind of terrifying. I don't think you're supposed to fight in phoenix form."

"Don't you have something Abigail gave you that created fire?" Tess asked Deynan.

He gasped slowly. "My fire sand! I always forget about it! Yes! I finally get to use it in battle!"

"Not so fast," I pointed out, "you're the dragon. One of us is on sand."

He deflated. "Oh yeah."

I turned to Tess and Lee. "What do you say about have two torches and two ground fighters at the beach?"

"Can I be on fire sand?" Tess asked quickly. "Because if so, I like that plan."

"Go for it," I said immediately. I turned to Lee. "Do you have a long distance weapon?"

Lee grinned and pulled twin pistols out of her belt.

"This is totally ruining the aesthetic," Tess groaned.

"What aesthetic?" Deynan asked, frowning.

"The magical aesthetic!" she exclaimed, waving her hands wildly in the air. "The dragons and fairies and stuff! Zombies and guns just wreck the whole thing!"

"You're crazy," Deynan muttered. "This is like, the coolest thing that's happened to us yet."

"As much as this conversation is amusing me, we should probably fight now," I pointed out.

"Yeah," Lee said, cocking her pistols.

Deynan sullenly handed Tess a small leather bag. "Only use a pinch," he said sternly.

Tess nodded, then ran forward and leapt into the air, light swirling around her and morphing into wings on her back.

"See ya in a sec," Deynan said, running forwards before transforming into a dragon.

I bit my lip. My warrior form wasn't exactly my strongest...my aim was off. I had talked it over with Ravi once. It was because I didn't mind lying, if it made someone feel better. And that wasn't something I was proud of.

Nevertheless, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Bravery. Truth. I thought so desperately of the importance of truth that after the warrior form had swirled around me and faded, I noticed my face was scrunched up in concentration.

The zombies Deynan and Tess had missed were coming ashore now. I clutched my battle axe a little tighter in my hand. Now, more than anything, I wished I had had a long range weapon like Lee. The thought of plunging into that massive hoard made my stomach churn.

They were close enough at this point that I could see them. They didn't look as gross as I had anticipated. I wasn't sure how synthetically created monsters were supposed to work, but the zombie form clearly wasn't as graphic as they were in the movies. They looked like...people. Sure, their skin was gray and papery, and sure, they looked disheveled, but they weren't rotting or anything like that. Maybe they were newly dead.

The most disturbing thing was the soulless gaze in their eyes, staring straight forwards as they slowly limped higher up the beach.

"They're all the same," Lee whispered.

It took me a moment to register that she had spoken. "What?"

"They all look the same," she repeated. "The face, I mean. See? All the women are the same body with different hair. Same with the guys. Even across gender they look like they're twins."

I looked closer and realized she was right. I couldn't tell one from the next except for the hair color. "It's because they're mass produced," I realized.

She looked at me curiously. "What?"

I suddenly remembered that she hadn't been at the meeting where Amarie had told us about the monsters being massacred and replaced by Frankenstein like creations. "Uh..." I glanced at the wave that was almost upon us. "Tell you later?"

"Agreed," she said.

Then I ran forward, and lifting my axe, began to fight.

Fighting as a warrior was always a blur. You have vague recollections of muscular movement, of snarls in your ear, of the swing of the axe and the perfection of its weight shifting with your arms. I found the experience unsettling. It felt as though there was supposed to be music, or the clanging of swords, or shouting, or SOMETHING. But there was only the dull thud of my axe hitting dead flesh. I tried not to dwell on it. There was only movement, the moment, the feeling, the uninhibited swings of knowing just what you were supposed to be doing. It felt like surfing. There was all this power built up, and you were riding it, feeling the energy all around you connect perfectly to bring you a moment of flight.

And then suddenly, the feeling stopped.

I stumbled for a moment, suddenly acutely aware of the army of the dead around me. I was surrounded by five, apparently trying to fight all off at once. I could practically see the pores in their faces.

My mind raced desperately, confused and terrified. What was happening? Why was this happening? This couldn't be real.

And then, all the strength flowed out of my body. My axe and armor disappeared. I was normal again.

My mouth dropped open slightly and I began to tremble. They sensed my sudden weakness. I saw a glint of hunger in the closest one's eyes.

I slowly sunk to my knees, my legs no longer able to hold me. I wanted to close my eyes, but I just couldn't. It was the overwhelming sense of disease, disgust, and decay. It hit me in the pit of my stomach, and my skin began to crawl.

I had never been so terrified in my life.

The disgust and horror grew stronger, overwhelming me emotionally as the monsters came closer and closer in. I wanted to throw up. I felt like I had the flu, only a hundred times worse. My soul felt like it was dripping black.

And then suddenly, something inside of me rebounded instead of recoiled.

I felt a flood of purity and goodness course through my veins like a breath of fresh air after years in a mud filled cave. It grew from within me and moved outwards, refreshing my muscles and shining light out from beneath my skin. The light swirled around me--and then I was a unicorn.

I blinked in surprise. I hadn't meant to do that.

The zombies hissed and jerked away. I decided not to dwell on what had just happened. I had a battle to fight.

I stepped closer to one of the zombies, and he flinched. I paused for a moment, then darted out and touched him quickly with my horn.

He disintegrated.

Aha.

I began to gallop, disintegrating as many zombies as I could along the way. I let my mind go blank and simply ran, occasionally twisting back around for another go.

And then finally, they were all gone.

I dropped the unicorn transformation and my head immediately began to spin. I fell backwards onto the sand. "Whoa."

Deynan and Tess ran up, in human form once more. Lee had shifted to a fairy, her steampunk leg now made of vines and leaves.

"Hey, Sierra, you okay?" Deynan asked, sounding surprisingly concerned.

I nodded slowly. "I'm good. Thanks. Just gimme a second." I decided not to mention my momentary breakdown. I still needed to process that. Until I understood it, I didn't want to tell anyone. Not even Audrey and Sophie.

"Let's head back," Tess said, breathing heavily. "I'm exhausted. I could use a power nap."

"You barely did anything," Deynan muttered. Tess glared at him. Deynan flinched.

Tess and I frowned, confused.

Deynan noticed our expressions and sighed. "Sorry. Your glare is scarily similar to Audrey's, and she usually kicks me."

I laughed, my shoulders relaxing. Laughing was a good feeling.

I stood up slowly. "Okay, back we go."

"Are we flying?" Lee asked.

Tess shrugged. "Sure, I guess so."

"Actually, can we walk?" I blurted suddenly.

All eyes turned to me. I noticed Deynan frowning and nearly winced. He knew me well enough to know I rarely turn down the opportunity to be a fairy.

"It's just," I said, scrambling for an excuse, "like Tess said, we're all tired. And transforming won't help. We should walk."

"I hear that," Deynan agreed.

I glanced at Lee. "Uh...sorry, by the way."

She shrugged. "Staying in fairy isn't so bad when we're just walking. I'll be fine."

We began walking back. I felt a little unsteady on my feet, but I tried to hide it. They already knew I was acting weird.

"Hey," Lee said quietly, coming up right next to me. Deynan and Tess were a bit farther in front of us.

"Hey," I said cautiously.

"Are you alright? I saw you when you were cornered out there. I thought you had dropped warrior so you could become a unicorn, but honestly, you just looked so scared..."

"I don't want to talk about it," I said sharply.

"But--"

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it," I repeated firmly.

We walked in silence the rest of the way.