"Why did we have to cut through here?" Delia questioned, "Why couldn't we follow the path?" We were walking through a small, but thick forest. I did not want to risk being in the open, as the monster could attack us there. It had reached dusk a little while ago. "Everyone," I said, with authority in my voice, " do not cut off from the group and do not wander away. I do not want you to get lost." Everyone nodded, understanding. Pita scooted closer to me, reaching for my hand. We continued walking for who knows how long until Juanita started speaking out of the blue, "Do you guys hear that?" I looked at Juanita out of the corner of my eye, "No, I don't hear it." I stated. Pita then squealed. I hurriedly looked at Pita, sighing in relief when I saw that there was nothing wrong with her. "I hear it! It's such pretty singing!" Pita exclaimed, running off. "Pita!" I yelled, "I said not to break off!" I continued, now chasing after her. My sisters started following me. I was getting closer and closer to Pita, a hair length away.

I grabbed her a second before she would have slipped and fallen down the slope of sand. "Woah!" Velia exclaimed. "There is someone near the river!" Delia finished. Wait, river? I thought to myself. I looked up and saw someone, a girl, standing in the water. I then hear the humming. "Juanita, is this the sound you heard?" I whispered to Juanita. She nodded her head. I carefully walked down the hill, making sure I did not misstep. My sisters followed me. The stranger turned her head towards us, still humming. She has black hair that reaches her waist. Her hair complimented her olive skin. Her dress' color was a crystal-like white, it looked very pristine. Her dress is an off-the-shoulder dress that has sleeves going down and past her palms, but her fingers are still visible. Her clothing was in the water and flowing beautifully. I looked up when I heard her giggle. "You like my dress?" She said, twirling. Her voice sounded so melodic. Velia and Delia both ran up to the stranger.

"Woah!" They both exclaimed, "How did you get that dress!" Their eyes were sparkling with admiration. I squinted my eyes, calculating if this stranger is a threat or not. She looked up and caught my eye. Her smile looks gentle and sweet like she is a Disney princess. Her smile calmed my nerves a tiny bit. She started talking about how she is an only child and how her parents had passed when she was 16.

Her melodic voice sang to us. It felt like she was luring us in. "Hey, Odilia" Juanita whispered to me, as I watched my other sisters sit around the girl, listening to her lullabies. I nodded my head, signifying that I had heard her. "What were the other monsters Teresita warned us about?" Juanita questioned. My eyes squinted, trying to remember. "The Chupacabra, The Lechuzas and... " I paused, realization kicking in. "The Siren" I turned my head towards Juanita, whose eyes were also wide. "Juanita, how have I not seen the signs? She acts just like Cecilia" I said, panicking. We stared at each other for a quick second, our eyes communicating what we have to do. Leave quickly and quietly.

"Oi! Delia, Velia!" Juanita exclaimed, their heads snapping towards us. "Come here real quick, I found this pretty rock-crystal thing you may like!" That caught the girls' attention. The twins rushed over to Juanita. Pita was also interested in the rock, she was excusing herself from the siren. "Girls." I urgently whispered to them. "She is not who she says she is, she is The Siren." The twins' eyes widened, however, Pita looked like she was not buying it. "Nu-uh!" She said, "She is a pretty lady! She wouldn't be a monster." I sighed and shook my head, getting down to Pita's level. "Pita, remember what happened with The Warlock, right? He disguised himself as an injured donkey, deceiving us." Pita still would not budge. She turned around quicker than I could grab her. She ran to the siren, hugging her side. Her eyes were producing so much tears. Through her hiccups, I can hear the secret conversation between us getting leaked. I then heard the siren gasp, her eyes then started leaking crocodile tears. She started humming, calming Pita. The Siren walked into the water, deeper and deeper. Pita followed like a duckling following their mother.

Pita kept walking and walking, not caring enough to swim. She just kept walking in, alarming us. Velia and Delia ran forward, each grabbing one of her arms, and pulled Pita out of the water. They fell back onto the ground. Pita looked up, noticing that she was wet from her shoulders down. The Siren, who used to have a gentle and caring face, came out to the water with an angry expression. She started saying, "You wretched children!!" She then changed her demeanor again, "That hurt, you know?" she said.

Pita finally realized that the girl is not someone you should hang around. She only realized this when she almost drowned. "Come closer, won't you?" The Siren said.

When we refused to go closer, but instead backed up, her face and her whole personality changed. She looked angry. She started screaming incoherent stuff at us. Before our eyes, the beautiful woman turned into a huge bird, keeping her human head. The siren then charged at us, her talons pointed at us. Her talons are most likely intended to grab us and possibly hold us under the water. I then heard Delia scream. I looked over, and to my horror, the siren was pinning Delia to the ground, slowly dragging her closer and closer to the water. As this was happening, Delia was screaming in pain and fear. Before I could run to intervene, I saw Velia grab a big branch from the floor and swung at the head of the siren. We all went to grab a huge branch and started hitting the siren at all her different body parts. Pita was not strong enough to lift the branch. The siren finally let go of Delia, who was sobbing.

As soon as the siren let go of Delia, we picked her up and started running into the forest, attempting to dodge the attacks she threw at us. Delia managed to grab a branch and also attacked the siren when we all had a chance. Delia was breathing heavily but managed to stay up. Delia then raised the branch and swung it across the siren's face. The siren then fell to the ground, unconscious. I looked at Delia, to make sure she was okay, but I saw some blood seeping through her shirt. "I feel faint. I don't think I can keep walking." Delia said.

We were all breathing heavily. I composed myself first. "Come on everyone. We have to get going before the siren wakes up." I said, panting a little. I grabbed Delia and let her lean on me.

We were walking for a few minutes before I spotted a small, but an empty cave. Once we were situated, I sat myself and Delia down, dropping the backpack full of clothes. I almost thought all hope was lost when I could not find any bandages, but then, I remembered that the clothes packed would also work. So, without a word, I grabbed one of my shirts and tried my best to rip it in half. As I was doing this, I asked Delia to take off her shirt. Once her shoulders were visible to me, I grabbed one-half of the shirt. I then wrapped it around her shoulder, she hissed at the pain it brought. The shirt immediately stained red. Delia had stopped crying a while ago, but her cheeks had tear tracks and her eyes were puffy. With the other half of the shirt, I wrapped it on her other shoulder. I helped Delia put her shirt back on, which resulted in an embarrassed Delia. "Go get some sleep, you need it," I said, laying Delia down on the pile of clothes. My other sisters came closer and huddled around us, getting comfortable to be able to sleep.

~~~~~~~~

1393 words. A narrative I had to write for ELA,

And characters not mine, Found in " Summer of the Mariposas"