Abre Los Ojos || Camilo Madrigal

Explosive Reunions

Leo ran through the woods of Colombia, trying to avoid the chaos that flew through. Screams from miles away could be heard. Fire danced in front of his eyes, a sight that terrified him. Sofía could be caught in the flames!

He tore through the rows and rows of trees, desperate to reach his sister before it was too late. The dark night happened to be a weakness held against him, as he was unable to see where he was going in his rush. It did not help that there were few stars in the sky and no moon. Branches flew up against him, scraping up his face and burning thighs. Rocks dug up from the dirt path as he ran.

"Sofía!" he cried. "Sofía!"

Unfortunately, Leo's demigod-like senses were not the best at the time. He ran straight into a tree, headfirst. Stumbling back, he tripped over a rock, kicking it forward as he did so. He hit his head hard on the ground below.

"Are you okay?" a confused voice whispered. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, although quite hoarse and a little harsh, although he could tell there was a little anger as well as fear in their emotions.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm good," he weakly murmured as he stood up, wiping the blood that was dripping from his nose. Well, looks like I'm as destructive as Percy now, Leo thought.

The figure stepped into the very little light that the fire from miles away and the few stars in the sky gave out. A girl with dark hair curling around her shoulders. She had a scratch across her left cheek, probably from running through the woods as well.

"Leo?" the girl gasped.

"Do I..." And then he realized who was standing in front of him. "Sofía!" She was wearing a cream blouse and a turquoise skirt that reached her ankles, something that he never thought Sofía would wear willingly. Her usually warm brown eyes were empty and cold, reminding him of Nico.

Despite the anger she had felt towards Leo when she found out that he was still alive, how he had betrayed her, she ran into his arms, crying. "Hermano..."

"Lo siento, lo siento mucho, hermana," Leo murmured in her hair.

"It's not your fault... You had to save everyone from Dirt Face. But, Leonadis Valdez," Leo winced at the usage his full name. "Never pull a stunt like that on me ever again. Ever,"

"I won't! Well, I won't try to."

"So... You're here for the incoming war," Sofía said as she pulled away from her brother. She started to clean up what he had dropped from his tool belt. Wrenches, nails, breath mints, an explosive. She returned all the items, discluding the explosive. She had a feeling she would need it.

"How did you-" Leo started to ask but realized she had a dream. "Oh..."

"Yeah," she laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. She looked back up at her brother and found herself seeing Camilo in his place. And she realized what she did was... dumb. She should've stayed with the Madrigals, even if Camilo thought she was a traitor. "Well, we should go help fight the inva-"

"Wait..." her brother interrupted. "Why are you in the forest and not... fighting?"

"Oh... um... It doesn't matter. We just need to go now!"

Just then, an explosion lit up the night sky. The fear in their eyes glowed with the flames.

"RUN!" Leo screamed, dragging her away from where they were standing. Sofía looked behind her as she ran and saw debris flying and trees falling.

She mentally cursed. How could she have been so clueless about her surroundings? She was so caught up in her past that she couldn't notice the change around her.