The Children of Hades (Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus/ Trials of Apollo Fanfic)

Chapter 25

Adelle woke up drenched in sweat, she set up gasping. "Knew you were having a nightmare. You alright?" Mark asked. Adelle stared at Mark for a few seconds, processing what he had just said. He had for once, said something nice to her. Well, that was strange.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm alright." she replied a little numbly. She stared at her fingers and moved each one of them carefully. She had dreamt of the moment Bianca died inside that automaton. She had felt every bone inside her break. The weight of metal on her body. Oxygen slowly running out... until... until in a flash, she was standing Infront of the 3 judges of the underworld.

Adelle crawled out of her sleeping bag and set beside Mark. "I'll keep watch from now on. You should rest." said. "Nah, I'm alright. Swimming in water made my even stronger. I feel well and rested now." he said giving her a crooked smile. Adelle felt the tips of her ears turn warm. "Well, I'm not gonna sleep so... I guess we should keep watch together." "Sure." Mark replied and patted the ground beside her. "Sit here, it's nice, once you get used to the smell, you can enjoy the water roaring and dripping from the distance. I hope there are no rats here. There so creepy." he said. Adelle couldn't help but giggle. "You? you're afraid of rats?" Mark gave her a strange face. "Who doesn't?" he asked. "I don't. Sure, they're not cute, but... they're not scary." she replied, letting her eyes dance playfully for once. Mark shuddered a little. "Well, come on, they have beady black eyes, sharp teeth and claws, plus fleas and they carry viruses of who knows what?!" Mark said, waving his hands in the air. "Well, the rats are sure more afraid of you than you are afraid of them." she replied.

The two demigods set in silence for a while. "What about you? What are you afraid of?" Mark asked her, breaking the silence. Adelle had to think for a while. 'My friends dying. Death? The pressure? My father?' She didn't know and if she answered Mark's questions like that... Obviously, this conversation was meant for casual. So Adelle answered simply. "Jellyfish, Sharks, anything poisonous that lives in the sea." she replied. She was seriously afraid of the sea when she was young. Since she had seen a Documentary about poisonous sea creatures, she had been afraid of the sea since. "What? Seriously? You? Afraid of Jellyfish?" Mark asked a hint of mischief in his green eyes. "Yeah, I mean, they can kill you. If you get zapped by that box jellyfish, you can drown in the sea in a second, it will paralyze your body completely!" she said. And wiggled her fingers like tentacles. "Oh c'mon. And don't tell me you are afraid of pufferfish!!" Mark said, laughing. "Oh, I'm afraid of them alright." she replied nodding. "I mean, sure they look cute, but their toxin is serious. You can die while puking because you just ate a pufferfish!" she said. Mark shrugged, "Well, never imagined it in that way, but if you put it like that way, they are kind of scary." he said. "Yeah, I can go on all day explaining the horrors of ocean Mark Gomez." Adelle said, nudging Mark's side with her elbow.

They didn't speak for a while after that, Adelle's eyelids got a little droopy. Talking to Mark somehow comforted her. And soon enough, the world faded out as she fell asleep.