𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐑𝐇𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

08 - a freako man and some red cows

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪

WHEN ELIA TRIED TO WAKE PERCY UP, the boy just curled closer to her, tightening his arms around her waist. 

The knowing grin on Annabeth's lips made Elia blush as her friends studied the boy wrapped around the daughter of Apollo; his head was buried in the crook of her neck, his tall frame hunching over to curl around her. 

"Don't say a fucking thing, Wise Girl," Elia hissed, glaring up at the dark-skinned girl. 

Annabeth's smirk widened, her eyes almost gleeful at the blush on the blonde's cheeks. "Didn't even open my mouth," she defended, holding her hands up in mock surrender. 

Elia carefully shook Percy, grumbling, "Wake up, kid, you're heavy."

After a solid five minutes— along with help from Grover and Tyson— they finally managed to wake up the son of Poseidon, who grumbled and rubbed sleep out of his eyes, untwining himself from Elia. He didn't seem to be fazed by the closeness of the Apollo girl, and she wasn't sure if that was good or not. 

After a quick breakfast of Goldfish, juice boxes, and granola bars, (Elia hates granola bars), Annabeth dragged the group of five up and out of their corridor, continuing their journey to seemingly nowhere. 

As they walked, Elia's hands illuminated the ceiling above them, which had started to shift from stone to a dirt tunnel, suspended by sturdy wooden beams— like something out of an old mine. 

Annabeth frowned. "This isn't right, it should still be stone." 

Elia offered a shrug, studying the dark tunnel before them; something about it made her dizzy, like the shadows were clawing at her brain. She chewed her lip, flashes of her Pa's face running through her mind once more. She hadn't slept a wink after that nightmare, instead opting to stay awake and try and remember some of the Romanian lullabies that her late father had sung her as a child. 

She began to hum one under her breath as they continued, the sound of their feet pounding against the ground drowning out the soft tune. She was so immersed in her song that she hardly noticed when they emerged into a cavern, stalactites hanging low from the ceiling. Annabeth and Percy barely had time to grab her arms before she stumbled into a rectangular pit in the center of the cave. 

Grover shivered, his nose twitching. "It smells like the Underworld in here."

Something silver flashed in the light of Elia's hands, shining at the edge of the pit, just beside her foot. She crouched down to inspect it, finding it to be a foil wrapper— one she would recognize anywhere. 

(Elia usually spent nearly all her time at camp working with Travis and Connor to DoorDash McDonald's to the woods— some would call it addiction, others would call it good taste.)

Elia shined her hands into the hole, illuminating a half-chewed cheeseburger floating in brown muck— was that Dr. Pepper? What the fuck was going on?

"Nico," Percy mumbled. "He was summoning the dead again."

Elia raised a brow, standing from the ground. "Oh, again? It's a reoccurring thing, then"

Tyson whimpered, fiddling with his scrap metal. "Ghosts were here. I don't like ghosts."

Elia felt a strange tug in her gut, as her mind suddenly set off sirens. It seemed to scream: Nico's close. Find him.

Percy seemed to have the same idea, murmuring, "We've got to find him."