Little Ray Of Darkness {HOO/Solangelo}

Chapter VII

Nico couldn't see anything. This wasn't right. Shadow travel only took seconds, he should be there by now. He couldn't feel Will or Lou Ellen's hands anymore. This never happened before. He heard a faint buzzing noise. It grew louder until the buzzing took the form of muffled words.

"Oh my gods!" He heard Will's panicked voice.

"What do we do?" Cecil said.

Nico started to see a blurry image. The place they landed looked like a watercolor to Nico. It was hard to see and everything blended together. He couldn't see details, only color and movement. He could make out Will, Cecil and Lou Ellen standing over him. He could only tell them apart by their hair color. Will had a splotch of yellow-blond hair on top of his head. Lou Ellen's was dark, and cut short. Cecil had a mess of copper brown hair.

"Nico can you hear us?" Lou Ellen spoke loudly.

Nico wanted to say 'yes' but he couldn't move his mouth to form words. He couldn't move at all for that matter. He felt paralyzed.

"I knew he wasn't ready to shadow travel! This is all my fault!" Will's voice broke.

"Don't just stand there, you're the healer, try to help him!" Lou Ellen ordered. Will ran out of Nico's view.

Nico wanted to tell them he was okay, but he wasn't sure if he was actually okay. He wanted desperately to move, to speak, just do anything than lying on the ground, helpless. He tried to scream but his vocal chords didn't work.

Will ran back in view with a first aid kit. He kneeled next to Nico's head. As he leaned over him, Nico could see his features more clearly. He stared at Will's sapphire blue eyes. Although Will was putting on his calm doctor face, Nico could see the worry in his eyes.

Nico felt sleepy all of a sudden. His body felt heavy, as if the ground itself was pulling him deeper.

"Will, hurry! He's fading more." Cecil yelled.

"I know! I've never tried to heal someone who's body is disappearing into shadows!" Will grabbed a bottle of golden nectar from the first aid kit. He uncorked it and and poured some into Nico's mouth. His vision slowly came into focus. He blinked, his eyes were still heavy, but he didn't feel as weak.

"He blinked!" Lou Ellen gasped.

"Nico! Can you hear me? Say something!" Will put his hands on Nico's shoulders and leaned over him.

"Esspp..." Nico uttered with a lisp. He didn't know what he had tried to say. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air.

"Nico!" The three other demigods exclaimed in relief. Nico pushed himself into a slumped sitting position.

"Oh my god Nico! You're okay!" Will hugged him but quickly pulled away. He wore a more stern expression, "I told you that you weren't ready to shadow travel, you almost died!"

"Stop lecturing him, Will. He was close to death, give him some space." Lou calmed him down.

"Wh-where are we?" Nico croaked. Although it was still dark from the lack of the sun, Nico could tell this wasn't California. He looked around, he was lying in some dry grass behind what looked like a small wooden building with chipping red paint.

Cecil shrugged, "We're not sure."

"Let's go inside that store, maybe someone can help us." Lou Ellen suggested. They all agreed. Nico began to stand up, but felt dizzy and couldn't keep his balance. Will wrapped his arm around his back to support him. Nico slung his arm over Will's shoulders and they hobbled into the store.

It was just a small country store. The walls were all wooden and decorated with old wagon wheels and rusted washboards.

'This definitely isn't California' Nico thought.

A small section of tables and chairs took up the back corner of the shop and the rest had a variety of packaged snack foods and assorted fresh fruits and vegetables. The four of them walked up to the counter. The store was empty besides the blonde woman working there.

She smiled brightly at them, a little bit of her red lipstick on her teeth, "How can I help y'all?" She asked with a Texan accent. Nico hoped they hadn't landed in Texas. It was too far away from California, it would take days to get there.

"Um we were hoping for some directions." Lou Ellen said, "Where are we exactly?"

"Why, you're in Page, Arizona! Did y'all get lost on the way to the Grand Canyon?" She asked.

"No, no. We are trying to get to California, to Rancho San Antonio County Park." Will explained.

"Oh, well that's a bit far away." She pulled out a smartphone from her pocket, "Let's see... According to the internet that park is 800 miles away from here. About a 12 hour drive. See?" She turned her phone for them to see the map. A route was traced out in blue.

"12 hours!" Will groaned.

"Sorry sweetheart." The woman shrugged.

They thanked her and took seats at one of the tables in back. Will bought each of them food. Nico didn't feel hungry, but Will forced him to eat an apple.

"You need the energy." Will told him.

The woman chatted with them as they ate. She must have been bored from the lack of customers. "Funny how dark it is out today. Not one spot of sunshine all day, just clouds. Normally, now at 7:30 there's a gorgeous sun set, but not today."

Nico almost choked on a bite of apple, "It's already 7:30?" He coughed.

The lady nodded, "Yessir."

"Is there a bus station near by?" Lou Ellen asked, suddenly alarmed at how late it actually was.

"Yep, just a mile away, take a right at the end of this street and then a left on Main Street." She guided.

"Thanks!" Lou called as the rushed out of the store. They began to walk. Nico trudged down the street, he could walk on his own now, but he still felt very tired.

Finally they reached the bus station. A couple people milled around, waiting for their bus, looking at a map, and buying tickets.

"Is there a bus to California tonight?" Will asked the man in the ticket booth.

The man looked at a paper, "Last bus to San Jose leaves at 8:15." he informed them.

"Four tickets for that bus please." Cecil held up four fingers, one for each of them.

The man looked at them skeptically, "Where are you kids going to in California?" He questioned.

"Our grandmother's house. She lives in Cupertino." Lou Ellen quickly lied.

"All four of you are related?" The man raised an eyebrow.

"We were adopted." Cecil covered.

The man nodded, and handed them their tickets.