"Pass me a rotor!" I yell from up above Leo. I'm laying across a support beam, trying to attach the first oar to the ship. He's been working on the rotors that will move the oars.
"What?" He yells over the music blasting.
We're working outside of Bunker Nine, where we decided to build the ship. It's too big to build inside, we'd never get it out. We've cleared the trees all around the bunker to make the wooden frame of the ship.
"The rotor!" I yell louder.
"I don't have the router yet!" He yells back. "Let's build the ship before we start thinking about the details! I promise we'll have WiFi!"
Oh my gods. "Leo!" I yell as loudly as I can. "The rotor!" Right as I scream, the song ends.
"Oh, the rotor. Why didn't you say so?" He asks, climbing the scaffolding. He sits on the plank I'm laying on and hands me the piece. "You look cute when you build stuff." He kisses me on the forehead, relieving any frustration I had.
"I'm worried about the timeline, Leo. We just finished the frame and we're just now installing the first of the oars. It's been three months."
"We'll get it done." He insists. "We have to."
Another song starts playing. I've taken to playing music while we work on the ship. I love music. There's a song for every occasion. And since other demigods can't touch technology, I get to pick the songs. But it doesn't seem like anyone minds. Usually, working on the ship, we listen to a lot of rock. Rolling Stones, ACDC, Metallica, Guns n' Roses.
I finish attaching the first rotor, and look down the side of the ship. From this angle, everything is upside down. There's so many more to go, and then the other side.
"Take a break." He offers. "You've been here longer than I have."
I bite my cheek. I haven't really been sleeping much. My dreams are plagued with nightmares. Gaea, the dark pit, giants. And I keep seeing myself, eyes glowing white like they did when I fought Porphyrion. I keep hearing Gaea's voice, goading me to turn on my friends, to present them to her as sacrifices. Whenever I wake up from a nightmare, I come here, to Bunker Nine. Sometimes I even sleep here. But Leo doesn't know. He would just worry.
"Yeah, okay." I smile, sitting up.
"Did you eat breakfast?" He asks. "I didn't see you."
"I ate something here." That's not a lie. I ate an apple I forgot here yesterday.
He examines me warily. "You need to take care of yourself. Chiron made you head camper to make things easier on everyone, not to dump a burden on you."
"I know." I take his hand. "I'm okay, I promise."
He squeezes it and kisses me on the cheek. "Go take a nap. You're beautiful, but you look exhausted."
"Hey, lovebirds!" Nyssa calls up to us, yelling over the music. "It's dinnertime!"
How is it dinner time already?
"Coming!" I yell back.
