Meeting You || Ethan Nakamura/ OMC

Chapter 16

|| Car's Outside by James Arthur ||

"Nakamura." Ethan heard Kronos call him.

Ethan pushed through the crowd, standing in front of lord Kronos. Percy Jackson was beside him, staring at Ethan.

"Success, my lord." Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told."

He clapped his hands, and to giant lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them.

"No!" Percy yelled.

"We found him amidships." One of the giants said. "Trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?"

"Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"

"He was going towards the engine room, my lord."

"How do you know that?"

"Er..." Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives."

Kronos hesitated.

"Open his bag." Kronos ordered.

One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down.

What felt out were a dozen cans of peaches.

Kronos' breathing could be heard, trying to control his anger.

"Did you, perhaps," He said. "capture this demigod near the galley?"

Ethan turned pale.

"Um—"

"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"

"Aleks..." Ethan murmured.

He scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran.

Aleks had gone to check the engine room, and it was full of explosives.

He just couldn't believe that this was how it was going to happen next.

"Aleks! Get out of there! The explosives could detonate!!" Ethan suddenly yelled as he was approaching the engine room.

It was a race against time now, and Ethan didn't want to lose the boy in all of this...

"RUN!" He heard Aleks scream as he was running towards Ethan, taking his hand the moment he passed by him.

"Oh gods..." Ethan said as he took the boy's hand and ran with all he had.

He could feel his heart thumping in his chest now, running and running. Ethan just wanted to live to see another day.

And more importantly, he didn't want to lose the boy he loved too.

The whole time, Ethan just kept glancing at Aleks while running, trying to make sure that the boy was still okay and running with him.

They had to make it out in order to survive this...

Ethan felt the force of the explosion push them both to the ground.

He tried to stand up immediately, not wanting to stay on the ground any longer than he had to.

More explosions began to explode, shaking the boat more and more.

"Ethan! Get up!" Aleks screamed in desperation. "Get up!"

But with all those loud explosions and sound hurting his ears, Ethan felt like he was in a haze of confusion.

When he finally heard what the boy was saying, the boy suddenly rushed to him and Ethan's grip tightened on Aleks again.

They wanted to live.

They really wanted to live.

They needed to get away from this boat...

Ethan ran along the front of the boat with the boy, holding his hand tightly. It was probably a good thing that they were holding each other's hands now. Otherwise, with all this darkness and the explosions, Ethan was sure that he would have lost the boy.

There was another huge explosion coming from the back of the boat now, making all the lights suddenly go dark, but Ethan was still holding the boy's hand tightly.

He couldn't let the boy go now too...

Everything went dark for Ethan for a while, but he still kept holding into the boy's hand and stayed close to him.

He wasn't sure how much longer they would make it, but Ethan just wanted to be in the boy's presence for as long as he could.

Did the boy truly believe him now? Or was the boy just staying by Ethan now... to stay alive...?

"Just keep going... Keep going! We're almost at the deck! We just need to keep moving!!" Aleks yelled, keeping a tight grip on the boy's hand as he kept running with all he had now.

There were so many explosions happening at the same time now that Ethan couldn't even take all of this in. He just kept running with the boy in his hand with all his might, trying to get them both to safety.

He didn't want to leave the boy behind, not in this darkness full of explosions...

Then another huge explosion came from the boat, which was so loud that it finally broke Ethan mentally for a minute.

"We have to jump off now!"

Ethan and the boy jumped off the boat and into the water. Ethan had no clue if this was the end of it, but there was really no other choice.

As they were falling into the water, they couldn't say anything.

He just kept falling as the water surrounded them now, falling and falling, not knowing what was going to happen next...

An explosion shook the waters.

Ethan felt the explosion as the heat seared at the back of both of their heads.

Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides. A massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything.

Everything was burning, everything was on fire and it felt like there was no escape from it all now.

In the darkness of the water, Ethan just felt fear now, as the flames falling now lit up the water... The whole world around him felt like it was burning at this moment....

"Are you okay?!" Aleks asked.

"I'm... I don't know.... I'm okay, I guess..." Ethan murmured, his voice sounding weak now. "I'm afraid... I'm really afraid... I don't want to die now..."

At this point, Ethan was just holding onto the boy's hand in the water, not knowing what else to do and also not wanting to let go of the boy too.

Ethan could feel his whole body shaking right now. It was cold water...

He just kept holding onto the boy's hand, trying to feel some comfort now.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asked the boy, a bit anxious about how the boy was feeling.

Ethan still couldn't see well in the dark water. It was a bit terrifying, especially after what he just went through right now.

"I'm okay..." Aleks answered.

"No... No... No..." Ethan mumbled as he felt himself fading in and out of consciousness now, his body giving out from all the fear and anxiety he was feeling right now.

"Aleks..." Ethan murmured, trying to speak out the boy's name. "... Aleks..."

Ethan wanted to keep holding onto the boy's hand, but his grip was getting weaker and weaker...

"Ethan!" He heard Aleks scream.

"Get him up."

It was the last thing Ethan heard before passing out, the voice of someone.

They weren't alone after all.