Solangelo Rising

Chapter 15 (Nico)

     After Will left I didn't know what to do. So naturally I did what any demigod would do and flopped back onto the bed and fell asleep (again). I was hoping for more sunlit dreams but no such luck. I am, after all, a demigod. Instead I dreamed of Tartarus. I'll spare you the details but believe me, you DO NOT want to visit there. As a child of Hades I saw Tartarus for what it really was, the organs and breath and veins of the pit god himself. Creatures everywhere only wanting to murder you. The depressing, violent air, slowly killing you from the inside out. The morbid thoughts of knowing that any monsters killed there will only keep returning and eventually they'd win. And my dreams brought all of my horrifying experiences back in an instant. I woke screaming, my body shivering and sweating. 

    I finally managed to slow my breathing, though my heart was still pounding. I tried picturing Will's sunny glow and instantly felt more grounded. I took a few more shaky breaths and wandered over to the sink to splash my face with some cold water. It was arctic cold and it chased away the final remnants of the nightmares. I looked around and noticed that it was already afternoon. Had I really slept that long? Guess I had. It was almost time for dinner, but I didn't feel that hungry yet. There was no sign that Will had been back from the infirmary yet. I sighed. I definitely didn't want to go back to sleep now. Not after the terrible nightmares. I started pacing the room, slightly agitated. 

    I had been at pacing for a few minutes when the mini fridge in the corner of my cabin caught my eye. I had no idea how it had gotten there but it had been there since the Titan war. I suspected the Hermes cabin had something to do with it's appearance. I decided to go look in it- maybe there was something magical about it. I cracked the door open slightly, standing back juuuusssstttt in case the Hermes cabin really was up to something. Nothing odd happened. I opened the door the rest of the way and saw- a bottle of Sunny D? I quietly snorted to myself. Will must've had an extra one and put it in here. Might as well drink it. I pulled the cap off, flopped on my bed, and started sipping on the orange juice. Despite the newly developed connotations the drink had developed, it was starting to become my favorite drink. Other than coffee of course. Coffee is life. 

     I started circling the room again. This time I wasn't just pacing though, I was exploring my own cabin. I hadn't really spent much time in here since I had been busy rejecting Camp Half Blood. And so far I hadn't really done anything in the cabin except sleep. On the third pass around the cabin I noticed a deck of cards sitting on the red and black stained dresser. This place seriously needed redecorating. 

    I took a few steps closer before I realized what the cards were- my old mythomagic deck from when I was a kid. How did these end up here? I don't remember leaving them here at any point. Weird. I picked up the deck and absently started shuffling through them, thinking about the days when I didn't know who my father was and my sister was still alive. Good times. I pulled out a random card from the deck, just to reminisce.

    The deck dropped to the floor as I gasped. Out of all the cards I could've pulled, I was holding the Apollo card in my hand. Is this a sign? I couldn't move. I could only stand there in shock, staring at the card in my hand. I managed a glance down to the pile of cards on the floor. Was this a prank? Were they all Apollo cards? The glance told me otherwise. I could clearly see the Hades, Hydra, Athena, and Hercules cards where they had scattered on the ground. Why did I just so happen to pull this card out of all of them? Perhaps the Fates were trying to tell me something....

    I started at the sound of Will's voice behind me. How did I not notice him getting in here!? I quickly turned to face him, and slipped the Apollo card into my back pocket so he wouldn't see. I chose to not point out the pile of cards on the floor and hoped he wouldn't notice them. As I turned around, Will held up a plate and commented "I brought you dinner." Sweet of him, though I wasn't going to say that. Instead I smirked and said "Thanks, and oh, welcome back sunshine. Took you long enough." I mentally grinned when I saw his cheeks redden slightly at 'sunshine' and he started up his Apollo golden glow again. Wonder if that was due to the comment or his paranoid-ness at the whole melting into shadows thing. Either way it was cute. I must've been making a face because he quite forcefully said "Eat. Doctor's orders." I grunted and sat on the edge of my bed next to him, picked up the plate, and started munching on my food. I was actually hungry.