The Mist's Misfortune: The Child of Wisdom

18

    Someone screamed my name. I opened my eyes to see that I was being awakened by Will.

"Annabeth!" He said as he helped me sit up on what seemed to be like the stone cold pavement of the distraught town.

"What happened? Where's Steve?" I asked him as I scanned the area.

It seemed like we were in the middle of a two-way intersection, which would have been dangerous if not for the lack of cars and townsfolk.

The whole place seemed deserted.

But before Will could speak and answer my question, Nico appeared by the shadows of a nearby dark alley.

He looked like he was about to pass out.

"Nico!" Will ran towards him and took him in his arms. "Are you alright?"
Nico simply nodded, too tired to speak.

Will sat on the sidewalk and let Nico rest on his head on his lap. Nico fell asleep almost instantly.

"What the Hades is going on?" I asked as I sat down next to him.

   "I literally have no idea." Will turned to the sleeping son of Hades. "Guess we'll find out after he gets his rest."

   I examined Nico's sleeping face. He seemed as though he had participated in a triathlon three consecutive times.

   He looked dead tired. Will seemed to have noticed it too.

   He gently stroked Nico's hair continuously.

   I turned my head to the sky. It was almost sunset.

"The sun's about to set." I stood up. "We need to set up camp soon."

Will turned to me. "Of course."

I removed my knapsack and rummaged through the supplies Victor had previously packed for me for what seemed like an hour ago.

An image of him falling onto the pavement popped into my head but I shook the thought away.

Instead, I focused on looking for the cube we had previously used as a tent.

"Annabeth?" Will spoke all of a sudden.

"Yeah?" I turned to him.

"Why don't you look after Nico? I'll set up camp instead."

"But-"

"I insist."

Knowing I couldn't possibly refuse his offer, I took his place and had Nico's head lie on my lap.

He took my bag as well as his own and began fixing up our sanctuary for the night.

I turned to the eeriely empty street. I wonder where the people were.

It was as if they all left simultaneously.

How oddly peculiar.

    I find it strange how we got here. Did Nico shadow travel us to safety? If he did, then why?

    I shook my thoughts away.

    We'll get our answers when Nico wakes up so there's no use in feeling hung up about it.

    Everything happened way too fast. Was it because we had left Hecate behind?

Soon enough, Will finished setting up the tent.

With great effort, we carried Nico towards the bed inside. He didn't wake up but his face bore an alien expression. An expression he doesn't always wear.

An expression of happiness.

A smile.

    Will couldn't supress his urge to smile. He sat by the bed and stroked Nico's hair.

    "I'll see what we can eat for dinner." I said, helping myself out of the tent.

   The street looked incredibly dark now. Only illuminated by a flickering street lamp.

It was unusual how we weren't encountering any sort of monster for the past few minutes.

But it's still good to have a break from running.

I looked through my knapsack and found a bunch of packed sandwhiches-which I'm pretty sure are squished right now.

Victor must've made this.

The thought of my half-brother filled me with guilt.

I could've saved him. I could've done something about it.

But instead I ran away and left him.

It's all my fau-

"It is not your fault, daughter of Athena." A voice spoke from the shadows.

"Huh?"

As the light flickered, I caught the sight of startling green eyes.

    "Hecate?" My eyes widened.

    "Although trapped in this form, it is still, very well, me." A black cat I knew very well to actually be the goddess of crossroads approached and sat directly in front of me.

    "But, how did you get here?" I asked.

    "I believe you will find the answer when the son of Hades wakes."

    When Nico awakes.

     I wanted to risk another question but I think that I would get the same answer.

    "You seem more troubled than ever, dear Annabeth." Hecate pointed out.

    "I am." I admitted.

    "It is about your half-brother, is it not?" She asked.

     I nodded. "What did you mean by it wasn't my fault?"

    "I would not worry about a trivial matter like this if I were you." She spoke in what seemed like a dark tone. "It would do you good in the future."

    "Trivial?" I was taken aback. "My half-brother's death is a trivial matter?"

    Raising my voice against a deity was unwise but I couldn't help myself.

    "The only one in your group who can gurantee that someone has passed on is the son of Hades, is it not?" Hecate gazed at me with annoyance. "Then does that not mean that you are not sure that what you claim is actually true?"

    She was right. Nico is the only one who knows if someone's soul is about to go to the Underworld.

    Even if he was the one who had stabbed Victor, he was the only one who knows if he actually died.

    "Your silence shows that I have proven my point." Hecate scoffed. "Be thankful that I am merciful in this form. An undesirable tone against a goddess is unwise."

     I merely nodded.

     "Annabeth!" I heard Will shout from inside the tent. "Annabeth! Where are you?!"

     "I'm here. What is it?" I asked as I turned to the tent's opening.

    Will peeked through the tent's door. "It's Nico. He's awake."

    I bolted upright. Hecate walked into the tent before I did.

    "Nico?" I spoke as I went inside.

    There I saw the son of Hades sitting upright as he ate a piece of the ambrosia squares we had packed previously.

     He stared at me with an unreadable expression.

     "What is it, Nico?" I asked.

     His gaze was disturbing. It was as if he was about to tell us news that we never thought would even come to pass.

     "Victor was never with us." He said in a monotone. "He was in Camp Half-Blood the whole time."