The Fire In Me (A Leo Valdez Love Story)

The Not-So Worst Day Ever

I can easily say that today was the worst day of my life. But before we go into that, I have to explain what happened before my worst day ever. 

The morning Laura and I got back, no one suspected a thing. Everyone acted like we had slept with them the whole night, and I resisted a smile. No disasters had happened! How lucky could we possibly be? 

I will say that Nico looked at me a little suspiciously during breakfast, but he just waved it off after everything seemed to be fine. 

And everything was pretty great. We saddled up, and waited for Hazel's signal. Hazel gave her staff a shake, and the end glowed. She waved it around a bit, and it pointed northeast. And we took off, one after the other. 

Laura and I were the last ones to go, as always. I kind of liked it. It gave us some time to spend a few moments together, and after that one kiss by the lake, I was ready for anything, knowing that she would always be there for me. I leaped onto Festus, in a really good mood. I reached out my hand to Laura, but she swatted it away. My heart sank a little. Was she rejecting my help? 

Then, finding a chink in Festus' iron hide, she almost flew into the saddle, having enough practice to make her Daddy Leo beam with pride. She laughed softly, and grabbed hold of me, snuggling her head against my shoulder. After we took off, I could hear her snoring softly, and I smiled. She must have been exhausted from the previous experience. I felt a little winded too, but the feel of Festus' machinery under me kept my mind in a fritz. 

We flew for a couple hours, and I happened to looked down at Laura's hand. My heart leapt into my throat. Nestled in her hand was my mother's butterfly pendant. She had kept it in her hand the whole time. I had hoped she would like it. I turned around, feeling light as a feather, then suddenly felt like a lead ball. 

Right in front of me, Tempest was going a little nuts. He was jerking to the left and right, and Jason couldn't seem to control him. Piper's legs were slipping off too, and no one else seemed to notice. Actually, it seemed that Jason and Piper didn't notice at all! Something was wrong, so I shook Laura. She wouldn't wake up. I shook her harder, whispering her name. She snored loudly, and slipped off my shoulder. I yelped and caught her with my arm, feeling my muscles tense and lock. I shoved her back onto me, feeling her limp hands on my lap. My mind started to freeze from panic, but I forced it to stay active. I had to figure out what to do, and fast. 

Quickly, I flew Festus over to Frank, yelling at him to slow down and catch Jason and Piper. He didn't even turn. I tried yelling at Nico, but he was completely oblivious to me. I cursed silently. How was I supposed to get them out of this? My brain turned the rusty gears over and over, trying to process a thought, but Laura's limp posture distracted me. Would she be alright? Could I save everybody? Then, it hit me. 

I steered Festus toward the ground, speeding to Hazel's glowing figure. I flew right next to her, and after securing Laura to Festus, I leaped onto Arion, immediately feeling the powerful muscles of the might animal. He didn't complain, and Hazel didn't turn around. I climbed around her, and shoved my way to the front, pushing her to the back. I gasped. Her eyes were almost completely clear, and her face was smiling slightly. I shook myself. That was really creepy. 

Grabbing Hazel's hand, I tried to wrench her arm toward the left, but it wouldn't budge. I tried harder, and Hazel's arm suddenly went limp, and I hastily grabbed the staff before it fell behind us. I lifted the staff, and pointed it due East. It glowed dimmer, but there was something wrong with the air here. I could smell it. I could also see tiny shimmers in the air, like we were trapped in a bubble. I had suddenly realized that we were stuck in a time loop. There was only one way to get out of it: we all had to escape it at the same time, or else the bubble would just follow us.