EMPATHY

I

Nita wished she could say she was having a normal day before Apollo's chariot crashed into the lake, but in truth, she hasn't had a normal day since she was ten years old.

What most people would call a normal day doesn't exist at Camp Half-Blood. There's always something out of the ordinary. Trees turning into people, wars against Titans, the mysterious disappearance of the camp hero. Always something.

She'd been all over camp this morning, helping out in any way she could. A visit was made to the infirmary, which as of late usually had at least two or three children of Hephaestus, where she helped Kayla restock bandages and give out ambrosia and nectar.

"Thanks again, Nita." Kayla expressed her gratitude. "The Hephaestus campers just keep coming, and I'm by myself until noon."

"Of course," said Nita, giving the Apollo girl a warm smile. The Hephaestus kids have been on the receiving end of some bad luck lately. The results of their failed contraptions were never pretty. "Where's Will? Did they give him Percy's slot with the younger campers today?"

Kayla huffed. "Yeah. Archery practice."

Nita hummed, nodding. "I had them yesterday."

It was probably the longest two hours of Nita's life. She, being the pacifist she is, decided to take the younger campers to the arts and crafts cabin instead of doing combat practice. She felt bad for them, but she didn't have the slightest clue how to handle any type of weapon. And who doesn't like macaroni necklaces?

"I miss Percy," a small Hermes boy whined.

Nita sighed, "Me too."

"Ever since Percy's disappeared everything's gone all--" Kayla made a vague gesture with her hand, "willy-nilly. I mean, usually we're fine without him, but all of a sudden Olympus is closed off and we have no contact with the gods. That can't be coincidental."

Kayla was right. Something strange was happening, but no matter how much she wanted to express her concern, it's in Nita's nature to comfort others. "Don't worry, Kayla. Annabeth left on her quest this morning with Butch. She's certain she knows where he is. She'll find him."

The door to the infirmary opened. Another Hephaestus camper, being escorted by two of his siblings. This one had a nasty burn along his left forearm. Kayla sighed, looking at Nita pleadingly.

"I'll help with this one, but then I have to go find Juniper."

***

Nita sat near the edge of the forest under Juniper's tree, delicately twisting vines, stems, and purple flower heads into an intricate flower crown. She thought about giving it to Miranda Gardiner, figuring it would brighten her day a little.

"Grover's not having any luck with the empathy link."

Nita sighed, resting the back of her head on Juniper's tree. "That's disappointing."

It's been exactly three day's since Percy Jackson's disappearance. No one knows where he went; not even his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. The couple had come to camp to spend winter break together. The next morning after they'd arrived, Cabin 3 was empty, no trace left of the Son of Poseidon.

It's not the first time Percy's gone MIA, but this felt weird to Nita. Usually, she could figure out the reason behind his running off. His best friend kidnapped by a Cyclops? His crush being forced to hold to sky on her shoulders? Obvious reasons why he'd leave camp against literally everyone's orders.

But now? Nita couldn't piece the puzzle together. What could have possibly urged him to flee this time around? Of course, they hadn't been able to contact Olympus or any of the gods for a month now, but what could he do about that?