Olivia Smith and the Titan's Curse

We've Got A Dam Problem

Song For This Chapter: Fences - Paramore

Ch. 20 - We've Got A Dam Problem

    Reaching the end of the junkyard we came across a beaten down, rusty pick up truck that didn't seem as if it would run. Yet, as Thalia reeved the engine, it sparked to life and had a full tank of gas - so we took it. Thalia drove, everyone was took shaken up to even focus on the road. 

    I stared blankly down at the small figurine that lay in my open hand. It was shiny, metallic, and slightly beaten up. Yet, even then, I could tell that it was Hades, he had the same somber face and dark, blank eyes.

    "Those skeletons are still out there," Thalia piped up, glaring out the windshield to keep herself from looking directly at the grieving company she was in. "We need to keep moving." Zoë offered the passenger seat to me, but I politely refused, knowing how uncomfortable she'd be sitting in the trunk with two boys.

    The air was dry and warm as we flew through the desert, kicking up blinding sand as we went, leaving a trail of dust behind as our only memorial to Bianca. It was still hard to believe - that she could just disappear like that.

    My eyes flickered from the tiny statue, to Percy, then back again. What was I going to do? I had no certainty about my own life, let alone whether I was going to ever see Nico again. But, I couldn't ask Percy to talk the figurine, he'd ask me questions and then I'd have to admit the dilemma about the fruit I was hiding in my backpack. 

    "It should have been me," Percy furrowed his brow, glaring clouded eyes down on his lap. "I should have been the one who'd attacked the giant on the inside."

    My eyes widened as I shot him a small glare. "Don't say that, Percy," Clenching the little Hades tighter, I tossed my head towards the side, watching the world roll by. "If any one should have gone, it should have been me. I can't die that easily." My voice broke slightly as the words spewed from my lips.

    Grover shook his head, casting the both of us a look of disbelief. "It's bad enough that Annabeth is gone, and, now Bianca is. Do you think I could stand it if..." Grover shot Percy a withering look, sniffling slightly. "Do you really think any one else would be my best friend?"

    "Ah, Grover..." Percy frowned, lowering his head as if he was ashamed. 

    Giving Grover a small smile, I reached over and pat him on the shoulder, looking into his watery eyes. "I'm... I'm fine, thanks Olive." Watching Grover get emotional over the thought of losing Percy, I had the same revelation that I'd subconsciously been dwelling in for over the past year and a half. 

    Every one else was going to die. 

    Grover, Thalia, Percy,... Penny. They were all going to die one day - hopefully no time soon, but, just like Bianca, they were mortal. They were wasting away. And me? I was eternal - immortal. In one hundred years, I'd still be here and everyone I love and ever have loved will be long gone. A thousand years from now? No one will remember me. I'll still be a prisoner to the Olympians. Trapped in a life I never wanted for myself. 

    I was going to do it, eat the fruit I mean. I couldn't stand the thought of spending another moment alone. I'd been alone my whole life. The only good memories I had were of the times I'd spent with Annabeth, Percy, and Grover. All of my other memories were blurred and old. 

        And, in memory of Bianca, I would carry this token of her and Nico until I returned from this quest, a mortal. And, I will deliver the token to Nico diAngelo in person, free from all godly ties.