Heroes of Olympus: The Aftermath of War

HAZEL

*Rick Riordan owns all of the characters*

HAZEL LEVESQUE DIDN'T know why, but she ran. She ran full speed ahead.

The secret passageway was not, by any means, equipped with a tourist-friendly atmosphere. Hermes's staff got it so wrong when they told her about seeing a pale, limping half blood girl (possibly Piper at this point), who was currently trying to be supported by one horrified male teenager (Jason, maybe?) inside the creepy, stomach-churning structure, and that the two of them needed her help quite badly. The goo-infused, slimy walls and cracking dark brown tiles were sending the demigod tons of shivers down her spine, and, believe it or not, she was having a hard time to ignore it completely. The daughter of Pluto gripped the torch in her right hand tightly and shook her head in confusion, wondering why those harpies and auras had urged her to, "Take a sneak peek, dearie. It's not that ugly, y'know.".

Moral lesson of this recent experience: Don't even try listening to an Olympian's highly-enthusiasic staff if you don't want to end up in a tunnel full of weird, unexplainably sticky slime and several disgusting, unnameable stuff, odors, and whatnot.

Anyway, on with the story.

The ever-energetic Leo Valdez, son of mighty Hephaestus, had also suggested all of them to part ways and explore every nook and cranny of the place, convincing them that this would be the only way to find the daughter of Aphrodite efficiently. As expected, no one wanted to oblige, but since they were already running out of time, she and the others had no other choice.

Frank was reluctant to let Hazel roam the structure on her own, saying that anything could happen in something as short as a second. However, upon reasoning with him, the daughter of Pluto finally persuaded the latter to let her go. Ironically, Hazel's 'brave' decision also led her to be in this complicated position: stuck inside a very weird tunnel on her own, possibly being chased by a creepy monster at this point.

TICK.

SCREECH.

TICK.

The eerie ticking and screeching beneath the corners of the walls made Hazel unsteady yet more alert. Piles of dust and debris from above were now threatening to fall above her, and they did not look inviting, even for a totally hyped demigod such as herself. Heaving a huge sigh, she touched one block lightly with her left hand as it seemed to be releasing a powerful hum, making sure that she would be somewhat...scared afterwards, if that could count as a possible reaction anyway. Sure, inspecting the underground was her specialty, but when another Herculean type of force decided to interfere...well, let's just say that things aren't going to go smoothly.

"Run. Just go on, Hazel. You'll find the end of this tunnel, or so Pluto help me." Hazel murmured to herself almost reassuringly, maintaining her now-quickened pace and deciding to leave the particular mystery alone. After all, she didn't have enough time to suddenly be curious. "Don't stop until you see some light." she added, checking if her Cavalry Sword was still with her before gripping the torch tighter and dashing forward.

The tunnel began to narrow within seconds, its mouth getting smaller and smaller until the demigod was forced to crawl on her feet just to reach---or get a glimpse of---what the next steps had in store. She was forced to put out the light on her torch, which was lying beside her, now lifeless and completely useless, entirely cold to the touch. The daughter of Pluto wasn't sure if her recent action released a good or bad outcome, depending on the angle you'd come to look at it. If she didn't blow the torchlight away, she would've been turned into human roast, and because she did puff that one, reassuring fire off, she became blind to her surroundings.

How wonderful, really.

The humming of the whole structure was now getting louder, and it bothered Hazel even more. Her body began to shake along with the unsteady, cracked ground, while falling debris and tons of dust started building up in her hair-strands, lucky shirt, and skinny jeans. She tried crawling faster, determined to get out as soon as possible. The demigod desperately tried to keep level with the ground, sneaking quietly yet swiftly away from the place which she had gotten herself into by mistake. Curse Hermes's 'helpful' staff.

"Just...a little bit...more." she breathed, her left hand closed in a fist while her other hand grasping the torch tightly for support. "You can do this, Hazel. You are not giving up that easily, you hear me?"

Hazel continued to crawl, albeit she was a little bit dizzy, and started producing short, raspy breaths that were particularly alarming, not that she even cared at the moment. Her main purpose was to escape, and that was what she was going to do.

THUD.

Hazel bumped her head into some sort of wall, making her a bit surprised. However, instead of tending to her aching skull, she touched the said wall again for reassurance, muttering a silent plea for help.

Solid. Entirely, hopelessly solid.

No, this can't be it, the demigod immediately thought, biting her upper lip. Panicking, the daughter of Pluto tried to punch the barrier in front of her, pushed it with both of her hands, tapped it impatiently with her torch, before trying to blast it off completely. As expected otherwise, nothing worked. She had reached the dead end.

"Calm yourself down, Levesque." she scolded herself. "Think, and try to stay calm."

With shaking hands, Hazel touched the wall more softly, absorbing its whole content and eager to find out what was behind it, hoping to get out of the structure at once. As she tried to reach into her mind, however, all she could see was blank. There were a few spaces here and there, but nothing could be called 'valuable'. Not one information had reached her system, which was somewhat weird, especially for a demigod of her kind.

She started to pull her hands away from the wall in dismay, not even bothering to think of another solution. This was it. The end of Hazel Levesque has finally come to greet her in person.

FLASH.

The brick wall started to glow in a blinding shade of light, making her turn to the other direction. An outline of an animal started to carve its way into the barrier, a sort of drawing which seemed to be made in a hurry, lacking intimate detail and other essential things. It blinked, its round orbs staring at Hazel completely before winking at her. Startled, she tried to stare back in question, but the animal remained calm, as if being alive was completely a normal thing.

"I am Turtle." it announced almost suddenly, making the demigod snap out of her reverie. "And you are?"

"H-Hazel," she blurted out, unsure of where to start. "Hazel Levesque, Centurion of the Fifth Cohort in New Rome."

"Ah, I remember now." Turtle nodded in understanding. "Well then, Ms. Levesque, please prepare yourself. We should be going for a spin!"

"Er...what do you mean by that?" the daughter of Pluto asked nervously, having trouble to process the quite weird information.

"Why, we're going to travel, of course." Turtle stared at her as if she had just lost her mind. Well, maybe she did...moments ago. "Let's go to the birthplace of my master: Mount Cyllene, Greece!"

Hazel didn't have time to reply. She fell into the dark void once again, with Turtle staring above her.

xx-----------xx

A/N:

Schoolwork, fever, writer's block, adjusting to a new environment, and I don't know what else! I'm REALLY sorry for taking too long to update (exactly 3 moths or so), but High School has started taking a toll on my body. Anyway, here's a new chapter, dear readers. I do hope you understand!