End of the Line

#7 - The City with No Sky

Chapter 7 - The City with No Sky
published: Wednesday, 16 January 2019

When the sun set and the moon rose, the five demigods pried up the floorboard under the cover of the night.

Hazel peered down the seemingly endless void of darkness and discerned a staircase spiralling downwards.

She could feel tunnels extending from the stairwell, their entrances and exits blocked with rubble and dead ends. The whole maze made her dizzy. 

"Ladies first," Leo said weakly.

Jason rolled his eyes. "I'll lead." He shouldered past Leo and started down the staircase. 

Annabeth followed after him, Leo right at her heels. Hazel hurried in after him, not wanting to be last.

When they were all on the staircase, Frank slid the floorboard back over their heads, plunging them into absolute darkness.

The abrupt absence of light sent a shiver of fear through Hazel. She was suddenly reminded of her death, oil filling up her lungs and blocking out her vision.

Hazel blindly reached for anyone, and she grasped familiar fingers.

"F-Frank?" she whispered shakily into the darkness.

Frank gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "Hey, hey, I'm here."

For the first time in ages, Hazel felt completely at ease with him.

The last few weeks were filled with clumsy exchanges and awkward silences. Hazel constantly caught Frank staring at her with a strange expression on his face, and when she locked gazes with him, he would always turn away. He kept blushing and stuttering around her, or simply avoided her altogether.

She frequently found him muttering to himself, then glancing at her before looking away.

All Hazel wanted to do right now was kiss him in the darkness, but she forced herself to remain calm.

There was some shuffling around before Jason's sword burst into being, the Imperial Gold casting a dim golden glow. Annabeth unsheathed her dagger - the celestial bronze similarly lit up - and Leo held a flame in each palm.

Their dim halo of light was the only illumination as they descended the staircase.

Hazel's hand never left Frank's as they followed Leo.

Hazel continued down with bated breath. She half-expected monsters to start jumping out of the walls.

"Did you hear about the girl was so keen on road safety and always wore white at night?" Leo's voice echoed around the stairwell. "Last winter, she was knocked down by a snow plough."

When no one else joined in his nervous laughter, Leo didn't seem to mind laughing by himself.

"Did you hear about the idiot who sat up all night wondering where the sun had gone? The next morning it dawned on him."

"If you don't shut up, you won't live to see the next morning," Annabeth growled.

Leo gulped and they continued in silence.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone seemed to be anxious about the lack of opposition.

"It shouldn't be this easy," Annabeth kept muttering. "What about the test?"

"Is that it?" Leo murmured to Hazel. "I don't want another Godzilla incident."

"Maybe the Agathians were friendly people," Frank said hopefully.