WILL SOLACE ONE-SHOTS

MADNESS

I put a reference to another book series in here. If you get it, you've earned my respect.

Even years down the road, Will was unable to say why it happened at such a time. All he could tell was that it was after the Battle for Olympus.

Michael Yew had died, and Will was struggling to lead the Apollo Cabin. The weight of losing so many siblings was crushing.

It was two days after the battle. Will was doing his rounds in the infirmary, binding Clarisse's arm in a cast. When he finished, she pulled away with a gruff but soft thank-you.

Many thought the rivalry over the chariot between the Apollo and Ares Cabins would continue, but when asked Will said he didn't care about it. He had more important things to worry about. When both cabins lost siblings in the war, they came to a tense sort of peace. Will didn't care who got the chariot-- he just didn't want anymore conflict.

"You're head counselor now?" Clarisse asked. When Will nodded, she studied him, then said, "You're too young to be one."

"I'm the oldest. There's no one else in the cabin who can be it."

A dark look passed over her face before she could hide it. She nodded, staring at the wall. An uncomfortable silence filled the space between them before Will excused himself to continue his rounds.

Will...

He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Will? Are you okay?" Austin asked.

Solace shoved his brother aside and took off running.

It couldn't be. It couldn't be.

He rushed out of the infirmary to the forest, shoes pounding the dirt. He burst into the trees.

Will...

His voice kind, laughter dancing in every syllable. Almost exactly how Will remembered.

Will...

He remembered his dark hair, his brown eyes. His rare smile and kind laugh.

Will...Will...

"Will!"

He gasped as a hand grabbed him, dragging him back. He whipped around to find Kayla and Austin, fear in their faces. With a shake of his head, he looked around the forest, at the trees and plants.

No one.

"What are you doing?" Kayla asked.

"I...I heard him." Will's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Heard who?"

"Michael." A shuddering breath. "He-- he was calling my name and I... I followed his voice and..."

Realization crept in. Will gave a violent shudder, stumbling back. He pressed a hand to his forehead. No fever. He wasn't ill.

Before the fear could truly set in, his siblings were embracing him, telling him that everything would be okay, that they were there for him.

It was the first hallucination.

It wasn't the last.

☀️☀️

It kept coming.

Voices would call from the woods. Mostly Lee or Michael, but sometimes it would be a patient that had died.

In the beginning, Will would wander the woods for hours at a time, desperately searching for the source of the voices. But soon he forced himself to stay put for the sake of his siblings. When the hallucinations started up, he would pace the cabin like a trapped animal, hands raking through his hair, or curl up on his bed hands over his ears, knowing full well nothing could block the voices out.