Solangelo 1

Part 40

NICO

Will, unsurprisingly, is called for an emergency operation on one of the Ares kids who got caught in the lava on the assault course.
One of his younger sisters runs to find him and finds us sitting by the lake. He barely gives me a kiss on the forehead before he's running off with her to the infirmary.
I lean back on the sand and close my eyes for a while, liking the sound of water moving about. But then I sit up suddenly, aware that someone is close.
'Hello?' I say, knowing that it must be someone from camp. No one else can get in, 'Will?' I ask.
No one replies. But I know I heard something, felt something.
'Will, if this is you, this isn't funny. You know if you jump out at me my reflex is to attack you. I might hurt you.' I say, but still nothing. It's not Will.
And then I see a flash of an orange T-shirt approaching the forest. I rush to my feet and shadow travel to the edge of the forest.
'Hello?' I shout, then look behind me, no one around. I sigh and speak to myself, 'Gods, okay.' I run into the forest.
The forest has this affect of responding to people. When we come in to play capture the flag and other games often, it becomes open, welcoming. But as soon as we stop, once we avoid the forest for a while, it builds back up with thick roots sticking out of the ground, nettle bushes, and a strong canopy blocking out the sunlight.
'Hello?' I call again, to no answer.
I start to shadow travel, scouting the area methodically. I work my way deeper and deeper. And just as I begin to get work down, start to lose my balance, I see her, a girl I recognise from the Aphrodite table. She's the youngest one in the camp. 'Molly?' I call, 'Mary?' I know it's something that starts with an M. But she doesn't respond.
I run closer to her and I see how vacant she looks, unaware. But her body is trembling like she's scared.
I grab onto her arm and she turns, pulls away. She doesn't let up.
I grab her around the waist and she screams and kicks and hits me.
'Calm down, you're okay. You're okay.' I say, but she won't let up. I was hoping to get her back the normal way but I don't see that happening.
I make sure I'm holding her tightly and then close my eyes, falling into the shadows.
I reappear in the clearing outside the infirmary, unable to focus enough to get an exact pinpoint. Luckily there are people wandering around.
'Nico?' One boy, Austin I think, from the Athena cabin asks, seeing me appear, completely dazed, just about holding onto Mary.
'Hold her.' I say, 'she tried to go to forest. Still wants to.'
I fall back and Mary sprints off, but Austin grabs hold of her. He calls out and the nearest person, a Hephaestus girl, comes to my side.
'Are you hurt?' She asks, assessing the situation as best she can.
'Just mentally.' I say, trying to sit up but my arm gives way beneath me. She quickly helps lower me back to the floor.
'Seems pretty physically draining.' She says, then looks to Mary who has started to calm down, 'what was she doing?'
'Tried to go into the forest. Wouldn't listen to me. Had to shadow travel.' I say, my eyes growing heavy. But I don't want to sleep, 'can you get Will?'
'Will, Yeah. Yeah sure. Just...sit tight.' She says. I can hear Austin muttering comforting things to Molly who seems to be crying a lot, but less frantically than before.
'Nico, she says she was with someone else. She thinks they might have gone into the forest too.' He says, and I freeze. I was so sure it was just her. I didn't even think to look for anyone else. I move to my knees and try to stand, but I fall to my hands, the world spinning in front of me.
'Dude, sit down. You saved Molly. You've done enough.' He says, but I move slowly to my feet.
I take one step and my knees buckle and I fall back to the floor.
I feel a soft hand on my back, and I'm gently lifted to be sitting up, leaning against something, someone.
'Hey, eyes open. Keep your eyes open, you idiot.' He says, and I smile slightly.
'Will.' I say and he laughs, but a worried sort of laugh.
'Yeah, it's me. It's me. I'm going to get you back to the infirmary, okay?' He says.
'No, no, there's someone still in the forest.' I say, but he grips my arm tight.
'I can't let you go back in there.' He says. He sees Austin still holding onto Molly, 'get her in the infirmary, make sure one of my siblings is with her, then try find the Aphrodite head. I think that's Freya now.'
Austin hurried off without question.
'Will, I can do it, I need to...' I trail off, and Will recognises what's about to happen before I do, because he holds me to one side and holds my hair back as I throw up.
'There you go, you're okay.' He says, waiting for me to finish. When I'm done, he picks me up easily and I can't even think to argue. He carried me into the infirmary and rests me on my bed.
I catch a look at myself in a mirror and see that my skin has grown paler, my face gaunt. I don't recognise myself. No, I do. I do. I look how I looked the day I came out of Tartarus. I close my eyes.
'Eyes open.' Will says, and I ignore him. But he pulls one open and shines a light in, 'open your eyes.' I open them slightly. 'Good.'
It goes on like this for a while - Will telling me to do things, I refusing at first, then doing it when I remember he knows best. Between things he talks casually though, tries to gather what happened without seeming like he's being too serious.
He stops and looks over at Freya who's just entered through the curtains.
'Sorry, I know you're not meant to come in when it's shut.' She says, gesturing to the curtains, 'I just needed to make sure he was okay.'
'He'll be okay.' Will says, and I let out a snort of laughter, 'see, he's already got his charming humour back.' She laughs a little, then moves over to the side of my bed.
'I, uh, I just wanted to thank you. So much. For saving Mary. We...I...I don't know what we would have done. Thank you.' She says, and I realise she's crying. I look to Will quickly out of panic, and back to her. I don't like when people cry.
'It's okay.' I say quickly, 'wasn't a problem.'
'You could have died.' She says, fairly dramatic, 'you saved her. And all of my siblings are so, so thankful.'
'Anytime.' I say, and I can see Will smiling.
'Isn't he an angel.' Will says, placing his hand on my head. She nods and thanks me again, then goes back to Mary.
'The hell was that?' I ask, swatting his hand from my head. He laughs and I can't help but smile briefly as I think about it, 'isn't he an angel? You prick.'
I look up at Will and see him smiling at me. He perches in the edge of the bed and brushes the hair out of my eyes.
'You did a really good thing.' He says, quietly.
'Yeah, well...' I say, trailing off as I look at him.
'Yeah.' He says.
'Aren't I an angel.' I say, and he's smiling again, an annoyed, happy, tired laugh. And I love him so much.
'Yeah, You are.' He says, hitting me lightly on the shoulder, 'no modesty though. Got to work on that.'
'I'll see what I can do.' I say, as he continues to sort through medical books and medicine. I just watch him work, full aware that this is the happiest I've ever been.