The Infirmary

Nico's P.O.V.

Nico was cold.

He leaned his head back against the wall, hoping that it would help stop the spinning. It seemed like things were spinning a lot recently, Nico considered absently. But he guess it made sense, the world spins all of the time.

Nico could see Will giving him glances between helping different campers. He desperately wanted to lay down, because maybe that would stop the spinning, but Nico knew that if he did, Will would drop whatever he was doing to make sure he was okay.

Nico decided that he was fine, and could probably handle a little longer.

Are you sure?

Oh, that was great, Nico thought. The whispers were back. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

How are you Nico?

Nico shrugged. It wasn't like he was bad.

Soon, he'll get tired of you. Nico, he won't want you around anymore. You'll be all alone again.

Nico looked up to see Will quickly look over his shoulder at him while helping another camper. It was then that Nico realized that these voices were new. They weren't there before. They weren't even there in Tartarus. He scanned the room, eyes squinted. Where was this all coming from?

I've always been here, Nico. And I'll always be here.

Nico kept scanning. This was new, he knew it was. So was the darkness that had filled his lungs. All of this was new - well, except being exhausted after shadow travel. That had always made him tired. And cold.

Gods he was cold.

The chaos of the infirmary just made his dizziness worse, Nico realized, watching children of Apollo run around and try to help everyone they could. He wished he could help. Maybe reduce the stress that was beginning to crease the space between Will's eyebrows, causing a small frown to form on his face.

You're no help, Nico. You know that.

And you're annoying, Nico thought, shutting his eyes for a second as his vision blurred. He really hoped that Will would be done soon, he realized. Nico did not feel great. Opening his eyes, Nico painfully looked around, having lost track of Will in the crowd during the short amount of time.

Finally, Nico spotted him leaning over someone's arm as he wrapped it.

He won't want you around after today. You've been too much work.

Nico really could not begin to care at the moment. He was tired. This was a problem for future Nico. His vision blurred again, more intense this time. For a quick second, Nico could see Kayla's face as their eyes met, hers filled with concern. A loud, long tone filled his ears, causing Nico to no longer be able to decipher what was around him.

He was now on the floor, Nico realized, as small hands readjusted his head and patted his shoulder. Kayla had caught him and was trying to get his attention, but Nico couldn't focus. The tone was too loud.

Too much work, Nico. You're just too much work. You can't help anyone. Who have you helped, Nico? Your sister?

Maybe this was a problem for current Nico.

That sense of dread had never left him, and was swirling around him more furiously by the second. The tone was getting louder still, causing an ache behind Nico's eyes.

It was a heart monitor. Nico's breath hitched with the realization. It was a heart monitor. Someone was dying.

Will was going to be so mad, Nico thought as he grabbed hold of Kayla's hand. Within seconds, they were in an infirmary room. The tone was no longer just in Nico's head, but echoing in the air around them.

Through blurred vision, Nico could see Kayla looking back and forth between Nico and the heart monitor in disbelief. Giving a quick thank you after what had just happened finally registered, Kayla sped off with a mumble of getting help.

Nico leaned breathlessly against the wall, his arms shaking with exhaustion from trying to hold himself up. His lungs burned, and Nico let out a weak but strangled cough as he looked up to see who was on the bed.

There, a small girl lay. Thin, brown hair circled her head like a halo, her eyes sunken in, her skin pale. Vaguely, Nico thought about how he had looked like that just days before. There was something else there though. Something more familiar.

Did Nico know her?