Aftermath

3

Hazel

I'm outside and weeping. I stand alone in the crowd as people rush around me, screaming for their siblings, friends or parents.

I can't find Nico. I can't find his one and only friend and I'm scared.

"HAZEL!" I hear and turn around to see my mom and stepdad. I run to them and we hug. My dad never hugs.

"Where's Nico?" We all ask in unison. My dad swears and my mom claps her hand to her mouth. They each grab one of my hands and we push through the crowd, trying to find someone that Nico at least knows.

We see Thalia and Jason Grace on the stairs of the school and ask. "Have you seen Nico?"

"Oh, god." Jason says and starts crying even harder then he was.

"He was in the library with me. I think-" Thalia begins.

"Mr. and Mrs. di Angelo?" A woman dressed in SWAT gear, minus the helmet grabs my mom's arm. "Your son was one of the people who was shot. He's at the hospital now."

I've never actually seen my dad, Mr. Hades di Angelo cry. He's this tall guys, with pale olive skin like his son's and slicked back Italian hair. He owns like 20-something companies that do things I don't pay attention. Today that changed.

It took a second to register with him. The chaos around us seemed to melt away and he tear up. At this point, his ever constant blazer was off and his tie draped around his neck. As he dropped to the ground, it looked like a scene from a romantic movie, only much, much worse.

Annabeth

We were looking at a painting of a fat guy sitting on a horse when Mr. D's phone rang. We could tell by his face that whatever was happening on the other end of the line, was the opposite of good, because Mr. D doesnt usually show expression.

He pit the phone down and tried to talk. "Children-" he was cut off by a wave of emotion.

"This cant be good, he called us children and not brats like he usually does." Micheal Yew whispered to me. I nodded.

"Something happened back at school. We'll call your parents and ask them to pick you up here." He finally said, after trying for about 30 seconds.

Our class erupts. We all have bunches of questions.

"What's happening?"

"Is everyone okay?"

Eventually, someone who works at the museum comes over to shush us.

"Th-there was a shooter at school. Multiple people are at the hospital."

Percy. I pull my phone from my pocket and text him. Normally, we'd be in trouble from that, but today no one cares.

After 3 minutes, Percy still hasn't responded. I take a deep breath, reassuring myself that he's fine. I call him.

"Percy?" I ask once he picks up. I hear sirens and yelling in the back. Lots of yelling.

"Annabeth," his voice cracks.

"Oh my god. What happened?"

He starts on a rant, describing the day in detail. It was horrible to say the least.

"It was Reyna and that tiny emo kid who she always hangs out with her."

"That's Nico. Is he okay?"

"Annabeth- I have no idea." He's crying.

"Where are you?" I ask.

"In the car. With Paul and mom."

"Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay." I say, not knowing what to do.

"I can't." He's obviously not in a good place. He's wheezing. I can't help it at this point and I cry to.

Frank

I don't know what's going on.

I mean, I know that there was a shooter, and that people are in the hospital, but I don't know what's going on.

It's so loud and overwhelming. My mom was the woman who came into our classroom to make sure we were alright and I haven't seen her since.

She was whisked away into the crowd of parents, kids and tears. I sit on the steps of the school and text Hazel.

They're driving to the hospital. Her texts don't seem like normal Hazel, which definitely makes sense. Her brother is at the hospital.

She tells me that she like she didn't know how much she loved him. She thinks that she should have hidden the bus with him this morning.

I imagine her in tears and just want to hug her. Or hold her hand. Can't get too scandalous, though.

"Frank!" I hear someone call my name and look up. It's Jason and Thalia Grace. They zoom over to me and settle down to my right and left.

"What's your take on this?" Thalia asks. Jason stays quiet. His face is red and puffy and he's obviously been crying.

"I dunno. It all seems so surreal. You read about this kind of thing. It doesn't happen in real life. Or didn't, I guess." I say, staring at the ground directly in front of me.

"I know." Thalia agrees, shaking her head. "I hope Reyna is okay. And Nico. And Luke. Everyone who got injured."

"Yeah." I nod. "Where are your parents?"

"Last I checked, our mom was passed out drunk on the couch and our dad was in New York for business." Thalia mutters.

"You... you could stay at my house?" I suggest. "My grandmother's really loud, but we have food and extra beds."

"You don't have to." Jason speaks for the first time.

"I want to."