The Half-Blood Project

34- The Foretelling Of Tradgedy And Certain Death

William Solace 

"You know Pipes, this is a pretty cool place, not gonna lie." Nico gave Piper a small smile as the rest of us hiked up the hill and spread out the picnic basket and blankets everyone brought along. We were currently somewhere in Ohio and it was pretty, sitting on a hilltop overlooking the sunset. 

"Thanks, thought it might be nice to chill for an hour or two here." Piper shrugged and I knew she was trying to downplay it but everyone seemed to think Piper was nod some goddess or something. 

I sat down on the blanket with Nico, Piper, and Leo, tired from today's long journey. It was the nineteenth, and according to Leo, we would be there by the twenty-first. 

I chewed an apple and avoided all of the vending machine and gas station junk that they bought at the rest stop a few miles back, it makes me sort of sick looking at it. Like if artificial and sugar had a baby. Do they even know how bad it is for their teeth? 

"I think we should head through Scranton, I know a guy who knows a guy and he'll give us room and board for a night, but only if I play a stupid game with him." Nico spread a map of the United States out on the grass and pointed to the dot with Scranton scrawled next to it. I'd never been so far north. 

I'd lived in San Antonio until I was about fourteen. When I was thirteen I met Percy Jackson and helped him patch up, he invited me to go along with him but I had refused, but he had given me a way to contact him in emergencies. When a pack of hellhounds chases me across the Texan desert, I called Percy and within days he rescued me and I've been trying to repay the guy ever since. 

I went to visit my mom sometimes, she was a nurse in San Antonio still, I'd call her every Saturday and visit when I could. She never talked about dad, but I loved to spend time with my sister Wilma who migod. 

"Hey," Nico nudged my shoulder. "You okay there?" He smiled and handed me another apple, I'd finished the first one. 

"You know an apple a day keeps the doctor away right?" Leo joked and Piper punched him in the shoulder. 

"Just...kidding," Leo smirked and held his side painfully. 

"An apple a day won't keep the doctor away, especially this doctor." I grinned 

We laughed and joked in the dimming sunlight, the trainee's sparred and wrestled playfully, everybody seemed to be happy, away from what was to come soon, the inevitable. Even I forgot about our goals, what was soon to happen and all. But it'll come back. 

"What happens after this ends though? Will we disband?" I asked. I also knew I was asking the wrong people, but this had been nagging me in the back of my mind for a while now. The Project had given me hope, friends, family, inspiration. 

Piper shrugged. "We may go our separate ways, but the way Percy described this Long Island place, he said it used to be a demigod sanctuary, maybe we could rebuild it." 

"I should tell you guys something." Nico set down his soda and burped and exhaled softly through his nose like he was struggling to say something. 

"My dad." Nico chewed a granola bar apprehensively. "He visited me in a dream. Told me about training in the Underworld, something about my past he needed to tell me about, about Bianca and all." He stared at the ground. Nico had become one of my best friends. How ironic though, a child of the sun god and a child of the Hell Ruler being best friends. 

"You should." I blurted out. Why was I even saying this? If Nico trained in the Underworld, he would be gone for months at a time and I wouldn't get to see my friend. But I also wanted what was best for him.