Where You Go ― Jason Grace

xxv. keep hope

NO ONE SPOKE for a long time in the aftermath.

Percy and Annabeth were gone. The pit to Tartarus had been buried under several tons of debris. Leo pulled the Argo II out of the cavern seconds before the entire place imploded, taking the rest of the parking lot with it.

The Argo II was now parked on a hill overlooking the city. Jason, Hazel, and Frank had returned to the scene of the catastrophe, hoping to dig through the rubble and find a way to save Percy and Annabeth, but they'd come back demoralized. The cavern was simply gone.

The scene was swarming with police and rescue workers. No mortals had been hurt, but the Italians would be scratching their heads for months, wondering how a massive sinkhole had opened right in the middle of a parking lot and swallowed a dozen perfectly good cars.

Dazed with grief, the crew carefully loaded the Athena Parthenos into the hold, using the ship's hydraulic winches with an assist from Frank Zhang, part-time elephant. The statue just fit, though what they were going to do with it, no one knew.

Annabeth was always the one with the plan—and now she was gone.

Coach Hedge was too miserable to help, and Ophelia and Piper, too injured to help, were stuck watching him pace the deck with tears in his eyes, pulling at his goatee and slapping the side of his head, muttering, "I should have saved them! I should have blown up more stuff!"

Finally, Leo told him to go belowdecks and secure everything for departure.

The seven remaining demigods gathered on the quarterdeck and gazed at the distant column of dust still rising from the site of the implosion.

"It's my fault," Leo said miserably.

The others stared at him.

"No," Hazel insisted, seeming to understand what the others couldn't. "No, this is Gaea's fault. It had nothing to do with you."

Leo didn't look convinced.

"Leo, listen to me." Hazel gripped his hand. "I won't allow you to take the blame. I couldn't bear that after—after Sammy..."

She choked up.

Nico shuffled over, leaning on his black sword. "Leo, they're not dead. If they were, I could feel it."

"How can you be sure?" Leo asked. "If that pit really led to... you know... how could you sense them so far away?"

Nico and Hazel shared a look, maybe comparing notes on their Hades/Pluto death radar.

"We can't be one hundred percent sure," Hazel admitted. "But I think Nico is right. Percy and Annabeth are still alive... at least, so far."

Jason pounded his fist against the rail. "I should've been paying attention. I could have flown down and saved them."

"Me too," Frank moaned. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Ophelia put one hand on Jason's back and the other on Frank's shoulder, hoping to provide some silent comfort.

"It's not your fault, either of you," Piper said. "You were trying to save the statue."

"She's right," Nico said. "Even if the pit hadn't been buried, you couldn't have flown into it without being pulled down. I'm the only one who has actually been into Tartarus. It's impossible to describe how powerful that place is. Once you get close, it sucks you in. I never stood a chance."

Frank sniffled. "Then Percy and Annabeth don't stand a chance either?"

Nico twisted his silver skull ring. "Percy is the most powerful demigod I've ever met. No offense to you guys, but it's true. If anyone can survive, he will, especially if he's got Annabeth at his side."