Penumbra

Chapter 7 - Terror

The trek from Yellowstone to Camp Jupiter would be long and tiring, but Nico knew they couldn't rush. Kronos would be watching for them and any single mistake would have his attention within mere minutes.

So, the demigods took their time. Still nymphs and other such beings ignored them. Some squeaked and vanished upon spotting them, clearly not wanting to get involved in any fight or possibly even a Titan following them and wanting to know where they went. Nico couldn't help but worry every time he noticed one of them; the Titans weren't above torture to get information from anyone and any one of those nature spirits would have the information the Titans sought. He clearly wasn't the only one, all of the other demigods looked terrified too as they muttered between themselves. Nico noted that a few were arguing between themselves.

"Hey."

Nico blinked, glancing to the side in surprise when he heard that voice. He cleared his throat. "Hi," he returned. He kept walking in silence for several more minutes, trying to keep an eye out for any monsters. Worryingly, there wasn't a sign of a single one in the area. Nico would've assumed they'd have at least come across one monster by now. With the number of demigods he had with them, it was only expected that monsters would come looking for them.

"You look like you need some rest," Will Solace finally continued.

Nico scowled, his hand tightening around the sword at his side. "I'm fine," he disagreed. "Everyone here needs to get somewhere safe. The longer we're out in the open without any protection or shields, it's just likely they'll find us. I'm the best one to lead us there."

"Yeah, but you're not going to be the best if you drop from exhaustion," Will pointed out.

"How are the others?" Nico asked instead.

"Oh, no. We're talking about you," Will said pointedly with a light scowl. "They're alive. But you've barely got any sleep the last few days."

"What, have you been watching me or something?" Nico asked. "I'm fine. We need to keep going," he insisted.

Nico held back his groan when Annabeth materialised at his side. "What's going on?" She asked.

Will pressed his lips together, ignoring the sharp glare Nico shot his way. "I'm trying to tell Nico to get some rest," he stated. "But he's refusing."

Annabeth turned then to look at Nico, probably noticing the dark bags under his eyes and the stiffness with which he moved. She frowned at him. "Will's right, Nico," she said. "You look like you need to rest."

"I'm fine," Nico insisted. "Okay?" He pointedly started walking faster, but both Will and Annabeth easily kept pace with him.

"If you're not tired, then it's something else," Will said. "You've been stressed ever since we started moving to this Roman Camp."

Nico pressed his lips together. "You have been watching me," he said, turning to glare at Will. "Would you stop?"

"It's my job, as the medic in our group, to make sure everyone's okay," Will stated. "You're not okay. So spill."

"Is it something about the Romans?" Annabeth asked.

Nico grit his teeth. "There's lots of things. Just like everyone else, I'm worried about the Titans. I'm worried about the Romans because every time Romans meet Greeks they start a Civil War, and I'm just going entirely off Hades' directions of how to find them, because I've never been there before. And that's not even mentioning that to get there we have to trek through some of the most heavily fortified areas in America now with the Titans taking up residence in California, which happens to be where the Romans are too." Will and Annabeth were both gaping at him, probably surprised with him saying so much, but Nico didn't care. "And then there's the fact that Percy's disappeared since we left the Labyrinth and there's been no sign at all if he's still alive or not."