Solangelo: LOST

Chapter 15

It took a while to convince Leo to head to California. Mainly because it was so far from Ireland, where they had arrived 2 days ago to restock on supplies. 

"It's a sixteen-hour flight!" Leo complained, looking at his GPS screen. "And that's not accounting for any monster attacks. Nico, are you positive these people will help you? I don't want to go all the way out to San Francisco just for them to say no."

Nico tried not to roll his eyes in exasperation. They were all happy here in Ireland, where they hadn't yet been attacked by monsters.  

"Yes, Leo," he replied. "I am absolutely sure they will help us. They owe me for saving them from Sammy." 

Leo grunted in surprise. "How did you do that?" 

Nico bristled. It sounded like Leo didn't quite believe him. He was telling the truth. 

"I'll tell you later," Nico replied. "Right now we need to focus. I'm pretty sure Sammy knows we're on to him. We need to keep a close watch on the sea to make sure he doesn't ambush us or something. I don't think we will be able to stay here for much longer anyway. It's been far too long and I sense something is going to attack soon if we don't keep moving."

 Leo nodded. None of them wanted to risk an attack right now. Not when Jason, one of their best fighters, was sick. There was a thump, and Piper stomped down the stairs.

"Ugh!" she said, flopping down onto an extra chair. "I hate guard duty! Why can't you ever do it, Leo?"

"Hey!" Leo protested. "I have a job too Beauty Queen! And it's kind of more important than guard duty. It's called Steering the Ship. Maybe you've heard of it?"

Piper rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Repair Boy."

"Just leave if you're just gonna make fun of me."

"No, I'm not. I'm actually here to fetch Nico. Annabeth wants to talk to him."

"Oh," Nico said. "Okay. Where is she?"

Piper got up. "Where do you think she is?"

(Time skip [5 minutes])

"Okay, Nico," Annabeth repeated, looking down at her open notebook. "Let me get this straight: The other night you had a dream that Will was placed in a ship cell along with Bianca and Hazel. Correct?"

"Yes," Nico said.

"And last night, you had a dream that Hazel used her Mist powers to create a connection strong enough to allow you to speak with them. Yes?"

"Yeah," he said.

"And the first time you were there, you saw Sammy. Next time you were there, Bianca, Hazel, and Will confirmed it was Sammy who kidnapped them."

"That's right," he replied.

"Did Will, Hazel, and Bianca look starved or in pain?"

"Will was bruised, and Bianca and Hazel were skinnier than usual. I didn't notice any fresh injuries though."

"Good," Annabeth said. "That's all I need from you. You can go now."

Nico nodded and left her cabin.

He went back to his and Percy's cabin and flopped onto his bed. He lay there a few moments, then sat up and reached for the middle drawer in the nightstand. He pulled out a sketchbook, a pencil, and an eraser.

He already had the beginning of a picture frame drawn.

(Ya'll this is my art so please don't judge too much.)

He continued to add more and more vines along the frame until he was satisfied with the results. He then closed the sketchbook and put everything away. He sat there for a little while, just thinking.

They have to be alive still.

What if they're not?

They are.

How are you so sure?

This little voice in his head was starting to get on his nerves. He knew Will, Bianca, and Hazel were alive because he had asked a satyr to create an empathy link between Nico and Will. The satyr had hesitated, explaining that if one of them died, there would be a strong chance the other would too. Nico and Will had taken that risk, and now Nico was grateful they had.

Now that Nico thought about it, the empathy link probably aided Hazel in contacting him, for Nico was constantly connected to Will.

He was interrupted in his depressing thoughts by Percy, who entered the room without so much as a knock.

"Hey,"

"Gah! Don't scare me like that!" Nico exclaimed.

"Oh, hey Nico. Sorry for startling you."

Nico was confused. Percy seemed more quiet than usual. Almost like something was wrong.

"It's fine. Just don't do it again." he finally said.

Percy flopped down on his bed with a small thump. He stared out the window with an expression of longing.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked him quietly.

Percy looked at Nico for a few moments before answering.

"I feel like it's all my fault."

Nico was confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like it's my fault Bianca, Hazel, and Will went missing. After all, the times when they were taken were the exact times I was on watch. I was the only person that could have prevented their kidnappings. That I could have been a better friend."

Nico was completely taken aback by Percy's statement. He hadn't known that Percy blamed himself for what Sammy had done.

"Look, Percy," he started. "If it is anyone's fault they got kidnapped it's mine. I am the one that Sammy is trying to break. He knows that Bianca, Hazel, and Will would do anything to keep me from breaking down or seeing the things they have. I am the one Sammy is trying to break by kidnapping them. I am the target. Not you. Not Annabeth. Not Jason. Me. So stop feeling like it's your fault. That's my job."

Percy looked shocked at Nico's attempt to comfort him. Nico knew he was bad at comforting people, but he hoped Percy got the point.

"Thanks, Nico," Percy said after a few moments of silence. "That helped. A lot. I'll keep that in mind when I blame myself."

Nice nodded, suddenly unsure of what to say next. Thankfully, Percy got up and left the room without another word.

Nico took a deep breath and realized that he was exhausted. He hadn't slept since Will, Bianca, and Hazel had contacted him nearly 2 days ago.

He laid back on his bed and closed his eyes, trying desperately to fall asleep, but sleep seemed miles away.

1 hour later [Read in a SpongeBob Narrator voice obviously]

Nico was still awake despite his best efforts to sleep. He had just decided to get up and grab some Melatonin to help him sleep when the door opened again. He opened his eyes, expecting Percy, but instead, he saw Piper, wide-eyed and shaking.

"N-Nico," she said. "Come- come upstairs please."