Finding A Sister : A Nico Di Angelo Adventure

We Desert People

Jacket watched intently out the window as the clock struck 3:30. Oliver would be back soon, and her and Stella would have to tell him the truth. They were leaving him here to keep him out of danger. 

Once Nico woke up they devised a strategy to figure out who was messing with them. Since they hardly knew anything about who was responsible, their only plan was to see what they do next and figure it out from there. 

The bus arrived at the stop and Oliver stepped out. He was wearing his Crochet purple top with pants that were covered in patches with drawings and writings on them. 'He looks like a frickin gay model' Jacket thought to herself, 'why does he have to be so adorable all the time?' 

Her thoughts carried her to that friday afternoon. They were both on their way to go to the bus and Jacket was nagging Oli for a kiss. They had never actually kissed before and Jacket was feeling extremely bold. Apparently, so was Oliver.

"You want a kiss on the lips?" Oli asked. They had stopped walking and a few of their friends formed a small circle. 

"Yep," I said, like an absolute idiot.

Without a second thought, he kissed her. It was quick, nothing too special, but it felt amazing. All she could remember clearly was how his lips looked before they collided with hers.

Olive walked up to the porch and walked inside to see Jacket completely zoned out at the window. He snapped in front of her, and Jacket fell off the couch. 

"Sorry-" was all he could say in between giggles. He had worn amazing beautiful neon pink eyeliner today, and he just looked so much like himself. It was amazing to think that this wasn't October anymore. Jazz was gone, Oli had moved, and Stella and Jacket were demigods, it was all so crazy. Even crazier to think that just three months ago they were all drinking Monster and eating freeze-dried Skittles in Mr. Vasich's room. 

"Olive, we have something to tell you," Never a great way to start a conversation. 

"What's up?" 

Nico cut in, "We don't want to put a non-demigod in harm's way. So we unfortunately have to leave you here." Not necessarily the most sensitive way to put it.

"We have to investigate who brought us here and why," Stella said. 

"So you're leaving? But you just got here!" He looked so broken and all Jacket wanted most was to squeeze him and tell him it would be alright. Something kept her from doing so. She instead stood stiff as a board and attempted to hide in the corner. The shadows drew her in like they usually did, only this time something was different. As soon as she felt comfortable they spat her out like a popcorn kernel. It threw her across the room and she landed face down in the corner of the couch. 

"Jacket are you ok? What happened?" Nico asked concerned. 

"Remind me to stab those shadows later." 

"Uh ok?" 

"Where are you guys going first?" Oli asked. 

"Bell Witch Cave," Jacket blurted impulsively. 

"What the heck is that?" asked Oliver. 

"A cave that is 'Haunted' by the spirit of a witch. It's in Adams, Tennesee." Stella replied. The others just gaped. "What? I know my witches. Why do we need to go there anyway?"

"Something told me in my dream last night to go there. I'm not sure exactly what, but I'm guessing it's the same thing that brought us here." 

"Why can't you bring me again?" 

"Because Oli, we don't want to put you in harm's way. Besides you have to look after Murphie." 

"My parents will be back tonight so technically I could go with you."

"Oli, no"

"Oli, yes" 

"I can't do this with you right now. C'mon Nico, Stella, we have a haunted cave to visit." They all grabbed their bags and walked out the front door, leaving a lonely Olive Garden behind. 

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They arrived at the Detriot Airport and got through security with no issue. Stella managed to manipulate the mist to turn their weapons into 3oz bottles of shampoo. They also got us bumped up to first class with their certain charm. We boarded and I immediately felt out of place. 'This is nowhere near where I'm supposed to be', my brain told me. 

After two hours of horrible turbulence, we arrived at the Nashville airport. It was rather small all things considered, but the art on the wall was nice and it had some good snacks. 

We then realized that we had spent our money on those last minute plane tickets and that we couldn't even pay for a cab. 

"You guys have any drachmas? We could use the grey sisters taxi service," Nico said. 

"I think I have one. Whatever teleported us didn't think to give us much money." Jacket reached into her pocket and pulled out two drachmas. "One for taxi, other for IMing Annabeth to see if she can figure out what's going on." 

"Good idea," Stella said while yawning. They had slept most of the time on the airplane because the seats were rather comfy.

"We should find somewhere more private before we do anything. How about we go to a car wash or something? They should have a hose we can use." Jacket had only been to Nashville once before, and she never left the airport. How was she supposed to find a car wash on foot?

Luckily, as soon as they left the airport and got on the highway, (on foot of course) they saw a small run-down car wash with a hand water sprayer. The place was called 'Anna-k's Car Wash'. The sign looked extremely rusty and just looking at it could give someone tetenus. 

We put in $1 in quarters and put the stream directly into the sunlight. "O' Iris, accept our offering, show us Annabeth Chase." The water shimmered before showing us a blonde girl sitting on a bed studying The Iliad. 

"Oh! Nico! what's up?"

"We were wondering if you knew any deity who can control shadows and teleport people." Nico said. 

"Wow. Okay, thats a handful. Who are you with? Is Will there?" 

"No Will isn't here. This is my sister Jacket, and her friend Stella." 

"Wait Jacket? Where have I heard that name before?"

Jacket stepped into view of the IM and Annabeth let out a soft gasp. 

"Adrianna? I thought you left camp for good. And a child of Hades? How did I not know about this?"

"My dad didn't claim me until last week. Now please answer the question, were on a time limit here." 

"Ok, so what I found in my books is that who you are facing is most likely a primordial or the child of one. Not one that we've faced before, but a primordial none the less. Most likely one of the few self formed primordials such as Gaia or Tartarus." She continued to spew facts at them about different gods but one caught Jacket's attention more than the others. Ananke. Anna K.