Heroes of Olympus - The Blood of Olympus (Discontinued)

Chapter 34 - Hazel (Part 1)

Chapter 34 - Hazel

It was the whispering that awoke Hazel. Her eyes opened to darkness, her mind lulled by the motion of the ship. She didn't know what it was, but every part of her mind pulled her back toward the depths of sleep. Checking the time, she realized she'd only been slumbering for about fifteen minutes. It was 7:37 P.M. She and the others had gone to bed after Leo informed them that the guys on the island were alright, and that they'd be coming back soon.

She shuffled around so that she now lay on her stomach and readjusted her pillow, getting comfortable in the bed sheets. She was just starting to drift off again when the whispering returned, followed by the soft but unmistakable noise of clanking metal coming from down the hall, almost as if an intruder were trying to sneak up on them in a suit of armor.

She lifted her head and stared at her door.

A tiny haze of light was filtering beneath the crack, as if a lamp had been lit outside in the hall... either that or someone's door was open.

Hazel knew she couldn't let it go without investigating. Her mind and body protesting, she lifted the covers off herself feeling the sudden chill of cool air without the protection of the blankets, and crept to her door, opening it ajar. She peeked out, looking down the hall.

At the end of the corridor, the door to the cargo hold was slightly open, letting in a small beam of light.

Hazel sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

What was Leo up to now...?

She pulled on her robe and tip-toed down the hall, stopping outside the door to the cargo hold. Peeking in, she couldn't see Leo, but could hear him somewhere inside, panting like a maniac, the clatter of tools once in a while, a scrape of metal on metal.

Hazel gently pushed the door open, cringing at the low creek it made. "Leo?" she asked.

Leo was at his work table, at the far end of the room, his arms flying over something he was constructing. But right when Hazel entered, he straightened up so quickly, he almost lost his balance.  Whatever he'd been working on - an oddly distorted metal craft - slipped and fell off the table, almost hitting the ground with a predictably loud crash, but not before Leo made a wild stoop and caught it with a grunt, the momentum carrying his legs over his shoulders in a forward roll, the son of Hephaestus landing heavily on his side with a loud THUMP!

Hazel jumped back in surprise, but then moved forward again. "Whoa, I'm sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. Leo, what're you doing?"

Leo scrambled to his feet, his object cradled between his arms. "I didn't want to wake anyone," he muttered, turning around and setting the object back on the table, the metal making a clanging noise. "Why must I always make noise?"

It was as if Hazel weren't even there.

Taken aback, she hurried forward, standing at his side. "Leo, what's going on?"

"Shhh!" Leo suddenly crouched so that his head was level with Hazel's hips, his wide eyes staring up at her, a finger pressed to his lips. The oil lamps hanging above cast dim shadows over his face, making his elfish features look ghoulish in the low light.

Hazel scowled down at him in utter confusion. "What?" she hissed.

Leo straightened up once more. "I can't get distracted," he said as if speaking to himself. "This will be my greatest masterpiece yet."

Hazel gripped the sides of her head in sheer frustration. "Leo! What. Are. You... Talking about?"

At that moment, the door flew open and Piper and Annabeth entered the room hurriedly. "What's going on?" Piper asked. "We heard a crash and-" She fell silent at the sight of Leo and Hazel. "Leo, what're you doing?"