The Jacksons (completed): Book 2 - Percy Jackson Fanfiction

~ Chapter Thirty-Five: NERO

Chapter Thirty-Five:

NERO

"Nero? Nero, bud, get up."

Adam was shaking me. I opened my eyes. Fire burned around us. Smoke curled in the air, grasping at people, trying to choke us. Adam was covered in soot and had a massive gash in his head.

"We've got to get out of here," he was saying. "Listen, the whole facility's gone bang. Reyna grabbed Esme and they flew off out of the way. I can barely see, mate. Get up."

He slapped me across the face and my ADHD kicked in; I pushed him off with my feet and jumped off, wired to go. Standing up, Adam noticed his cap was missing.

"Crap," he muttered. His blonde hair stuck up in all directions. Then his eyes widened. "DUCK!"

Instinct threw me to the ground and something soared over my head. Fresh screams burned through the air as it landed some few feet ahead of us, and I felt the impact of hard metal burying into the ground. The screams were silenced.

The smoke was thickening. My vision was tinted with orange and red and yellow, here and there, with the grey tinge rocketing through every now and then. I rolled out of the way as flames licked towards us.

Then I saw them. Nightmarish figures walking through the flames, completely untouched. Led by a man in his late twenties, with dark hair and skin as pale as milk... and eyes like black crystals, cold and invincible.

"Take out any remaining monsters," the man commanded. "Fight with your last breath, soldiers."

He came towards Adam and I. I could barely see but his eyes pierced through the hazy burning of the flames.

"Nico di Angelo." He didn't smile, or offer a hand; he just kept stony-faced. "I'm a son of Hades. I, er... I knew your dad. A while back."

He gestured behind me. "My half-sister will be along soon. Meanwhile, my legions of dead will hold back any monsters. I'm not sure what to do about these fires, though." He glared at Adam. "Can you take them out?"

"Worth a try," Adam replied. "Listen, where's Leo and Esme and everyone?"

Nico shrugged. "Leo was seen chasing some man, I did notice that. Last I saw of Esme was her on a horse, and then she was gone. Now. These fires. Go."

He disappeared in a vapour of steam, leaving me and Adam confused.

"What do we do?" I asked him.

"I guess we just do what the creepy guy said," Adam muttered. "Let's go."

We started, Adam jetting streams of water out of his palms. I tried to search for people but I was coughing and spluttering. Adam wasn't looking too great, either; he had all his old bruises (I still didn't know how he looked the way he did a year ago) and that cut down his forehead. We were both weak.

Neither of us saw Nico. Adam's attempts were making no difference and I couldn't hear any thoughts. Either nobody was near... or they were all dead.

Another explosion rocked the ground. I fell and saw Adam knocked off his feet. Crawling over to him, I was slammed to the dirt with a boot on my back.

"GET OFF ME!" I tried to yell, but I was muffled with grass in my mouth. It came out more like, "MMT OFMM MMM!"

I got spun round and punched in the face. Zarah sat on me, her teeth clenched, eyes blazing with fury. She wrapped her hands around my neck.

"This," she roared over the hissing of the flames. "THIS is your fault, Nerovian Jackson. Don't you see? The demigods who ran into that facility to destory the Borne Extermination Agency... they're all dead. You, your sister, and that flaming Grimshaw. You three bear the weight of death after death after death!"