The Blood of Three

Chapter 49

I slowly opened my eyes. Kyle was kneeling beside me with his palms on my chest, his eyes puffy and his cheeks soaked with tears. Dylan was sitting on the other side of me, his face pale and his eyes wide with disbelief. I sighed, relieved I'd made it.

At least a dozen demigods were gathered around us. Even though they were standing about ten feet away, I felt claustrophobic until the searing pain from the gashes on my stomach replaced that fear. My blood soaked my shirt and continued to ooze out of my wounds. I looked at Kyle with tears in my eyes.

He nodded knowingly and placed a hand on my wound. The pain subsided enough for me to give him a small smile. I took a deep, shaky breath. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Don't ever do that to me again," Kyle ordered. "I mean it. You scared me to death."

Suddenly, I grew alert. "Terran?" I questioned urgently.

"It's okay. He was taken care of," Dylan assured me. "We need to get you to a doctor though," he urged.

Nodding, I closed my eyes. Kyle removed his hand from my stomach and the agonizing pain immediately came back. I cried out in pain.

Kyle looked at me with sympathy. "I'm going to get you out of here." He ripped off a piece of his shirt and tied it around my stomach, over the wound. Closing my eyes, I tried to block out the pain. An arm slipped underneath my legs and another behind my back before my weight was lifted off the ground. My stomach tensed, sending jolts of pain across my torso like lightning bolts. I was now in Kyle's arms with my head rested on his shoulder. Gripping his shirt in my fist, I sobbed.

"Riley?" A familiar man ran in our direction, pushing the crowd of demigods out of his way. His familiar blue-green eyes searched mine, filled with worry.

"Dad."

He looked from my stomach wound to Kyle, who still had tears in his eyes. "Get her back to Safe Haven," he ordered Kyle. "Dylan, I need your help over here."

Dylan nodded. "Hang in there," he told me before chasing after my father.

Kyle took a few steps forward before I felt his warm breath on my ear. "Close your eyes," he whispered. I did as I was told and after a short moment, Kyle starting jogging. I opened my eyes and recognized the path we were on. My eyes met the building he was running to. It was Terran's house.

My eyes widened. "No—Kyle..." I choked, coughing up blood.

"It's where we're meeting a child of Apollo," he explained quickly. He started moving faster, jarring my body back and forth with every step.

"It hurts..." I cried, blood trickling on my lips.

"Hang in there." His eyes were glassy, but he forced himself to hold back the tears. "Stay with me."

My gashes wouldn't stop bleeding. My blood saturated both my and Kyle's shirts, and his hands were drenched with the fluid; not one spot remained clean. He had done CPR on me.

"You saved my life," I whispered.

He looked down at me. "I'm still working on that." He pushed open the building door and ran down the hallway.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Someone help her!" He ran into a room and two boys raced to my aid. I sobbed as Kyle laid me down on a metal table that had a white blanket thrown over it. Coughing once more, blood trailed down my chin.

"She's lost a lot of blood," I heard a male say.

Kyle combed his fingers through his hair. "Really? I hadn't noticed," he spoke sarcastically. "Now do something!"

A demigod quickly placed an IV into my arm and a few moments later, I began to feel numb. I looked at Kyle, who was nodding. "You're going to be fine," he assured me.

"Are you sure?" I whispered.

He nodded as a tear slipped down his cheek. "I promise."

"Don't leave," I begged.

He shook his head. "I wouldn't dream of it."

I faded in and out of consciousness, and even when semi-awake wasn't quite fully aware of what was going on. After what could've been hours, I woke up completely.

Kyle was sitting by my side and a demigod of Apollo was occupied on the other side of the room. I realized the numbness had worn off and I was left to dread the pain again. Kyle noticed I was awake and slipped me a comforting smile. His eyes weren't as red as before and a relieved expression shielded his face.

"You are as good as new," a boy spoke from across the room. "Well, not brand new, but I at least stopped the bleeding."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"You'll get along just fine if you rest for the next few weeks," the boy instructed me. I nodded at his suggestion before he walked out of the room, leaving Kyle and me alone.

"I want to go see my dad," I told Kyle.

He shook his head, denying me. "Right now, you need to rest," he insisted. "Poseidon can visit you later."

"I'll be fine, Kyle. The bleeding stopped."

He sighed. "I know, but it's best if you just stay here."

My eyes pleaded with his. "Please?"

"No."

"You do realize I'm going to get up and go see my dad whether you help me or not, right?"

He shook his head. "You're so stubborn."

I grinned. "Yeah, yeah. You've told me before."

Kyle rolled his eyes before placing a hand under my arm and helping me up. I gritted my teeth and fought against the pain as I sat up. As soon as I stood, my ankle collapsed underneath me. "Here." He reached down and touched my ankle, making the pain completely disappear. I smiled, thankful. We made our way down the hall and out the front door. "This isn't a good idea. You're in pain," Kyle said, helping me down the path.

"Yeah, no kidding." I winced. "Where are our dads?"

"Why didn't you say anything when the numbness wore off?" he asked, not wanting to change the subject.

"I didn't think it was a big deal," I said, adding, "You didn't answer my question."

"They're still at the site of the fight," he replied, sighing. "Close your eyes." I did as I was told.

A moment later, we were back at the scene where Typhon had almost gotten away with getting onto Mount Olympus. Demigods were walking around, weapons in hand, doing everything they could to help clean up the mess.

The Big Three and Dylan were standing to the side, discussing what looked like an important matter judging by their expressions. Kyle placed his arm across my back, helping me carry my own weight, which I was thankful for. The portal was now nowhere to be seen and according to Kyle, it had been taken care of by Poseidon.

Was it all over? Would everything go back to normal? What was normal for demigods? This was probably an average, everyday thing for them. This is what they did; they fought monsters for their own survival.

"So what exactly happened?" I asked Kyle.

Kyle sighed. "After Terran attacked you, he walked toward the portal. I was about to stop him, when I heard a rustling in the trees. It was demigods from Safe Haven coming to help us. They killed Terran and he disappeared. It was weird, though. He didn't fade to a mist like monsters usually do. He erupted into flames and then disappeared completely." Kyle combed his fingers through his hair. "Then everyone gathered around us and I did chest compressions on you until you woke up."

Demigods were walking all around us, some staring while others quickly glanced avoiding eye contact. I recognized some of the faces, though I didn't know any of their names. There weren't as many as there used to be, either; many demigods died in the last big fight. "Thank you," I told Kyle.

Nodding, he helped me walk to our parents. "You're welcome."