Where You Go ― Jason Grace

x. jason takes a mid-flight nap (and almost dies)

OPHELIA WAS GETTING really tired of her boyfriend almost dying. It was becoming a particularly nasty habit. 

Something must have gone wrong while he was on duty fighting some of the wild venti that kept threatening the ship, because when she and the rest of the crew came up to the deck out of pure chance, he was blacked out and rocketing down toward the sea. 

Only Piper's quick thinking and charmspeak saved his life. She yelled WAKE UP! with so much force even Ophelia felt like she could stay awake for three days straight on just a few hours of sleep. With a millisecond to spare, Jason had summoned the winds and avoided becoming a floating patch of demigod grease on the surface of the Adriatic. 

Once back on board, Jason pulled Leo aside and suggested a course correction.

As they ate lunch, Jason told them about his midair dream-vision. 

Afterward, everyone was quiet long enough for Coach Hedge to finish a peanut butter and banana sandwich, along with the ceramic plate. 

The ship creaked as it sailed through the Adriatic, its remaining oars still out of alignment from the giant turtle attack. Every once in a while Festus the figurehead creaked and squeaked through the speakers, reporting the autopilot status in that weird machine language only Leo could understand. 

"A note from Annabeth." Piper shook her head in amazement. "I don't see how that's possible, but if it is—"

"She's alive," Leo said. "Thank the gods and pass the hot sauce." 

Frank frowned. "What does that mean?" 

Leo wiped the chip crumbs off his face. "It means pass the hot sauce, Zhang. I'm still hungry." 

Frank slid over a jar of salsa. "I can't believe Reyna would try to find us. It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship." 

"If she lives," Hazel said. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with eight demigods and a warship." 

"And me." Coach Hedge belched. "Don't forget, cupcakes, you got the satyr advantage." 

Everyone looked to Jason, who'd zoned out a little. Ophelia reached over and squeezed his arm.

"Jason?" Leo asked. "Argo II to Jason. Come in." 

Jason blinked, realizing everyone was looking to him expectantly. 

"Yeah, sorry." He touched the groove that Sciron had cut into his hair with a bullet. "Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt. But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will." 

Piper circled her spoon through her soup. "Well, I'd love to see Reyna again," she said, and Ophelia didn't miss the way her cheeks were tinged red. "But how is she supposed to find us?"

Frank raised his hand. "Can't you just send her an Iris-message?" 

"They're not working very well," Coach Hedge put in. "Horrible reception. Every night, I swear I could kick that rainbow goddess..." 

He faltered. His face turned bright red. 

"Coach?" Leo grinned. "Who have you been calling every night, you old goat?" 

"No one!" Hedge snapped. "Nothing! I just meant—" 

"He means we've already tried," Hazel intervened, and the coach shot her a grateful look. "Some magic is interfering... maybe Gaea. Contacting the Romans is even harder. I think they're shielding themselves."