The Sun Without Stars Solangelo

The Intruder

Will's POV

Do yourself a favor and back the fuck off Solace.

Why he had drawn back from Nico that day, he had no idea. Will had felt so terrified for a second. He blamed the nightmares that plagued him, but the guilt gnawed at him, consuming him constantly.

He'd made Nico think he found him repulsive.

Unsurprisingly, the campers were getting annihilated. At least the hunters seemed to follow rules better than the Ares kids, so he ended up nursing minor sprains and such during the game while his hunter counterpart was stuck with larger injuries.

When the event started, he scoured the crowd for a certain boy with jet-black hair; however, even when the crowd dispersed, breaking up into search parties and front-line fighters, he failed to catch a glimpse of Nico.

Where are you?

Nico hadn't sat by him all week, favoring his spot between the hunters. The bags under his eyes seemed to darken and he seemed as gaunt as ever, his hair now by his jaw and often brought up in a ponytail by Reyna. 

Will's only comfort was Reyna, who seemed to be giving Nico a hard time about his food almost as much as Will would have. What worried him most, though, was that he hadn't come to the infirmary at all during that time, no matter how many times he asked Reyna to bring it up to him.

The entire morning, he'd been trying to ignore the shadows that tended to inch closer the second he lost focus, dancing behind him as if playing a game. Around twenty minutes into the game, they grew rowdier, no longer tame and evasive.

Chiron, who stood a couple feet away, pinched the bridge of his nose while watching the scrambling young campers.

As if out of nowhere, a growl came from the trees. Will shook, dropping his scissors.

Is it there? Has it come for me?

The shadows had kept him on edge for a while now, but he feared the thing of his nightmare had finally come for him.

Gold glistened near Chiron, appearing at lightning speed. It whimpered, and nipped at Chiron's leg, to which he pushed it backwards.

"STOP!" Chiron shouted, the horn blaring in response. Never in all his years of being here had a capture the flag game ever been cut short, so many assumed that a team had found the flag, looking between each other awkwardly.

Chiron approached Will, leaning down to whisper something to him and the hunters' medic, Vinni.

"Something's happened with Reyna. It has to be a dire emergency if she's sent her dog."

It must be Nico. What if something's happened to him.

Aurum looked back at the two as if to say, "What are you waiting for." The dog twitched nervously and, when it gathered their attention, finally cantered into the woods. Will reached for his bag and ran after it, Chiron and Vinni further ahead with their strong, melodic gaits.

They arrived at a clearing, where Reyna came into view, looking pale and... sick? He noticed vomit a few feet from where she stood. Two bodies lay behind her, he realized, though their skin was splayed open, insides strewn on the floor.

It was THE monster. HIS monster had done this. He could just feel it.

"I came here and they were already dead. I caught sight of the culprit–he wore a black hoodie–but they ran away in that direction," she told them, pointing up the hill towards the end of the camp grounds. Chiron came close to one of the bodies, mouth turned downwards as if he, too, were going to be ill.

"Will, hand me a coin." When he complied, Chiron flipped it. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Connect me to Dionysus." The mirage formed itself, showing Dionysus who was lounging on one of the lawn chairs.

"What do you want now?" Dionysus removed his sunglasses, neglecting to raise his head.

"Two campers are dead. Get all the older campers together and have them pair up and scout the area. Tell them to report but not in any circumstance engage with someone in a black hoodie. No camper under the age of twelve is to set foot out of their cabin." Dionysus' jaw hung open. He scrambled up and out of frame.

Chiron sighed and said solemnly, "Owen...Cameron... I'll tell the Ares cabin of their deaths. Vinni, can you take care of any injuries with the campers and hunters? Will, help Reyna out and make sure Nico is aware that someone dangerous is about camp. He is the only one who wasn't present." Chiron and Vinni left the two of them (not including Aurum and Argentium) with the bodies.

"Are you sure you didn't see it?" Will questioned. He could feel the monster's eyes burning holes in him, its presence suffocatingly strong here. Despite the fact that Reyna had her dogs as protection, he felt like something was just waiting to attack him here.

"Will, the killer wasn't a monster, they were a person," Reyna replied, her gaze remaining on the bodies.

"Forgive me if it sounds crazy, but does this kind of remind you of an offering?" Will asked, feeling like he might double over and retch any second, his eyes teary from the awful sight. Reyna nodded slowly, as if the idea had already dawned on her.

"I'm going to go tell Nico. Knowing him, he's always in the wrong place at the wrong time," he grumbled. Will sped walked up the hill, making it into the dense forest.

"Wait up. I've got to keep you safe," Reyna said, catching up with Will. She seemed just as eager to leave.

"Your really don't--"

"I do," she insisted. It seemed to remind her of something, because she grew quiet, as if contemplating something.

It took them less than ten minutes. By the end, Reyna hadn't even broken a sweat, while Will's breathing had grown laborious. 

"Nico, this time I'm deadly serious. Open the fucking door," Reyna roared.

Reyna walked up to the cabin door when Will hesitated, knocking sharply. However, the door was unlocked, and budged open under her strong fist.

Nico stood frozen before them.