The Blood of Olympus - A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Chapter 45: Do the Worm!

Leo

            "Oh my Hades--" Leo gasped as he spotted Hazel right in front of him. They eyed each other suspiciously for a moment, neither of them making a move or sound. Well, that is until the large worm almost took his arm off. At that moment, it didn't matter if Hazel was real or not, they both ran for their lives.

            As they ran, Leo's eyes continuously flashed over to Hazel, trying to determine if it was really her or if it was just another trick that Tartarus was playing on the Son of Hephaestus. He hoped it wasn't the latter. Even if she wasn't real, at least Leo didn't feel as alone and lost as much as before.

            "We need to kill this thing," Hazel spoke up for the first time. Her honey voice was the same as he remembered, and her curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He wanted to believe it was her so badly, but he had learned not to easily trust anyone after Tartarus had taken him. Still, he nodded in agreement.

            "But how?" He questioned back with huffs of breath leaving his mouth.

            Hazel was quiet for a moment before answering, "Just distract it for me!" Leo wiped his hands on his pants, giving a brief thumbs up as Hazel began to fly back around the other direction. Meanwhile, Leo waved his arms wildly in the air, trying not to act completely terrified and vulnerable.

            "HEY YOU! YEAH, YOU! I BET I COULD DO THE WORM BETTER THAN YOU," Leo shouted at the worm, waving his arms back and forth more crazily as he watched Hazel approach it out of the corner of his eye. It barred its teeth that looked more like pointy spikes of death. Leo gulped, heading to the last resort as he got down onto his stomach.

            Then, he started dancing like he had never danced before. Man, if he was on America's Got Talent or something he would totally dominate. After all, his worm was the best, even compared to an actual worm. Surprisingly, (VERY surprisingly), his plan worked for just long enough. The worm was momentarily confused, staring at Leo for a minute before continuing to advance, about to launch the finally strike, when --

            CHOP! It's body was cut in half. It shrieked so terribly that Leo was forced to plug his ears. Even that didn't completely drown out the sound. Finally, after a lifetime, it stopped, and the worm's butt lurched one last time before completely dying. Leo grinned. He was the dance master. That worm didn't stand a chance against him!

            "Oh my gods," Hazel whispered, although Leo could hear it, "Leo! It's really you! I can't believe that it's really you!"

            He was enveloped in a hot, sticky hug, but didn't mind in the least bit as he clung on tighter to her. That was the difference between the real Hazel and the fake people that Tartarus was sending him. Hazel had warmth to her body, and not just because it was scalding hot outside. She was just comforting and loving.

            "Hazel..." Leo muttered, "What are you doing here? And what was that thing?"

            Hazel chuckled, pulling away, "I don't know. I just woke up here stranded in the middle of the desert. The last thing I remember was Proteus knocking Frank unconscious and then me. You haven't seen him, have you?"

            "No, I haven't, but we'll look for him, I promise. We just have to get out of here. Any ideas?" He wondered with a puzzled look. Hazel thought about it for a second. Maybe she did have an idea.

            "This is just some kind of illusion, right?" Hazel started, "Well, then maybe we should make our own illusion." She grinned at him, and Leo grinned back, not understanding what she was getting at. Then, his eyes widened as he finally understood her idea.