The Afterlife (HoO Fanfiction)

The Long and Winding Road (UPDATED)

Hello guys!
Another chapter for you!
If you have comments, suggestions or anything to say about this story, don't hesitate to comment! We will answer your comments. We would love to have your feedback!
We are also very happy to have 600 readings on the whole story. We know, some stories have 25K readings, but hey, we thought we'd never reach 10 readings!
Alright, enough talking!
Enjoy!
-E&C
P.S. Beatles fans? Notice the title! And also if you don't know the song, go listen to it, it's very good!

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~Sally~

I was washing the dishes and looking outside the window of my apartment. My grandchildren (I was very proud to say I was a grandmother) were asleep, but they were about to wake up from their nap. My husband, Paul, was sleeping, too. We passed the day in Central Park and we did a lot of walking, so everyone was tired. We thought we were done with small kids, since Estelle was almost 13 years old. However, for the last few days, I had to take care of Luke and Silena, which was not an easy task.

So, I was left alone with myself and with my always-growing distress. My son had a very important quest going on. He was risking his life for young children. And if the worst were to happen to him, I could imagine my pain or it's children's.

"Grandma?"

Little Silena just woke up. She came out of her room, her eyes still sleepy. She was holding her teddy bear. I dried my hands on my jeans and picked her up.

"Hello, miss," I said, replacing her hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes! I dreamed of candy and puppies. Then a huge monster came to eat me. But he was nice. We played together."

I chuckled and put her down. She ran back to her room to take her toys. Instead, she woke up Luke, who came out of his room looking tired, but not upset. He didn't want to take a nap since he was now 'grown-up' (he was seven), but he was so tired he fell asleep anyway.

The two kids started to play together. Silena was very good at puzzles, so she was doing one with her brother. She had her mother's intelligence. She had a fascinating ability to solve problems, in this case, the puzzle.

I was watching them playing when I heard someone calling me.

"Mom!"

"Percy?"

My son appeared in a rainbow in front of me. An iris message. I was used to those since Percy called me once a month using this way of communication, but every time I was startled. The children looked up, and when they saw their father they came closer. Silena tried to touch her father's face, but her hand just went through the rainbow.

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Silena! Hi, Luke! How are you doing?"

"We are doing good! How about you?" I asked.

"I'm happy to hear this! Children, are you nice to Grandma? Do you listen to her?"

"Yes, dad!"

Percy continued to ask questions to his children. I noticed he was avoiding talking about his quest, how he was doing and when would he come back. The children couldn't tell, but I saw that something was going on.

"Hey, kids, why don't you go see how Grandpa Paul is doing while I speak with your Dad?"

They ran away, leaving me alone with Percy.

"Tell me what's going on," I said.

"We are in trouble. Rachel disappeared, kidnapped probably, and our way of transportation was damaged. We need to find another one to get to Greece. I don't know what to do, Mom!"

"You'll find a way, as you always do."

"I mean," continued Percy, without minding my encouragements, "we cannot ask Nico to shadow-travel us to Greece. It's too far, we are too many, and Will will never let it happen. And the same thing for Frank. He cannot turn into a boat or anything..."

My heart broke as I watched Percy losing faith.

"And Leo? Can he do something?"

"Yeah, he said he knew someone, but it will take time. Demigods are maybe dying right now! And also-"

The rainbow turned briefly black, then Percy came back.

"I'm losing you," I said.

"I'll make it quick. So as I said Leo knows someone... Take us to... Time... Can't... Three demigods..."

The rainbow turned entirely black for too long, then it disappeared.

It never happened before. Something was wrong. I wasn't a demigod, but I knew it looked bad.

~Killian~

"Guys, I know you're following me. Show yourselves!"

I had left (more like escaped) the orphanage during the night. I thought no one saw me, but clearly James and Lewis were up for the adventure.

"It's not my fault. James ran away. I couldn't let him leave alone!"

"Why did you leave?" asked James.

"You wouldn't understand. Can you please leave me alone?"

It was around one in the morning now. I was walking on a small road. I was surrounded by trees and mountains. I wasn't scared, even if there was only the moon to light the road.

"Killian? I saw something in the woods..."

James was looking toward the trees, his face pale. I saw nothing. I felt a presence, but it was probably the animals living in the woods.

We continued to walk. For an hour I tried to convince them to go back. I could use my powers to control them, but I never tried it on humans so I didn't.

When the stars started to fade, I knew the boys a little better.

James was abandoned at a very young age and he passed his whole life in the same orphanage. He was ten. He loved historic novels and never missed a History class. He was good at school but preferred playing video games with his friends. He liked everyone in the orphanage and the girls really liked him.

James was obsessed with the colour blue. When he was eight, he tried to dye his hair with paint. The adults at the orphanage were very mad, but James remembered it as a very good joke and a fun time.

Lewis had a more troubled past. His parents used to hit him. They were really bad parents. Lewis changed foster home almost every three months. At a certain point, the social worker decided him to spare so much change and decided to put him in an orphanage until he reached his majority. Lewis was seventeen and saw James like the little brother he never had. He had bad grades and people made fun of him, calling him names. Only because he took care of James a little bit too much as a mother would.

He was quiet, but in his mind, there was a hurricane. He was fascinated by horror movies and paranormal stuff. He also believed in gods. Greek gods. He was convinced they still exist and they have children with mortal people. This is naturally not true.

Cars passed by us from time to time. The drivers looked at us, asking themselves if it was normal to see three young boys walking alone on a lost road early in the morning. I think that seeing Lewis reassured them.

"All right, Killian, where are we going? They'll start to get worried, back at the orphanage..." said Lewis.

"I don't know where I'm going. Go back if you want."

Lewis thought he was responsible for us. If something happened to us, it was his fault. Only because he was older. But I know that, deep down, he was really enjoying himself. He was forgetting his troubled past for a moment. James was jumping up and down, running on the road, feeling free for once in his life.