The Sun Without Stars Solangelo

The Nightmare

"If you ever felt anything for me, whether it be love or hunger, you'll save me right?" he asked, leaning down to Nico, his hair falling on Nico's cheek.

His face contorted, blood seeping down his jaw and dripping down on Nico's face. Nico reached up to hold him, but life seeped from Will's body and sank into Nico's, his hands still caught in Nico's hair. His face turned a sickly shade of white and his pupils darkened, his surrounding following suit. He soon looked as if he'd been dug out of a grave.

"You'll save me from yourself.... Right?" Will begged.

Will crumpled on top of him, his tear-streaked face drooping over Nico's, eyes still open.

~

Nico gasped, wanting to respond to Will in the dream that he would.

I will die before you get hurt because of me.

But he recognized the ceiling of the infirmary, and he was no longer looking up at Will's dying face, the glow leaving his skin. His body felt taut, but it felt more like he'd been stabbed and less like he'd been torn into shreds and grilled on high heat.

What an improvement.

Nico heard hushed whispers from the other room.

"How's Nico?" a gruff voice that could only be Chiron asked.

"Everything is stitched up, and the decay stopped progressing, but he hasn't woken up yet," a female voice informed him, and she lowered her voice even more to the point where Nico could barely catch what she was telling him. "Is it weird that, when I was carrying Nico, I felt almost intimidated. Kind of like when we were bringing the Athena Parthenos, how the statue emanated something that made a person want to cower... except this time it was coming from Nico?" Nico could tell it was Reyna, now, who was the one speaking.

"I'm not sure. Are you certain it wasn't all the nearby monsters? They've been all over outside of camp as if they're waiting for something. Something tells me that, not only were they trying to pick off campers one by one, but they were also following them to Camp Half-Blood."

"I'm... not sure. Forget I said any of that. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. It's just... I've never seen him like that... But, why was he like that in the first place? Where did the monster that attacked him go?" Reyna had expected there to be a monster inside camp that Nico was running from, which confused Chiron.

"What monster?" Chiron seemed to be avoiding the topic of Tartarus. Reyna must have been sure that he had no idea of what monster she spoke of because she continued on to another topic.

"On behalf of the hunters, we were hoping you could send us off with some supplies? Our base was infiltrated so we decided to split up and bring back medical equipment. Until we can find out why the monsters keep coming in waves and have begun working in small armies, we plan to stay here... if you'll have us."

Chiron seemed displeased that they had no idea why the sudden outbreak had occurred, his hooves clacking on the floor. Nonetheless, his tone was warm when he assured her, "Of course, Reyna. We are forever grateful to you for returning Nico here, too."

"Well... I really didn't..."

"Nonsense! Now, I'll go deliver the news and have the Artemis cabin cleaned and made ready for your group."

"Thank you, Chiron."

Reyna steps grew closer as Chiron's grew fainter and she finally reached Nico's bed, where he could feel her eyes piercing him. He pretended to be sleeping, not willing to deal with Reyna at the moment.

"When you wake up, we'll be talking about what happened in the forest, Nico. So don't you dare run off," she threatened. It was the chiding tone she used often, and it always reminded him of Bianca when she was worried. He heard her walk off, her steps light despite her foul mood.

When the door clicked closed, he began to open his eyes again which were still maladjusted to the brightness of the surface. Even in the ill-lit room, it was ten times brighter than Tartarus.

He used both hands to push his body into a sitting position, his shoulder feeling like tiny needles were ripping through it. His torso seemed to be wrapped heavily with gauze, but he was nonetheless thankful he wasn't gushing blood anymore.

He heard a low murmur from a familiar blond-haired boy who sat on a stool beside him, his head resting at the foot of Nico's bed.

"You'll save me from yourself.... Right?" The words echoed in the back of Nico's mind.

"Yes," Nico promised to Will, reaching to ruffle his hair which was crushed under his shoulder, but withdrawing his hand at the last second, placing it by his side.

Will groaned and stirred, finally raising his head.