#1 Daughter of Hera: Rise of Tartarus

Chapter 29 - I'm Dead. Literally.

~Hazel Levesque's POV~

Arion and I arrived to the recording studios earlier than the others. I imagined the bizarre collection of armed teenagers, giant eagles, and pegasi in front of the studios. The Mist might be working double time already, concealing us from the mortal world on our way here. But what I didn't imagine was the shattered glass doors of the infrastructure and the girl sitting in front of them, her head on knees, sobbing. I didn't approach her immediately instead, I willed the Mist to uncover if she was a monster. It was negative. A demigod? I summoned a chunk of gold and gave it to Arion. I told him to wait for me and approached the girl.

"Ummm...hello."

The girl looked up and finally gave me a good look at her. She was about sixteen years of age. A bit smaller than Christine. Her long blonde hair was loose and messy. Her fair skin covered in dirt and scratches. Her baby blue eyes puffy and red from crying.

"What...what happened to you?" I asked.

She gazed out to my T-shirt."A purple t-shirt...a-are you with the guy in orange?" She asked warily.

"A guy in orange? Do you mean Nico?"

She nodded hesitantly. "My best friend's came to save me. She's still down in the Underworld. The guy went down to get her." She bit her lip. She grabbed my hand. "P-Please save her! I beg you!"

Best friend? I remembered what Rachel said back in the recreational room. Everything began to clicked into place. All our suspicions confirmed. A loud collective flapping of wings and a strong gust of wind.

"Hazel!"

I turned. The others had finally arrived and were climbing down their respective rides.

"Medic!" I called out. "I need a medic here quick!" Some Apollo kids led by Will rushed toward us, holding some first aid kits. They quickly tended the girl, ushering her to drink some nectar and eat some ambrosia. My friends approached us together with Chiron.

"What happened?" Frank asked.

"I found her as soon as we arrived here. She told me that a friend of hers went down to the Underworld to save her. She also saw Nico went down too."

"How about the Doors?" Leo pointed out. "Must be quite a riot to have it shattered like that."

"I don't know. I haven't asked her yet about it."

"About the girl. What's her name?" Jason asked.

"Trisha...?" From behind us, Clarisse rushed forward. Her eyes widened in disbelief and surprise. "Oh gods of Olympus! It's you!" She tackled the girl with a hug. The Apollo kids scrambled away at the sudden affectionate assault.

"Clarisse! I'm glad to see you!" She cried.

"Shut up! I'm more than glad to see you safe!" Clarisse said. She let go and studied the girl. "What happened to you? You looked like a huge mess after lunch time."

The girl wrinkled her nose. "Shut up! It's not my fault. I got locked up in a huge case for weeks. Christine came only earlier to save me."

"Christine?" Clarisse gasped. "Where is she?"

The girl looked down on her bruised hands sadly. "She's still down there. We got separated. The guy in orange- Nico -went down to get her."

Clarisse ran a furious hand on her hair. She stood up and paced back and forth. "What in Hades is she thinking? The Underworld is dangerous! She should be smarter than that! Argh!"

"Clarisse...I'm sorry...it's my fault." The girl sobbed. "If...if If fought back then...maybe..."

"Quit that! It's not your fault! It's mine! I should have brought you sooner to camp! I-I should have kept a careful eye at Christine! What kind of friend am I? Dammit!" Clarisse kicked the nearest first aid kit, scattering its contents all around.