~Solangelo~ [Slow Updates]

Chapter 16

~Will's PoV~

A week later, after our date, Nico seemed to open up to people more. He became familiar with enjoying laughter and joking around with the rest of the seven and me. Nico went to Camp Jupiter to visit Hazel and Frank , which Nico and Hazel take turns in doing at least once a month. We haven't contacted each other in three days, and I'm becoming worried.

Now, I'm in the infirmary patching up and reattaching a camper who's hand got cut off during the three legged race. He grumbled about how he just got his arms fixed and now he once again was in here due to the "game."

I gave him a small smile as he stomped his way out of the building and back to his cabin. Checking the time, I notice that it is four o'clock in the afternoon and I still haven't seen Nico. I figured he, Hazel, and Frank had left the camp to hang out around the town for a while, but I didn't expect them to be gone this long.

Sighing, I walk out of the infirmary and towards the Big House. Before I could get far, a flaming Leo ran passed me. I turn around after doing a double take when I realize his whole body caught fire. I thought nothing of it, since he does stuff like that daily, but when I faced the opposite direction again, I see a giant Chimera following him.

Leo fell and rolled down the remainder of the hill, extinguishing the fire. The Chimera clawed at the border of the camp, attempting to find a way in.

"Leo! What's going on?" I yelled down the hill.

"That... Thing came out of nowhere. I was with Calypso and then the next thing I know she was gone! Two seconds later, that thing showed up!" He screamed back in between breaths.

Campers began to crowd around the scene. Leo made his way back up and stopped next to me. "I thought that I could kill it with fire, but it shot it right back at me! What even is that?"

I opened my mouth to respond when Chiron galloped over to me. "Will!"

I turned my head towards him. "It's Nico! He's gone. Hazel just Iris messaged me saying that he disappeared."

"Just like Calypso." Leo piped up.

"Has anyone else gone missing in the last two hours?" I asked, wondering what was going on.

"From what it looks like, the number of campers just went down. Unless they are still in their cabins." Chiron surveyed the camp.

Walking up to the entrance of the camp, my eyes widened at what I saw. There were at least twenty monsters, ranging from hellhounds to a small group of shades. What was going on? When the monsters saw me, a manticore jumped forward and tried to lunge at me. I fell backwards at the force of the monster hitting the protective barrier.

"Uh, Chiron. You might want to see this." I yelled down. In a few seconds, he finished his gallop up the terrain next to me. Leo was behind him, still smoking from the fire that had engulfed him.

"Okay, I swear there was only one monster when I came. Where are they coming from?" Leo asked nervously.

We looked over our shoulders to see a Hephaestus cabin kid slowly begin to disappear into thin air. He screamed and before anyone could move to help he was gone. Our attention diverted back to the monsters as we watched the Minotaur form in the front of the line.

"For every camper that leaves, a monster comes!" I panicked.

A shimmering rainbow appeared in front of me and turned into a scene of Camp Jupiter. "Will!" I heard my name being called from the other end.

"Nico? Are you okay?" I responded.

The picture became clearer and I could see his bruised face and arms. "Will, Hazel is gone! And not only her but some of the campers. More monsters keep coming, but we don't know where they are coming from!"

"The same thing is happening here. Until we find a way to stop everything, stay safe and inside the camp."

"No, of course not Will. I'm going to just run out there naked and covered in barbecue sauce begging the monsters to eat me." He rolled his eyes.

"Glad to see that you still have that twisted sense of humor." I smiled a little.

The call began to fade as Nico started to say something else. "Dad... in...throne room."

"What?" I asked, but it was too late. The call was gone.