Solangelo 2

Part 3

PERCY

The water is murky. I struggle to swim for a moment, back in the well, in the water I couldn't breathe. I panic, trying to hold my breathe. But I force myself to breathe.
'Grace?' I shout knowing she might not be able to hear me. I swim deeper, looking around and following the heat patterns.
I can see the things the other girl was talking about. Big, long creatures with sharp teeth. I haven't seen them here before. They stay back, wary of me. I don't know how long they'll stay away.
I see her after a minute of swimming, her blonde hair standing out in the dark water. I grab hold of her and and produce a bubble of air around us. She doesn't breathe.
I swim to the shore as quickly as I can, and lay her on the shore. I can hear screams. Will is beside me instantly, taking over. He starts to perform CPR as I place my hands on the sides of her neck and try to force the water out of her lungs.
'Keep going, it's coming.' I say. Will is talking to himself, counting.
The water comes out and she starts coughing. Will let's out a sigh of relief but continues to check her for injuries. I sit back, barely able to support my weight as I realise what almost happened.
'You okay?' Nico says, kneeling down next to me.
'I'm fine.' I say, quietly. We both watch as the Aphrodite girls hug their sister against Will's advice. I look over to Nico and see his face is pale, and he's clutching at his shirt, fists clenched tightly.
'You okay, man?' I ask, jogging him lightly.
'What?' He asks.
'I said are you alright?'
'Yeah. Yes fine.' He says, 'I just have to...' He says as he stands up.
'You have to..?'
'Have to go. I have to go.' He says. He doesn't look at me, just stares at the girl and then turns away and walks past his cabin and on towards Thalia's tree. I consider going after him, but my mind wanders back to the lake.
I go to the edge and put my hand in, checking how it's changed. But as soon as I do, the murky water fades to how it normally is; the things that were watching swim away, too fast for me to follow them. It all returns to normal.
'What was that?' Will asks, coming up behind me.
'I don't know.' I reply, 'it wasn't anything to do with Poseidon. And I can't feel it in the water anymore. It's like it just left.'
'Well whatever it is, it nearly killed Grace.' He says.
'Good job with that, by the way. You saved her life.' I say, looking to him.
'Not so bad yourself.' He says.
'Not my first time removing water from some lungs.'
'Yeah I could tell.' He says, smiling slightly, 'hey, did you see Nico?'
'Yeah, He was acting a little weird actually. Went towards Thalia's tree.' I say, 'you want to go check on him? I'll make sure everything's sorted here.'
'Yeah, thanks Percy. If you need help, ask Reve, he's good with medical stuff.'
'Thanks, I'll be fine. Go.' I say, and he nods before rushing off after Nico, leaving me to sort out everything else.