Solangelo 2

Part 5

NICO

I stay where I am as Will rushes out my dorm, following Reve. My head spins for a moment and I have to clutch the side of the bed to stay balanced. I stand up, but my knees give way and I fall to the floor.
'Dad, if this is you, stop it. Stop it.' I say, but I know I'm talking to myself. And I know this isn't him.
Somehow I knew this would happen. Or my subconscious did.
I lean against the bed and rest my head in my hands. I stay for a moment before I realise that I should be out there. Everything aside, if someone is dead, I should be the one helping them pass on.
I step outside to blinding light. A crowd of people and cries and shouts. I stumble down the steps. People part quite easily when they see me, letting me get through to Grace. And I can tell before I see her that she is dead; that Will wasn't able to help her.
I don't say anything, just stumble over to Will, take his hand in mine.
'We need to move her.' Will says quietly. His face is pale. I don't respond. I can feel her presence and it's far stronger than I was expecting. Vengeful. Scared. She doesn't want to go.
The crowd has grown quieter. Fearful. I know Will needs me to help him, but I don't know how. I can't focus.
'Is this real?' I say quietly, my voice breaking slightly.
'What?' Will says, surprised, 'yes. Nico, I need you to help me.'
'Okay. Yeah. Okay.' I say, and move forward, pick Grace up and follow Will to the infirmary. Two of her siblings are close behind, following us to where I lay her on the bed. They clutch at her hands.
I step backwards, my head burning again. Will keeps his distance too, unable to help anymore. I see flashes of my dream. I see Will, blood coming out his mouth. I stumble slightly, grab at the table for balance.
'Nico?' I hear. Will takes my arm to support me, 'Hey, what's going on?'
I see Thalia's tree breaking in two. The Minotaur. Grace, drowning. My knees give way, Will lifts me up. I can feel myself convulsing.
I can hear Will shouting in a muted way, as if I'm deep underwater. My eyes stay open but everything is too bright; I can hardly make out what's in front of me.
And I black out so suddenly that I feel like I was knocked over the head. I'm finally in familiar territory though. I'm back in the box, and soon enough, back in Tartarus.