Solangelo 2

Part 38

WILL

I wake slowly. Momentarily feeling out for Nico, who I expect and will to be beside me. He's not there. I sit up, groggily, look around the room. It's fairly quiet. People are spread out.
Annabeth sees me first. I can tell that nothing has been resolved yet. They haven't got any plans. I stand up, and my legs shake. My mouth is dry.
'Why did no one wake me?' I ask, my voice hoarse. I cough, repeat myself, louder, 'why didn't anyone wake me?'
'Will, you were exhausted.' Annabeth says, stepping toward me. I back up though.
'I don't care? Nico's still down there. We need to go down and get him.' I say. Everyone stares at me, 'why are you all just sitting here?'
'Will, come with me.' Hazel says, standing up and walking over. She speaks calmly and quietly. She sounds wiser. She understands more than anyone of us. She links arms with me and walks outside. It's brisk, rain spitting lightly.
'You agree with me.' I say, 'you have to.'
'I do. Of course I do. I won't go a second without thinking of some way to get Nico out of...He did the same for me. I owe him that much.' She says, 'but you understand death. You know it's complications. It's sometimes possible to bring someone back from the dead, like how Percy bought his mum back; you remember that?'
'Yeah. Was my second year at camp.' I say.
'It's possible. But if I'm talking from my own moral opinion, she should have stayed dead. It wasn't Percy's place to reverse a death like that. I accept death, when it comes, and when it comes naturally. But Nico didn't die naturally. This was a perverse trick by our father. It wasn't Nico's time, and so I'm prepared to upset the balance of nature to reverse this. But I need you to understand how delicate it is. We can't just go and drag him out; open the doors of death again. It would bring chaos. Again.' She pauses for a moment, recollecting her memories, 'we need to do this carefully.'
'I can't leave Nico down there.' I say, shaking my head, 'we need to move now.'
'Will. If I could, I would. But I need you to trust me. If we want to bring Nico back, we need to bide our time. Tread carefully.'
'You have a plan then?' I ask, looking back to her. I can see she's in pain. I should be comforting her, confiding with her. But I can't.
'No.' She says reluctantly. I turn away but she grabs my hand, 'Will, I know our father. I know how he acts. What he's expecting. You have to trust me.'
'Yeah. Yeah, I trust you.' I say. I pull my arm away and walk quickly. She doesn't follow me.
I go back to where we were staying. The bed where Nico was sleeping still dishevelled and unmade. His sword lies on the floor, just under the bed. I pick it up, hold onto it. It's heavy, cold. I don't let go.
I realise, in a sudden, heavy way, I have no photo of him. No photo of us together, no photo of him alone. If he were gone, truly gone, then I'd have no record of the time we spent together.
Percy comes in to the room, stopping suddenly when he sees me. He's soaking.
'Oh. Hey man.' He says, stepping tentatively into the room.
'I thought you didn't get wet.' I say, remembering when Nico had told me when we were on the canoes.
'Yeah. Only when I focus.' He says. We're both quiet for a moment.
'You think he's dead.' I say, a simple sentence. He skips a breathe, closes his eyes and punches the bridge of his nose.
'I can't do this.' He says, simply, 'I can't...I can't lose him, but I can't fight a losing battle again.'
'When have you ever lost?' I ask, slightly bitter, but trying not to hold it against him. Nico has told me everything they had gone through. Percy has done more for this world than anyone before him. And he's lost more than everyone too.
'Bianca.' He says, sitting on his own bed, staring at the floor, 'I spent...so long looking for her. I never told Nico, cause I didn't want to get his hopes up. But I spent years. I only stopped when Nico told me about how he found Hazel; he'd gone down looking for Bianca, but she'd already moved on.'
'I didn't know that.' I say.
'No one does. Not even Annabeth.' He says, 'I just figured...the way she died was so unusual. We never found her body. So...' he trails off.
'I get it.' I say, 'but I can't lose Nico.'
'No one thinks they can lose anyone.' He says, and I understand what a bleak view of life he has, 'but then you lose someone and you keep going.'
'I won't lose him then.' I say, 'he was happy. Genuinely happy. And his father stole him. Nico deserves to have a life.'
'I know. I know. I just...'
'I know, you can't do it again. But you're going to have to. I know you've been through shit. I know that. And I'm so sorry you had to do that all for us. But if he roles were reversed Nico would go down there for you. And you know that.'
'I know.' He says quietly.
'Great.' I say, 'now get Annabeth and everyone else. We're going back to Camp Half-Blood.'
'Why?' He asks, standing up.
'Hades is a Greek god. The Romans are smart, but if we want to make an impact it'll be from the Greek camp.'
'Make an impact?'
'We need to get the Gods' attention.'