Chapter 13
Hazel
Hazel was exhausted. The seven couldn’t win. Her spatha felt like a million pounds in her hand. She was sweating, dripping wet, cold, and thirsty. Most of all, she was tired. Every strike was slower than the last. She knees trembled as she collapsed onto the metal catwalk. Her weapon rolled from her hands.
There was a bloodcurdling shriek of fear in front of Hazel. She lifted her head and was terrified at the sight.
Annabeth was in the serpent’s mouth. He managed to grab a strap of her armor in his fangs, and poison was running down her armor. She flailed, trying to launch herself away. She was probably a goner.
Frank suddenly shot an arrow, and it hit the fang holding Annabeth’s armor. The serpent shrieked as the fang fell off. Unfortunately, so did Annabeth.
Good thing Jason managed to catch her. He grunted from the weight. He was holding the strap of armor that was dripping with poison. His face was paling, but he dropped her onto the catwalk. He fell to his knees, groaning and coughing. His eyes closed as he dropped to his stomach.
“Jason!” Piper screamed. She rushed to his side, putting his face in her lap. “No, no, no! Come on, wake up!”
Percy, Frank, and Leo continued to fight. Hazel and Annabeth were so stunned they watched Piper.
Piper was crying as she felt Jason’s wrist, looking for a pulse. She must have found one, because she put on half a smile. She sobbed into his chest.
“Um, guys!” Leo screamed. He was hurling fireballs at the serpent. “A little help,” he added, jumping around like a jumping bean.
Hazel picked up her spatha and her sword before running down the catwalk. When she was smack in front of the serpent, she did the stupidest thing in her life. She jumped.
She barely made it. She landed on the tiny snout of the serpent. She began to stab her spatha into the serpent’s eyes. He made a foamy hissing sound. Something curled around her ankle. She felt something wet and sticky through her boot. She risked looking down. The serpent’s tongue was wrapped around her ankle. It was disgusting.
The tongue of the serpent coiled before making a whipping motion. Hazel, hanging on for dear life, was suddenly thrown off the serpent’s head. She screamed as the serpent tongue let go of her and she became airborne.
“Hazel!” Frank yelled, but he was too busy in his fight.
Before Hazel could hit the ocean and probably drown from the waves the sea monster was making, Leo dove in the air and caught her. They both hit the water.
As Hazel went spinning deeper into the ocean, she wondered why Leo caught her. Gaea had mentioned he would be her guide… He would save her, too.
The water was cold and making Hazel’s skin prick painfully. The waves were making her spin out of control. She was terrified. She felt like she was put into a washing machine and this was the wash cycle.
Over her, a dark shadow crossed her vision. Something came down, grabbing her wrist. She screamed, using the breath she had. Bubbles floated around her.
Hazel fought with the dark shadow. But when it moved closer, she saw a face. Not just any face, but Leo’s face. He shook his head before swimming upwards. She was dragged along. When her head broke the surface, she began to gasp in the air. Oxygen went down her windpipe and filled her lungs.
That’s when she noticed things were quiet.
Lying on his side, the serpent lay, covered in golden ichor, the immortal blood. He was dead. He was burnt, battered, bruised, and bloody. That’s when Hazel saw the Argo II.
“Leo!” she gasped. He looked up, saw his warship, and groaned.
The Argo II was tipping. It was nearly on its side. The outside catwalk was closer to the water than it had been before. Sitting on the catwalk were five demigods.
Percy was dry and looked perfectly fine. He was holding some nectar and ambrosia. Annabeth was dripping wet, and her jeans were ripped. She had some bruises running down her legs, and her shoulder was red and inflamed. That’s where the poison must have been on her armor.
Frank had a cut running from the corner of his left eye down to his jaw. It wasn’t bleeding, but it was pink and swollen. His upper lip was purple. He looked ready to drop and pass out.
Piper looked like she got run over by a truck. Her clothes were in tatters, and her braids were out, making her hair wavy. She had bruises running up her arms and legs. Her upper arm was a bloody mess. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her ankle was twisted in an odd way. She was crying and mumbling something.
Jason looked better than before. He was still pale, and his hand was puckered and pink from the poison. His shirt was ripped, and he had a bleeding gash on his forearm. He had one bruise on his temple, but other than that, he was fine.
“Leo! Hazel!” Percy jumped up, putting the nectar and ambrosia under his arm. He raised his arm, and a wave picked up Hazel. It dumped her onto the catwalk, where she nearly fell off again, but Leo grabbed her arm and yanked her back up. That made her blush. But she felt guilty. She was kind of dating Frank, right?
“Where were you guys?” Frank asked, not bothering to get up. He had a blanket draped over his shoulders.
“After I fell off, Leo had to look for me,” Hazel explained. “I thought he was a monster so I kicked him and stuff. He managed to get me above water.”
Percy put a blanket on Hazel’s shoulders, and then did the same for Leo.
“Um,” Jason muttered. He had Piper’s twisted ankle in his lap. “I need some help.”
The boys ran over while Hazel and Annabeth muttered comforting words to Piper. Leo and Frank held down one arm each while Percy held her head. Jason looked nervous.
“Piper, I’ve done this before to you. It’ll hurt.” Jason had some gauze in his hand.
“Yes, I remember,” Piper moaned, in obvious pain. There was a layer of sweat on her forehead and she was still crying.
There was a lot of screaming. Piper thrashed, and Leo had to crawl on her arm to keep it pinned down. Percy locked her hand, and he kept muttering apologies.
“Done,” Jason sighed. Piper was released, but she was still howling. She punched every guy before squeezing Jason’s hand.
“That hurt,” Piper remarked once she wasn’t shrieking. She popped in a square of ambrosia before taking a sip of nectar.
“That was loud,” Leo muttered, cleaning her arm out with nectar.
She made a face at him. “Sorry. You’re not the one with something broken.” She looked at Jason. “Will I be okay for Rome?”
Jason and Percy glanced at each other. “You should at least wear a brace. And some crutches.” Jason kissed her softly before picking her up and taking her inside.
“That was crazy,” Hazel whispered. “Our first monster attack,” she muttered as an afterthought.
Leo walked inside. He took the wheel in his hands. “Prepare for bumps.”
“Do you ever know what you’re doing?” Frank asked.
“Half the time I just wing it,” Leo retorted. “Hold on!”
He yanked on a lever. Nobody knew that one little movement would change the course of their plans.
The Argo II creaked in response. It began to tilt up to go back to the way it was supposed to be. But then one shredding creak made Hazel stiffen and wonder what was going on. Then, in a heartbeat, the warship tipped over so it was lying on its side.
“No!” Hazel screamed as the ground suddenly was the wall. She fell, and was thrown out the open door, back into the water. The water was cold. She gasped, trying to grab the guiderail that was only five feet up. But the water was so cold that after a few seconds she was so freezing she was barely move.
“H-help me!” she yelled up. Why aren’t they helping me? She thought in disbelief.
She closed her eyes, waiting to freeze to death. But before that could happen, a wave came up and threw her back onto the warship.
“Glad you can join us,” Percy said brightly, putting a blanket over her shoulders like he did minutes ago. “Please join us in our panic.”
Panic was the exact word that was happening on deck. Annabeth was screaming at Leo, telling him what he had to do. Piper was on the couch, even though it was against the wall, and her face was white. Jason was floating a few feet about the ground, watching everyone. Frank was tending to his wounds.
“Do you need some help?” Hazel asked quietly as she went up to Frank.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure.” He gave her the washcloth with nectar on it.
Being careful, she dabbed the washcloth at the long cut on his face. He winced, but once it was barely noticeable, she touched the washcloth to his swollen upper lip. Once he looked presentable, she took the washcloth to everyone else.
Piper’s bloody arm became just a long, pink gash. Jason’s puckered hand turned into a milky pink, and the cut on his forearm stopped bleeding. Annabeth’s pink shoulder went like Jason’s- a milky pink, not exactly healed, but mending. Hazel tended to her own cuts by herself.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, the Argo II went back to normal and was sailing again. To get some peace and quiet, Hazel went to the outside catwalk. She sat down even though it was wet.
A few minutes later, a black flash landed five feet away. Hazel gasped, but then saw what it was. It was a pure black pegasus. Hazel felt warm. She loved horses.
“Hey, boy,” she whispered softly. “You’re so handsome, aren’t you?”
“Who’re talking to?” Percy asked, walking onto the catwalk. He glanced up at the pegasus for one minute before running to him.
“Hey, Blackjack!” Percy cried. “How’re things?” There was a pause. Percy’s face turned disapproving. “I told you to stop calling me boss.”
“Did he follow you here?” Hazel asked, staring at the majestic horse with wings. “How did you get him?”
“He followed me,” Percy answered. “I saved him from a cruise ship full of monsters a few years ago. He’s been calling me boss ever since."
“Leo didn’t put stables,” Hazel whispered. “How is Blackjack going to stay?”
Percy looked at his friend. He sighed. “Go back to camp, Blackjack. I’m going to Rome.” There was a short pause. “Yeah, I missed you, too. Go home."
Blackjack raised his wings and began to fly away. Hazel watched him until he was a tiny dot in the sky.
“He’s magnificent,” she murmured.
“Yeah, magnificently annoying,” Percy grumbled. His black hair was windblown. “He always calls me boss and follows me around.” But he grinned. “Other than that, he saves me a lot. And I mean a lot.”
Hazel laughed. “Sometimes the most insignificant things can save us, Percy.” The thought on her mind was nagging her. “Like Nico. He saved me.”
“We’ll find him, Hazel,” Percy said. “Gaea wants you to be worried so she can tear us apart. She plays with our minds. I bet she can even mess with us out here.”
“But where can he be?” Hazel wondered. She stared at the sky, wishing to see him. “He went missing looking for the Doors of Death."
Before she could look at Percy, he was saying, “Ooh! Ooh!”
She looked over to see him jumping around like a pogo stick. His whole face was lit up, and he was grinning.
He jumped over and grabbed Hazel by the shoulders. He shook her until her teeth were clattering together. “That’s it!” he said so loud it was almost a scream. “Nico went looking for the Doors of Death, so Gaea probably put him there! The Doors of Death are the quickest way to get into the Underworld- like the fast lane! So we go into the Doors of Death, and he’ll probably be in the Underworld!”
Hazel’s mouth opened in shock. What Percy said was so obvious that it made her feel dumb. She grabbed him in a hug.
“Oh my gods, Percy, that has to be it!” she cried. She was so happy that she had an idea where Nico was that she was close to tears. “Keep this a secret for now.”
Percy nodded. “Of course I’ll keep it a secret. I get to wring his neck for pretending not to know me.”
Practically skipping, Hazel ran inside. Everyone was eating lunch. She got herself a sandwich before sitting cross-legged on the floor by Leo and Frank.
“What’s with you?” Leo asked. “You’re all smiley."
“What?” Hazel asked. “Oh. Percy’s winged friend came.”
When Annabeth gave Percy a weird look, he replied, “Blackjack.”
Annabeth nodded. “Oh.”
While Hazel was eating, she was looking at the water. Miles and miles away, Nico was waiting. And three giants were in Rome. Some of them wanted to hurt Piper. Even though Hazel barely knew the daughter of Aphrodite, she felt compelled to protect her.
Once she was done eating, she went on the couch. She sat by Piper and Jason.
“Hey, guys,” Hazel said.
Piper looked up. “Hey.” She looked down at her tightly wrapped ankle. “This is the second time I hurt my ankle on a life-saving quest.”
Jason laughed. “I remember that. This time was worse.”
Piper shifted, gritting her teeth when she moved her ankle slightly. “I hate being hurt. What if another monster attacks?”
“Then you’re not fighting,” Hazel suggested. “It’s called healing.”
“Stop ganging up on me,” Piper grumbled, crossing her arms. “This is totally unfair. I’m the one who has the worst luck. Some of you guys should have some bad luck.” She touched Jason. “I just gave you bad luck.”
Hazel looked away, distracted by a sudden shimmering noise. She looked. Pulling together was a shimmery image.
“Is that you, Chiron?” Hazel asked.
“Hazel?” the old centaur asked, looking at her.
Percy, Jason, and Annabeth were there in a flash.
“Chiron, what’s going on?” Annabeth asked anxiously. “Why did you contact us?”
The centaur looked nervous. “This may not be the time, but Rachel saw a vision of some Romans from Camp Jupiter coming across the country to attack. They’ll be here in two days at the least.”
Annabeth began to moan, curling up into a ball on the ground. She buried her face in her arm. “It’s happening to soon…”
“Who’s leading the way?” Leo demanded. He was the only eager looking one.
“Rachel said it was a skinny blond boy with a bag full of stuffed animals.” If the situation wasn’t so horrible, Chiron would have been rolling his eyes and smiling.
“Octavian,” Percy and Jason hissed at the same time. They both looked ready to commit a crime.
“We’re getting the campers ready,” Chiron continued.
“We’re coming back,” Piper declared. She limped over, grimacing, before stumbling. Jason caught her and stood her upright before wrapping an arm around her.
“No, no,” Chiron insisted. “You need to get to Rome and close the Doors of Death.” He eyed the injuries on the demigods. “Did you get attacked?”
“By a sea serpent,” Frank said. “How can we help?”
“You can’t.” Chiron was shaking his head. “Good luck.” He raised his hand and waved it through the Iris message. His image disappeared.
Suddenly, Piper gasped and collapsed. Hazel reached out, whispering, “Piper?”
Piper’s head snapped up. She looked horrified. “Oh, no,” she whispered.
“What happened?” Jason asked, holding her tight.
Her face was pale. “I know where Gration is.” She met everyone’s eyes. “He’s at the Arch of Constantine.”
End of the 13th chappie. :3 Yay! I'm proud of myself for completing 13 chapters. Hope you guys like this, because a bunch of y'all were mad that I left chapter 12 at a major cliffhanger. It's how I roll. *le shrug* I decided to dedicate this chapter to actingoutmylife. That person, that person is a good person. My first fan, and she keeps reading my stories. And she gave me the Arch of Constantine idea. So, thank you, actingoutmylife. I really enjoy your comments. :)
Leo: Say the words, pwease.
Me: *annoyed* Disclaimer: I'm not Ricky, will never be, so please don't think his characters belong to me. I'm a crazy fan girl who loves writing about... well, anything.
So... I got a question. Will you be sad when Piper disappears? (Remember the prophecy, The dove shall vanish in the evening's fire.) I will. :(
Fin. :) I love you fans! I'll try to update tomorrow.