CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: HOLES
"How much further?"
"Connor, it's only been five minutes." Thea said, rolling her eyes.
Thea was pretty much over the two demigods, their playful bickering was torture to her ears. She had only joined the quest for love, and here she was, a mother figure to two children with daddy issues.
They were currently walking across Spain.
Walking across Spain.
So much for a talking to the gods. They tried for hours, many (many) food, food that could have been so tasty, was wasted in the process. In the end, they got squat. The Olympians and minor gods had gone radio silence, absolutely no help was going to come their way.
The Titan, the daughter of Harmonia, and the son of Hermes were tired. Walking for hours on end proved to be no fun. Connor was wearing a I LEARNED HOW TO SAY NO IN SPANISH shirt, Thea wore a I <3 SPAIN, and Ellie wore a MY FAMILY WENT TO SPAIN AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS T-SHIRT, all curtsey of a tourist shop in Algeciras.
Ellie had two days left.
It was terrifying to think that her life would come to an end so soon if she didn't solve this giant, unsolvable quest. The scariest part is when she overthought. If the whole point of the necklace is to kill at the most painful moment, wouldn't it make sense that it would wait to the end of the quest to kill her? What if the curse was just sending her on a wild goose chase, just to slaughter her once she returned to the farm.
She glanced down at her shoes, kicking a pebble with her dirty hiking boots. They were worn down and dried mud was caked around them, slowly growing in worse condition as their journey continued. She kicked a bush that was shaped into a triangle.
Thea had transformed the deformed shiny sword into a ring so it was easy to disguise, and as they walked on barren land, it gleamed in the blistering sun.
"How much further until the next-" Connor began, but it was cut off by his own scream.
The ground collapsed underneath him. The sand parted ways, leaving a gaping, dark hole. He stumbled, his body falling into it. In a split second, his fingers were the only thing keeping him from falling in the pit.
Ellie left out a yelp, stumbling to the side of the edge and offered her hand.
Connor's face was lined with sweat, his skin was pale with the effort to hold himself up. His eyes were an ocean blue, and in that moment, as he flashed in front of her, she swore she could see them swimming, drowning, playing in bright blue waters. She could see shipwrecks, children splashing, tears falling. All of it was hidden in Connor Stoll's big, blue eyes.
"I love you!" He blurted, panicked. His voice was hoarse with effort, and Ellie knew he had seconds left.
Ellie hesitated.
"Take my hand, you idiot!" She cried, her eyes welling up with tears.
She had no idea what lied below the pit. If Connor didn't grab her hand now, she had no idea what would happen. The darkness that spread out below him seemed endless.
Thea had made it to Ellie's side, calling out as well. But her voice was drowned out. It seemed like the world had slowed down. Connor was staring at her, egging her, begging her to say it back. His blue eye seemed to read her soul, glaring straight past her panicked state.
She couldn't form the words.
His fingers slipped.
"No!" Her pained scream was enough for Thea to flinch, preventing her from using her powers to slow his fall or catch him.
"No! No, no, no!" Ellie's voice was panicked, tears falling. "I-I-"
Thea looked just as scared, her face had gone a few shades paler and her eyebrows were creased, trying to find a solution.
There was a thud that echoed from the pit.
Ellie fell back, a shaking hand covering her mouth. Tears fell freely, her mind shutting down any common sense.
Thea made her way slowly to the girl, cautious for good reason.
Ellie couldn't stop her hands from shaking. In Manhattan, Connor was the only reason se was able to calm down. Now, he was the reason that she was shaking.
"Ellie?" Thea asked, growing near the hyperventilating girl.
"I'm going after him." Ellie stated, her glare stone hard. Even the Titan was weary to argue with the girl when she was so distraught.
"I don't think that's a good idea. We need to get to Hep-"
"No!" Ellie snapped. "You need to get to Hephaestus. Me, I need Connor! So, if you really think I'd chose Hephaestus over him, you obviously don't know me very well."
Thea's expression became clouded. "You'd chose a dead boy over someone that can keep you alive?"
Ellie shot her a deadly glare, testing her bag's straps. She scooted closer to the hole. "Don't you get it, Titan?" She spat, her voice full of hatred. "I'm only alive because of him! I don't want to get to Hephaestus without him because he's the only thing keeping me alive."
Thea was speechless, but Ellie wasn't done. "Of course you wouldn't get it, you're immortal."
She lowered her lower body into the pit. Thea gave her an icy look.
"My husbands gone, demigod. Watch your mouth, we're more alike then you want to admit."
And with that, Ellie let go, and let herself drop into the black pit.
✩✩✩
Her ankles flared up in pain as she found the surface.
She rolled to avoid breaking her legs with the force of her fall, but searing pain still traveled up her legs.
Darkness surrounded her. She couldn't see inches in front of her, even when she waved her hands out in front of her. The ground was cold, sending a small shiver down her spine; she wasn't sure if the shiver was from the cold or the fear. The air was dry, making it hard to breathe. Her breath became brittle, trying to adapt to the new environment.
"Connor?" She whispered. her voice echoed down the room, giving hope that it was a tunnel, a way out. Jumping after him had been completely irrational.
Sand spilled down slightly, creating a puddle of sand around her. She picked up a tiny bit in her palm and let it fall back to the ground. There was a slight echo of a yell that came from around the corridor.
"Please, baby," Ellie whispered hopelessly. "Tell me you're okay."
"Ellie!" A loud voice echoed from above her. "Ellie, are you alive?"
Ellie barely processed her words. Her hands were still shaking, her mind a blur. Connor couldn't really be gone, right?
"I'm alive!" She croaked, keeping her voice from breaking. Her bottom lip trembled.
She reached blindly into the cavern, but she couldn't feel anything except a cool wall.
She looked up just in time to watch Thea fall gracefully, rolling and standing up straight, as if she hadn't just jumped from fifty feet up.
Thea was glowing. Literally, her entire body emitted a bright illumination that lit up the dark hallway. The perks of bringing the Titan of light on a quest.
Ellie stumbled to stand, twisting around to look around. The walls were a grey stone, intertwined with moss and vine.
Ellie made out a body. She ran towards it, Thea a few steps behind. She fell to her knees, turning it to see the body's face.
It was him.
She ran her dirty fingers through his curly hair, letting out a choked sob. There was blood coating his forehead and in his scalp.
"No, no, no!" She cried, her voice cracking with emotion.
She pressed her head to his chest, crying uncontrollably now.
She froze when his chest rose. She lifted her head slowly, her eyebrows creased. She watched his chest fall and rise, fall and rise, again and again.
She let out a cry of relief, pressing her hand to her mouth. She fell back into Thea, who welcomed her into her arms.
Hugging a Titan was nothing how she'd expect. Thea was warm and comforting, and she smelled of cinnamon and the beach. Ellie continued to cry, having absolutely not control of herself. Now, it wasn't of pain or grief, but of relief and exhaustion. The two girls sat on the floor of the corridor, exhausted.
Thea set up a small camp in the area so they could sleep, a sleeping mat and they made a fire. They brought Connor to safety, leaving him by the fire. They gave him nectar and ambrosia until his skin smoked, but he never woke. Ellie cleaned his wound as best as she could with their emergency water canteens and a piece of her tacky tourist shirt. He was still deadly pale, his breathing labored, and his forehead clammy with sweat, but he was alive.
Thea offered to take first watch, but Ellie couldn't fall asleep. She was propped up against the wall, Connor's head in her lap. She stared at the stone walls until it gave her a headache. She played with his curly hair lazily, trying to regroup her thoughts.
She hadn't realized how much she would be broken if Connor wasn't there. She was starting to understand why he was so intent of dying beside her if they couldn't solve her problem. They were quite similar.
She glanced down at the unconscious boy once more, tears welling in her eyes. Seeing him so fragile was painful, and she hated him being in pain. She stroked his cheek softly with her thumb, and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.
"I'm sorry," She whispered. She knew her words to Thea had been out of line.
"It's quite alright." Thea said softly, but she didn't look up from the fire. "I'm sorry, too."
Ellie nodded. The two girls never made eye contact, some may have taken it as rude and that there was lingering tension, but both were drained and couldn't find it in them to look up.
Ellie looked to the wall, there was a triangle glowing on the wall that she hadn't seen before. She creased her eyebrows, squinting.
"Oh my gods," She hissed. "The, I know where we are."
"Where?" Thea asked, tending the small fire. "Other then a dark hole?"
Elle glanced to the triangle again, glowing blue. But it wasn't a triangle, she realized. It was the delta sign, a greek symbol.
"We're in the Labyrinth." She whispered. The eerie silence of the room made her shiver. The Labyrinth stretched across the world, where time was different...
"Oh, no!" She whispered, eyes widening. "Time is different in here, isn't it?"
Thea looked to her, confused. "Yeah, why?"
"Thea," Ellie started, a terrified look on her face. "I have two days left. In regular time. We've probably been in here a day already in the real world."
Thea gave her a sacred look in response. Although she offered no help, Ellie knew that it wasn't her fault. There was nothing any of them could do, Connor was still knocked out and immobile, and they had no idea where to go.
Silence overtook them again, and Ellie let her thoughts surround her.
"Why didn't you say it back?" Thea blurted, raising her voice slight more then before.
"What?" Ellie asked carefully, but she knew what Thea had meant. There wasn't much she hadn't told Connor.
"He told you he loves you, Ellie. Why did you not return that, do you not love him?"
Ellie hesitated. "I want to mean it, not have it rushed out in a moment of fear." She said after a few moments.
The fire cackled softly. Despite the fire and Thea both sources of heat, Ellie felt cold.
"I see." Thea said quietly. "I know I would have said it back. There are not many just gods or Titans left, Ellie. And as far as I know, there isn't much left with mortals and demigods, either."
Tears welled in the corner of her eyes. "I know."
Thea turned back to the fire.
Ellie squeezed her eyes, allowing a single tear to streak down her cheek.
The truth was that she was scared to admit that she loved him.
That just made it even harder to let him go.
The comments regarding Thea are bound to happen at some point, so I want to talk about it real quick.
Thea is a Titan. It is written by Rick that gods powers are restrained from things that need to happen. It is also said that Titan's are less powerful than gods. So, it would make sense that Thea wouldn't be able to save Connor from falling from the hole. Also, she is the Titan of light and jewels. I'm not sure how far her power spread, but saving people from falling would not fall under the same category as emeralds.
One last point is I'm trying my best to make her not overpowered. It is unusual that Titan joins a demigod quest, and they still have to occur problems. I'll admit I kind of regret last chapter, not making her help fight the Harpy, but I can't edit it since it's published, without everyone getting notified. Also, I believe that Thea was not a violent Titan, she wouldn't want to get involved.
If anyone had any other questions please don't be afraid to ask. That is just my reasoning behind not making Thea more powerful.
Also!! Please don't be mad at Ellie for being rude. She's a teenager girl, she's going to make mistakes. She had just thought that her boyfriend had fell to his death, she was a tad overwhelmed with emotion.