Here is chapter two. I am typing this in my comprehensive literature class. I hope I don't get caught.
Nico sleeps a staggering average of three hours a night if he is lucky. In the majority of time that he spends in his cabin, he spends six hours reading old books from his father's library, three hours staring at a wall, another one, and a half staring at a picture of his older sister, and every now and again he will consider visiting the Underworld. However, Nico's recent experience concerning the Underworld have been less than pleasant.
It's been three years since the Battle of Manhattan, and a little over a year since Nico had walked the dark paths of Tartarus. Sometimes, in his sleep, Nico would awaken in the pitch black land, and he would believe that he never left at all. The instant feeling of terror would rip him from his sleep, and he would stumble around his cabin, often knocking over furniture, trying to find his bearings.
A situation such as that had arose the morning Chiron, Camp Half-Blood's head advisor, did something extremely rare. Something that surprised even Nico, and Nico was sure he had seen and done it all. He knocked on Nico's front door. Nico scratched the back of his head and stifled a yawn as he threw the cabin door open. His eyes widened, taking in the camp leaders full form. Half human, half horse. A majestic centaur in all his rarity.
"Chiron!" Nico exclaimed, opening the door completely, and gawked at the man on his porch.
"Di Angelo. I hope cabin thirteen is accommodating you well." Chiron said in a voice that said 'strictly business stuff'.
"It's a bit dark." Nico admitted. Chiron chuckled.
"I apologize for the decoration teams assumptions. I'll have that remedied while you are away." He said. Nico's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Away? I'm not going anywhere. I thought I had made that perfectly clear." Chiron nodded.
"I think you should follow me, Mr. Di Angelo." Chiron finished. Before Nico could speak, he turned around promptly and began walking across the green toward the Big House. The main hive of the camp that served as a strategy department, as well as the main operations headquarters for all the camp activities. It also housed the camp's oracle. Rachel Dare. Usually only camp teachers and quest goers will step foot into the Big House.
Nico was neither of these. Despite this, Nico trudged after Chiron, finding it hard to keep up with Chiron's long legs. His chest was tight, and breath short by the time he finally collapsed in the entry way of the Big House.
"No time to rest. This way." Chiron said, walking at a modest pace down the wide hallway that was altered for his easy access. Nico huffed, and picked himself up from the floor. He really needed to get back into shape.
Chiron pushed the large oak door to his office open, and held it for Nico. Cautiously, he entered the room.
"I don't really understand what this is about." He muttered while walking past Chiron. His words dying on his lips as he saw Will Solace standing in the room, hunched over a map that was spread along Chiron's large desk.
"What is he doing here?" Nico asked defensively, beginning to back out of the room and search for a shadow out of habit.
"Calm down, Nico." Chiron said closing the door. "This involves you also. Take a seat." Chiron gestured to a chair across from his desk, and Nico sat. Chiron took his seat behind his desk, and Will moved the map out of the way before taking a seat on the corner of the desk.
"Tell me what is going on." Nico said, clearly not trusting the occupants in the room. Will sighed.
"I got a quest last night. To recover my father's dagger in the Underworld." Will said, fiddling with a stone tablet in his hands.
"What does that have to do with me?" Nico asked. Chiron handed Nico a smaller version of the map that was on the desk.
"As you know the entrances, and exits to the Underworld are constantly changing. We need somebody to find Will here an entrance, and serve as a escort." Chiron finished. Nico snorted.
"I haven't been to the Underworld since..." Nico hesitated. "Since Tartarus, and you think my mentality is so stable that I can sniff out a portal so easily? I'm not made of iron you know." I snapped, and Will suddenly looked guilty, and awkward. His eyes refusing to meet Nico's. Chiron just sighed.
"If anybody else was able to do it, you know we wouldn't put this kind of pressure on you." Chiron exclaimed in a calming voice, but Nico was having none of that.
"You mean if my sister was here. And Hazel is a child of riches, not death. So she is useless!" Nico yelled. Chiron glanced at Will, who was still refusing to meet Nico's eyes, and back at Nico himself.
"I think you two should have a little talk. Settle your differences." Chiron said, rising from his desk and walking toward the door. Leaving the office without another word.
"Nico..." Will began as he hopped off the desk. "I'm sorry about what I did yesterday. I was totally overstepping my bounds, and if it will make you feel better I won't mention it again." Will said.
Nico nodded in agreement. He didn't want Will to mention anything from that time period in his life. That time where he was at his absolute lowest.
"But... Just promise me that if you ever feel the need to... to do that again, you will talk to me or anybody else before you do anything rash." Will finished. For a moment, Nico believed that Will was going to reach over and grasp Nico's hand. But his hands staying firmly planted in his lap.
Nico mulled it over. Stationary life was certainly not for him. He couldn't handle being around so many people daily, and he yearned for the adventurous lifestyle he had become accustomed to. Nico figured it wouldn't be too hard to find a portal if he really set it mind to it.
"I'll do it." Nico said. "But keep your promise." He warned. Will smirked, and nodded.
"Of course." he promised, his eyes glittering. Nico felt a faint blush creep onto his face, and he quickly turned his head the other way.
"My father told me we have five days until the mist on the mortals wear off. He says once it wears off, the world will go into a panic, and eventually it will kill the planet." Will explained, a grim look on his face that didn't put Nico at ease at all.
"Five days to get to the underworld, and back." Nico mumbled as he leaned over the map on the desk.
The ink was dry, faded, and chipped, and the paper was crisp, and yellow with age. However, despite it's appearance, the map was probably one of the most up to date maps he had seen. It was a complete map of the U.S, and Nico found that if you tapped the upper left corner, the map expanded to a full sized map of the world. Nico stayed in the U.S. He would need the closest portal possible.
Words of all cities, states, and small towns were printed across the yellow parchment. Tiny clouds, suns, and thunder bolts were moving across the paper that represented the weather, and if Nico squinted he could see tiny print appear on some of the interstate lines that said "Road blockage due to accident." Or sometimes, "Closed due to road work." would pop up here, and there.
Nico closed his eyes, and reached his subconsciousness out into the world waiting to receive information. Hoping for anything, he tried to connect to the Underworld system that his father had so intricately created. Finally, he connected, and saw what he was looking for, and honestly he wasn't surprised.
"Vegas?" Nico mumbled out loud. Will directed his attention to Nico from the map.
"What did you say?" Will asked. "What about Vegas?"
"There is a portal in Vegas." Nico said. "Probably the same one Percy used all those years ago."
"It's been open all this time?" Will asked, shocked. Nico shook his head.
"Probably not. It probably opens every five years, and our timing is lucky." Will nodded and turned back to the map thinking.
"Vegan is a long ways away." He mumbled. Nico agreed.
"But it's the only once open in the U.S right now." Nico said. "It's our only shot." Will nodded, and began rolling up the map.
"Go pack Nico. We will leave immediately. I'll inform Chiron." Nico nodded, and left the room, his mind thinking about what equipment he would need for the trip.
"Oh, and Nico!" Will said. Nico whirled around, meeting face to face with Will. "Thank you." Will said. Nico smiled, and turned around, walking out of the building.
Will, and Nico had left town over three hours ago. They had left at noon, and it was almost three in the afternoon. However, it was getting hard to gauge the time with the sun staying in the same potion at all times.
The blazing heat annoyed Nico, and the constant light zapped at his energy. Probably the same way perpetual darkness would zap Will's energy. Nico couldn't imagine what the children of Apollo are going through on the other side of the world. Probably the same thing Nico is going through now. However, Nico dutifully trudged through along the highway, and into Detroit. Probably one of the dirtiest cities Nico had ever walked through. And in Nico's preteen days, he had trudged through many cities.
"What's the plan?" Nico asked Will. Will squinted his eyes, and looked around. We were in (thankfully) uptown Detroit. Around us were restaurants, outlet malls, and a city park. Will's face lit up as he spotted out answer to everything.
"Let's rent a car!" Will said in excitement. Nico rolled his eyes.
"That's a stupid idea." Nico said. Will frowned.
"Than think of a better one, Doom-and-Gloom." He retorted in a snide manor.
"Don't call me that! How would we pay for a car anyway?" Nico asked. Will seemed to forget Nico's 'stupid idea' comment, and he began fishing through his jean pocket, and pulling out a sleek, shiny, solid gold, credit card.
"Daddy loan you his credit card did he?" said Nico in a teasing manor. Will's scowl appeared once more.
"Well at least he is helping me. What did your dad give you for the quest." Nico huffed, and refused to answer. Instead, Will gave him a 'I won this argument' look, and began stalking off toward the car rental place. Nico wished he knew some underworld curses to mutter after the tall, blonde boy, but italian ones would do as he stalked after him.
By the time Nico had arrived at the dealership, a few minutes behind Will, Will was already at the counter arguing with lady at the front desk.
"I'm sorry sir, but you must be at least eighteen years old to rent a car from us!" The receptionist lady insisted. Will groaned, and ran his hand through his hair. A habit that I noticed he did whenever he was stressed.
"Look." Will said, sliding the solid gold credit card toward the lady. "Is there anyway you can make an exception?" Will asked, a polite smile plastered onto his face. The receptionist lady sighed, and shook her head.
"Look, if you were older, and just happened to forget your driver license, than maybe I could look the other way, but you and your little friend here don't look a day over sixteen." she said, fixing her glasses. Will groaned, and I felt slightly offended by the age comment. I hardly registered the door ding behind me, alerting the shop to the arrival of a customer.
"Ma'am." Will tried again. I was ready to drag him out of the shop by his silky, golden hair. "We really need to get to Las Vegas." Will said. "Money is no object." He insisted.
"Money is no object?" A voice sounded behind us. Will, and I both turned around to be met with a young mortal girl who looked around college age. She wore jean shorts, and a flowing white tank top under a jean jacket. Her hair was long, blank, and held in a bun by a large white clip.
"I'm heading toward Iowa for college. I can take you to Des Moines, but thats as far as I can go." she said. "But you two look young. Where are your parents?" Will froze, and Nico stepped forward.
"We're both 18. We just don't have any ID with us currently." He said, flashing the girl a smile. She blinked for a moment before smiling back.
"Great. I'm just here to drop of my friends keys, and we can head out." She said, dropping the keys on the receptionist desk, and motioning for Nico, and Will to follow her outside.
"This one is mine." She said motioning to a silver Buick sitting in the parking lot like it was the epitome of all cars. Nico called front seat, and Will squished himself into the back looking less than pleased at their current situation.
"We never got your name." Nico said, turning to the mortal girl. The dazed look flashed across the girls face once more before she seemed to recover. Will huffed, and pretended not to notice.
"Emily." she said. "Emily Dara."
"Well, Emily." Will said from the back seat. "How far is it to Iowa?" he asked. Emily laughed.
"About eight hours. Five if you drive with me." She said. Nico didn't like the sound of that, but decided protesting wasn't in his best interest as the mortal girl shifted the car out of gear, and took off down the streets of Detroit. Straight toward the interstate leading to Iowa.
Nico was about to rip his ears out of his head. The mortal girl had the radio turned up to an insane volume, and was screeching to a 21st century song that Nico had never even fathomed that anybody would write.
"And at the end of the night when the lights go out will we turn down? Oh no we won't!" Nico groaned inwardly, but managed to shoot a reassuring smile her way. He scowled in the rearview mirror where he noticed Will had inserted his apparently magical stethoscope into his ears, and was napping peacefully.
"I wanna rock with somebody!" She wailed. "I wanna take shots with somebody!" Nico couldn't stand it anymore. He reached toward the radio, and turned down the volume. Emily didn't seem to mind.
"What's up?" She asked. Nico scrambled for a reason why he turned off the radio besides telling her that her singing was terrible.
"I just figured we could talk. Get to know each other." Emily smiled.
"Sounds like a plan! So where are you from." Emily asked. Nico shrugged.
"Italy." He said. The girl turned to him.
"Seriously? You don't even have an accent, can you speak Italian?" she asked. Nico nodded, and Emily looked at him expectantly. Obviously wanting him to speak Italian.
"Stai cantando รจ terribile." Nico said. The girl smiled, clearly not understanding what he had said. Nico heard Will chuckle from the back seat.
Great, so his fancy stethoscope can also translate languages.
"That's so hot that you are from Italy." Emily said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. Nico smirked, but instantly felt uncomfortable. He knew when the female population flirted with him, and he didn't like it one bit.
"Are you sure you have to leave Iowa as soon as we arrive?" Emily asked, laying her hand on Nico's knee. "Maybe you could stay the night." She said, biting her lip, her finger tapping on the leather steering wheel. Nico shook her head.
"No I really can't." He said, brushing Emily's hand off of his knee.
"Oh sorry. Are you not into me?" Emily said in a slightly bitter voice. Nico rubbed his palms together, a habit he did when he was nervous.
"It's not you. It's just. You know, the female population in general." Nico said.
"You're nervous around girls? Baby, we can fix that." Emily purred. Nico almost gagged when she said baby.
"No!" He exclaimed. "I'm gay." Emily immediately drew her hand back.
"Oh. Well this is embarrassing."
"No no. It's fine really." Nico reassured her awkwardly. Emily nodded, and turned up the radio to fill the awkward silence. Nico sighed, and rested his head back. In the rearview mirror, Will Solace starred at him with a shocked expression.
"Thanks for the ride." Will said. Emily smiled, and waved her hand.
"No way. Thanks for paying for the gas!" Emily exclaimed. "Hit me up if you two are ever in Iowa." Nico nodded.
"By the way." Emily muttered leaning in close to Nico. "You and the blonde boy make a cute couple." Nico's face erupted in a fiery red color, and he began stammering.
"What? Solace? Yeah right." He said leaning away from Emily. She laughed, and gave them one final wave before pulling off back onto the main road.
"What was that about?" Will asked as soon as he, and Nico began walking through the forest that cut through the Iowa countryside. Nico felt himself blush again.
"Nothing. She just told me a lame joke." Nico muttered.
"You, and Emily bond on our little road trip did you?" Will asked. Nico thought he detected a bit of an edge in Will's voice. I rolled my eyes.
"Even if we did, it's none of your business." Will seemed to drop it after that, and he and Nico walked through the woods in silence.
"Tell me again why you insisted Emily drop us off by a forest, and not an airport?" Will asked. Nico shuddered.
"I'm not good with airplanes. Besides, I felt magic in the forest. I think there is a minor god here. Maybe they can help us get to Vegas." Nico finished. Will seemed to accept his answer. Nico felt the source of the godly power draw him deeper into the forest.
"Maybe it's a nature spirit." Will reasoned. "Like Pan." Nico laughed humorlessly.
"Pan is dead." He said like it was common knowledge. "He faded."
"How does a god fade?" Will asked incredulously.
"They lose their footing in the mortal world." Nico muttered. He heard the leaves crunch under his feet, and Will spoke up after a few moments.
"Like you do?" He asked. Nico was tempted to wheel around, and scold Will for not knowing how to keep his mouth shut. Instead, he focused on following the source of power.
"Yeah." He answered. "Like me."
Nico pushed through the brush, and instantly wanted to turn around and hike tail right back to the highway.
"We should go." Nico said turning around, and pushing on Will's chest.
"Go? Why? And why is there a donut shop in the middle of the forest?" Will said, pushing Nico out of the way, and approaching the shop.
"No Will! Don't go near it!" Nico had some bad experiences with Monster Donut shops in the past, and he felt he was completely justified to be cautious of this one.
It sat in a clearing right next to a small pond of water, trees encaged the shop, clearing, and pond in a tight circle, as if nature itself was trying to contain the shop from the outside world.
"Demigods?" A voice came from inside the shop? "Demigods?!" It asked again in a slightly louder voice.
"Uh... Yeah?" Will answered. Will, and Nico heard a joyful laugh from inside the shop. Like the voice had been saved.
"Great! Yes! Oh the higher gods have answered my prayers! I sense you two boys are in need of transportation correct?" The voice said. Nico, and Will's eyes widened. How does this voice know that Nico, and Will need to get to Vegas?
"Yeah!" Will answered. "We are, I mean we do! To Vegas! We need to go to Vegas! Can you help us?" Will said, tripping over his words from excitement.
"Of course, of course my dear demigods! I'll help you out, if you help me out!" the voice answered. Will starred at the shop in confusion, and Nico automatically drew his swords. Glancing around at any sign of danger.
"Don't do it Will. We should just go. We can find another way to Vegas." Will pretended not to hear his quest companion.
"Well..." Will hesitated. "What's wrong?" Nico heard an angry huff from the shop.
"Will you help or not?" The voice demanded. "This is a one time offer Son of Apollo. According to that sky, you don't have a lot of time to be making decisions." That seemed to strike a chord with Will.
"Fine! Yes we'll help!" Nico groaned at Will's rash decision.
"Perfect!" The voice said. "I have a pesky water hydra in my pretty little pond. Be a couple of dears, and slay it for me?" Will turned to Nico in confusion. An emotion that Nico was sure that Will's face was going to permanently adopt.
"Shit." Nico mumbled, turning to leave the open field, but the trees had moved so impossible close together, that they formed a wall. Bound by their promise to help, Nico and Will stood trapped in the green. It was completely silent. The only thing Nico heard was the soft click of the lock on the from door of Monster Donut.
"Idiot!" Nico yelled. "Don't make decisions without asking me! You've hardly left the camp!" Nico yelled at him.
"Nico where-" Will began to say, but the small pond by the donut shop exploded in a huge wave of water. Which wouldn't be so bad, Nico decided, if it weren't for the fact that instead of falling to the ground, and soaking the two boys it began to collect in the air. Forming itself into one long, serpent-like body. At the end of the body made of water, four snake heads appeared. Each as large as a car, with huge jaws, and rows of a million razor sharp teeth. The hydra made completely of water reared back, and lot out a deathening roar.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Let me know what you guys think! See you tomorrow!