Things didn't just instantly fix themselves after we defeated Gaia. First, we hunted down and killed every single monster that made up the rest of her army. It cost a lot of demigods, but we soon destroyed them all. A bitter win. Next were the funerals. We had too many dead to have individual funerals. Both Greek and Roman demigods brought their friends, family, loved ones, forward. We carefully wrapped them in a flag, embroidered with the design of their parent's cabin. Then we piled the bodies on a giant pyre that we all helped to make and set them alight. We didn't burn anything for Leo. There was nothing left of him to burn.

The night of the funerals, there was no sing-along around the campfire. Instead, we stayed in our cabins, pushing the remorse into the backs of our minds. I tried to push Leo to the back of mine, but I kept seeing the explosion. Seeing Jason and Piper falling and, worst of all, seeing the empty space in the sky after. No Festus. No Leo. I shook myself. I knew would not be sleeping tonight. Easing myself up off of the bed, I shuffled to the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I scrubbed them, a sliver of black dashed in front of the window beside me. Something didn't feel right. I snatched up Riptide from where I had placed it on my nightstand and uncapped it. My blade sprung out, extending to its full length. I cautiously paced forward. Crash! Where my door had once been, a giant black mass of fur, slobber and a studded collar now sat panting.

"Heya, girl. How are you?" Mrs O'Leary started to howl, as if she were answering my question. She trotted inside, and I closed the door behind her. Putting my sword away, I patted her dark, soft ears. She licked my face, leaving a trail of sticky slobber and I exclaimed softly in disgust. Suddenly, her tail stopped its pulse-like wagging. She crouched close to the ground and growled deep in her throat. I was surprised by her unusual behaviour.

"What's wrong?" I murmured soothingly to her, squatting down to a less menacing level.

She bared her teeth and I quickly stood back up. I was nervous; she'd never acted this threatening before. Her strong jaws snarled. That's when I saw her hind leg muscles tense. I had just enough time to scramble into a corner before she leaped at the head of the bed. Snatching my favourite pillow into her mouth, she crashed through my door and hurtled into the forest. What in Hades had just happened? I stood up quickly and ran out what was left of the front door. She was gone. The destruction that Mrs O'Leary had left caused the other campers to surge out of their cabins, most with weapons in hand. Still wearing nothing but my pyjama pants, I stumbled over towards Annabeth and her siblings, who stood gazing at the scene. It was only when I touched her arm that she turned to me, a troubled look in her beautiful grey eyes.

"Was that Mrs O'Leary?" she asked in a worried tone, her grey streak of hair falling into her eyes.

"Yeah, I think so," I continued, pushing the lock to rest behind her ear, "but she wasn't her, like, she nearly attacked me, but -"

"It's too late to be up, can everyone please go back to their cabins. We will discuss this in the meeting tomorrow. Go to sleep," Chiron's voice overpowered everyone else, his tail swishing behind him as he trotted back to the Big House. Everyone slowly meandered their way back to their cabins, muttering under their breaths to each other. Nico jogged over, Will close behind him. What a cute couple they were, Nico wearing Will's oversized shirt with the slogan, The sun will come out tomorrow! on it.

"Was that Mrs O'Leary?" Nico asked, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah," I replied, "She was acting weirdly hostile. She stole my favourite pillow."

Nico shook his head.

"It's probably all the deaths," he mused, "They're messing with me a bit too."

Will gave Nico's arm a light squeeze. I smiled grimly. They were messing with all of us.

"Which way did she go?" Will asked me.

I pointed to the edge of the forest.

"That way, but she could be anywhere by now," I replied.

Anywhere at all.