OH MY GOD I'M ALIVE! Yes, I am back, and deeply sorry for the loooooooong wait, and I am also sorry that this is a short chapter, but it's a good one, I hope. So you can do your happy dances now.
I've been really busy lately, sorry. Had a family emergency a little after the last update, and then school started, and I just finished semester finals, so here is an update to tide you over for now. Please enjoy, I hope you like!
Thanks so much for the positive reviews, and now you can read.
"Iggy, you don't look so good," Percy said as they got off the train. Iggy stepped off, wincing as he moved, and brought his hand up to his side.
Shaking his head, Iggy said, "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute." The three nodded as Iggy left them, shuffling towards the restroom. His head hurt, his ribs hurt, his back hurt, everything hurt. But his ribs hurt the most.
Lucky for him, the bathroom was empty at the moment. He moved over to the mirrors and, as gingerly as he could, he lifted up his shirt. He hadn't checked anything at all the day before, he didn't even feel hurt. It was when he first got up on the train that morning that it hurt. When he stood up the pain swept over him at such a high rate that his knees buckled and he almost fell back down.
Iggy hissed when he saw the huge bruise encasing his chest. He felt his ribs and could definitely tell that at least a few of them were broken. Looking around the room, he then turned around to look at his back. His wings seemed okay, which was good. There were small bruises and scrapes all over his arms and legs, but other than the broken ribs and splitting headache, he was fine. He smoothed out his shirt and splashed cold water on his face, trying to clear his busy head to think about what he should do about his wounds. He could go to a doctor, but that would be dangerous.
He reached out for his discarded glasses next to him and walked out of the room as he put them in his pockets. Something told him that he should stop using them for a while.
"Iggy, are you okay?" Annabeth asked him as soon as he left the room. She had been waiting for him.
"No," Iggy said, shaking his head. "A few broken ribs and a headache."
"Oh gods, how did that happen?"
"The Chimera, of course. Where's Total?"
"Right here," Total said, nudging Iggy's foot. Annabeth put Total's leash in Iggy's hand and stepped away.
"Anything we can do to help?" she asked. Iggy shook his head.
"No, I'm gonna go find a doctor."
It was something Iggy really didn't want to do, but he really didn't have a choice. He didn't have any money to buy really good pain pills, let alone a prescription for one. Before he left them, he had to convince the three that he had to go alone. After he said goodbye to them all about three times, he was out in the city with Total leading the way. They moved in silence, the two not paying attention to anybody, and nobody paying attention to them. It all worked out. A few times, though, as they reached a four way stop, some friendly sounding people asked if they could help. Iggy would tell them that he needed to go see the doctor for his regular check up, but he was lost. They kindly told him directions and Total led the way.
"You are a very brave boy, going to the doctors by yourself," said one elderly woman. Iggy just nodded curtly and went on his way. Someone even offered to pay for a taxi ride there, afraid of the blind boy getting lost. He politely declined. He just figured nobody saw a blind boy in Denver before.
"Hey, Ig," Total said once they entered a less busy section of the city. Iggy stopped next to Total and tapped the ground impatiently with his cane, wincing as his head burned and ribs ached.
"What's up?" he asked. He dropped his cane on purpose, and as it rolled away, he dropped to his knees with a hiss and began searching for it. Although it was really just to get down to Totals level so he could hear him better.
"I smell some familiar stink heading our way," Total said. Iggy raised his eyebrows and remained motionless in his reached out position. He mouthed something he hadn't said or heard in a long time. "I smell something…Gazzy," Total added, plopping down and waging his tail somewhat excitedly.
"You're joking right…?" Iggy asked, beginning to grope around for his cane again. He heard footsteps stop right in front of him, and smelled a familiar pungent smell. He cane was put into his hand by an unseen force.
"You okay?" asked a familiar, young voice. "You lost?" Iggy's grip tightened on his cane hard enough that his knuckles turned white. The boy helped him to his feet.
"Do you know me?" Iggy asked, grabbing onto the cane with both hands now.
"You seem really familiar, but I have no idea," he said, smiling kindly. "What's your name?"
"Uh…Iggy," he mumbled.
"Iggy, huh?"
"Is your name Gazzy?" Iggy asked. The boy stared at him surprised.
"How did you -?"
Iggy smiled and reached in his pocket for his glasses. This would be his first time seeing Gazzy. He put them on and he got one quick look at him before his sight went blurry, his head seared with pain, and he fell to the ground. His head felt like it was about to burst open.
"Whoa! Are you okay?"
Iggy blacked out.
XxXxXxX
"Are you okay?"
Who's that? Iggy thought. Gazzy…?
"Iggy, are you okay?" Iggy opened his eyes and saw nothing but black. He felt his face. No glasses. He sighed and sat up.
"Gazzy?" he mumbled.
"Yeah. Oh man, you scared me for a minute, Ig," Gazzy said, letting out a huge sigh of relief. Iggy swung his leg over the side of whatever he was laying on and, to his surprise, let out a breath of air. He expected pain, so he held his breath, but he felt fine. He felt his sides. No pain. No more headache.
"What…?"
Gazzy chuckled and put Iggy's glasses in his hands. "Total's here too. Don't worry, dad fixed you up."
"Dad?"
"Yeah. Apollo, the Greek god of the sun," Gazzy said. Iggy fingered his glasses for a moment, feeling to symbol on the bow. "I saw the symbol on your glasses…so I pretty much figured you out."
"Do you remember me?" Iggy asked.
"A little, yeah."
"Like how we used to make bombs together? And prank Max?" Iggy put the glasses on, blinked several times, and looked Gazzy up and down.
He had short, scruffy blond hair, big blue eyes, short – but not the size of normal eight year olds. He was just as Iggy thought he would look like. Iggy smiled brightly at him, Gazzy smiled back.
"Yeah, I remember that," the boy said. He jumped to the seat next to him. "What happened to the others?"
"I don't know. But I'm looking for them," Iggy said, shrugging.
"Are they lost?"
"Sorta," Iggy said, watching as Gazzy absentmindedly swinging his legs. "How did you remember?" he asked. Gazzy looked at him.
"I don't know. I just…did," he said, smiling softly. "I saw you and…it just sorta came together. Like a puzzle. But a lot is still missing." Iggy nodded in understanding and let out a long, low sigh.
"We need to find the others." Iggy looked over at Gazzy slowly, a tiny smile gracing the corner of his lips. Gazzy was staring at his hands. It was then that Iggy noticed his hands shaking, as well as the rest of him. Gazzy looked worried. Scared, more or less. It was an odd sight. The child squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them with the back of his palm, rubbing away the traces of tears.
"Gazzy?"
"I'm scared," Gazzy admitted, staring at Iggy with wide eyes. He bit his bottom lip, stopping it from quivering. Gazzy never cried, this was serious business. "I'm scared, Iggy. What happened to them? What happened to Angel? Will we even find them?" Iggy threw his arm over the boy's shoulder and pulled him closer.
"I have no clue, but it'll turn out good in the end. We'll be a family again, just be patient," Iggy said. They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each others company for the moment, after what felt like years of being apart. Partners in crime, reunited. And, slowly, a smile returned to Gazzy's face.
Brotherly love! Kinda. I love it! Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry for the wait, and please review! Hopefully I'll update faster next time.
