I had an inspiration for this story, and I just HAD to write it down. But I do have an outline - I'm not flying blind here. If there's any one source of inspiration for this tale, it is the song "Afterlife" by Avenged Sevenfold. You'll figure out why soon enough.
I do promise that the chapters will get a lot longer than this one. It's just an introduction. With that, let us begin!
Current music: Let It Be - The Beatles
"Open your eyes, Will. It's all over."
Will did as he was told, but something still felt fuzzy. Of course, it had only been a few seconds since the mask had been put over his nose - there was no reason he should have felt this way.
"Uhhhhhh…" the teenage boy uttered, because that's all he had the energy for.
"It is normal to feel drowsy from the anesthetic" the oral surgeon told him. "It will wear off soon, and then you'll be good to go. Although you shouldn't be operating any machinery for the next few days, that's for sure."
"Nico…where's Nico?" Will asked groggily, gradually sitting up in the chair. His wrists were restrained by a pair of clamps on either side, presumably to stop him from "accidentally" punching the oral surgeon upon his awakening. However, this was unnecessary; he just didn't have the strength.
The surgeon raised an eyebrow. "Nico di Angelo…he was meant to pick you up from this appointment, was he not?"
"Yes," Will insisted, leaning forward. This simple action created a considerable headrush, to the point that his vision darkened. "He's going to take me back to Long Island."
"Is he your friend?"
"Yeah."
"How did you two meet?"
Will frowned. "Is that really so important? We just happen to be friends."
"Sorry," the oral surgeon replied. "I'm merely trying to assess how lucid you are. Even if you won't be driving home, I still want to make sure you're able to stand on your own two feet."
"I think I can do that" Will insisted, all but barking out those words. "Just get me out of these clamps, please."
One of the doctor's assistants removed the clamps from Will's wrists. That's when the teenager realized that his mouth was packed with gauze; not surprising, just notable. The whole procedure had seemed to take only seconds, but he could taste the blood at the back of his mouth, as well as feel the empty spaces where his third molars had once been.
"Okay," the oral surgeon responded. "You're out of the clamps now. Do you have any other demands?"
"Water," Will replied, panting. It couldn't have been more than half an hour since he'd gone under for the procedure, but his throat felt drier than sand paper. Perhaps that was the gauze.
"I'll get you some, but please don't spit," the doctor replied. "If you do, that only increases the risk of dry socket, something you do not want. Really, follow the instructions as closely as possible if you wish for a quick recovery."
Trust me, I do, Will thought through the brain fog. I just want to practice my archery again. I want to get back to being the Head Counselor of Cabin Seven. Just please…whatever you want me to do, just tell me.
The oral surgeon, upon handing Will a cup of water, frowned yet again. "You said that Nico di Angelo was picking you up from here?"
"Yes," the teenager replied. "He's my ride back to Long Island."
"It says here in our records - he's scheduled a consultation with us too - that Nico di Angelo is fifteen years old."
"So what?" Will snapped.
"That means he shouldn't be driving. If you want to go and call one of your parents to pick you up, then by all means, do that. But you should have thought of this ahead of time."
"Why?"
"Because when you're drugged out of your mind, you can't think as clearly. You certainly can't drive yourself, even though you are sixteen. What about your mother?"
"She lives in Texas," Will replied. "And she doesn't care about me, anyway. I live on Long Island now - that's just the way it is."
"Okay. So that won't work. What about your father?"
Will's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his father. Truth be told, he hadn't spoken to his dad…well, pretty much ever. But the thought of him being driven back to Camp Half-Blood in the sun chariot, while an amusing mental image, was also sufficiently cringe-worthy to make him, well, cringe.
Also, Will could see outside the window from where he was sitting. The sky was already in a state of broad daylight - having the sun rise again in the middle of the day would cause some heads to roll. The Mist was powerful, but it wasn't that powerful.
"That's not an option," the teenager responded, lowering his legs off the edge of the chair.
"Well, it would have been wise to plan a bit more," the oral surgeon replied. "But I suppose there's nothing more I can do. Are you feeling clear-headed enough to walk?"
Will nodded. Truth be told, a slight headache was still present, and he held out his arms like airplane wings in order to steady himself upon standing. But the thought of being stuck here any longer was torture.
He might have been a healer at Camp Half-Blood - Zeus knew he'd been helpful after the battle last summer - but he didn't like being on the other end of the doctor-patient relationship. The sooner he could go back to normal life - as "normal" as life can ever be for a demigod - the better.
Once Will had left the oral surgeon's office and entered the blazing hot summer day once more, he looked side to side for his ride. That was why he'd been so nonchalant about not having one of his parents pick him up; he could count on Nico, who didn't need to drive to get here.
Argus had driven him into the city, but the caretaker of Camp Half-Blood had insisted that he didn't have the time to take him back. Still, Will wasn't worried; at any moment, the son of Hades would emerge from the shadows, smiling at the sight of his best friend, and then they'd warp back to camp.
Any moment now.
Several minutes later, though, Will had to admit that the doubt had started to creep in. If not doubt, perhaps a small sliver of anxiety - Nico wasn't the type to be late to an obligation. He certainly wouldn't forget about Will.
Perhaps he needed to psych himself up for the task. After all, shadow travel is supposed to be exhausting, isn't it?
There had to be another explanation, although Will could hardly fathom what it might be. All he could think about was what he'd say to Nico when he finally showed up - if indeed that happened.
Nah, he'd show up. That's what Will needed to keep telling himself; he couldn't lose faith in Nico. He didn't think he could live with himself if he did.
But Nico did not arrive. And he still didn't. Will wasn't the best judge of time (that was his father's strong suit), but he felt fairly certain that it had been at least half an hour by now.
He began pacing down and back. He couldn't venture too far from where he'd told Nico to meet him, for obvious reasons. But as the sun beat down on his back, Will began to wonder if it wouldn't be better to hail a cab.
And then an idea came to him.
It was dangerous. In fact, it was probably too dangerous. But sometimes when you're desperate, your mind goes places you don't think it's going to. You start to consider options that are ridiculous to someone of sound mind.
Moreover, why did Will think it might work? It made little sense to expect that the abilities bestowed upon children of Hades would extend to him. Just because he dated a son of death, that didn't mean he'd be able to shadow travel.
Will rejected the idea almost immediately. It was like downing an alcoholic drink so powerful that you just have to spit it out. How could Will Solace, a child of the sun god, even consider the idea?
Still, maybe it was worth a shot. He might end up regretting it once the laughing gas was out of his system, but it never hurt to try.
But then he pictured his boyfriend's reaction upon learning that he'd done something so reckless. For all of Nico's good qualities, you didn't want to end up on the wrong side of one of his fits of rage; Will hadn't forgotten what he'd been told about Bryce Lawrence.
Nico isn't going to treat me like he did Bryce. The situations are completely different.
Even if Nico wouldn't go ballistic on Will for attempting to shadow travel, there were plenty of other things that could go wrong. He might end up warping himself directly to the Underworld, a one-way journey if there ever was one.
Besides, even if he was successful and didn't kill himself in the process, shadow travel was extraordinarily taxing. Right after the battle against the Roman demigods (a battle that should not have needed to happen, by the way), Will had nursed Nico back to health from so many shadow jumps. And if Will wanted to stop being a patient, shadow traveling wasn't the best way to accomplish that.
Even so, desperate times called for desperate measures…
