We walked until we could walk no longer. We eventually found a small hole in the rock wall we were able to use as a cave this time. It was too small for any monster to be staying in and it was the perfect size for the both of us to lay down in each other's arms and sleep. Charlie took first watch, insisting that I needed to rest so my wounds would heal. He got the last of Damasen's herbs out.
"No, Charlie. Save those. I'm healing fine and if something else happens, we'll need those," I insisted. He nodded and put the herbs back in the bag. I hope nothing else happened but I doubted that would be a granted wish. We never went long before running into trouble. I took a long time to fall asleep but I finally did after about half an hour of Charlie singing soft Spanish lullabies and running his hand through my hair.
Casey was sitting on my bed in the Poseidon cabin. She held her head in her hands as she cried. I knew this was another nightmare. She looked so upset. I would give almost anything to be there to comfort her, to tell her it would be ok. I was alive, but she didn't know that. Charlie and I had been gone for months. They probably assumed we were dead.
Somebody else entered the cabin. I recognized him as Nate, son of grandson of Demeter. "Hey Casey, you doing ok?" he asked softly. I wanted to yell that no, obviously she wasn't ok. But I knew I would be able to say anything. This nightmare was different from the rest, it felt more like a normal demigod dream. That worried me.
"Jase is dead. He's officially dead now, Hades said it himself. How do you think I'm doing?" Casey spat. I shook my head even though I knew she couldn't see me. Casey lashed out when she was upset. It was hard to get through to her or to get her any help when she was like this.
"Want to talk about it?" He smiled a familiar looking smile. I knew Nate had a thing for my sister, but I also knew he hadn't seen her upset like this before. He had to sit down and just let her speak. No poking, no prodding.
"No, I don't. I want to be left alone."
"Casey," Nate's smile fell into a frown. He didn't know what to do, and I could tell it was tearing him apart.
"Go away," she sobbed.
Nate swallowed and took a deep breath. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. She told him to leave, so he left. After he had gone, Casey lifted her head. She looked terrible. Bags weighed down her eyes and she was pale, skinnier than last time I'd seen her. She hadn't been taking care of herself. I had done this to her. It was my fault.
'No,' I thought. 'Not this, end it. Let this nightmare be over,' I begged the Arai.
'This is not a nightmare,' one replied.
What? This had to be a nightmare. What else could it be?
Casey got out of bed and went to the dresser. Stuck to my mirror were many pictures There were a bunch of me and other kids at Camp. A few of me and my siblings, then one of my parents. She glanced over all of them, then plucked a particular picture off the mirror. It was of Casey and I, taken last summer. It was the last day of summer so Mom had taken a picture of us under Thalia's tree. We did that every year, just the two of us. When we younger, Casey was taller than me. And over the years, I grew to be taller than her. Barely. In this picture, she was rested her elbow on my shoulder and taunting me about how tall she was. I smiled at the memory. It had bugged me at the time, but now I missed it so much. I missed my sister. I missed all of my siblings and the rest of my family, my friends and my teachers. I even missed my Camp chores. I would never take my life for granted again. I may be alive here, but it didn't feel like it. This was worse than being dead.
"Six months. Come back to me, Jason," she whispered. A tear slipped down her cheek and onto the photo. Six months?
"I'm trying," I promised. I felt myself beginning to cry.
Her head snapped up and she dropped the photo. Wait, that couldn't be right. She didn't hear me. Right? She couldn't. Her eyes drifted back up to the mirror and her her expression turned to one of shock.
"Who…?" Her eyes turned cold and her expression to anger. She grabbed her sword from next to the bed and swung it towards the mirror. I stuck my hands up in a defensive manner and glanced away for a moment.
"If you're the one that took my parents, just show yourself. Fight me!" She yelled. "Because of you my brother is in Hell so come out and SHOW YOURSELF! Fight me, you coward!" She was crying now, but she still looked more angry than I'd ever seen her. The whole scene began to fade. No, no not yet! What I'd this was real? What if this was an actual demigod dream? I needed to warn her! Well, there was no harm in trying.
"Nyx is coming! She's sending the Cyclops. She let you escape on purpose. It's a trap!" I yelled. For the first time during a nightmare, she heard my warning. Her mouth dropped open and she let go of the sword. It clattered carelessly to the ground. She was still staring at the mirror.
"Jase?"
I woke up gasping, unlike most mornings. "It's a trap it's a trap," I muttered as I woke. Charlie looked down at me with concern.
"What happened?" He asked. He knew this was different than most dreams.
"I, I don't think it was a nightmare," I said.
Charlie furrowed his eyebrows and scoffed. "Well, it sure sounded like a nightmare. You were yelling about traps, nearly alerted all of Tartarus of our location."
"Sorry," I apologized.
He shrugged it off. "It's ok. Not your fault. Anyway, what was your dream about then, if it wasn't a nightmare?"
I bit my chapped lips and thought for a moment. "Casey. At camp. She said something about us being gone for six months and she was crying. When I said something, she actually heard me. It was different. I think it was a demigod dream. I wasn't able to tell her anything except to warn her about Nyx. Then I woke up. No Arai, except when one told me it wasn't a nightmare. Nobody died, nobody was being tortured. I'm telling you, it was different," I explained.
Charlie took my hands and rubbed circles into my palm with his thumb. "I believe you," he said. "Maybe you actually were able to warn her. Now they'll be prepared, they will survive."
"Can."
Charlie smiled sadly and nodded. We both missed Bob and Damasen. I wondered if they got out yet.
They couldn't have survived.
They died long ago
I hope they made it to Alaska, started a little farm. I hoped Bob could see the stars. I could really use Damasen's words of wisdom. He always knew what to say. It seemed that he knew the answer to everything. When we got out-if we got out- the first thing I would do is take my family up to see them. Just to make sure they was ok. I wanted to see them again so badly. Somehow, Bob and Damasen had provided a real home in Tartarus-literal Hell. No, worse than Hell. Hades's realm and the fields of punishment were Hell. This was worse.
"Charlie, your turn. Go to sleep," I said. Charlie nodded and got comfortable. He had nightmares too, I knew it. You couldn't be a demigod in Tartarus and not have them. But he didn't talk about them much. He said they weren't that bad, especially compared to mine. Sometimes he woke up with a yelp or with tears, but not often. He seemed to be adjusting to life here. We both were. A few months ago, six if Casey was right, Charlie was a normal kid. He went to a normal public school and spent his summer playing video games and hanging out with his friends. He didn't have to worry about monsters killing him and everybody he loved. Now he was here. Stuck with me.
(AU: Now both inside Tartarus and the outside world are all caught up... :))
