Chapter Twenty-Four


Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan, nor do I own Star Holder Commander's character, Walker. I do own all of the other OCs mentioned.


Nico's POV

After two seconds of sitting there, I realized that crying her name over and over again wasn't going to solve anything. This wasn't like one of those old love movies from the early 2000's, where if a guy just kissed the girl, she'd wake up and everything would be okay again. This was real.

I gently set her head on the ground and slide the backpack off my shoulders. I unzip it and rifle through it until I find the bottle I had filled to the brim with nectar. Hurriedly, I unscrew the cap and open Kyra's mouth, tilting her head up a bit so she wouldn't choke on the godly drink. I carefully pour about two tablespoons of the stuff into her mouth and down her throat.

The wait nearly killed me. I sat on the ground, my legs folded in an Indian position. She was two feet away from me, laying on the ground and looking like a beautiful and fragile fairy. I was watching her fiercely, and I just kept praying; to Apollo and Poseidon, and Athena, Aphrodite, and Walker, and any other god I could think of. She could not die now, not like this.

After what felt like eternity, but was probably only ten minutes, she gave a sputtering breath, and her eyes snapped open. She took a big gasp of air, as if it was her first time ever breathing, and started to sit up.

I dart to her and enclose her in my arms. I feel her start, then realizing it was me, relax and fall into them. Her breathing was heavy and labored like she had just finished a race.

She takes one more deep breath then looks up at me, her eyes questioning. "Nico, what happened?" she asks.

I sigh and cover my eyes with a hand. I knew I couldn't just say she blacked out from exhaustion or something, though that would be plausible. She needed to know the truth, I had kept it from her long enough.

"Ky, you—you're dying,"

She shakes her head, smirking. "Nico, everyone starts dying as soon as they're born. I'm dying just as much as you are,"

"No, I mean, I can see your soul getting weaker and fading more and more every day. You almost died when you blacked out a second ago. You would have if I hadn't of had some nectar,"

Her eyes grow wide as she sucks in a sharp breath. "But—how? How could I be? Nothing has happened that would—"

She stops talking as a look of horror and realization crosses her face. "What? What happened?" I ask, a tone of urgency in my voice.

"The Coyote Hydra," she breathes.

"The what?"

"About a week after we dropped James and Adrienne off at Camp, I was at work and I came outside to call you and this thing came out from the bushes. It looked like a coyote and and Hydra, and I killed it. But it had bitten me and I hadn't noticed it at first. Then I got really light-headed and almost passed out, and I saw that my arm was gashed open and the blood was bubbling and turning different colors,"

"So you think this thing's venom is still in your system and that's what's killing you?"

She nods. "I haven't been bitten or stabbed with anything else since then that would do this to me,"

"We need help,"

She looks at me, a helpless and scared look on her face. I hadn't seen that look in quite a while; since we were teenagers, really. Every since James had been born, she had always been so strong, strong for our kids when they couldn't be themselves, strong for me when I needed it most. Now I had to be strong for the both of us.


It took her a while to walk properly and up to speed again. A few times I almost just scooped her up and carried her, because I knew we needed to get out of these woods and find Thalia.

Eventually she got there, and we were fast on Thalia and Jamie's trail. Usually Thalia would have been careful about where she stepped so as to not leave tracks, but since Jamie had been with her and been hysterical, she hadn't been quite as careful.

We followed the winding path of broken leaves and branches and skid marks all the way to a tree line. Past the trees I could see a parking lot with a vacant looking building towards the back of it. The whole thing was surrounded by a field, with a small two-way road leading away from it and into the woods opposite us. I was willing to bet that Thalia and Jamie had gone into the building or down the road. There was only one way to find out.

Kyra was looking ill, her face had a sheen of sweat on it and she was pale. She was also shivering slightly, and her eyes looked a bit dull.

"Oh, fuck it," I say, slinging the backpack onto my shoulders and scooping her up. I didn't care if she protested, she wasn't walking anymore.

I make my way to the parking lot, and notice an old green truck sitting in one of the spaces. There was dirt and grime covering the windshield and the body of it. I shake the strange feeling out of my head and start toward the building. It looked to be a welcome center for the park. There was bound to be someone inside that could help us. There had to be.

I set Kyra down and open the door, quickly ushering her inside. It was still and muggy inside, as if the building didn't have air conditioning or it hadn't been turned on in a while. Kyra takes the backpack from me and goes to sit down on one of the benches.

The lights were on, but there was no one in sight, not even a park ranger. I unsheathe my sword before I kick open the bathroom door, just in case. It slams open, and there was nothing. Same with the cleaning closet, and the break room. The place was completely empty.

I go back into the lobby to find Kyra curled up on her side on the bench. She had her eyes closed, but I could see her side rising and falling steadily, so I didn't worry.

I walk over to the desk and look behind it. That's when I knew something bad had happened here. There was a skeleton on the ground behind the desk. It was curled up in a fetal position, its arms wrapped around itself as if it had frozen to death. I come around behind the desk and crouch down to look at it.

There was a thick layer of dust covering the whole thing, so it had been here for a long time. The funny thing is, all the bones were completely clean, no hair or old rotted flesh anywhere on the thing. Almost as if whatever had killed it had sucked everything off them then re-assembled it in this position.

I glance up at the desk and nearly jump for joy. There was a phone sitting on the desk. If the power was still on in the rest of the building, the phone line was bound to work still. I wipe the dust off and then pick it up, hearing the dial tone. It was time to make a phone call.

A/N:

Ha! You remember that strange creature Kyra encountered in A New Beginning? Well, it left a lasting effect on her, one that's not so pleasant. Who do you think Nico is going to call, and why do you think that skeleton was there? And why were the lights still on in the welcome center if its been vacant for so long? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Well, my mom and I got home on Friday night around dinner time. The trip home was pretty uneventful, which is what you want when you're on the road. We had a good visit with my mom's family, but when we left on Thursday, I was happy to be heading home. I missed my bed.

Then today I officially started the eleventh grade! I'm so excited, because I'll finally be learning new things, not just reviewing old stuff that I learned in seventh grade. The two subjects I'm most excited about are World Religions and Psychology. They're already pretty interesting, and I only just started them today. My Psychology book actually told me to meditate today and "see how long I can focus on my breathing." I didn't, but that's because I didn't have time. I might try it tonight...

And tomorrow I go back to work. I walked into the studio on Saturday and my teacher looked up from the desk and got the biggest smile on her face. She said she missed me a lot, and let me tell you, it's a nice feeling to know that you've been missed. And then one of the other artists came in while I was there and she said she had missed me too.

And now I think I'm gonna go get some ice cream then come home and change into my pajamas and watch a movie. I hope everyone has a nice rest of the night and a good week!

M/A:

"'You'll fill my heavy heart until the very end

Just let me disappear before we go home again

When we're together you can keep me close

But I'll misadventure when I need it most'"

Misadventure by Bribry

XOXO,

Mrs-diAngelo25