Nico held onto the barred door looking in at the goddess it held.
Persephone stared blankly at a wall. She kept walking into it like she expected to pass through it.
"Are you ready to go demigods?" Phobos asked.
They didn't reply. They didn't want to face another Athena.
Nico turned around and nodded,"Let's go."
Phobos and Deimos glowed and their eyes shone a bright white once more. The half-bloods found themselves on a green field once more. In the distance they saw a cabin. It was simple but it was two stories high. As they became closer they began to see the grass begin to wilt and at the base of the cabin they saw the wood was beginning to rot.
Nico looked up at the door. It had a symbol of Hades on it and hanging just above the symbol was a sickle used for wheat.
Nico stepped onto the porch and held a hand against the wall. He pushed it open slowly and they saw a living room inside. The hearth burned warmly and it almost seemed welcoming.
As they stepped inside they could see picture frames hanging on the walls and standing on the nightstands and coffee tables around the living room. To their right was a stair case leading up to the next floor. Across the room were two doors. One they saw led to the kitchen while the other had its door closed. Everywhere, they saw, where vases with a variety of different flowers all in full bloom.
"This place is so nice. Are you sure we're in the right place?" Piper said.
Nico nodded,"She told me once that sometimes she wished she and her mother and Hades, if they weren't gods, she'd want to live in a place like this."
"Maybe she's just...scared." offered Jason.
Annabeth shook her head,"No. She is affected. Outside. Remember the grass. It was wilting. Her mind is deteriorating."
"Should we get into groups? That way we can explore more of the house." Percy suggested.
The others looked at him like he was insane,"I know. I know. Horror movie situation. But it's not like we're going off alone to the basement. We split into two groups. One explores upstairs and the other this floor."
Jason nods,"Piper, Nico, and Thalia will go with me. We can check upstairs."
Annabeth nods,"Then the rest of us will stay down here."
The two groups separated each going their ways.
Hazel walked into the kitchen. It was definitely a lot more welcoming int the living room.
The kitchen glowed with an ominous blue light. They'd hear the buzz of electricity but a thorough search had them realize there weren't any electric lights in the kitchen. It was all gas lamps.
Percy stepped through a doorframe that led to a dining room. A wooden table was in the center and a vase stood with a wilted narcissus.
Hazel followed after. She looked around the room. This one was just dark. Every step they took the floor creaked underneath them.
Annabeth tried to light a candle from table against the wall but it just burned out as quickly as it was lit.
Frank walked over to a closed door on the side. He tried to open it but it locked from the other side.
"Wasn't there another door in the living room?" he said.
Hazel began to walk back to the living room. They tried the other one but it wouldn't budge.
Percy looked over at an iron hook used for mending the water. He pointed at it,"Hazel, go get that rod over there."
When she brought it back Percy wedged it between the door and the frame. Frank and Percy pushed on the rod while Annabeth and Hazel tried prying the door open.
After several minutes Annabeth stopped she suddenly realized something.
"Annie? What is it?" Percy asked.
She had them pull out the rod and and she held onto the knob. She pushed open the door.
"It was a push. Not pull."
The four blushed and went inside.
~o0o~
The other four upstairs weren't having any luck. There were four different rooms upstairs. One was the master bedroom. It was lined with cobwebs like someone hadn't been inside for years. Another room looked like it belonged to someone but the paint had begun to peel off and spiders crawled over almost every surface area they could find. It had a window overlooking an overgrown garden. Another looked like a nursery. It too was dusty and it looked like ot was falling apart. The last seemed to be a guest room. It was the size of a small kitchen. Two maybe three people could fit inside. The walls painted grey with no other windows or doors. The only furniture in the room was a solitary and rusty hospital bed in the center of the room. It was bright inside the room but when they looked around there weren't any actual lights to keep it lit.
They couldn't find any candles, lanterns or lightbulbs. It was just lit.
"Who do you think sleeps in this room. It can't be Persephone." Thalia stated.
Jason shrugged,"You never know. Not everything is what it seems to be in a god's mind."
Nico stepped inside the room. Before he was even fully inside the door slammed in on him, locking him inside.
"Hey! That's not funny!" he tried opening the door but it wouldn't budge. He could hear the others on the other side of the door trying to open the door.
He knew they started to ramming furniture against it to bust it open. He looked behind him.
The room seemed to be getting larger. He began to hyperventilate. He curled up into a ball. He could feel himself running out of air.
He remembered being trapped in the jar a few years ago. When the twin giants had trapped him. He'd been afraid ever since.
Tears began to sting his eyes and then he heard a voice.
It was female. It came from a corner of the room. Hush. Hush. Do not worry. You are not alone anymore, in that corner a dark mass began to take form. You have company. I will be your company. I need your company.
Nico cried in fear as its eyes formed. They created two small electric blue orbs and it began to hover toward him.
Nico tried to crawl away from the mass but the room was too small. It followed him. He began to cry.
Tears flowed his cheeks as it got too close for comfort. Not that being trapped in the same room with it was comforting but still.
It began to shrink until it's eyes were level with his own. A hair strand away and he could feel how cold the thing was.
Nico, it whispered to him.
"Oh gods," he cried as he felt a cold hand on his leg.