Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS.
Word Count: 7,410
AN: Read. Enjoy. Review. Be happy! :)
"When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with him"
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
Mio Sorella
My Sister
The door shut with quiet click.
Underneath the inky black sky, strewed with glowing stars and an ever radiant, round, and perfect moon, Jaz stepped outside, embracing the soft flickering breeze. It was a relatively warm night for the winter, just enough to melt the snow slightly so there was a soft crunch underneath her feet.
With her back against it, Jaz slid down the wall of Hermes Cabin, sitting down. She closed her eyes and took a lungful of the crisp winter air, actutely aware of her surroundings. How small threads of grass poked her through the slushy snow, how the old splintery walls scratched her back with the slightest movement, how the only sound in the entire Camp was the soft musical notes of the soft breeze. Her persistent thumping heart slowed into a tranquil beat as she breathed in and out. In and out. In and out.
"Jaz?"
Surprisingly, she didn't jump up in fright like she usually would. She felt calm and cool, connected to the world and nature around her.
It took her several moments to reply.
"Hm?" she replied to the familar voice of Nico, the noise seeming to loud to her ears.
"How long have you been sitting here?"
Jaz climbed to her feet, not bothering to brush off the wet chunks of snow and dirt. She took in the image of Nico in all his curly bedhead glory and too big pyjamas.
"I don't know," she breathed. "I had a nightmare so I came out here."
He nodded, understandedly. In panic, she would immediately break away from people and escape somewhere quiet. A common instinct they both shared. The loud, reckless, happy side of them always stole the spotlight during the daytime so when the sun sunk beneath the horizon their thoughtful, less loud side of them almost always took them over.
"I had a nightmare, too." Nico shared.
Jaz glanced at him. Now that she thought about it, she saw the glimmer of sweat smudges corners of his face, the disgruntled state of his clothes, and the scared, frenzied sheen in his dark eyes.
"In my dream, I was playing Mythomagic with you," he continued. "But then, you stiffened and then you started transforming into a tree. Your face turned wooden and slowly start being buried in bark, your legs grew long into roots, and your arms turned into branches. I tried to save you but I slipped on one of your nymph cards and slipped into a hole beneath you. Like a rabbit hole. I fell and fell until I fell into a maze."
Jaz stood up straighter in surprise which didn't go unnotice by Nico.
"What?" he said, pausing his story.
"In my nightmare," she explained. "I was running through a mae. Then, I was sucked into a colorful spinning place when I touched this-"
"-glowing blue delta." They said at the same time in perfect unison.
Their eyes widened drastically.
"Woah." Nico said. "That's so-"
"-scary?" Jaz offered.
He nodded, looking breathless.
"We need tell Chiron." Jaz said. "These dreams mean something."
"And maybe someone else had the same dream." Nico added.
"Let's go."
They started running out of the circle of cabins to the unlit Big House.
Suddenly, Nico stopped abrupted and sticking his arm out to side, causing Jaz to ram into it. He put his finger to his lips and looked wide eyed to the dinner pavilion.
Her eyes immediately picked up the quiet murmurs of two girls. But not just any girls. Bianca and Zoë.
They crept swiftly closer to their voices and ducked behind the white columns, blending into the shadows, sort of like sneaky ninjas.
Jaz strained her ears to hear their hushed yet urgent conversation, catching only bits and parts to connect by herself.
Travis and Connor poisoned Phoebe's shirt? Jaz mouthed, disbelief to Nico.
It was so unnatural for the Stoll brother to hurt someone in their prank. They've barely known them for 48 hours but they didn't seem to have the guts to physically hurt someone.
She got another wide eyed look in return.
"I have thy word not to talk about that. We shall find out soon. Now come. Dawn is breaking," she heard Zoë say.
As the two girls jogged up the steps, Jaz quickly scattered out of the way, into the the pillar's shadows.
Zoë halted in her tracks, her back straightening as if she felt the presence of an hand slowly lowered to her bow.
Jaz held her breath and tensed, ready to make a dash for it when necessary. Fortunately, it wasn't necessary.
"The lights of the Big House are on! Hurry!" Bianca half-whispered, half-exclaimed.
Jaz exhaled quietly and slowly as the girls huried away. She glanced at Nico who gave her a curt nod that seemed to say everything.
It was funny, really, how easily they could communicate with each other with just a simple gesture. A raised eyebrow. A slight turn of the mouth. A clench of the first. This particular gesture meant something much more important and much more dire. It meant they had make sure their sister lived. Even if it meant breaking the rules of camp, and putting themselves in danger.
She pressed her lips into a straight line, preparing herself. Right as she was going to sprint towards the Big House, somone said, "Wait."
Jaz whirled around, surprising even herself she didn't get a whiplash.
There, in the icy cold behind them, was Percy 'Hero' Jackson.
The first thing came out of her mouth was, "What? Where did you-?"
"I've been here the whole time," he said, answering her un-said question. So much sneaky spies, "Invisble." he added.
Her jaw clattered to the floor as her eyebrows shot to the sky.
"Invisible!? Really!? How did-" she began.
"Wow," Nico whispered, his eyes rounder and bigger than quarter, shining with admiration. "Cool."
"How did you know Zoe and your sister were here?" he asked.
Jaz gave him a guilty smile. "You see, we both had a bad-"
"-time sleeping at the cabin!" Nico cutted in. Percy raised his eyebrows at him which he blushed at. Which Jaz raised her eyebrows at.
"W-We heard them walking and whispering by and we kinda followed them and... Yeah." Nico stammered on before ending it awkwardly.
"And you're thinking on following them on the quest." Percy stated his green eyes boring into theirs.
Jaz blinked.
"How did you figure it out?" she asked.
"Because if it was my sister, I'd probably be thinking the same. But you can't."
Jaz clenched her teeth and stuck out her chin, rebelliously.
"Because we're too young?" Nico said, obstinately.
"Because we're not experienced enough?" Jaz snapped but before they could add another word, Percy said, "Because they won't let you. They'll catch you and send you back here. And... Yeah, because you're too young and inexperienced. Remember the manticore? There will be more like that. More dangerous. Some heroes will die."
Jaz's heart sunk. She did think about the monsters they might encounter but when Percy said it, it sounded like reality. Not just something of her mind.
"Maybe you're right. But, but you can go for m-us." Nico said.
"Brilliant!" Jaz said, enthusiastically as Percy balked, "Say what?"
Percy Jackson, the hero of Camp Half-Blood, could go protect Bianca, save his 'not-girlfriend', and keep everybody safe! He could do what they can't and do it ten times better.
Jaz shook her finger in his face, excitedly.
"You-You have the invisible cap thing-y." Jaz said, quivering in exhilaration as she gestured to his Yankee's cap. "You can go!"
"The Hunters don't like boys. If they find out-"
"Bianca doesn't mind boys." Jaz said. "It's just Zoe. Besides-"
"Don't let them find out." Nico said, taking the words right out of her mouth. "Follow them invisibly. Keep an eye on our sister. You have to. Please?"
"Nico-"
"You're planning to go anyways, aren't you?" Nico said.
He open his mouth and hesitated before sighing, "Yeah. I have to find Annabeth. I have to help, even if they don't want me."
"Great!" she said. "But if you go will you-"
"-promise to protect Bianca from harm?" Nico interjected.
Jaz shot him an annoyed look. Why was he butting into her sentences so much? She could finish her own words, thank you very much.
"I..." Percy said. "That's a big thing to promise on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoe, Thalia, Grover..."
"Promise." they urged at the same time, their voices blending into each others, mixing sweetly together.
"I'll do my best. I promise you that."
Jaz beamed as if he told her she was getting her personal rainbow for Christmas.
"Good! You should get going! And-"
"-good luck!" Nico cutted in again.
"Tell Chiron-"
"I'll make something up." Nico said. "I'm good at that. Go on!"
Percy nodded and ran up Camp Blood Hill, turning invisible as he put on a Yankees Cap.
They watched the hill for moment or two until Jaz broke the silence.
"You mean, we'll make something up and we're good at that." she corrected.
"Oh. Oh, yeah."
Jaz glanced at him, worriedly. His voice sounded airier and light and he was still staring the Thalia's Pine.
"What are you smiling about?" she asked.
The tiny grin on his face was instantly wiped away.
He blinked and said, "C'mon, let's get back to the Hermes's Cabin before the Stolls wake up."
Jaz stared him, curiously, before breaking out of her stupor and running after him.
"Hey! Wait up!"
"So Mr. Jackson decided to go visit some of his school friends before he went home to his mother?" Chiron questioned, his pinochle cards laid forgotten.
"Yes, sir," Jaz said.
"And he left at night?"
"Because he didn't want anyone to fuss about him, sir," Nico piped in.
"Without packing any of his belongings?"
"His friends already have a lot of his clothes and stationery at their house," she supplied. "He didn't want to waste time packing when his friends have a majority of his things. Percy wanted to get there quickly. You shouldn't spend to much time outside at night. Especially in the city."
Jaz gave Chiron a sweet, innocent smile that melted most adults.
He wasn't moved and still stared at them skeptically. But he let it slide.
"Ah, well, Mr. Jackson is quite experienced so-"
"Chiron! Chiron!" A camper shouted from the front porch. "One of the Hunters is destroying the Music area and one of the Apollo children!"
Chiron sighed and set down his pinochle cards down.
"I'm sorry, Dionysus," he said. "But this game will have to wait."
Chiron followed the camper out of the Big House, his hoof clops resonating through the house.
"So was it Lee Fletcher or Michael?" they heard him say distantly.
Mr. D studied them, a twinge of annoyance in his violet eyes.
After an uncomfortable period of time, he concluded, "Brats."
DAY 1
It was a pretty normal day. The sun hidden behind clouds, weather still as chilly as ever, the remaints of grass soaked with morning dew, and the ever present soft crunch of snow underneath their feet.
Jaz and Nico wandered Camp in search of something to do.
Their Mythomagic cards were confiscated from the Aphrodite Cabin.
Apparently, they were 'too adorbs' to be playing such a 'dorky' game. They were cooing over Jaz and Nico before one of the girls noticed the cards sticking out of Nico's pocket and snatched them.
'Be careful or you'll turn into a weird geek. All those looks for nothing.' she had said.
Silena had noticed and stepped in, apologizing and promising them she would get it back. As Silena, and her fancy furry high-heeled boots hurried away, Jaz couldn't help but feel a pang of shame and hurt. One day at camp, and they were already branded as a weird geek.
She caught a glimpse if Nico's face and the brief look of insecuries as enough to snap her out of her slump.
Jaz gave him a toothy grin.
"Race you to the tree!" she shouted, dashing off.
She heard Nico laugh and race after her.
...
Hyperactivity and a thrist of fun buzzed through their body as they walked around Camp.
"Who do you want to do?" Nico asked.
"I don't know," she replied, "Everyone else is busyand there's really nothing around us."
"Kayla?"
"No, she's with her siblings doing healthy stuff." she said, "In the infirmary, studying medical textbooks."
Jaz and Nico scanned the area and immediately zeroed in on a kind-faced girl who was tending a fire.
"Hi!" They piped as they sat down next to the girl.
"What are you doing?" Jaz asked.
She answered, her voice soft and melodious, "Tending the fire."
"Cool! Can we help?"
She glanced at them for a moment, surveying their faces as the warm flames highlighted her soft features. Her hair fell on her eyes liked a soft curtain. She smiled lightly, dimples punctuating the corners of her mouth, "Of course. You're welcome any time."
They poked around in the wet snow, gathering sticks and twigs for her hearth while chatting amiably about Mythomagic and ther various things. Jaz explained how they got to camp and her opinions on it while Nico spoke of Bianca.
"So," Jaz said. "We never introduced ourselves. I'm Jaz and-"
"I'm Nico!" Nico said. "What's your name?"
Once again she looked up, this time her brown hair brushing the side of her young face, revealing her eyes. They reflected and shown warm flames.
She called herself Hestia.
DAY 2
Kayla was still quarantined by her siblings because of her tiny cough, Connor was still a plant from yesterday's prank on Dionysus, Hestia was nowhere to be found, and the Ares Cabin had threatened them with a death warrant if they stepped a foot near them, so Jaz and Nico were, once again, stuck with nothing to do.
At first, they tried playing their newly-reclaimed Mythomagic in the Hermes cabin but a bunch of problems arose. For one, the cabin was just too crowded. Nobody wanted to go outside unless it was to pickpocket someone or have a snow ball fight. Jaz's Lotus Casino card was stolen five times in the hour alone, until she had to staple it to her pocket. There was absoulutely no elbow space in the tiny cabin, much less enough space to spread out all their card.
Then, they tried playing outside. Three words. It was cold. It got colder and colder, the wind howling its chilling song and the temperature plummeting faster than a bowling ball down the stairs, until the point where Jaz couldn't feel her toes and Nico swore his butt was frozen to the ground. The numbness spread over her body until she wasn't able to pick up her precious Mythomagic cards.
Finally, they were desperate enough to even try to play Mythomagic the Big House. But the second they took a step towards the large blue house, they could feel Mr. D's chilling glare, colder than the winter itself.
With heavy hearts (and heavy feet. They still haven't recovered from the sit in the cold snow), they crossed Mythomagic off their activities list.
From her puny area of crampness in the cabin, Jaz sighed.
From his puny area of crampess in the cabin, Nico sighed.
...
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO BORED HALF-GODS
"I'm bored."
"Everybody's bored, Nico."
"Let's go outside."
"I'll sign your death certificate if you sign mine."
"Fine by me. But you can't steal my Boreas card!"
"Okay but you can't steal my clothes!"
"They're boys' clothes, anyways! Girls' clothes are suppose to be more... tight."
"What? Do you expect me to wear a corset?"
"Do you expect me to wear the stiff trousers Bianca bought me?"
...
The conversation stopped abruptly after that. The sound her name brought a sharp pang deep within her hearts. They put on their winter clothes, wordlessly.
They trudged outside and stood. And stood. And stood.
Jaz find of expected something grand and magical to happen when she stepped outside. They were in a camp for half gods anyways. But nothing happened.
"What are we suppose to do now?" Jaz asked.
"I don't know."
Then, a wonderful idea sprung in her mind. A wonderful, wonderful idea.
"Hey Nico," Jaz said, a mischievious smile twisting the features of her face.
"What?"
"You have a little something right-" she bent down and as fast as a viper, she scooped a ball of snow in her gloved hands and flung it in his face. "-there."
For a second, Nico stood there, surprised, rooted like a tree. Then, he sprung into action. In less than another second, Jaz was met with a chunk of icy slush in her face.
She wiped the snowball off her face with the back of her hand and said, "It's on."
Nico took cover behind a nearby bench as Jaz dunked behind a tree.
She knelt and bundled up small balls of snow and chucked them at Nico, cackling as one hit him square in the face, causing him to topple and fall straight backwards. Suddenly, a flurry of white snow splat against her face before she dropped to the ground, choking up ice.
She heard Nico laughing uncontrollably and in a sing song voice, say, "Karma!"
Jaz wiped her mouth with her sleeve and blindly threw a snowball in his direction.
She heard a distinctive crash and a very familiar yelp. A yelp that wasn't Nico's.
Travis.
For second, Travis stared at her, bewildered, chunks of snow trickling down his brown hair. Then, his oh-so famous saracastic smile stretched across his face as he leaned down, scooped a ball of snow in his hands, and...
Jaz bolted.
SPLAT!
The snow ball hit the tree besides her, sending white powder in the air. She let loose a sharp laugh.
"You missed!" she taunted as she skidded left, another snowball narrowly missing her.
Jaz looked over her shoulder, seeing both Travis and Nico charging at her as they waged war in each other, armed with several snowballs.
She turned her head straight ahead, just in time to see a son of Hermes right in front of her, his nose buried in a book.
She slammed into him, senting them both tumbling and rolling down a small slope until they rammed into a tree. A large blanket of snow fell on top of them as they made contact.
Jaz groaned. She opened her eyes to see the son of Athena nose to nose with her, her on top of him.
"Whoa!" she said, reeling back in surprise. "Sorry!"
She immediately sprang to her feet and dashed off, throw a loose "See you later!" behind her shoulder. Besides, she saw Travis coming around the hill, Nico probably closely behind.
He pelt her with snowballs as she carefully avoided avoided them. A snowball brushed against her shoulder, leaving a fluff of white. Travis halted his attack for a moment to crunch his remaining snowballs into one mega-ball. He flung it at her with all his might.
The ball wove around Jaz as it steadily found its way to another target.
A target called Katie Gardner.
Katie's eyes widened drastically, almost comically, as the ball hurled its way to her way. With such force, the ball slammed straight into her chest causing her to fall straight back into the snow, her legs splayed, dropping the last of Camp's supply of strawberries, her back buried in the snow, and her entire body freezing in pure shock. Red spots of smashed strawberries littered the ground.
Unfortunately, the shock didn't last long. Blinking a few times, Katie hoisted herself upright, her face rigid with fury.
She glared at Travis with such malice Jaz could of swore he withered right in front of her.
The Camp -no, the world- shook as she bellowed, "TRAVIS STOLL! I SWEAR TO ALL THE GODS I WILL-"
Jaz would rather not repeat what she said.
Anyways, Katie threw a snowball at Travis, which he ducked at. The snowball hit a large tree branch. The tree branch shook and doused everyone under it with snow. It doused the seven cabin members of the Ares Cabin in dueling class.
The angry horde turned to glare at them, the swords in their hands making them even more menacing as they seemingly searched their souls for the culprit, written Jaz off as too young, Katie as too innocent, and immediate locked onto Travis.
The sheer amount of snowballs thrown at Travis could not be described in words. Travis, being a sneaky son of Hermes, dodged a majority of it. The rest splattered onto the field of unsuspecting -and now angry- campers.
Needless to say, there was a fullout snowball fight that stretched on for hours. It got particular nasty when a son of Ares hit a Hunter of Artemis. Jaz was pretty sure he still has the scar.
DAY 3
Jaz rolled over in her sleeping and yawned. She slowly moved her hand up to scratch an itch on her head. Her hand nudged something warm and soft. She blearily cracked open her eyes.
"EEEK!" she shrieked and yanked her blanket up to her chin.
"Hiya!" The upside-down, pleasant face of Kayla cheered.
"Kayla!" Jaz yelled, "You gave me a heart attack!"
"Really?" Kayla said, sounding too excited for Jaz's comfort, "I always wanted to treat someone having a heart attack. Okay, I have some-"
"It's just an expression!" Jaz said, sitting up, "What you doing here, anyways?"
Kayla grinned.
"I got release from quarantine!" she said in a sing song, "Get dressed. Let's go!"
"Go where?" Jaz moaned, surprise leaking out of her system as sleepiness took its place once more, "It's -what? seven o'clock! It's so early!"
"It's 6:47 a.m, dummy!" Kayla said, giving her a blinding smile, "The sun just rose. The Apollo children rise with their father!"
Jaz groaned flopped back on her bed.
"I thought Apollo was suppose lazy in the winter!"
...
Kayla pulled her around Camp, trying to guess her godly parent.
"Zeus? No, you're too peppy. Poseidon? Not calm enough. Athena? Too light-hearted. Hephaestus? Not... Weird enough. Apollo?" Kayla tried. She immediately brightened which was saying something because she was already practically glowing. "Yes! You're a daughter of Apollo!"
"But I don't look anything like you guys!"
Which was true.
They had blonde hair, she had black. They had blue eyes, she had green. They were miraculously tan in the winter, and she was not.
"Don't you want to be sisters?"
Jaz contemplated it. She grinned.
"Why, hello, dear sister." she said in posh voice, mirth poorly concealed. "I did not see you there."
Kayla flashed her a Cheshire Cat smile back at her before standing up straighter and tilting out her chin. "Ah, yes, hello, fellow daughter of Apollo. Do you fancy pranking the my -I mean, our- brother?"
Jaz stuck her elbow out for Kayla.
"Let's wreak havoc together."
...
After Will decided not to kill them for pouring syrup in his shirts, Jaz and Kayla parted ways, Jaz back to the Hermes Cabin and Kayla to archery practice.
"Bye, Kayla! See you at breakfast!" Jaz hollered.
"See ya later, alligator!" Kayla shouted back in response.
...
Jaz pulled the last chunk of gooey sugary-ness out of her hair.
"Ha!" Nico laughed, triumphantly, "I won that battle!"
"No, you did not!" Jaz snapped, more playfully than angrily. "Look at you! You're covered in marshmellows! For me, it's just my hair."
"Yeah," Nico said, "but I could easily wash it out while you will be sticky for days! So ha! Ha ha ha!"
Jaz stuck her tongue out at him.
"Yeah, but..." she said.
"What?"
She shoved him down, his nose clashing against the snow-ridden ground.
"I'm gonna beat you to the cabin!" she yelled as she ran.
"Cheater!" he hollered and race after her fleeting figure.
Jaz laughed, too happy and intoxicated to care about anything else.
...
Bianca fled up the stairs, her breath loud and choppy by the time she reached the control room. Silver wires glittered on the gray walls. It smelled of rotting stink and an air of desperation, the latter most likely emitting from Bianca. The front of the room held a long table of complicated levers and brass buttons. The lines on Bianca's face was tight with fear and determination, a scary mix to see on her. Her hands fluttered on the table, slamming random buttons.
As nothing happened, she whispered, "Oh Gods, please. Please. Please."
She turned a switch, making an odd noise bubble out of the vents. Bianca yanked a lever down. The room shook, thundering.
The quivering threw her off her feet and flung her across the room. Bianca scambled to her feet, glancing at a screen on the wall, the panic increasing in her eyes.
"I'm coming, guys," she mumbled, and punched a red button.
The room trembled harder, moving up and down, as if it was bouncing. Bianca wrapped her arm on a handled, securing herself as she continued to wreak the table.
She slammed buttons, pulled levers, and twisted knobs. Suddenly, all the controls froze as if it finally sensed an intruder. Bianca, as much as comfused as scared, jigged the controls, panically.
A light on the side of the room turned red as the blaring CODE RED sound blared through the room.
She gave up on the controls and shakily crossed the vibrating room, collasping to her feet many times from sheer unbalance. She crawled to the gleaming wires hanging on the walls. Wobbling, Bianca stood up, tearing them out of their places and littering them on the rocking floor. With a roar and a tear of shrieking metal, the room started to violently convulse, throwing Bianca took the ground again. Her head slammed against the hard ground.
From the floor, her eyes were caught by the screen on the wall.
Her breath hitched. Her eyes widened. Her lips moved.
A light slithered into the room, igniting the metal interior.
The sound of Bianca's scream echoed.
...
Jaz flung herself out of her sleeping bag, wailing.
Someone caught her and held her tight. She screamed louder and slammed her fist in their flesh, yelling her sister's name. Their resistance wore her out as she collapsed, screaming for Bianca.
...
Jaz sat numbly in her sleeping bag, hiccuping, her small, cold hands curled around a mug of hot chocolate one of the Hermes kids got her after her crying tantrum was over.
Nico, as she found out, was extremely sick.
Connor and Travis had woken up to Nico's congested, wheezing coughs. As soon as the brothers alerted them, the Apollo children had swarmed him, poking him with their metal tools and taking his temperature. They immediate hauled him away to the infirmary for a proper diagnosis.
The Apollo children concluded Nico's system had violently reacted to something. Food, plants, air. It was some sort of allergic reaction mixed with illness.
Jaz, on the other hand, was said to have a normal old nightmare according to Cabin 8's intricate analysis. To her, that nightmare was not, in any way, normal. In most nightmares, they instantly start to fade instantly the moment you wake up until it was just a lingering spot in your memory. This nightmare seemed to be etched into her memory, as if it had been tattooed to her brain with a burning hot poker, every detail still vivid and alive.
"Hey, kiddo."
It took her several moments to look up from her rapidly cooling cup. The two bobbling marshmellows in the liquid cocoa seemed to be a sick joke, especially because the happiness of them earlier that night compared to this horrible hour.
Travis gave a small smile.
"Jeez," he said. "You sure get nightmare a lot. Maybe you should sleep during the day instead. Or will you just get daymares?"
Jaz didn't smile at his attempt of a joke.
"Here." he said, offering a smooth apple, green console.
She accepted it slowly, curiosity sparking.
"What is this thing?" she asked, shaking the strange device and holding it to her ear.
"A Nintendo DS," Travis laughed, gently pulling it away from her ear and laying it flatly in her palms. "and that's not how you use it."
"How do you use it?"
He leaned over and fiddled around with the device before the small screen was lit aglow. Cute music buzzed out of it as pixelated characters danced around. In the center of the screen was the words MARIO KART.
"Like that," He said, grinning.
Tavis's plan to distract Jaz was working well. She was staring at the DS in wonder, absoulutely entranced.
It was like the kid had never seen technology, he thought.
She was playing around with the small knobs, gasping as it changed something in the screen. With her disheveled hair and the bright light from the game illuminating her face, she looked a normal kid staying up past their bedtime, not a demigod who would probably die before age 15.
Almost as she she sense something wrong, Jaz looked up from the DS, a smile on her face. A simple, care-free smile full of natïve that every child should have.
A sharp pang of grief stabbed his heart.
Contary to popular belief, Travis did not live on jokes and pranks. Along with how fun they were, he believed the suffering lives of a demigod should was some happiness. Every person in Camp went through Cabin 11 before they got claimed and Travis remembered every single one of them. Boys, girls, with odd quirks, bright smiles, and a belief that their life would be peaceful and bright. In the end, the sweet charm of innocence in their eyes faded after years of horror and loss etched into their hearts.
At that moment, Travis vowed he'll try to help the sweet little, Jaz and Nico, whose eyes were still bright and hearts that will always be good.
"Scoot over, kid," Travis said, shoving all depressing demigod thoughts out of his mind. "I'll teach how to play. Its simple. You choose a character as your player and you race against other people."
"Oo! Oo!" Jaz said. "I want to be this one!"
"Toad?" Travis said. "Okay, Little Toad, lets play."
She looked up at him with adoring eyes. "Okay, Big Toad."
His heart warmed at the little girl.
Needless to say, the both of them would stay up the entire night playing against and together with each other on Mario Kart. The whole night the thought of Jaz's adoring, childish eyes burned in Travis's mind.
It was sad, really, how quick those adoring eyes would fade.
DAY 4
Jaz woke up with a yawn. Sluggishly, she sat up in her stale milk scented sleeping bag, her right arm slung around Annette. The world was in a haze until she rubbed the drowsiness out of her eyes.
"Hey, Little Toad."
Jaz offered a half-asleep smile lazily in the direction of Travis's bunk.
"Hi, Big Toad."
She slowly pulled herself out of her cacoon of blankets, with his eyes burning into her side.
"What, Travis?" she said, cutting to the point as she rummaged for clothes from her backpack.
A mental list of the to-do things for day was forming in her day. Most of them included Mythomagic and Mario Kart.
Almost in a drunken manner, Jaz stumbled to her feet after grabbing a few articles of clothing and her toothbrush.
"Nico's waking up," she heard him say as her ears picked up the light stirring in Nico' sleeping bag.
"S-" she interupted herself with a yawn before trudging towards what she hoped to be the door. "So what?"
Then, softly, -so soft she barely heard it- he said, "Percy's back."
Jaz dropped her things. Her toothpaste clunked to floor and started to roll away but she didn't care.
Percy Jackson was back.
TRANSLATION: The quest was over.
TRANSLATION: Bianca was home.
Nico chose the best moment to wake up.
"Whas goin' on?" he slurred.
It took exactly five heartbeats for someone to reply.
Travis whispered, "They're back."
And somehow, Nico knew exactly what it meant.
They both did.
...
They stumbled through the snow, fumbling on their hats and gloves as they rushed to the litted Big House.
Jaz could feel her heart in her fingertips as she raced across Camp, as fast as her legs could carry her. She gasped for air, panting -from excitement or extertion -she didn't know really- as she approached the looming, blue building.
All the thoughts and things she yearned to tell her sister over the course of these five angonizing days whirled in her mind. They bursted into color and danced in her brain, chanting as Jaz sprinted across the pavilion and up the creaky steps of the Big House.
Bianca, I missed you. Bianca, I'm sorry. Bianca, it's okay. Bianca, look at this place! Bianca, I made a friend! Bianca, are you safe? Bianca, it's so much fun. Bianca, we had a snowball fight. Bianca, are you feeling okay? Bianca, I found a Mythomagic Card! Bianca, I love archery. Bianca, my days are going so well. Bianca, I'm so happy.
Nico pushed the big wooden doors open. They burst into the room, scanning for their sister. Everyone was quiet. Everyone was tense. Everyone was sympathetic.
Bianca, where are you?
"Where's my sister?"
Nothing.
How can silence be so deafening?
That dream that night before, the one that seemed centuries ago, awoke in her heart. Dread filled her bones as panic seized her soul.
The wooden chair shrieked against the hard wood floor.
Percy Jackson stood up.
"I need to talk to you."
A little voice of sadness and sorrow -a little voice of sadness and sorrow that understood-whispered in the back of her mind, wailing in a short, silent scream.
No.
...
"I'm sorry. She died a hero."
...
Six words. Six itty bity little words, meaningless alone but together destructive.
Destructive as in giving you the feeling of twisting your gut, punching your stomach, bringing tears to your eyes, setting fire to your body, pulling out your hair, scratching your heart and shutting down your entire body. Destructive as in ruining your life. Ruining Jaz's life.
First sentence: I'm sorry.
Translation: These words are empty and mean absolutely nothing. I'm sorry I couldn't save your sister. I'm sorry I broke my promise and shattered your perfect image of me. I'm sorry I left your anchor to the world rotting in a stinking, junky desert for all eternity. Yeah, well, at least I'm sorry, right?
Second sentence: She died a hero.
Translation: She died to save a worthless group of half-bloods, one who went off and died afterwards, the other stole her position in the Hunt, another that's drunk on coffee, and the last a good-for-nothing poser hero that breaks his promise. She died for a band of horrible people and two little trinkets laying forlornly in Percy's palm.
...
Jaz and Nico stood, blankly, in the cold snow, staring at the little objects. The first one, the one for Nico, was the Hades Mythomagic action figure. Jaz already had one but it was so worn out, it looked like a blob of metal, unlike this one which was new and polished, glinting in the moonlight. The second one, Jaz's, was just a little metal bracelet. It looked so familiar. A short memory of her tugging on Bianca's sleeve to fawn over a piece of jewerly arouse in her mind. Both gifts, were new and shiny. Just as new as the scars on their hearts.
Jaz stared at the little bracelet in her hand. This little tiny bracelet. So small yet with so much meaning.
...
Bianca di Angelo died for this object.
Bianca di Angelo was dead.
...
"You promised you would protect her," Nico said.
...
It funny how a few smiple words can change a person. Can burn a person.
Sorrow that once filled her heart ignited into rage. All the sorrow that had weighed her heart and sou dowl -that had her choking on it- burned into anger. Percy Jackson. Percy 'Liar' Jackson. If it wasn't for him, Bianca wouldn't be in Mexico, her corspe being eaten by flies. If it wasn't for him, they'd be happy. If it wasn't for him, Bianca would be here with them.
Breathing. Blinking. Laughing. Smiling. Talking.
100 percent, wonderfully alive.
If it wasn't for him.
...
"I tried. But Bianca gave herself up-" Percy said, his eyes full of hurt.
...
Hurt? You don't even know what it is.
This was proof. Proof that Percy was pining that blame on someone else to save his perfect image. Pinning it on Bianca.
He was a monster.
Dressing up as a dashing hero that slays monsters but in reality he's the real monster.
He practically killed Bianca.
The words sting herself and realization sunk in.
He's the reason she's dead.
He killed her.
It'shisfaultIt'shisfault. She chanted.
...
But in reality, she just needed someone to blame.
...
"You lied," Jaz screamed. It wasn't a loud scream, though. It was a silent scream. But still, the words burned her throat. "You promised us. She promised us right here," she stamped her foot against the pavilion to prove her point. Her foot sunk through the snow and slammed against the floor. With that force, the joint of her ankle wailed in pain, crumpling. But she couldn't feel it. She was numb with anger. "You promised you'd bring her home. You-" her voice cracked. "-promised."
Percy's eyes widened in -what?- sympathy? Sadness?
"Jaz, I-"
...
Save your excuses.
...
"I shouldn't have trusted you!" Nico's voice broke.
...
Once again, he said I instead of we. But drowning in grief and rage, Jaz didn't notice the little pronoun change.
...
"You lied to me!"
...
Lied to us.
...
"My nightmares are right!"
...
Our nightmares.
...
"Wait. What nightmares?"
Nico threw the little statue to the ground, its little dejected face staring at them as it clattered onto the pavilion floor.
...
The muscles Jaz's arm tensed, getting ready to throw the little band on the ground, too, but the muscles in her heart denied the action. How could she throw away the last thing Bianca ever gave her? How could she throw away the last shred of proof her sister loved her?
...
"I hate you!" Jaz yelled.
"She might be alive! I don't know for sure-"
"She's dead." Jaz's throat clogged with anger and sadness. Tears choked her eyes but she refused to let them down in front of her killer. In front of Percy. "Our dreams where right!"
Nico's entire body quavered with grief at her words. "I should've known it earlier. She's in the field of Asphodel, standing right before the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it."
...
Jaz didn't care how Nico knew that. She didn't care about how he knew Bianca was in Asphodel with the undead judges, but she knew exactly how Nico knew she was dead. It didn't take much to wake up with your chest feeling hollow, a piece of your heart missing. It didn't take much to wake up in the morning and realize your sister was
D
E
A
D
Dead.
...
Percy's eyes doubled with shock. "What do mean, you can feel it?"
A hissing, grinding noise emerged from behind Percy. Over his shoulder, they saw four deathly white, life-free, skeletons.
"You're trying to kill us!"
...
Nico finally used the right pronoun.
...
"You brought these...these things!"
"No!" Percy shouted. "I mean, yes, they followed me, but no! Guys, run! They can't be destroyed!"
...
Anger, sadness, and forgiveness overcame her body, fighting for power. Sadness and forgiveness -definitely forgiveness- lost the battle, and anger came out to be the victor.
...
"I don't trust you!" Nico yelled.
"You already killed Bianca!" Jaz screamed. "Now, you want to kill us!"
Percy charged the skeletons, disarming and de-limbing them but they kept fighting.
"Run!" he shouted. "Get help!"
"No!"
They shouted it in unison. Jaz and Nico's voice mixed together, blending into a louder, more commanding tone.
...
The rage she had kept at bay, exploded. It seared her bones and heated her blood. It tightened in her chest and roared. Screaming and pounding in her head, Jaz responded in the same manner.
Jaz opened her mouth and screamed. A scream consisting one word.
...
"STOP!"
...
"NO! GO AWAY!"
This time Nico spoke.
...
The unbelieveable happened.
...
Through half-lidded, angry eyes and hands crushing the sides of her head, Jaz saw so peels of waves radiating from her skin. Waves that looking like radio waves, but visible and dark as night.
It came out of her heart and out her pores and out to the world. As it pasted through the skeletons, they freezed, their swords still in mid-air. As the pasted through the marble pillars, the nearest one to Jaz cracked and collasped in a heap of dust and stones.
...
It was Nico's turn in the show.
...
The ground rumbled. The Earth shook and groaned as it opened up a gigantic fissure. Percy rolled out if the way, just in the nick of time. The skeletons, frozen in their place by Jaz, fell into the pit of fire. With another rumble, it sealed, leaving a 20 foot wrinkle on the marble floor.
...
Adrenaline coursed through her body. Rage clawed at her heart.
Her heart twisting in her chest. Red spots danced in her vision. Her breath grew short from overexertion or anger, she didn't know.
Rage swelled in her chest.
Skeletons, Bianca, Percy.
Why, why, why!?
...
"How did you-" Percy began.
"Shut up!" Jaz yelled. "Why aren't you dead!? You're a murder! A murder!" her voice broke and she hated that it sounded like she was on the edge of a sob, "You're a horrible, horrible person! I hate you! I hate you!"
Nico screamed at Percy, his words words similar to Jaz's.
I hate you!
I wished you were dead!
You're not a hero!
Why didn't you save her!
I trusted you!
How could you!?
Theses words swirled around Jaz and attacked her as she ran away. Ran away from Camp Half-Blood. From Percy. From her friends. From her life. And regrets.
...
The last time you spoke to Bianca, you fought, a dark voice hissed in the back recess of her mind You spoiled her memory!
...
Cold, icy branches and leaves stood in her way but she tore through them, her leg soaring in a choppy, fast rhythm.
...
Running away is the only thing you can do right.
...
Her right hand grasped tight against Nico's like a lifeline.
She can't lose him. No, she won't lose him!
...
Because he's the only thing you have left.
...
As tears melted into shadows, her other hand held tight onto the little band Bianca had died for.
...
Died because of you.
...
Bianca, I love you.
...
Then, why is she dead?