Leo thought he was going to be trampled. Hundreds of armed skeletons rose from the ground, and the room filled with a dull clattering sound. The empousa shrieked as they were overcome by the undead, disintegrating into puffs of gold dust.
Hades and Melaina turned in surprise to see hundreds of reanimated corpses lumbering toward them, all raising their rotting spears, and rusty swords.
Leo turned to see Nico standing in the corner of the room, his hands raised as if he were taking part in some sort of crazy ritual. He wasn't sure where Annabeth or Will was, but he took the opportunity.
He grabbed Alyssa from where she laid on the floor, and slung her over his shoulders. He ran as fast as he could - well, as fast as possible with an unconscious body. Leo headed toward the son of Hades.
"Leo!" Nico shouted. The poor guy looked like he was about to pass out. He took a few staggering steps and handed Leo four white pearls.
"Throw those on the ground at your feet with Annabeth, Will, and Alyssa. They'll get you out," he explained breathlessly, as if he had just ran a ten mile race.
"But...what about you?" Leo wondered, concern lining his face.
Nico made a vague gesture with his hands. "I'll be fine. Those are the only pearls I have. Besides, I'm Hades' son; he'll go soft on me."
Leo shook his head, clearly still not convinced. "I doubt it. He's going to unleash his anger on you."
Nico shrugged. "So be it. Now get going, before Hades gets rid of my distraction," he urged, giving the son of Hephaestus a light shove.
Leo glanced behind him, and sure enough, the number of skeletons was diminishing. He scanned his eyes across the seas of bones, and caught sight of Annabeth or Will.
He turned back to Nico one last time, and smiled sadly. "Thanks, man. I owe you one."
Nico's limbs felt like lead, but he made a shooing motion. "Don't mention it, now go!"
Leo jogged towards Annabeth and Will, trying not to jostle Alyssa. Leo saw relief wash over them as they saw that he and Alyssa were still alive.
"What about Nico-" Annabeth began, but Leo was already handing them each a pearl.
"He's staying. We have to go now! One pearl for each person." Leo gently set Alyssa on her feet, and held
onto her waist, propping her up. He had two pearls in his hand; an extra for Alyssa.
They each threw their pearls on the ground, and they shattered, tiny, milky white fragments spilling on the floor. White particles swirled around them. Leo shot a glance over his shoulder through the white mist. The last thing he saw was Nico collapsing in exhaustion.
Out of all places, they get sent inside an abandoned building. Great. Leo sat up nauseously, rubbing his head. Alyssa was writhing on the ground, moaning. Annabeth and Will were already awake, stretching their muscles.
"Man, that was worse than shadow travelling," Leo mumbled.
Leo looked around. It looked to be some sort of old general store. The building was pretty intact, but inside it smelt of mold and rotten foods. The only light source was the sunlight pouring in from the few windows. Leo looked worriedly at Alyssa. He gently shook her.
"Alyssa," he said softly, but he could tell his voice was shaking. Alyssa's eyes fluttered open, and she immediately jumped, her hands jittering. Her eyes had a wild streak, and she looked uncertainly at Leo.
"I...I...Oh god, what did I do?" They could barely interpret Alyssa's words.
Leo held out a hand. 'Shh, it's okay. You're safe now," he crooned, pulling her into an embrace. Leo could feel Alyssa's body shaking as she sobbed into his shirt.
"I...I can't believe I almost…," she didn't want to complete the horrible thought. Leo stroked her hair softly.
"Don't think about it. The important thing is that we're all safe," Leo whispered. It broke his heart to see Alyssa like this. A strong, courageous girl, reduced to a sobbing mess.
Meanwhile, Annabeth and Will stood awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot.
Will coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm...Annabeth and I will take a look around," he said awkwardly. Annabeth followed Will down the unlit alleys, holding shelves of multiple food items.
Leo pulled away, holding Alyssa at arm's length, and inspected her. She had scratches on her face, and her bandages around her thigh and back was soaked with brown, dried blood. Her jerkin was ribbed to shreds (thankfully, her undershirt was still somewhat intact, or else Leo would be blushing madly). Her hair was a rat's nest, but Leo didn't care. As long as she was safe.
"Hey...don't cry, kay? Where's that dignified Ranger I knew?" He teased.
Surprisingly, Alyssa smirked. "You make me sound so arrogant...," she managed. Colour came back to her face, and she seemed more like her grim, sarcastic self.
Leo laughed. "I never said you were arrogant, I said you're overly dignified," he responded.
Alyssa's eyebrows arched, "Shut up, Valdez. I can be very modest when I choose," she said dryly, trying to maintain whatever dignity she had left.
For the first time in a while, Leo smiled. "Sure…Whatever you say…"
Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Anyways...where are we?" she asked, changing the subject.
Leo scratched the back of his neck. "I dunno, some gods forsaken Wal-Mart. We should probably go find Annabeth and Will."
Alyssa nodded, but winced as she tried to stand. "Stupid headaches," she mumbled, and with the help of Leo, took a few stumbling steps.
Leo looked worried. "On second thought, why don't you just stay here and rest, I'll look for them," he suggested.
Alyssa shook her head defiantly. "I'm not disabled. Just a headache, I'll be fine," she insisted. She started walking down one of the alleyways, her legs more sturdier this time.
Leo sighed softly to himself and followed her.
They wandered through aisles, Leo summoning a small flicker of flame on his palm, sending shadows dancing across his face.
Alyssa sniffed the air experimentally. Her nose wrinkled and she frowned.
"Most of the food's probably rotten," she said, picking up a jar of pickles from a nearby shelf. She twisted off the lid and sniffed at the contents. She instantly recoiled and placed the jar back on the shelf.
"Yup. It's expired," she mumbled, continuing down the aisles. They wondered around for a few minutes, when they bumped into Annabeth and Will.
Leo gestured to the bundles in their arms. "Found something?" he asked, although the question was rather unnecessary.
Annabeth nodded. "Medical supplies, among other things. The only food we could find that wasn't rotten is some beef jerky. We found some knives and such, too."
"Speaking of medical supplies, we should redress your wounds.," Will pointed out, nodded to the blood stained bandages on Leo and Alyssa.
"Wait a second...why are you two not all bloodied up like us from the fight?" Alyssa asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Will cracked a smile. "Luck was on our side, I guess," he replied smoothly. "Now, c'mon, we can't have you bleeding all over the place."
Will and Annabeth set their bundles down while Alyssa and Leo found a comfortable place to sit. Will carefully cut off Alyssa's makeshift bandage around her thigh with a pocketknife. The blood around the gash was crusty and dried up, but at least blood wasn't gushing out.
Will bit his lip. "That might need to get stitched up sooner or later. For now, we're just going to have to wrap it up again."
Will took a bottle of alcohol cleaner they found and he twisted off the cap.
"Okay, Alyssa, this is going to hurt," he warned, carefully pouring a bit into a linen cloth, and dabbing it at the laceration.
Alyssa chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying not to scream as burning pain lanced through her leg. Her hands balled up into fists, her knuckles turning white. After another minute or two, the pain toned down a little.
Will took a new bandage from Annabeth and wound it tightly around her leg. Alyssa winced and jerked back a little. Will looked up apologetically.
"Sorry," he said, tying the bandage together with a secure knot.
Alyssa nodded curtly. She had had her fair share of wounds while she had been training, but that didn't lessen the pain every time she got a new one. And going through a little pain was better than having the gash infected.
Will proceeded to do Alyssa's other wound on her back, as well as Leo's shoulder. Annabeth was scared that
Leo would burst into flames as Will applied more alcohol to his shoulder. Thankfully, only his hair smoked slightly, with a few flickering tongues of flame.
After their wounds were treated, they sat on the floor together in silence, when a thought struck Alyssa.
"Wait...where's Nico?" she asked, her brows furrowing.
Leo cleared his throat. "Yeah...well, when you were having a nap, Nico saved us and summoned a whole ton of undead. It probably almost killed him. Before he collapsed, he gave us four pearls to teleport outta here," he explained.
Alyssa sighed deeply. "We risk our lives to go rescue Percy, we barely get out alive, we lose Nico, and we still haven't found Percy. Now we have two people to rescue. Go figure."
Will snorted. "Welcome to the demigod world, Sis," he replied.
Alyssa frowned slightly. "Don't call me that. It makes me feel weird," she retorted.
Will shrugged. "Fine...Sis," he added the last part with a mischievous grin. Alyssa sent a sharp glare at him, but kept silence.
"Ya know, for someone that saved your life, you never said thank you…," Leo hinted, raising his eyebrows at Alyssa.
Alyssa gave him a long, withering look. "Thank you," she stated flatly.
Leo smirked. "Gods, you're difficult," he said, smiling.
Alyssa avoided his eyes. She cleared her throat. "So, what's our game plan?" she asked, as if she hadn't heard Leo's retort.
Annabeth shrugged. "It'd be a good idea to get some sleep in. I'm exhausted." As if on cue, Will yawned.
"It's a good thing we found a fit of fabric we can use as blankets," Will said, gesturing to the bundle of items they had found in their scavenge.
Alyssa took off her cloak, although, it was already missing half of its length, as she had used it for the bandages earlier.
She bundled it up into a pillow to lay her head on, taking one of the thread-bare fabrics and settling underneath it. She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything had happened so fast. She wasn't sleepy, but her muscles ached.
She lay awake for a while, hearing the occasional shuffle of fabric as someone shifted. She threw off her blanket and sat up, staring into the darkness. She couldn't sleep with so much on her mind.
What were they going to do? Where would Percy be? There were so many questions, and so little answers.
"Can't sleep?" she heard a voice cut through the darkness. She looked to her right and squinted. Leo was still laying down, propped up with his elbows, a few feet away from her.
"Too much on my mind, I guess," Alyssa replied solemnly. Leo got up and scooted closer to her, setting a small tongue of flame flickering on his palm, just enough to illuminate their faces.
There was a moment of comfortable, companionable silence. Then Leo decided the strike up a conversation.
"So...um, what was it like in Araluen?"
Alyssa shrugged. "Hard training everyday. But I know it'll all pay off in the end."
Leo nodded in silence. "Alyssa…," he ventured.
Alyssa looked up into his eyes, her eyebrows rose in a question.
"If you had the choice...would you...stay here, or in Araluen?" The moment the words left Leo's mouth, he mentally slapped himself. Of course Alyssa wouldn't stay here, Leo thought.
Alyssa bit her lip. "I can't answer that, Leo."
"You're going to pick Araluen, aren't you?" he stated, his tone was neither angry nor happy, it was just sad, as if he was wishing for the impossible.
Alyssa sighed. "Probably. It's just that…I don't belong here. I wasn't meant to be here in the first place. And...well…" She took the oak leaf pendant and rubbed it between her fingers. Leo understood what she meant. She didn't want to abandon the Rangers.
"Yeah...yeah, I get it," he said. He held Alyssa's gaze for a moment, and as if on pure instinct, he leaned in, closing the gap between their lips. When their lips connected, Leo felt like bomb went off in his stomach. Alyssa was shocked at first, and almost slapped Leo, if not for him taking her hands in his, interlocking their fingers together.
The kiss lasted for only a few seconds, and Leo was almost sad when Alyssa pulled away. Heat rose to her ears. How could she have been so stupid? She knew better than to fall for him. She would leave him anyway, so why get so attached?
Leo blushed like mad. "I...sorry, I didn't mean to…," he stuttered, his face turning even a brighter shade.
Alyssa turned away. "It's fine," she said flatly.
"Stupid…," Alyssa heard Leo mumble under his breath. He scooted back to his bundle of blankets.
Leo felt like throwing himself off a cliff. What was he thinking? Alyssa wouldn't love him back. He was a nobody. He knew Alyssa would leave him at the first opportunity to go back to Araluen, but he couldn't help himself. He fell in love with every girl he saw. As long as she was out of his league. And Leo was falling for the brown haired, dark eyed Ranger.
Unbeknownst to him, Alyssa was a few feet away, supposedly asleep, thinking the exact same thing.
Well...sorry Caleo fans! At first, I wanted the pearls to teleport them to Ogygia, but imagine the awkwardness O.O Anyways, hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!