Song: Oil and Water by Lights
Art by Calypso101202

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Annabeth's POV

How long does it take to go to McDonalds? I mean, we are talking about Percy, but he's not that bad of a driver.

Maybe they got their order wrong. Or they could be stuck in traffic... It is New York, after all.

The rusty yellow bench creaked beneath me as I stood to stretch. I'd been sitting with my back to the tree for almost an hour.

They left over two hours ago.

Oh my gods, Annabeth. Stop overthinking this. But something in my gut was saying otherwise. I couldn't put a finger on it... Something just felt off. Disconnected.

Just then, Jason's grey Honda screeched to a halt somewhere on the road below. I frowned. Monsters? I jogged down the hill, and to the car. Jason was struggling to pull something out of the back.

"Percy?" I asked. Jason's head shot up.

"Annabeth..." His voice cracked. He moved to block the doorframe. Jason looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

The feeling of unease only festered.

"Jason. Where's Percy?" Jason winced as my voice level raised. He didn't say anything for a moment, but then spoke up.

"Go get Chiron."

"You've got to be kidding me!" My hands flailed around. "Move, Grace. I can handle myself." What was he hiding? Was it Percy? If it was Percy then why wasn't he getting help?

This time his voice was soft; barely a whisper.

"Fine." He clenched his fists, and stepped to the side.

I gasped. Laying on the back seats, was a blood-soaked Percy. A jacket had been laid underneath him to absorb the gooey stuff, but it didn't do much good. It was soaked through and through.

His hair, face, and clothes were all crusted with red. I pulled my jacket off and placed it tightly on top of his chest. Tears were threatening to escape, but I wouldn't let them.

We were going to get Percy to the infirmary, then I could cry all I want. Then he would be better and we could cry together. Because we are always together. Isn't that what he told me?

Forever and always?

Jason stood to the side, and made no attempt to help me as I grabbed Percy's shoulders.

Nico's POV

Gods, I needed to get away from this crazy scene. Just for a while. A long little while.

At least it hadn't been violent. It was Will's idea to end it, and my idea to just go with it, because did I really even care all that much? And apparently Will felt more or less the same way. No one had cried. No one had yelled. No one had been more than a little sad and disappointed. And that was it. The end. Over.

But still. I needed to digest everything. Which is how I ended up wandering all the way out to Thalia's pine, and getting sucked into an even crazier scene.

There was a crowd of campers down on the road below. Yelling. Crying. Everything that hadn't happened just now when Will Solace and I had parted ways.

Intrigued, I passed through the barrier and jogged down the hill, momentarily forgetting about Will and Percy and everything. There appeared to be a car in the midst of the chaos, and with an inexplicable sinking feeling, I recognized it as Jason's.

"Hey." I tapped one of the outskirt campers on the shoulder, and he jumped around. Mousy brown hair, nervous eyes, shorter than me — new kid. "What's going on?"

"Oh, um, sorry, I don't even know!" The boy exclaimed, hopping from one foot to the other and twisting his hands together in an agitated manner, before dropping his voice to a whisper. "I think — I think someone's been killed!"

Disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, but, but — someone told me — um — Percy Jacks — "

I shoved him to the side, ignoring his startled yelp. And proceeded to shove everyone to the side, fighting my way to the centre of the crowd, panic overwhelming my senses and lending strength to my arms. No. No. It couldn't be possible. I would've known...

That kid must've been full of bullshit. Bullshit. Right?

...Right?

I exploded into the empty space around Jason's car, and took in the scene — Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and... and...

Oh, fuck...

Blood. Blood everywhere. I took a shaky step forward, and retracted it almost instantly. Jason looked up and saw me, and grief and shock had painted their names all over his ashen features. "Nico," he said. "Nico." And looked away.

Piper was crying, arm around Annabeth's shoulders. Percy was at their feet, as still as a rock.

No. No. Nonono... he wasn't. Get it together, di Angelo. Of course not.

I marched right up to four, determined. And yet my voice came out shaky. "What the Hades happened to him?"

"Nico," Jason said. Damn him, why was he just saying my name?! "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Gods, no, he wasn't crying too, was he?

"I said," I repeated, my voice lowering dangerously, shaking. "What happened to him? Why aren't you taking him up to the infirmary?"

Jason shut his eyes and shook his head, leaning back against his car for support, burying his face in his hands.

"Stop it, Grace." My voice was rising now, right along with my panic. "Stand up and tell me what the Hades is going on here."

A beat. Then Jason raised his head. "He's gone," he said, barely above a whisper, hollowly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Gone...?" I stepped back, shaking my head without even meaning to. "No... what?"

He said nothing. No one said anything.

Everything was deathly silent. Piper's muffled sobs cut through me like a sword.

Damn Jason. Damn him.

I turned and ran, horror pumping through me like some sort of poisoned adrenaline. Oh, gods. Oh, gods. Gods of Olympus. No. This wasn't happening. Maybe I was just dreaming.

That had to be it. Had to be. Just a nightmare...

The shadows intercepted my flight and I fell unseeingly into their dark embrace, as the parking lot vanished.