Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
~ Nico ~
                          
He woke up with the sun in his face, his eyes still closed he could feel it warming his pale face, why am I outside? He thought, I have clothes on now too. Confused and disoriented he sat up. Opening his eyes he saw he was on the big house porch, he spotted the girl with blonde hair, the Apollo kid, the one named Emmy. She was sitting at the far end of the porch. Kind off to the side reading a book as a group of Ares campers ran by her, screaming bloody murder. Emmy waved to them, then she saw Nico and she walked over.
                          
"Hey."
                          
"You feeling any better?"
                          
He shrugged, "I guess... Why am I here?"
                          
"Outside?" 
                          
"Ya."
                          
"Oh, Well you see Dr Solace said you needed more sunlight in your life." Emmy looked like she was trying to hold in a laugh. Nico rolled his eyes. "Your as bad as Leo." As soon as he said it he scolded himself, Leo had died...  "Sorry..."
                          
"It's okay..."
                          
Nico could tell that if he talked about it much more anyone in a fifty mile  radius would break down crying, so he changed the subject. "How long has it been so far?" 
                          
"Well, forty five hours, fifty three minutes."
                          
"Oh." Well that explained why he actually felt rested. "Ya, only about twenty seven hours left, then freedom. But just so you know, Will... he is getting pretty... distant, because your leaving the infirmary and all..." 
                          
"Really?"
                          
"Yup, I think he wants to spend more time with you, he got use to seeing your face around here, he is with you more than any other camper. Will really cares about you, heck he cares about everyone and everything... but that is not the point." She stopped to take a breath, "He always claims he just wants to make sure you not turning into darkness... or whatever. But he sees you as a friend he can count on. Also..." her voice trailed off. 
                          
"Your worried about him, aren't you?" 
                          
Emmy nodded, "He has not taken a break in well, roughly forty five hours, fifty three minutes."
                          
"Where is he now?"
                          
"He's in the infirmary helping som-"
                          
Nico cut her off, "He can't just spend all his time working, he needs to rest. I need to find him."
                          
"There is no way in Hades, I am going to let you go anywhere, I was put under strict orders not make sure you stayed in bed and stayed rested." 
                          
Nico glared, "I will not be told what to do." 
                          
Emmy griped her book tighter, Nico remembered Charlie, the fangirl Daughter of Apollo, hitting Will over the head with a book, silently he thanked the gods that Emmys book was a paperback. 
                          
"I said that I'm going." Nico said trying to stand, Emmy looked at him, she did't even look mad or the least bit afraid. Her voice was calm and soft, "And I said no."
                          
Nico wanted to argue but he couldn't, he was tired. He sat back down and Charlie relaxed, she sat down next to him, put down her book and then she smiled, "Look, it's not my rule, it's Will's."
                          
"Of course it is."
                          
"Don't you like him?"   
                          
Nico fell silent, did she know? Emmy laughed gently, "I meant as a friend, the way he likes you." 
                          
Nico relaxed, but at the same time he felt a bit sad, Will liked him as a friend. Nico straitened, "Ya of course, friends... I guess so, I mean I haven't really thought about it much..." 
                          
"Good!" Emmy clapped her hands "Once your all better you should visit him in the Infirmary, he'd like that."
                          
"You think so?"
                          
Emmy nodded, "Definitely. I mean he wanted you to stay so bad, he tried to convince me that I should only count the time your awake... Lucky for you I didn't." 
                          
Nico smiled to himself and lay down. "Will told me you met Charlie," Nico scowled and Emmy continued. "He was like, Emmy you need to talk to her, she tried to kill me with a book! All I did was threaten to take away her books privileges..." Emmy shook her head sadly.
                          
"Doesn't he under stand taking a way books from a fangirl can be deadly?" Nico mumbled as he drifted off. 
                          
 *
                          
As he approached the pit he could sense the hatred of it, the hatred of the gods. The pit pulled him closer sensing his despair and pain, his anger and loneliness, No one will ever accept you for who you are, you should jump in and end your misery... the pit seemed to whisper in his mind. Nico took a step forward, "I will jump," he said in barely a whisper, "But on my own terms... not because you want me dead... But because I am the son of Hades." And then he jumped.  
                          
He was falling, falling down. You are foolish, the pit said in his mind, You will die like this... Nico could hear laughter, a deep booming rumble of cruelty. How long would this last? Fighting is worthless, you don't even have what it takes.
                          
The pit knew how to get to him, it knew his darkest secrets. It knew that the only reason the words hurt Nico so much was because the had thought them himself. If all you do is run from yourself, then how will you ever- 
                          
"Stop it." Nico growled. 
                          
He heard the laughter again, How does it feel, Nicolas di Angelo? How does it feel to be in your element, under the earth, but have no power? How does it feel to fall to your death?  How does it feel to be so weak in the dark, so powerless, so helpless? One day soon Nicolas, you will begin to fear the dark. 
                          
Nico screamed as he fell, he screamed for Hazel, for Percy, for Bianca, for his mother, he screamed for everyone he had lost. Then the darkness closed in around him.