LOST AT SEA | jason grace

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝑑𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑒

𝙻𝙾𝚁𝙽𝙰 𝚆𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙳 to rip out her internal organs and get Leo to build her new ones. Hell, she wanted Leo to build her a whole new body. Her limbs ached, her throat felt like sandpaper, her intestines churned and her heart was breaking. 

The crew was trying their best to help Lorna, but no one knew what was wrong with her. It had been three days since Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus and everyone was feeling down. Hazel had been helping Coach Hedge nurse Lorna and Nico back to health; Frank mostly sulked around the ship, burning offerings whenever he could; Piper helped out wherever she could; Jason had been keeping watch for more than 24 hours at a time; and Leo couldn't catch a break. He ran around upgrading the ship with the Archimedes Sphere.

Lorna felt useless. She could hear the thundering steps of her crew above her, followed by screams, shouts, and curses towards whatever monster they were fighting. She would catch glimpses of her friends walking past the Sickbay, occasionally, one of them would pop their head in to ask after them. 

"You hate it here, don't you?" Nico asked from the bed beside Lorna's.

"I think we both know the answer to that." Lorna said. Nico and her kind of became best friends after having to spend days stuck together. He helped her through the sleepless nights (which was probably not healthy for him) and they both endured Coach Hedge's remixes together.

"Well, lucky for me, Hazel says I can get out of here. I'll probably keep watch in the night, since someone messed up my sleep schedule." Nico gave Lorna a pointed glare.

"That's good, 'cause I was getting tired of you already."

"Or maybe it's 'cause you want your boyfriend to visit you." Nico said under his breath. Lorna pretended not to hear him. 

Ever since they had set course for Epirus, Jason had been busy fight rouge storm spirits all day. She hadn't seen him at all. She was worried that he wasn't getting enough sleep. If only she could stop puking all her meals and start helping her friends. 

At the mention of puke, the bitter taste of bile filled her mouth and she quickly grabbed the bucket beside her bed. Green goo spilled out of Lorna like a waterfall as if she were being dragged down by gravity. 

"Ugh! The smell." Nico grumbled. 

"If this illness doesn't kill me, I want you to do it." Lorna groaned. "Why am I so sick?"

They both knew the answer to that question. It was because of Percy. The twins always had the same sicknesses, dreams, thoughts, etc. This was the universe's way of keeping them together: Percy falls into Tartarus, and Lorna becomes a sickly zombie.

The thought of Percy made Lorna look at Tremor. The glowing ring refused to be more than 6 feet away from her. She placed it on a dresser beside her bed. At least it provided some light when her insomnia kicks in.

Nightfall came. Lorna was still in the Sickbay surrounded by the smell of alcohol and the sounds of Coach's nightly rituals. She vaguely heard Jason say that he would accompany Nico for his first shift, just in case. Frank and Piper bid her goodnight, Hazel came in to bring her her dinner (which she vomited out). Hazel then helped her up so that Lorna could sit by the window to admire the stars. 

The Argo II had been moving in circles for the whole day, trying to find a passage that wasn't filled with Gaia's minions. Now, they were hovering over the ocean, no land in sight. The sea should make Lorna feel better, but she was only reminded of her brother. Her best friend. 

She went on a quest with three strangers, flew on a metal dragon, fought with giants, and when she finally got Percy back, they had to fight with Roman warriors, and more giants. Then he fell into freaking Tartarus. 

"You're the best, Dad." Lorna scoffed. "When I said that I wanted Percy and Annabeth to fall for each other, this was not what I meant."

On the horizon, Lorna saw something sparkle. At first, she brushed it off, then, it started getting closer. She quickly stood up, wanting to warn her friends about the glittering creature in the sea when she heard footsteps running towards the Sickbay. Jason ran in with Nico in his arms. Hazel followed. Jason sat Nico down in his bed as the son of Hades groaned. The two demigods worked around Nico, giving him Nectar and Ambrosia, leaving Lorna to assume that Nico fainted during his first shift. 

Lorna could make fun of him later. Now, she was focused on the sparkly creature that was swimming towards them. 

Is that horse swimming?  Lorna asked herself. Her mind raced to remember if fish-ponies existed. She couldn't help but miss Annabeth and her unnecessarily good memory on Greek monsters.

Swimming horses, pft, as if those exists. The only mammals that can swim are elephants, or hippos. Wait, can hippos even swim? Lorna thought. Wait. HIPPOS! 

Lorna seen Hippocampi when her dad helped her on her quest to find the golden fleece. If the Hippocampus that was swimming in the water was sent by her dad, then she had to go down. Lorna needed to have a long conversation with him anyway. 

She looked at the two demigods and the one semi-conscious demigod in the room. They were too busy to notice her leaving. 

She raced out of the room as fast as she could (which wasn't very fast), cursing when she bumped into Frank. 

"Heyyyy!" She said.

"Hi," Frank gave her a look. "Is Nico okay? And aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed? Frank! I'm really disappointed in you!" She fought the urge to hug the big guy when he gave her a look of confusion. Poor Frank. "But I won't tell if you don't."

She gave him finger guns and ran away. She reached the deck, panting heavily. It had been almost a week since she ran. 

Lorna climbed over the railings, stopping mid-climb when Jason, Hazel, and Frank appeared before her. 

"Come one, Frank," Lorna exclaimed. "Snitches get stitches."

"Lorna," Hazel warned. "Come back here, you're sick."

"Yeah," Lorna nodded. "That's what my therapist said too." 

With that, she let herself go, plunging into the deep darkness on the ocean.