lacuna [connor stoll]

XIV. Holes

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: HOLES

"How much further?"

"Connor, it's only been five minutes." Thea said, rolling her eyes.

Thea was pretty much over the two demigods, their playful bickering was torture to her ears. She had only joined the quest for love, and here she was, a mother figure to two children with daddy issues.

They were currently walking across Spain.

Walking across Spain.

So much for a talking to the gods. They tried for hours, many (many) food, food that could have been so tasty, was wasted in the process. In the end, they got squat. The Olympians and minor gods had gone radio silence, absolutely no help was going to come their way.

The Titan, the daughter of Harmonia, and the son of Hermes were tired. Walking for hours on end proved to be no fun. Connor was wearing a I LEARNED HOW TO SAY NO IN SPANISH shirt, Thea wore a I <3 SPAIN, and Ellie wore a MY FAMILY WENT TO SPAIN AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS T-SHIRT, all curtsey of a tourist shop in Algeciras.

Ellie had two days left.

It was terrifying to think that her life would come to an end so soon if she didn't solve this giant, unsolvable quest. The scariest part is when she overthought. If the whole point of the necklace is to kill at the most painful moment, wouldn't it make sense that it would wait to the end of the quest to kill her? What if the curse was just sending her on a wild goose chase, just to slaughter her once she returned to the farm.

She glanced down at her shoes, kicking a pebble with her dirty hiking boots. They were worn down and dried mud was caked around them, slowly growing in worse condition as their journey continued. She kicked a bush that was shaped into a triangle.

Thea had transformed the deformed shiny sword into a ring so it was easy to disguise, and as they walked on barren land, it gleamed in the blistering sun.

"How much further until the next-" Connor began, but it was cut off by his own scream.

The ground collapsed underneath him. The sand parted ways, leaving a gaping, dark hole. He stumbled, his body falling into it. In a split second, his fingers were the only thing keeping him from falling in the pit.

Ellie left out a yelp, stumbling to the side of the edge and offered her hand.

Connor's face was lined with sweat, his skin was pale with the effort to hold himself up. His eyes were an ocean blue, and in that moment, as he flashed in front of her, she swore she could see them swimming, drowning, playing in bright blue waters. She could see shipwrecks, children splashing, tears falling. All of it was hidden in Connor Stoll's big, blue eyes.

"I love you!" He blurted, panicked. His voice was hoarse with effort, and Ellie knew he had seconds left.

Ellie hesitated.