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He was running. Quick puffs of air come out of his mouth, his breath panting emitting a hiss. The air was acidic, every breath hurt, and he was running away from something.
In his arms, unconscious, was a boy with pale skin and dark hair. He was carrying the boy for a while, his lungs were crying out for air, but he couldn't stop, no, no, no way, he didn't know what would happen to both if he stopped.
A roar rang in the distance, the ground trembled; he shuddered, somehow increasing the speed with which he ran.
His legs were burning, and his arms were heavy, but he didn't stop running, he didn't let the other boy go.
Risking looking back, he saw, the figure was so close that if he slowed down, the clawed hands would rip his head off.
He tripped. That was the first mistake. He fell to his knees and narrowly managed to prevent the head of the boy he was carrying from hitting the ground. With a hiccup of frustration, and landed the other boy behind a large rock, or what he expected to be a rock.
Rising, he faced the humanoid figure that towered above him, only bright green eyes, and an evil smile visible over the darkness.
The figure approached, extending his clawed hands to him, and the first of many cries tore his throat.
Hazel sat on her bed, panting, her eyes burning. She reached out and wiped the traces of tears on her cheeks.
She knew what it was, she had been having this same nightmare since Jason and Nico fell into Tartarus together. They had already left, but this was repeated in her mind.
Hazel wondered what had happened. What was that creature? Why was Jason running away? How did Nico get knocked out? She didn't know, and it frustrated her.
Getting up, Hazel went to the bathroom to wash her face. She looked in the mirror, staring at her red-eyed reflection and goosebumps.
She couldn't go back to sleep. Maybe she could talk with Frank, it was his watch now. Determined, Hazel changed clothes, put on shoes, and hung the sword hem around her waist.
It was cold on deck; Hazel wished she had brought a coat, but she couldn’t return now.
Frank was leaning against the wall, and he looked even bigger at night. He turned to the sound of Hazel's footsteps.
“Hazel? What are you doing here?”
She stopped next to him and laid her head on his wide arm. Frank carefully embraced her, and they looked at the clouds bathed in the light of the moon.
“I had a nightmare” She said, without turning to look at it “About Jason and Nico”
“At Tartarus?” Frank whispered, caressing her curly hair gently.
“Yes” She replied, finally turning to look at him. Frank had his frown in concern and seemed to be thinking of something. Hazel reached out and massaged the wrinkled spot on his forehead, making him relax “But I think I should talk about it with Jason, I don't think he'd want other people to know”
Frank nodded and they just stared at the water for a while.
“Jason is probably sleeping, and you should go back to sleep” Frank suggested. Hazel reluctantly nodded, even though she knew she couldn't sleep again. She put herself on her toes and gave Frank a peck before going to her room.
As she passed down the hall on the way to her room, she saw light coming out under Jason's door. She approached, putting her ear at the door. Everything was silent, except for a noise that looked like scribbled on a paper.
Hazel walked away and gently knocked on Jason's door. She heard a bang, before Jason's trembling voice asked:
“Who's in there? Percy?”
“It's me, Hazel. Can I come in?”
It was a few seconds before the door opened, revealing Jason in baby blue pajamas, shaggy, sweaty hair, dark circles under his eyes, and dry tear marks on his face. He looked at her for a moment before taking a step aside, letting her in.
“So, um...” Jason started out, clearly uncomfortable, not knowing what to say.
Hazel looked around, the bed was littered as the blankets were on the floor in a rolled-up pile, with art materials scattered around, she took a few steps forward, and felt her foot hit something.
It was Jason's sketchbook. Hazel has seen Jason with a sketchbook countless times, even at Camp Jupiter, except that this was a different notebook, one he probably acquired at Camp Half-Blood.
But despite having seen Jason drawing sitting on chairs in the coffee shops of New Rome or on a bench in the central square, she never saw the drawings, even now that they were all living together.
Percy had talked about Jason's drawings for several days, telling how incredible and detailed they were, full of life and feelings, Hazel was curious when one day she saw Jason sitting at the meeting table, (which was also the dining table) drawing.
Just two days before a storm occurred that nearly killed everyone, Jason and Percy went down to the bottom of the sea and solved the problem. Like, Hazel didn't know, because Percy had vehemently refused to talk about what happened, and Jason was smiling, without saying a word.
Jason looked much better without the injury, but still seemed depressed about what happened in Ithaca. Piper and Annabeth had given a summary, and what they heard made Hazel sad for Jason, no one deserved what happened to him.
If it wasn't enough that Jason was suffering from his experiences in Tartarus, now he had to think of his mother as well. Returning to the present, Jason was looking uncomfortable, moving his feet, and hugging himself.
Hazel took the drawing book and held it out to the blond, not without first looking at the drawing. It was Nico. Hades' demigod son was portrayed to great perfection, with a tiny smile that Hazel had never seen, because Nico never smiled showing his teeth, and when he smiled, it was so fast that she had to enjoy it while it lasted.
Even though Hazel had never seen Nico smile like that, she hoped Jason had seen it, because it was beautiful, she would like to see her brother smile like that more often.
Hazel sat on the bed at a safe distance from Jason, who did not make him be frightened, and watched the boy draw, leaning against the head of the bed.
“You draw very well” Commented Hazel, looking curiously at Jason's drawing. She pointed to the figures on paper “Are these us?”
Jason nodded.
“I wanted to have this image registered, it brings me hopes of better times, I guess”
Hazel took a deep breath, carefully observing and cataloging every detail of the drawing. In the drawing, they were all together, and had escaped from the House of Hades minutes before; they were exhausted, mostly Hazel, Nico and Jason.
That was the first time Hazel tried to access her shadow powers, to help Nico get them out, but she still thinks that these powers aren't really her domain as it is for Nico. Hazel was surprised that nothing too bad had happened, though Nico became intangible for long scary three minutes, in which Jason screamed hysterically at him.
Thinking about Jason's scared and desperate screams still make her shudder. She managed to restrain herself and turned to Jason, who had stopped drawing and nervously rotated a ring between the fingers in his right hand, looking down.
“Did you come here for any special reasons?” He murmured, so low that she could hardly hear him.
Hazel frowned, confused by Jason thinking she would come to his room for some reason. Well, maybe she had a reason to be there, but it wasn't like she was visiting him just for something specific.
Hazel looked at Jason and saw how he was cowering in himself, so different from the usual, hiding behind a mask... she couldn’t lie to him, even if she wanted to; because now didn't seem like the right moment to address the subject, but Jason seemed so... small, even if he was several inches taller than her.
“I've been having dreams”
“What?”
Jason looked up, his eyes wide. He pulled away his materials and turned completely to her. Hazel, noticing the slight glow of panic in his eyes, hurried to assure him.
“Don't worry, it's nothing we have to worry about, at least not related to our mission" The 'Nico isn't in danger', was implicit "But... in my dream, you and Nico are being chased by some monster with long claws” She paused, biting her lip, watching Jason's posture move into something more reserved and tense. Hazel took a deep breath and whispered, "Down there"
She couldn't say the name, it could trigger an episode in Jason, and Hazel didn't want him to panic, at least no more than he already was.
"You- the monster h-hurted you. You-you screamed" She said, and regretted it as soon as the words came out of her mouth.
Jason shrank and closed his eyes, his breath got stuck and he trembled slightly, his body swaying. Hazel widened her eyes, extending the hands to Jason automatically, but he dodged erratically, dropping a small hiccup, dragging himself into the corner of the room, curling up in a fetal position.
“Jason! Jason! Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry! I’m sorry! No, no, no...” Hazel stood up and forced herself to calm down; Jason didn't need her to panic either.
The attack he was having was unlike any Hazel has ever seen him have before. Jason trembled, which was nothing new, but he was crying and sobbing, wetting his pajamas with snot and tears, dodging invisible blows, and frantically scratching his nails on his forearms, drawing blood.
When she saw that Jason was hurting himself, Hazel ran and knelt in front of him, grabbing his wrists and holding them away. The boy screamed and struggled, sobbing and frantic and incoherent requests coming out of his lips like rain, and Hazel thought it would be helpful if Percy or Frank were here, they were stronger than her and could hold Jason easily. But fortunately, Jupiter's son was so scared that he wasn’t using much force as usual, making it easier for Hazel to keep him still.
“Jason, shh, it's Hazel, I'm here and I'm not leaving you, so please breathe with me, can you do that?”
It didn't look like he had heard it, but she started breathing dramatically, making loud noises so Jason could hear and copy. Eventually, Jason stopped struggling, falling against the looks, and curling up in himself, breathing still uneven, but not panicking as before. Hazel loosened her wrists and walked away, giving him space.
Jason was still crying, but he didn't hurt himself or scream frantically. Hazel wondered how the commotion hadn't attracted the others, but internally thanked them that they hadn't come, she didn't think Jason could stand being surrounded by so many people.
She saw blood dripping from Jason's arms and remembered that he was hurting himself. Hazel shrank with the memory and stuck the hand in her pocket, reaching for a bag that contained ambrosia for emergencies, you never know when you will lose your weapon and get hurt.
Hazel broke a small square because the cuts, though long, were not too deep and she didn't want Jason to turn to ashes.
Leaving the ambrosia square on the ground near Jason, Hazel walked away and hit the wooden floor with the knuckles to get the boy's attention. Jason raised his watery eyes and stared at a spot next to his head, probably not wanting to look her in the eyes.
She pointed to the square of ambrosia and Jason's misty eyes moved to look where she pointed. He cautiously approached his hand, without making a single sound, looking at the divine food before taking it. He took a small bite.
The body members of Jupiter's children relaxed visibly after the first bite, though he made a brief grimace before pressing further against the wall, his shoulders shaking, murmuring incoherently.
Hazel wiped out a tear that trickled down his cheek and approached the other demigod, making as much noise as possible to alert him of her approach. He became tense, but just kept muttering to himself, taking small bites at the ambrosia square.
The Pluto's daughter put a cautious hand on the boy's shoulder, testing her limits. Jason stopped mumbled and broke. He fell on her shoulder and cried, high and heartbreaking sobs, Hazel just held him, swinging back and forth slowly.
Seeing her friend in this state made Hazel deeply sad and reminded her that even the strongest can break. Hazel admired Jason, because even after everything he went through, he could still raise his sword and stand next to them, helping them when he was the one who needed help, instructing them even if he didn't want to be in charge and was tired of it.
Hazel admired him for everything, but that didn't mean he didn't need help either, maybe more than everyone else.
Eventually, Jason fell asleep, and Hazel didn't have the strength to carry him to bed, so she just leaned against the wall and held him, falling asleep as well.
She was awakened by a hand shaking her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking at large blue orbs like heaven, electric like lightning, who watched her gently and timidly.
“Hey, Hazel” Jason whispered, kneeling in front of her. She noticed that he had swapped his pajamas for a pair of jeans, t-shirt, jacket, and sneakers, although his hem was not around. His blonde hair was messed up and she thought he shouldn't have woken up a long time ago.
The dark circles below Jason's eyes were very prominent, but now they were a familiar sight when looking at the blonde's face. He looked tired, but smiled gently at her, the light that was beginning to enter through the small window shining on his cheekbones.
“Hi” She whispered back. He sat next to her, elbows resting on the knees, his eyes down.
“I'm sorry about yesterday, I didn't want to provoke a flashback” Said Hazel, apologizing.
“It’s okay” Sighed Jason, looking at his shoes “I understand why you would like to talk about it, but...”
“That wasn't a good moment”
Jason nodded.
“It's just... at night, everything gets dark and reminds me...”
Hazel put her hand on his arm, understanding. The dark reminded Hazel of her time in the Asphodel Meadows, where all she could do was sit and wait. It also reminded her of when she was alive for the first time, and how the cave where Gaia forced her and her mother to resurrect the giant was dark and made her afraid every time she was there.
“But” Said Jason, making her look up “I think I owe you an explanation”
“No! You don’t–” Jason raised his hand, stopping her.
“I feel I need to” He said, before taking a deep breath and hugging his knees “That monster chased us for a long time. We had faced the arai and Nico was wounded to save me...”
“Nico!” Jason shouted, crouching next to Nico behind one of Tartarus' strange and long trees, where he had taken them after fleeing the arai “Wait, Nico, you're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay, you're gonna be-"
A sharp roar cut through the darkness, causing Jason to freeze. It was a fact that was never completely silent in Tartarus, there were always monster noises in the distance, the popping of bubbles, and many other sounds that chilled Jason's skin, but that sound...
Jason grabbed Nico in his arms and started running as fast as he could, looking at the other boy's unconscious face with apprehension.
The sound of something chasing him made Jason step up, tears of despair running down his cheek, which he didn't even think was possible in this literal hell, since he wasn’t drinking water.
It was so hot. He couldn't take it anymore, he'd pass out at any moment... but Jason kept running, his life and Nico's depended on him, he didn't know what he would do if they died after they got this far. His friends relied on them to meet them at the Doors of Death in Epirus, he wouldn’t let them down.
After some indefinite time, his lungs were squeaking by effort, he felt his step falter, but kept running, looking briefly back, the monster were so close...
It cost him. Jason tripped and fell to his knees, managing to prevent Nico's head from hitting the ground, before crawling into what he thought was a rock and carefully putting Hades' son on the ground, hiding him from view.
He turned and stared at the bright green eyes of the vaguely humanoid monster. It was too dark to properly distinguish the monster's features, but Jason could see long, sharp claws in his four hands, thorns scattered everywhere, but the scariest was the big smile with sharp teeth.
“He’d chased us for a long time throughout our journey until he revealed himself at that moment” Said Jason, rubbing his fingers in his pants with nervousness.
“But... Why?” Hazel had a hunch, but she hoped it wasn't that...
“Gaia sent him after me because I'm one of the seven, but he wasn't the only one who tried to capture me” Jason replied, wincing and rubs his hand through his hair, making him messier.
That's what she feared, if Gaia caught Jason in Tartarus, she just needed to go after Piper, Annabeth, or herself, which would be easier. In addition, Jason was weak for his journey and vulnerable, he would be a much easier target, and being the son of one of the Big Three, powerful, this would be advantageous to Gaia.
Jason sighed and continued.
“Then he came at me...”
“ Hello, little son of Jupiter, you're giving us some trouble, aren't you?” The voice of the monster was hoarse and seemed old, as if he had been alive for a long time. A green smoke, which Jason wisely tried not to breathe, came out of the monster's mouth when he spoke “I’ve been chasing you for a long time, and now you’re vulnerable, your friend is injured, he can’t protect you. You have nowhere to go”
Jason shuddered and took a step back, unsheathing his gladius, the imperial gold casting a golden glow into the darkness. The monster laughed, seeming to find it amusing that Jason was trying to defend himself.
Suddenly, the monster seemed to increase in size, getting twice as tall and burly. He jumped to Jason, who dropped his sword when he was knocked to the ground. One of the monster's large hands grabbed him tightly and left claw cuts on the side of his abdomen. Jason screamed and writhed, but this only made the monster happier, continuing to leave cuts on various parts of his body, except the face, for some reason, the monster left this area untouched.
Finally, after what seemed hours, the monster moved away from Jason's bloody body, staring at the flaccid, soft boy on the ground, an evil smile on his face.
“ I can't kill you, I'd love to do that, but mother earth wants you alive” Commented the monster, false sympathy in his voice “But I'm sure you liked it, didn't you? I think I did a good job”
Jason looked up, barely seeing, the blurry vision, but saw a small figure rise behind the monster, holding a dark sword that emanated death. The last thing Jason heard before he was pulled into unconsciousness was the monster's scream.
Hazel was crying. She couldn't even think words to describe what she was feeling, only that Jason had been through horrible things, and he didn't deserve any of it.
That's ironic, she was supposed to be consoling the boy, but he was the one hugging her and rubbing her back. After telling this, she didn't think Jason would like physical contact, so the hug surprised her.
“Jason, you...” She sobbed, squeezing the fabric of his coat with her hand, staring at the place where there was probably scars resulting from the incident.
“Hazel, shh...” Jason rubbed her back, which caused her to shed tears of frustration. Hazel is the one who should be comforting him! Instead, she was crying and sobbing “It's happened, we can't change. I may not be okay right now, but you guys are making sure I'm the best I can be, don't blame yourself, no problem crying. I cry, Percy cries, Annabeth cries, even Nico! And I would know”
Hazel gave a tearful laugh, wondering how Jason could be so kind and take care of others that way when he was the one who needed to be cared for the most. She walked away and caught a glimpse of what she thought were scars when Jason walked away, his coat rising momentarily. Jason noticed her looking and reassured her:
“Annabeth took care of my wounds when we got back, she's the only one who saw them”
“Does she know?” Hazel asked. Jason shook his head.
“No, but from the look she gave me, she's not going to let it go any time soon”
The two laughed, and when Percy knocked on the door calling everyone for breakfast, she allowed herself to let out a sigh she didn't even know she was holding.